A Study on the Impact of Psychosocial Factors on the Nature and Incidence of Suicide among Adolescent Students

Abstract

ABSTRACT Adolescence is a time for existential confrontations and at this stage, the adolescent is philosophical, and often thinks of death in more abstract terms. This research is a study on the impact of psychosocial factors on the nature and incidence of suicide among adolescent students. The study was conducted using The Students Stress Inventory, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), The Learned Helplessness Scale and The Suicide Behaviour Questionnaire Revised (SBQ-R) on a group of 10 male and female adolescent students whose age ranged from 13 to 17 years. The mixed research design was adopted using quantitative and qualitative analysis. The research findings reveal that all subjects of the group had moderate levels of stress, anxiety and helplessness. The students who participated in the study demonstrated suicidal ideation and behaviour. The correlation between stress and anxiety with suicide risk behaviour was high for the group of students. It is found that there was a low correlation between feelings of helplessness and suicide risk behaviour. The reports of the students who participated in the study throws light on social, economic and academic pressures which create stress and could make them contemplate attempting suicide.