Risk factors and protective factors of emotional maladaptation and suicidal behavior in adolescence

Adolescence is considered a challenging period due to significant biopsychosocial changes. Emotional maladjustment in adolescents is associated with the risk of self-harm, suicidal behavior, and dysfunctional interpersonal relationships. Aim of the study is to identify the relationship between emotional maladjustment and destructive personality traits and interpersonal relationship problems in adolescents and to formulate recommendations for providing effective psychological support. Methods. To study the severity of symptoms of emotional maladjustment, the Children's Depression Questionnaire (Kovak) was used. M., 1992, adaptation and validation in a Russian-language sample: Volikova S.V. et al., 2011). To study personal and interpersonal risk factors and protective factors: the Loneliness Scale (Russell D. et al., 1978), a three-factor perfectionism questionnaire (Garanyan N.G. et al., 2018); a method for determining general and social selfefficacy (Scheer M., Maddux J., adapted by Boyarintseva A.V., 2003), and the Subjectness Position questionnaire (Zaretsky Yu.V. et al., 2014). Results. The sample consisted of students in grades 7–11 of a Moscow secondary school, including 35 boys and 56 girls. The suicide risk group is dominated by adolescents who are distinguished by high rates of depressive symptoms, subjective experience of loneliness, socially prescribed perfectionism and perfectionistic cognitive style, as well as a negative position in academic activities. On the contrary, indicators of all types of self-efficacy and subjectness position in learning act as protective factors for emotional well-being. Conclusions. Supporting students' subjectness position in academic activity and increasing their self-efficacy, as well as reducing destructive types of perfectionism, can be considered the most important targets for preventing emotional maladjustment and suicidal risk.