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Objective: Risk of suicide attempt, suicidal ideation and deliberate self-harm is high among young people, yet limited evidence exists regarding effective interventions, particularly from randomized controlled trials. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of all randomized controlled trials testing interventions for adolescents and young adults who have presented to a clinical setting with any of these behaviours.

Methods: The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Medline, EMBASE and PsycINFO were searched for articles published from 1980 to June 2010. The following keywords formed the basis of the search strategy: ‘self-injurious behaviour’, ‘attempted suicide’, ‘suicide’, ‘suicidal behaviour’, ‘self-inflicted wounds’, ‘self-mutilation’, ‘self-harm’. We also hand searched conference abstracts from two major suicide prevention conferences and the reference lists of all …