Suicidal characteristics of young women with hazardous alcohol consumption

The problem of alcohol abuse is relevant regardless of gender, but women are more often stigmatized and condemned by society. The topic of alcohol problems among them, as before, remains uncomfortable and less studied. Most publications on this topic concerns alcohol addiction in women, which is often characterized by greater progression and a more “malignant” course. Considering the fact of a direct relationship between the amount of alcohol consumed per capita and the level of suicides in a certain area studied by a number of researchers, it is not difficult to understand that among this total proportion of alcohol drinkers there are also prenosologically abusers, including those with the so-called "dangerous alcohol consumption" (new heading in ICD-11). They also make up a significant proportion of those who commit suicide and are of particular interest in terms of studying them as a potential suicidal risk group. The article is devoted to the study of auto-aggressive features in a group of young women with a pattern of dangerous alcohol consumption. Aim of research: investigating the association of hazardous alcohol consumption in young women with their auto-aggressive characteristics. Materials and methods. The study involved 435 women aged 20 to 27 studying at a university (86 people with hazardous alcohol consumption and 349 without it). The main instrument for diagnosing hazardous alcohol consumption was the RUS - AUDIT test adapted for Russia. The study group included individuals who consumed alcohol on average more than two standard drinks per day and/or more than six per week, who scored 5-9 points on the RUS-AUDIT test. The control group included young women who scored 0-4 points on the RUS-AUDIT test, drinking alcohol on average less than the above doses per day and week. Mathematical data processing was carried out using the SPSS program. Results and discussion. According to the classical autoaggressive patterns, no statistically significant differences were found among the studied groups (only quantitative predominance in the study group). Girls with hazardous alcohol consumption were more likely to inflict self-harm, especially in the last two years (more than 2.5 times). Among the study group, there was found prevalence of non-systematic consumption of drugs in the last two years (a difference of more than 3 times). In the last two years, only 5.81% of the study group recognized themselves as subjectively abusing alcohol, which can be considered as a protective model of normalization, or a mechanism of alcohol denial that has turned on. 68.05% of girls with hazardous alcohol consumption wanted to see a psychiatrist or psychotherapist, including because of "complexes", which is reflected in their more frequent body shame in the last two years (72.09% vs. 54.15%), as well as the feeling of having a physical handicap (25.58%). The predominant psychological defense mechanisms in the study group were regression (which is consistent with the increased affectivity identified in the study) and compensation. Conclusions. Young women with hazardous alcohol consumption did not show statistically significant differences in the presence of suicidal thoughts and attempts, which can be associated with the young age of the respondents, which does not exclude the growth of indicators over time. The impact of hazardous alcohol consumption on sui-cidological characteristics is likely to have gender differences that need to be specified. The introduction of a new category in the ICD-11 "hazardous alcohol consumption" will provide an opportunity to develop preventive measures in relation to the possible suicidological and narcological consequences of this pattern.