Health Lesson 1: Concept and Types of intentional injuries

• Common form of self-harm

  • Burning, scratching, banging or hitting body parts
• Conditions associated with self-harm

  • Borderline personality disorder
  • Anxiety disorder
  • Schizophrenia
  • Post traumatic stress disorder
  • Substance abuse
  • Depression
• Self-harm as a coping mechanism


  Provides temporary relief from internal feelings of anxiety, depression, or other related situations
• Self-harm is often associated with trauma and abuse including emotional and sexual abuse
• 80% of self-harm includes stabbing or cutting the skin with sharp objects
• Other ways of self-harm

  • Burning
  • Self-poisoning
  • Alcohol abuse
  • Forms related to anorexia and bulimia
• Signs of planned self-harm or intentional injury

  • Saying "I wish I was dead"
  • Thinking about killing oneself
  • Feelings of hopelessness
  • Previous suicide attempt
  • Sudden change in behavior
  • Withdrawal from friends and activities
  • Increased use of alcohol and other drugs
  • Mood swings
  • Emotional outbursts
  • High level of irritability or aggression
• Intentional injuries


  Injuries that are inflicted on purpose. Also the use of force or power-threatened or actual-against oneself, another person or against a group or community. It can also occur as a result of a willful act meant to cause harm.
• Kidnapping and abduction


  Taking away a person against his/her will for ransom or for vengeance, dispute, or crime-related. Usually it is a child who is the victim.
• Reasons for kidnapping


  • Gain a ransom or reward
  • Facilitate a commission of a felony or fight
  • Terrorize or inflict bodily injury
  • Interfere with government or political function
• Domestic violence


  Occurs at home or within the family. It is a pattern of abusive behaviors by one partner against another in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation.
• Forms of domestic violence

  • Physical aggression or assault such as hitting, kicking, shoving, slapping, and other related moves
  • Threats
  • Sexual abuse
  • Emotional abuse
  • Intimidation
  • Stalking
  • Harassment
  • Spousal abuse
  • Intimate partner violence
  • Battering
  • Abusive relationship
• Signs of an abusive relationship


  • Fear of partner
  • When a partner belittles you or tries to control you
  • Feeling of self-loathing
  • Helplessness
  • Desperation
• Emotionally abusive relationships manifest

  • Calls the partner by names, insults, or continually criticizes the partner
  • Always jealous and does not trust his/her partner
  • Isolates partner from family and friends
  • Controls finances
  • Threatens to hurt the partner or children
  • Humiliates the partner in any way
• Sexually abusive relationships manifest


  • Views women as objects
  • Wants the woman to dress in a sexual way
  • Insults or calls the partner sexual names
  • Forces or manipulates partner into having or performing sex
  • Hurts the partner during sex
  • Ignores partner's feelings regarding sex
• Homicide


  The killing of a human being by another whether by murder or manslaughter. This usually happens when there is robbery, vengeance, dispute, or conflict.
• Suicide


  The act of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally. It is one of the top causes of death in young adults. It is a significant problem outnumbering the common cause of unintentional injury. Risk factors include psychiatric disease, levels of economic status, cultural change, and degree of social support.
• Bullying


  The use of force, threat, or coercion to abuse, intimidate, or aggressively dominate others. The behavior is often repeated and habitual.
• Types of bullying


  • Physical - This involves physically hurting the victim like hitting, punching, or kicking
  • Verbal - The use of name-calling or taunting
  • Relational - This pertains to destroying peer acceptance and friendships
  • Cyber-bullying - This pertains to the use of electronic means like cellphones, instant messaging, email, chat rooms or social media to harass, threaten, or intimidate someone. It can include acts such as making threats, sending provocative insults or racial or ethnic slurs, gay bashing, attempting to infect the victim's computer with a virus, and flooding an e-mail inbox with messages
• Extortion


  A criminal offense that involves obtaining money, property or services from a person, entity, individual, or situation through coercion. Sometimes referred to as "protection racket".
• Stalking


  The unwanted obsessive attention by an individual or group towards another person. Includes following the victim and monitoring them from afar.
• Acts of terror


  Calculated uses of violence or threats of violence against civilians in order to attain goals that are political, religious, or ideological in nature through intimidation, coercion or instilling fear.
• Illegal fraternity-related violence


  Fraternities are social organization of men in different colleges and universities having one purpose, interest and activities. However, there are unscrupulous groups who have infiltrated our society and organized fraternities to mask their illegal and violence-oriented activities such as frat wars, rumbles, killings, and campus violence.
• Gang and youth violence


  Typically involves persons between the ages of 10-24. Defined as the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against another person or a group or community that results to injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation.