Witnessing violence and self-harming behaviors in women and men with severe mental illness

ABSTRACTPeople with severe mental illness (SMI) report high rates of having witnessed violence resulting in injury or death, but little is known about the relationship between having witnessed violence and self-harming behaviors. With 420 women and men diagnosed with SMI, we tested the hypothesis that one or more lifetime episodes of having seen someone “seriously harmed or killed in combat, home, or crime situation” would correlate with self-harming behaviors while controlling for other correlates of self-harm. Results showed that depression and having witnessed another person being harmed or killed were significantly associated with self-harm. Limitations included the cross-sectional design.