The analysis of suicide risk factors among students of higher education institutions

Introduction. The problem of studying and prevention of suicide behavior risk among undergraduate students in the conditions of economic instability, growth of social changes, and political crisis is significant, because of age-specific features characterized by tendency towards introspection and continual self-examination, and increasing negative attitude to the world. They are accompanied by students' disadaptation to university studies, changes in their social status and educational difficulties. The purpose of the article is to reveal the tendency to suicide behavior among students of a technical university and to identify determining factors of a presuicide state. Materials and Methods. Studying gender characteristics of suicide behavior has been carried out by means of the following techniques: the test for revealing the tendency towards suicide behavior (based on M. V. Gorskya's technique) and the questionnaire of suicide risk by A. G. Shmelev (updated by T. N. Razuvaeva's). 175 students of Novosibirsk Technical University aged between 16 and 19 have participated in the study. Results. It is established, that emotional and social factors play an essential role in displaying suicide behavior. Correlation and regression analysis has identified such factors as affectivity and social pessimism, which have the greatest influence on risk of suicide behavior, both among young males and females. The gender differences consisting in more expressed tendency to risk of suicide behavior among young females in comparison with young males is caused by their higher level of a psychoemotional pressure (anxiety and frustration). Both diagnostic techniques of suicide behavior by A. G. Shmelev (in Razuvaeva's updating) and M. V. Gorskya, provide an opportunity to estimate suicide risk. But the first technique focuses on a wider range of suicide signs (emotional, social, intellectual) whereas the analysis of suicide risk by the second technique deals with the characteristics of emotional states. Conclusions. The analysis of the received data testifies a low risk level of suicide fulfilment by students that corresponds to statistical data. However, females, in comparison with males, have higher level of suicide risk as a result of higher affectivities, social pessimism, anxiety and frustration. Two basic groups of factors determine the threat of a suicide risk: emotional (affectivity) and social (inconsistency and social pessimism). Comparative analysis of two different diagnostic techniques of a presuicide state has revealed, that the questionnaire by A. G. Shmelev (in T. N. Razuvaeva's updating) is more informative in identifying the value of some factors influencing the risk of its display.