ABSTRACT
Objective
to understand the perceptions of the health and education professionals about non-suicidal self-injury among adolescents.
Method
qualitative research, with Symbolic Interactionism as its theoretical framework. Data collection carried out with 20 professionals from a school and a Family Health Unit in São Carlos-SP, through focus groups and field diaries. Data analysis was carried out using the inductive thematic modality.
Results
It was revealed that adolescence is still seen as a period of transition, and self-injury emerges as transitioning and as the search for attention. Trivialization is reinforced, mainly due to the belief of the contagion effect, in which adolescents reproduce the act performed by peers. Family and Internet relations are signaled as propagators of the phenomenon. In view of these meanings, care is fragile, being based on specific actions.
Conclusion and implications for the practice
professionals act against self-injury in adolescence according to the meanings that are constructed by them. There is an urgent need for continuing education on such issues, the design of actions promoting mental health in the school context and the construction of protocols for intersectoral care.
Keywords:
Adolescent; Self-Injurious Behavior; Primary Health Care; School Health Services; Nursing