Prevalence of deliberate self harm and attempted suicide within contemporary Goth youth subculture: longitudinal cohort study
BMJ 2006; 332 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.38790.495544.7C (Published 04 May 2006) Cite this as: BMJ 2006;332:1058
Data supplement
Table A. [As supplied by authors] Associations of deliberate self-harm and suicide attempt with lifetime peak Goth identification, before and after adjusting for other variables.
Lifetime deliberate self-harm, any method (n=1258) 1 2
Lifetime deliberate self-harm cutting, scratch or scoring (n=1258) 1 2
Lifetime suicide attempt (n=1255) 2
No (%) who self-harm
Unadjusted odds ratios (95% CI)
Adjusted odds ratios
(95% CI) 3 4 5
No (%) who self-harm
Unadjusted odds ratios (95% CI)
Adjusted odds ratios
(95% CI) 3 4 5
No (%) who attempt suicide
Unadjusted odds ratios (95% CI)
adjusted odds ratios
(95% CI) 3 4 5
Lifetime identification3 4
Never
66/1153 (5.7)
1.00
1.00
35/1153 (3.0)
1.00
62/1150 (5.4)
1.00
1.00
Just a bit
5/30 (16.7)
3.29 (1.22 to 8.88)
2.97 (0.95 to 9.23)
1/30 (3.3)
2.77 (0.81 to 9.43)
1.32 (0.16 to 10.54)
2/30 (6.7)
1.25 (0.29 to 5.38)
0.93 (0.12 to 7.17)
Quite a bit
6/50 (12.0)
2.25 (0.92 to 5.46)
1.84 (0.72 to 4.71)
5/50 (10.0)
5.38 (2.13 to 13.59)
2.88 (1.00 to 8.31)
7/50 (14.0)
2.86 (1.23 to 6.61)
2.54 (1.03 to 6.27)
Really heavily
or was/am one
12/25 (48.0)
15.20 (6.68 to 34.62)
11.57 (4.69 to 28.53)
11/25 (44.0)
27.44 (9.44 to 79.78)
19.34 (7.15 to 52.26)
9/25 (36.0)
9.87 (4.19 to 23.23)
8.02 (3.08 to 20.88)
1 Age participants first began to self-harm: mean = 15.6, SD 2.3 years, range 8-19 years.
2 20 participants self-harmed in the past year, 2 attempted suicide in the past month.
3 One participant did not indicate identification and has been classified as "Never" based upon evaluation of music preferences.
4 Approximate age (based on the school year participants first identified with the subculture) of high (really heavily/ I was/am one) lifetime Goth identification: mean = 15.5 years, SD 2.2, range, 12-19 years.
5 Adjusting for sex, social class, divorced or separated parents, smoking, drugs ever, alcohol use and depression. Odds ratios for covariates omitted due to space restrictions and to avoid repetition of results.
Table B. [As supplied by authors] Association of lifetime deliberate self-harm cutting, scratch or scoring with current subcultural identification before and after adjusting for Goth identification.
Model 1, (n=1258)
Adjusted for confounds 1
Model 2, (n=1258)
Adjusted for confounds 1 & Goth identification 1
According to subcultural identification
According to subcultural identification (after adjusting for Goth identification)
According to Goth identification (after adjusting for subcultural identification)
Current identification (heavy or I am one) 2 3
No (%) who self-harm
Adj1 Odds ratio (95% CI)
Adj1 Odds ratio (95% CI)
Adj1 Odds ratio (95% CI)
Goth
7/15 (46.7)
20.32 (5.76 to 71.69)
-
-
Punk
3/17 (17.6)
5.28 (1.27 to 22.01)
2.01 (0.38 to 10.53)
16.52 (4.33 to 63.07)
Heavy Metal
4/48 (8.3)
2.99 (0.94 to 9.52)
0.90 (0.18 to 4.48)
21.60 (4.57 to 102.07)
Mosher
3/24 (12.5)
4.49 (1.15 to 17.52)
1.98 (0.39 to 10.13)
17.12 (4.59 to 63.94)
Nu-metal
2/12 (16.7)
7.17 (1.24 to 41.57)
3.61 (0.53 to 24.31)
17.15 (4.81 to 61.23)
Skater
3/16 (18.8)
5.18 (1.26 to 21.37)
6.61 (1.58 to 27.67) 4
22.71 (6.36 to 81.07)
Grunge
1/24 (4.2)
1.10 (0.14 to 8.89)
0.57 (0.06 to 5.75)
21.83 (5.92 to 80.45)
Retro
8/101 (7.9)
1.79 (0.76 to 4.18)
1.66 (0.68 to 4.02)
19.25 (5.46 to 67.84)
Indie
2/104 (1.9)
0.40 (0.09 to 1.73)
0.30 (0.06 to 1.45)
24.37 (6.45 to 92.10)
Rave
2/27 (7.4)
0.33 (7.18 to 0.33)
1.80 (0.38 to 8.40)
20.83 (5.88 to 73.76)
Club
12/127 (9.4)
2.58 (1.24 to 5.36)
2.80 (1.33 to 5.90)
21.99 (6.18 to 78.30)
Garage
2/16 (12.5)
2.67 (0.48 to 14.89)
1.37 (0.22 to 8.72)
19.38 (5.34 to 70.27)
Hip-Hop
3/97 (3.1)
0.70 (0.21 to 2.40)
0.55 (0.14 to 2.20)
20.92 (5.94 to 73.65)
Pop
7/159 (4.4)
0.93 (0.39 to 2.22)
0.98 (0.41 to 2.34)
20.32 (5.76 to 71.70)
Other
3/33 (9.1)
1.44 (0.39 to 5.27)
1.70 (0.46 to 6.26)
20.92 (5.93 to 73.85)
