Analysis of frequency of signs of self-injury caused by sharp objects

Abstract

Neither foreign nor national literature pays due attention to the frequency of each sign of self-harm, and there is also no unified understanding of the content of each sign. There are also contradictions in literary sources when assessing signs of self-harm. The purpose of this research was to analyze the frequency of occurrence of signs of self-injury by sharp objects, after determining the content of each sign. To do this, we analyze 33 expert conclusions from the archive of Medical Examiner’s Office in Saratov and 34 expert conclusions from the archive of Medical Examiner’s Office in Tambov. All damages (100%) were in the areas accessible to one’s hand. Thus, injuries to the upper limbs were in 63.4 % of all cases, thorax – in 30.3 %, neck – 21.2 %, abdomen – 15.2 %, lower limbs and head – 9.1 % each. Multiplicity was found in 81.82 % of cases. The predominance of superficial wounds over deep ones was found only in 39% of cases. The injuries were more often located in groups (69.7 %), the majority had unidirectionality (66.67 %). There is no damage to clothing in 84.85 % of cases. Thus, despite a fairly large percentage of cases where signs of self-harm have been recorded, they should be considered as indicative, and in each individual case evaluated in aggre-gate.