Social anxiety as a basic factor shaping anti-vital and suicidal behaviour among contemporary adolescents

Abstract

Introduction

In adolescence, social anxiety (SA) and anti-vital and suicidal behavior (AB and SB) constitute a single syndrome.

Aim

The aim is to define the role of SA and its components in shaping adolescent AB, with a subsequent risk of SB.

Materials and methods

A total of 981 adolescents participated in the survey. The authors’ proprietary Anti-vitality and Resilience Questionnaire and Social Anxiety and Social Phobia Questionnaire; statistic methods: ANOVA, Correlation analysis.

Results and discussion

Twenty-four percent from the sample have high SA levels, and 21.8% have clinical SA levels connected with high risk of AB and SB. Adolescents find themselves in unstable conditions of the psychological field reorganization (crisis), and they are in need of actualization of means to satisfy their social motives. It makes them vulnerable to mental disorganization under evaluation conditions, and the situation is aggravated with the absence of internalized mental regulation tools. AB, SB is higher, the higher the SA in adolescents is. SA as a subjective perception of insufficient means to influence the surroundings in order to satisfy social needs can play one of the key roles in the accumulation of negative affect in the system of mental activity, and lead ultimately to its failure.

Conclusion

Inability to satisfy their actual motives, lack of strategy for self-realization and dealing with failures, and inability to keep the targeted priority in evaluation situations lead to feeling loss of life purpose and negative evaluation of the future and shape AB, SB.

Disclosure of interest

The research was supported by Russian Science Foundation (Altai State University).