1 Adjusting for sex, social class, divorced or separated parents, smoking, drugs ever, alcohol use and depression.
2 Dichotomisation of subcultural identity was implemented solely to simplify and condense the results. Analyses conducted using the previous four-point identity scale produced virtually identical results.
3 Due to extremely low (10 or less cases) frequencies, several youth subcultures were excluded (Skinhead, Breakers, Mods. Hippy, etc).
4 This one significant result is attributable to an artefact of multiple testing. In a reanalysis using the full range of identification with both Skater and Goth subculture, Skater identification was not associated with self-harm though Goth identification remained highly significant.
Table C. [As supplied by authors] Association of lifetime suicide attempt with current subcultural identification before and after adjusting for Goth identification.Model 1, (n=1255)
Adjusted for confounds 1
Model 2, (n=1255)
Adjusted for confounds 1 & Goth identification
According to subcultural identification
According to subcultural identification (after adjusting for Goth identification)
According to Goth identification (after adjusting for subcultural identification)
Current identification (heavy or I am one) 2 3
No (%) who attempt suicide
Adj1 Odds ratio (95% CI)
Adj1 Odds ratio (95% CI)
Adj1 Odds ratio (95% CI)
Goth
7/15 (46.7)
15.00 (4.54 to 49.56)
-
-
Punk
3/17 (17.6)
3.69 (0.91 to 14.86)
1.58 (0.33 to 7.58)
13.17 (3.71 to 46.80)
Heavy Metal
4/48 (8.3)
1.50 (0.43 to 5.23)
0.36 (0.06 to 2.24)
27.64 (5.00 to 152.98)
Mosher
2/24 (8.3)
2.35 (0.51 to 10.83)
0.87 (0.14 to 5.31)
15.64 (4.22 to 57.99)
Nu-metal
2/12 (16.7)
4.91 (0.94 to 25.55)
2.65 (0.43 to 16.36)
13.17 (3.90 to 44.45)
Skater
2/16 (12.5)
2.31 (0.47 to 11.38)
2.70 (0.54 to 13.43)
15.53 (4.68 to 51.46)
Grunge
2/24 (8.3)
1.83 (0.40 to 8.45)
1.25 (0.24 to 6.47)
14.59 (4.35 to 48.90)
Retro
10/101(9.9)
1.74 (0.81 to 3.72)
1.66 (0.76 to 3.61)
14.30 (4.35 to 47.01)
Indie
6/104 (5.8)
1.05 (0.42 to 2.61)
0.97 (0.38 to 2.45)
15.03 (4.52 to 49.95)
Rave
4/26 (15.4)
2.34 (0.74 to 7.41)
2.59 (0.81 to 8.29)
15.66 (4.72 to 51.90)
Club
15/127 (11.8)
1.74 (0.91 to 3.32)
1.84 (0.96 to 3.52)
15.57 (4.73 to 51.27)
Garage
1/16 (6.3)
0.71 (0.08 to 6.40)
0.41 (0.04 to 3.88)
16.73 (4.85 to 57.71)
Hip-Hop
8/97 (8.2)
1.60 (0.72 to 3.56)
1.52 (0.66 to 3.50)
14.88 (4.47 to 49.56)
Pop
9/159 (5.7)
0.64 (0.30 to 1.36)
0.67 (0.31 to 1.42)
14.90 (4.47 to 49.65)
Other
3/33 (9.1)
0.98 (0.27 to 3.57)
1.11 (0.30 to 4.02)
15.07 (4.56 to 49.83)
1 Adjusting for sex, social class, divorced or separated parents, smoking, drugs ever, alcohol use and depression.
2 Dichotomisation of subcultural identity was implemented solely to simplify and condense the results. Analyses conducted using the previous four-point identity scale produced virtually identical results.
3 Due to extremely low (10 or less cases) frequencies, several youth subcultures were excluded (Skinhead, Breakers, Mods. Hippy, etc).
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