Despite these limitations, the findings from this study can be used to empirically document a relatively high overlap between self-harm and suicidal behaviors among youth in a disadvantaged urban community in the U.S. Moreover, it appears that there are shared and unique factors that may be incorporated in future research and prevention programs of self-harm and suicidal behaviors among vulnerable youth across settings [51,52]. Unfortunately, public health prevention strategies that specifically address self-harm in youth populations is not available in the U.S. However, there are several different types of programs that may have some success in addressing self-harming behavior either by directly addressing self-harm or indirectly by addressing the associated risk factors such as prior victimization [39]. For example, the Guidelines for school response in the U.S. [53] and family involvement through collaborative strengths-based brief therapy model [54] may benefit self-harming adolescents [39]. Moreover, clinical treatments, while not feasible from a public health prevention perspective, show some efficacy, specifically the cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT) [55].
