The small number of studies that have examined suicidal thoughts and plans separately from actual self-harm report prevalences of approximately 11-17% for thoughts of killing oneself, and 9.5% for plans to do so [13,14]. Although self-harm is a known risk factor for future suicide [1], only two small community-based studies have examined the association between suicidal thoughts and self-harm with and without intent to die. Both found that those who engage in NSSI – the majority of adolescent self-harmers – are at a substantially higher risk of suicidal thoughts compared to those who have never self-harmed [2,9,10].
