A 15-year study of emergency room visits reveals new signs of emotional suffering among the nation’s young women and girls — particularly those in their middle-school years.
Emergency room visits for girls 10 to 14 who inflicted self-pain were relatively stable before 2008 but escalated in the years since, according to new data. It is unclear why the rate of self-injury among younger teens has climbed, though some experts say it could be because of the girls’ access to smartphones and Internet bullying.