Premature death caused by self-murder is one of the most serious problems of public health in the world. About one million people disappear for this reason each year, and the further estimations are quite pessimistic.There are no doubts that the current situation is extremely serious and complex; as a result, the importance of the further development and realization of the preventive measures is obvious. Each preventive program in the field of public health should be based on the results of social psychological studies concerning the problem. In the presented paper, we discuss the results of the exploratory study based on the ideas of the social representations theory. The objective of the exploratory study was to analyze the specificity of the social representations of self-murder and self-murderers in two groups of young Russians. A total of 106 subjects (67 females and 39 males) aged 18 to 35 participated in the study. It was supposed that the social representation of self-murder and of self-murderers would be less shared in the group of subjects who have friends or acquaintances among people with self-murder experience (committed self-murder or attempted it); it means that the structure of the social representations would be more complex (the central system would be composed of more elements that correspond to different themes on self-murder), whereas, the social representation of self-murder and of self-murderers in the group of subjects who have no friends or acquaintances with self-murder experience (committed self-murder or attempted it) would be more shared (the central system would consist of less themes) and less complex.The different themes that form the social representations of self-murder and of self-murderers in two groups were revealed. The suppositions got empirical support.

Development of methods for revealing antivital experiences and propensity to autoaggressive behavior in educational institutions is one of the key steps in developing strategies for the primary prevention of suicidal behavior in adolescents. The purpose of this study was to develop an effective screening diagnostic package aimed at identifying antivital experiences and propensity to autoaggressive behavior. The survey methods we used were: Beck Hopelessness Scale, Russell Loneliness Scale, A.G. Shmelev Suicide Risk Questionnaire, PDQ-IV Borderline disorder and Narcissism scales. At the first stage we examined 750 minors aged 12-18 and identified risk group (85 people – 11.4%), which included adolescents with high levels of both individual scales, and their combination. At the second stage we examined 10 adolescents at risk. In 7 of them (70%) were identified antivital, suicidal thoughts of passive or compulsive nature, signs of subjective and objective socio- psychological maladjustment. Our preliminary conclusion is that high levels of hopelessness and loneliness in adolescents are stable predictors of mental and emotional distress and psychosocial maladjustment in the period of psychological crises and decompensation of character accentuation of borderline and narcissistic types. These scales can be recommended for primary screening of antivital (depressive) experiences and propensity to autoaggressive behavior in adolescents.

The article presents screening results for potential and actual risk factors of suicide behavior in adolescents. The sample consisted of more than 6,000 minors aged between 13 and 18.The study included two stages: testing (scales of hopelessness and loneliness, Bass-Purry Aggression Questionnaire, index of well-being, Personal Values Questionnaire, personality disorders questionnaire, FACES III) and individual counselling (diagnostic interviews) with adolescents at risk. The screening procedure allowed us to analyse potential and actual risk factors and to divide the subjects into 4 groups depending on the seriousness of their psychological condition and the required support: two groups of adolescents with actual crisis state and two groups with aggressive behaviour and character accentuation. The second stage of the study consisted of 225 individual diagnostic interviews. We discuss the characteristics of the group of the adolescents with a pronounced inclination towards self-harm who require prolonged psychological and, in some cases, medical assistance. In conclusion, we highlight some important aspects and key components of screening and strategies of preventing suicidal and self-harm behavior among adolescent population.

В обзоре литературы рассмотрены профилактические стратегии суицидального поведения (СП) подростков, их особенности, содержание и структура. В рамках универсальной (первичной) профилактики показана роль школьных программ, программ обучения специалистов системы образования и первичного звена амбулаторной медицинской помощи. Рассмотрены особенности работы со СМИ. Особое место в селективной профилактике занимает скрининг риска СП несовершеннолетних с медико-психологического сопровождением. Показаны характерные симптомы и эмоциональные переживания пациентов в остром пресуицидальном периоде и научно доказательные эффективные психотерапевтические подходы. Описаны цели и этапы кризисной психологической помощи после СП в школе. Освещена организация суицидологической помощи в новой форме антикризисной службы подростков: Научно-практическом центре профилактики суицидов и опасного поведения несовершеннолетних на базе Национального медицинского исследовательского центра психиатрии и наркологии им. В.П. Сербского.

The behavior of self-harm is prevalent among adolescents. Most research on the topic has focused either on qualitative investigation of hospitalized teens or on quantitative research of non-clinical population. There combination of these approaches is considered very promising, yet it is extremely rare. The present article investigates the behavior of self-harm without suicidal intention in non-clinical population. The participants were 604 students of Moscow schools (7—11 grades). 22% participants reported at least 1 act of deliberate self-harm in the lifetime period (54% — single episode, 46% multiple episodes of self-harm). 100 adolescents with a history of non-suicidal self-harm were further assessed with Clinical In- ventory, which reflected the gradation of the key suicide markers. Clinical assess- ment revealed three major mechanisms of self-harm development: stressful (20%), depressive (45%), and psychopathological (35%). Further distinction among impulsive and reflective led to description of 6 groups, each having specific clini- cal picture, dynamics, motives, personal patterns and attitude towards self-harm. Understanding of leading mechanism of antivital behavior is essential for effecting crisis intervention and psychological counseling of adolescents in the aftermath of self-harm or suicidal attempts. Comparative analysis of these results with data on clinical population reveals several differences.