In this presentation I will discuss the Self-Harm and Injury Exploration project (https://theshineproject2023.wordpress.com/) and provide an overview of current findings and next steps.  Injurious behaviour takes a heavy toll, socially, emotionally and financially. This research addresses a pair of serious issues affecting the health of young people: self-injury (SI) and ‘outward-directed injury’ (ODI: aggression toward others). Apparently rare 20 years ago, recent local research shows lifetime SI prevalence rates of between 38% and 69% in young people. The prevalence of ODI is difficult to determine due to reporting issues; nonetheless it is a significant indicator of the well-being of perpetrators and may involve harm to others. We argue that there are crucial overlaps between injuring oneself and injuring others – with the potential for positive health impacts through revised prevention and intervention strategies. The primary aims of this research are:  to determine the differences and commonalities across SI and ODI among young people (aged 16-30), and to gain insight into professional treatments/therapies for injurious behaviors and their strength and weakness. I will discuss several components of the project: an online survey; in-depth interviews; and ecological momentary assessment (EMA). The survey provides a snapshot of the injurious behaviours young New Zealanders engage in; the interviews examined these in more detail including motivations and functions – with some unexpected findings about related behaviours – and the EMA-gathered real-time data about behaviours and associated emotions and functions.

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Cate Curtis – I have been an academic staff member at The University of Waikato since 2007, having completed my PhD on women’s suicidal behaviour in 2003, then working at The University of Auckland. I primarily teach social psychology, as well as health and developmental psychology. This teaching reflects my research interests, which are in the fields of social, developmental and health psychology, such as why young people engage in risky behaviours. My current main research is the SHInE Project: https://theshineproject2023.wordpress.com/. This research compares non-suicidal self-injury and outward-directed injury.