Study of the Relationship Between Loneliness and Suicidal Risks among the Adolescents and the Elderly

Abstract

The article presents the results of the study which identifies the concatenation between loneliness and the degree of suicidal risk among teenagers and the elderly. Subject being examined: loneliness and suicidal risk from the point of view of their concatenation among teenagers and the elderly. The methods which were used are the Differential Questionnaire showing the Experience of Loneliness (E. N. Osin, D. A. Leontiev), the method of diagnosing the level of subjective feeling of loneliness (D. Russell, M. Ferguson), the method «Map of the risk of suicides» (modified by L. B. Schneider), the SAD PERSONS Scale (Patterson et al.), Hopelessness Inventory (A. Beck), mathematical and statistical analysis. The study is novel in that it is for the first time when the system of concatenation between the experience of loneliness and suicidal tendencies among teenagers and the elderly was developed. As part of the study, there was established the concatenation between the experience of loneliness and the level of suicidal risk in both groups among those being examined. The research shows that the subjective understanding of the level of one's real loneliness as high, the negative attitude towards one's loneliness and the dependence on communication are associated with a high level of suicidal risk, while the positive attitude towards loneliness and a low degree of experiencing real loneliness are associated with a low level of suicidal risk. The results obtained prove that there is a way to overcome the negative aspects of loneliness and reduce the number of suicides, which is connected with a change of one's attitude towards loneliness, the ability to self-control, the ability to find and use the internal and external resources of the individual. The conclusions reached will be useful for both psychologists and professionals working with teenagers and elderly citizens.