An explorative study of peer influence and response to adolescent self-cutting behavior in Hong Kong

This paper reports on a qualitative study of peer responses to self-cutting of secondary school adolescents in Hong Kong. Through semi-structured in-depth interviews with three adolescent self-cutters, their family members, and their peers, the peers' response to adolescents' self-cutting was explored. The findings showed that different peers had different types of influence, as well as different responses to self-cutting. Close and supportive peers were usually the first to discover the self-cutting. They were a source of help, communicating with parents, friends, teachers, and the adolescents themselves. In contrast, non-supportive peers, especially boyfriends or girlfriends, created conflicts that seemed to provoke self-cutting. The findings' significance for social work intervention is also discussed.