Aim: To assess the association between heavy episodic drinking (HED) and deliberate self-harm (DSH) in young people in Norway.
Design, setting, participants and measurements: We analysed data on past-year HED and DSH from the second (1994) and third (1999) waves of the Young in Norway Longitudinal Study (cumulative response rate: 68.1%, n = 2647). Associations between HED and DSH were obtained as odds ratios and population-attributable fractions (PAF) applying fixed-effects modelling, which eliminates the effects of time-invariant confounders.
Findings: An increase in HED was associated with an increase in risk of DSH (OR = 1.64, P = 0.013), after controlling for time-varying confounders. The estimated PAF was 28% from fixed-effects modelling and 51% from conventional modelling.
Conclusion: Data on Norwegian youths show a statistically significant association between heavy episodic drinking and deliberate self-harm.
Keywords: Deliberate self-harm; Norway; fixed effects modelling; heavy episodic drinking; panel data; prospective; young people.
© 2014 Society for the Study of Addiction.