An Italian study reveals the mechanism that leads to the development of thoughts of suicide in adolescence, which torment almost 50% of children at least once in their lives, especially girls. To shed light on a phenomenon that exploded with the pandemic and the lockdown is a study conducted by the multidisciplinary research group on social changes, evaluation and methods (Musa) of the Institute for Research on Population and Social Policies of the National Research Council of Rome (Cnr-Irpps), through a psychosocial research approach. The work overturned clichés, demonstrating the psychological distress they fuel suicidal thoughts “do not constitute the origin of the problem, traced, instead, in particular dynamics of social interaction and in specific sociodemographic characteristics“, explain the researchers who also verified how alcohol abuse and the use of psychotropic substances are “secondary”. The study, published in the journal ‘Scientific Reports’ of ‘Nature’, provides useful results for understanding the problem and to the design of targeted interventions to support youth well-being.
The study was based on data from a post-pandemic cross-sectional quantitative survey conducted by the group between 2021 and 2022 through the Capi (Computer Assisted Personal Interview) technique on a representative sample of 4,288 Italian adolescents from public secondary schools in second degree. While the majority of studies on suicidal thoughts conducted worldwide analyze exclusively the psychological aspects of the phenomenon, the Musa group’s research analyzed the etiology of thoughts among adolescents by simultaneously examining a series of socio-demographic, psychological and sociological factors , to analyze its relative influence on the problem.
“The first data to emerge is that 44.9% of Italian adolescents have experienced suicidal thoughts at least once (23.2%, once; 21.7% more than once), which concerns thoughts of planning suicide, desires and concerns regarding death. The results – the scientists highlight – confirmed the existence of a direct association between psychological distress and suicidal thoughts, clarifying however how, with the exception of psychiatric implications, it does not determine but is determined by deterioration of human interaction. The social sphere thus emerges as the main object of research for the purposes of understanding and treating the problem of suicidal thoughts”.
“With respect to socio-demographic status, suicidal thoughts characterize girls more (6 out of 10, compared to 4 boys out of 10), those who live in the northern areas of the country, those who have foreign citizenship, those who attend technical institutes, non-believers and those with a low economic family background – reports the study – As demonstrated by the mathematical analyzes carried out, however, specific characteristics of relational status and social interaction are at the origin of the phenomenon. Specifically, suicidal thoughts arise from a compromise in health characterized by anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, happiness and satisfaction, high intensity of primary negative emotions and a negative attitude towards the future”. The aspects just listed are, however, “symptoms of the presence of a close and unsatisfactory friendship network, qualitatively poor relationships with peers and parents, problems with academic performance, hyper-connection, body dissatisfaction and involvement as victims in bullying and cyberbullying”, analyzes the Cnr.
“The fact that girls develop suicidal thoughts more than their peers is motivated by the influence of social gender norms and the pressure of aesthetic models that compromise body satisfaction, self-esteem and emotional levels – comments Antonio Tintori of the Cnr – Irpps, responsible for the survey – The greater frequency of suicidal thoughts among adolescents in the northern regions, foreign interviewees and non-believers, testifies instead to the crucial role of social interaction, which in Italy tends to be stronger in the central regions South compared to North, while the higher risk of suicidal behavior in adolescents with a migrant background is explained not only by the challenges of acculturation, but also often by the presence of disadvantaged socioeconomic conditions, which also constitute a limit to integration”.
“Similarly, the protective role of religious belief is connected to the community spirit and social support networks characterizing religious participation – continues Tintori – More rarefied or formal social relationships, or perceived to be of lower qualitative intensity, are instead determining factors in suicidal thoughts as in the case of high school students, who apart from having higher expectations of academic performance are starting to experiment, now also in Italy, relational models similar to those of Northern Europe, with parents with a high cultural status less present and who delegate more their care by professionals in the sector”.
By simultaneously controlling the direct and indirect influence of multiple variables, both of a sociological and psychological nature, the interdisciplinary epistemological approach adopted also made it possible to “resize previous scientific results, showing how factors usually considered influential, such as tolerance for the use of alcohol and psychotropic substances in general are in fact only secondary in explaining the phenomenon”, warn the researchers.
Considering the serious impact of the Covid pandemic on the mental health of adolescents and the increasingly virtual transposition of social interaction, the study highlights the urgent need for targeted and contextualised interventions. “Our results show the central and crucial role of the school in supporting youth relational well-being – concludes Tintori – More expert interventions should be activated urgently starting from primary schools, with the involvement of teachers and parents, in matters of hyperconnection, deviance and relational violence, emotional education, self-esteem and deconstruction of symbolism and social conditioning that stereotype and hierarchize the lived environment, starting from gender asymmetries, substantially deteriorating the quality of life of young people”.
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