Purpose Both aggression toward others and self peak in adolescence and interpersonal violence and suicide are among the leading causes of death in young people worldwide. Individuals who show both aggression toward others and self, i.e. dual-harm, may experience the worst outcomes. The current study investigates clinical and parenting factors associated with dual-harming in adolescence, to provide new insights for prevention and treatment. Methods In a prospective cohort of adolescents, oversampled on emotional and behavioral problems (n = 1022; aged 12–17 years), we investigated co-occurrence in harm toward others and self and presented findings in an area-proportional Euler diagram. Four harm groups (no harm, other-harm, self-harm, and dual-harm) were compared on intelligence scores, general functioning, emotional and behavioral problems, substance use, parental hostility, and harsh parenting with ANCOVAs and logistic regressions. Results In adolescents that other-harmed, the risk of self-harm was 1.9 times higher than for those who did not harm others. Dual-harm adolescents reported worse overall functioning, more emotional and behavioral problems, more parental hostility and harshness, and were more likely to use substances than those who did not engage in aggressive behaviors. No evidence of differences in intelligence scores between groups were found. Conclusion These findings highlight a vulnerable group of adolescents, at risk of future suicide, violent offending, and the development of severe psychopathology. Dual-harm is a promising marker for early intervention and referral to specialized mental health professionals. Further research is needed to examine underlying pathways and risk factors associated with persistent dual-harm trajectories into adulthood.

In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. The Section on Suicidology and Suicide Prevention of the European Psychiatric Association (EPA) wants to raise awareness about the potential increase in mental health disorders and suicides as a result of the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and of the necessary restrictive measures adopted worldwide to contain its spread. Even if fear, worries and symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress can be considered a natural response to this global crisis, some individuals are overexposed to its potential negative effects, such as healthcare workers, COVID-19 and psychiatric patients, prisoners, members of the LGBTQ+ community, migrants (including migrant workers), ethnic minorities and asylum seekers and internally displaced populations. Nevertheless, social support, resilience, a supportive work environment and other protective factors may buffer the impact of this crisis on mental health. These unprecedented times are calling for unprecedented efforts. Evidence-based and coordinated actions to prevent the risk of increased mental health disorders and suicide are needed. However, most of the data about COVID-19 impact on mental health comes from online surveys using non-probability and convenience sample in which females are often over-represented. For this reason the quality of future research should be also improved.

Background: Early puberty is associated with higher than average risk of antisocial behaviour, both in girls and boys. Most studies of such association, however, have focused on psychosocial mediating and moderating factors. Few refer to coterminous hormonal measures.