In a recent entry, I wrote about people who purposely harm themselves but are not trying to kill themselves. Often, they cut their arms with sharp objects or use other methods to cause pain.

The prevailing explanation is that these unusual behaviors are poor coping mechanisms that somehow provide temporary relief from intense negative emotions. A recent study may provide another way to look at this practice, at least among some youths.

Last month, the British medical journal BMJ published an article examining the relationship between deliberate self-harm and suicide attempts among members of the Goth youth subculture in a region of Scotland.

The study involved more than 1000 19-year-olds who had been followed in a health and lifestyle research project since age 11. The article described the Goth subculture as a "subgenre of punk with a dark and sinister aesthetic," whose followers wear distinctive clothing and makeup and share the same musical tastes.

The results of the study were surprising. Of the youths who identified themselves strongly as part of the Goth subculture, 53 percent had engaged in self-harming behavior at some time in their lives, and 47 percent had attempted suicide. Even after controlling for variables such as social class, previous depression, parental separation, smoking and alcohol use, identification with the Goth subculture was still the single strongest predictor of either self-harm or suicide attempts.

To a lesser extent, identification with the Punk and Mosher subcultures (two of the 15 studied) was associated with increased risk of self-harm. The researchers did not find significant associations of self-harm and suicide with other group identifications, such as Nu-metal, Skater, Grunge, Retro, Indie, rave, Club, Garage hip-hop, and Pop.

Why is it that the Goths in the study were much more likely to have harmed themselves or attempted suicide? The researchers pointed out that perhaps Goth subculture encourages such behaviors.

The youths could be emulating peers and Goth cultural icons. On the other hand, they noted that youths with a tendency toward self-harm might be more attracted to the Goth subculture.

Perhaps the sense of identification and shared lifestyle provided by the subculture could turn out to be positive influences for youths who otherwise might succeed in ending their lives.