One-third of Australian teenagers, particularly girls, have considered self-harm over the last 12 months, a concerning trend in light of worsening mental health in the COVID-19 pandemic. Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children is a major ongoing study that has followed 10,000 young Australians and their families since 2003. In its research on self-injury among adolescents, it surveyed teens aged 14 to 17 and found that 30 percent had thought about self-harming, and 18 percent reported self-injury. “Navigating your way through the world as a young person can be challenging, and it’s clear that managing self-injury thoughts and behaviours is a critical aspect of adolescent health care provision,” report co-author Pilar Rioseco said. Girls were significantly more likely to think about self-injury, with close to half (42 percent) of girls reporting self-harm thoughts compared to 18 percent of boys. Similarly, girls reported more incidents of self-harm …