The purpose of this study was to identify whether a past history
of childhood sexual abuse is a risk factor for repeated Deliberate
Self-Harm (DSH). The study was a 6-month prospective study of 178
patients responsible for 190 consecutive cases of DSH seen during a
3-month censoring period. Patients were identified by review of the
in-patient and accident and emergency (A&E) records of all cases of
DSH at the A&E department of a major teaching hospital. Patients with
a history of childhood sexual abuse showed a marked clustering of four
major risk factors for repeat DSH (unemployment, past deliberate
self-poisoning, self-injury and psychiatric illness) and were
significantly more likely to repeat DSH within the 6-month follow-up
period.