THE SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS OF YOUTH’S SUICIDAL BEHAVIOUR

Abstract

The article highlights the current view on social and psychological determinants of youth’s suicidal behaviour. The modern science still does not have a unified point of view on suicidal behaviour. The corresponding terminology is amorphousness and its concept is uncertain. It is generally accepted that suicidal behaviour depends on many factors, has different motives and goals and exists in certain and extreme conditions. The authors present their own model of suicidal behaviour that includes the following main factors leading to suicidal behaviour: social and psychological maladaptation, deviant behaviour and unresolved intrapersonal conflicts. We have identified four groups of factors affecting young people’s social and psychological maladaptation: General psychological features of a suicider having non-pathological situational intentions, as well as people having borderline states; Personal factors; Family factors; Other life factors: a changed place of residence, study or work; negative influence of mass-media, modern literature, Internet sites with certain content, etc. A set of standardized and tested methods was selected to examine social-psychological factors of young people’s pre-suicidal and suicidal behaviour: 3 methods studying susceptibility to suicidal reactions, suicidal behaviour and the diagnosis of suicidal behaviour before its manifestation. The sample consisted of 120 young people (89 girls and 31 boys). Their families were also taken into account: 89 respondents had both parents, 31 had only one of parents. The sample was divided into three groups for comparative analysis of suicidal behaviour. The division criterion of was the suicide indicator from the Suicide Behaviour Questionnaire that was compared with the results of the Suicide Risk Test (SR-45, P.I. Yunatskevich) and the method determining propensity to suicidal behaviour (M.V. Gorskaya). The statistical methods were used to process the obtained data: Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to analyze relations between individual psychological characteristics with suicidal behaviour; a multiple regression analysis was performed for data grouping; statistical significance was checked by the F-Fisher test. The performed empirical study has revealed that suicidal behaviour can appear because of deteriorated personal psychological health - anxiety, frustration, aggression and changes in attitudes toward life and death under environmental influences or because of overestimated self-concept. The respondents having suicidal intentions were characterized by severe anxiety and high frustration as the consequences of personal disappointment, inability to overcome real or imagined obstacles preventing goal achievement. Aggression was almost the same for all three examined groups, thus this indicator showed rather increased psychological activity. The highest rigidity was observed at the respondents having suicidal intentions; such rigidity was associated with complications existing during implementation of significant activities.