Table 3 presents the onset models, showing the association of self harm with and without suicidal intent with each outcome among those without evidence of pre-existing problems. Overall, there was little evidence to suggest that the previous strong associations could be explained by pre-existing conditions that may confer an increased risk of self harm at age 16 years, as effect estimates were generally consistent with those from the previous models. However, for depression and anxiety disorder, associations with suicidal self harm were attenuated, resulting in an overall reduction in the difference in risk between the two self harm groups. Suicide attempts are strongly associated with psychiatric disorder,39 40 and it is notable that more than three quarters (77%) of participants with suicidal self harm were found to have a history of probable depression. The small number of respondents with suicidal self harm retained in the analyses resulted in wide confidence intervals, and we cannot conclude from this that the variable estimates have changed. These findings therefore need to be interpreted with caution.
