Diagnosis of suicidal behavior of adolescents

The number of adolescents throughout the world, who for various reasons decided to commit suicide, is growing every year. In this incredibly difficult period of time, boys and girls perceive everything "with hostility" and suffer extremely painfully their failures. In addition, very often adolescents face serious misunderstandings from their parents and other close adults and do not get the support they need so much.

In the event that a young person or young person is seriously determined to part with life, it is difficult to recognize such thoughts. Despite this, the author of the work "Diagnosis of suicidal behavior of adolescents" MV Khaikina argues that all these children have certain personality characteristics, which in certain situations have a similar behavior.

To avoid deplorable consequences, it is necessary to reveal these features at the earliest stage. In this article, we will tell you what is the diagnosis of suicidal behavior of adolescents, and what methods are used for this.

Methods of psychodiagnosis of suicidal behavior of adolescents

The most preferred method for diagnosing suicidal behavior of adolescents is Eysenck's questionnaire "Self-assessment of mental states of the individual." Initially, this questionnaire was used to work with older men and women, but later it was adapted to adolescence and its characteristics.

The questions of Eysenck's test "Self-assessment of mental states of personality" for adolescents look like this:

1. Often I'm not sure of my abilities.
2. Often it seems to me that there is a hopeless situation from which one could find a way out.
3. I often reserve the last word.
4. It's hard for me to change my habits.
5. I often blush because of trifles.
6. My troubles greatly upset me, and I lose heart.
7. Often in a conversation, I interrupt the interlocutor.
8. I hardly switch from one case to another.
9. I often wake up at night.
10. In case of major trouble, I usually blame myself only.
11. I'm easily annoyed.
12. I'm very careful about the changes in my life.
13. I easily get discouraged.
14. Misfortunes and failures do not teach me anything.
15. I often have to make comments to others.
16. In a dispute it is difficult to change my mind.
17. I even care about imaginary troubles.
18. I often refuse to fight, considering it useless.
19. I want to be an authority for others.
20. Often, I do not get out of my head thoughts that you should get rid of.
21. I am frightened by the difficulties with which I will meet in my life.
22. Often I feel defenseless.
23. In any business, I'm not satisfied with the small, but I want to achieve maximum success.
24. I easily get along with people.
25. I often dig through my shortcomings.
26. Sometimes I have states of despair.
27. It's hard for me to restrain myself when I'm angry.
28. I'm very worried if something suddenly changes in my life.
29. It's easy to convince me.
30. I feel confused when I have difficulties.
31. I prefer to lead, not obey.
32. Often I am stubborn.
33. I'm worried about my health.
34. In difficult moments, I sometimes behave childishly.
35. I have a sharp, gruff gesture.
36. I'm reluctant to take risks.
37. I can hardly stand the waiting time.
38. I think I will never be able to correct my shortcomings.
39. I'm vindictive.
40. Even frivolous violations of my plans upset me.

The test young man or girl during the test must refute or confirm all these statements, based on his state and mood. In this case, if the child fully agrees with the statement, he is awarded 2 points, if he encounters the described state only occasionally, he receives 1 point and, finally, if he does not accept a definite statement categorically, he does not receive any points.

When calculating the amount of points received, all questions will have to be divided into 4 groups, namely:

1. Group 1 - "Anxiety Scale" - statements № 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, 21, 25, 29, 33, 37. If the amount of points received for answering these questions does not exceed 7, the adolescent has no anxiety, if the result is in the range from 8 to 14, - anxiety is present, but is at an acceptable level. If this value exceeds 15, the child should appear to the psychologist, because he is too worried about events that are not worth it.
2. Group 2 - "Frustration scale" - statements Nos. 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, 22, 26, 30, 34, 38. The result is interpreted in a similar way: if it is less than 7, the child is not frustrated, has a fairly high self-esteem, not afraid of difficulties, is resistant to life's failures. If the score is from 8 to 14, frustration takes place, but is at an acceptable level. If the result exceeds 15 points, the young man or girl is excessively frustrated, afraid of failures, avoids difficulties and is extremely unhappy with himself.
3. Group 3 - "Scale of aggression" - statements № 3, 7, 11, 15, 19, 23, 27, 31, 35, 39. The child who received no more than 7 points in total for these answers is calm and sustained. If the result is in the range of 8 to 14, its aggressiveness is at an average level. If he exceeds 15, the child is too aggressive and has difficulties in communicating with other people.
4. Group 4 - "Scale of rigidity" - statements Nos. 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40. The result is interpreted in exactly the same way as in all previous cases - if it is not more than 7, stiffness is absent, the teenager easily switches. If it is in the range from 8 to 14, the rigidity is at an acceptable level. If the sum of points received for answering these questions exceeds 15, the child has a strong stiffness and unchanged judgments, views and beliefs. Such behavior can lead to serious life difficulties, so a teenager is recommended to work with a psychologist.

In addition, the methods of Rorschach, Rosenzweig, TAT and others can be used to assess the mental state of a teenager and to reveal his unique personality characteristics, however, they are all quite complex and not suitable for home use.