From the author: “Expert Kazakhstan” No. 5 (284) / 07 Feb 2011, 21:11 “Expert Kazakhstan” No. 5 (284) / 07 Feb 2011, 21:11 Kazakhstan Teen Suicide Cut Off Chunk Tulkin Tashimov. The number of suicides among teenagers will remain high until the government seriously tackles this problem. Moreover, without an integrated approach, the effect cannot be achieved Photo: http://www.flickr.com/corrie..., Igor Babkin Suicides among teenagers have become a widespread phenomenon: in the East Kazakhstan region last year, about 30 young people took their own lives, in Karaganda, South Kazakhstan, Akmola, Aktobe regions - more than 20. The greatest concern is the negative dynamics: over the past three years in the North Kazakhstan region, for example, the number of suicides has doubled. According to a UNICEF study conducted in 2006, Kazakhstan ranked first in the number of suicides among boys and girls in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (Kazakhstan, according to UNICEF classification, belongs to this region). According to the World Health Organization, Kazakhstan has the third highest number of suicides in the world. Statistics have not improved significantly over the past few years. According to the Statistics Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in 2009, 260 teenagers committed suicide, last year - 237. In addition, there is an obvious tendency to increase the number of suicides among girls: over the last decade, the number of suicides is 27-29 per 100 thousand population and ranks first place among the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. On January 12, Mazhilis deputy of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan Zharasbai Suleimenov asked the government to take control of the situation. He called for “to unite forces to implement measures to solve these problems,” while simultaneously criticizing the work of school psychologists and inspectors. Factors as they exist Why do teenagers take their own lives? On the portal "Training_KZ" a survey is being conducted in real time on the topic "Cause of suicide in adolescents." 37% of respondents cite problems in relationships with significant others as the main factor in the increase in the number of suicides. We are talking about people whom the teenager trusts: friends, girlfriends, girlfriend, boyfriend. In second place in the survey are “problems in the family” (22%), and it is within the family that the foundation of psychological stability should be created. In third place (17%) are “psychological characteristics” acquired at the genetic level from parents. In fourth and fifth places are exposure to the media (15%) and problems at school (14%). Lyudmila Bekmagambetova, a teacher at the “Self-Knowledge” gymnasium, considers the factor of a significant environment to be only an impetus for suicide. It is common to think that under the influence of the street or bad company, a teenager can commit suicide. The teacher suggests paying attention to the teenager’s psyche, his susceptibility to emotions and level of stress resistance. “As an example, I can give the following situation. What does a woman say when a man comes home drunk? This way and that, you wouldn’t have met your drinking buddy, you wouldn’t have had a drink. But this is clearly a fallacy. It is obvious that if a man had not met one drinking buddy, he would have met another. Because he just wants to drink,” she explains. A teenager’s tendency toward suicide develops in approximately the same scenario. If he is very emotional and often does not know how to find a way out of a difficult situation on his own, then the likelihood of suicide is high. “The external environment or its individual representatives can only give an impetus,” the expert believes. Loneliness is a bastard... Loneliness also pushes one to commit suicide. Outwardly, this does not manifest itself in any way, since the teenager is constantly surrounded by friends, classmates, brothers or sisters. According to Alexander Katkov, Doctor of Medical Sciences, professor, psychotherapist of the Unified Register of Professional Psychotherapists of Europe, parents often brush aside the problems of a teenager, and teachers and school psychologists are not ready to help him. Friends and girlfriends at the right moment when a teenager experiencesdepression, or are not there, or do not know what to do. At the same time, stimulants of suicidal feelings can be unrequited love, difficulties in communicating with peers, and a difficult situation in the family. “Telling a teacher, friend or parents is a question that a teenager tries to solve on his own. At the same time, he is not sure that the people he turns to will understand him. Therefore, the teenager withdraws into himself and lives alone with his problems,” says Ms. Bekmagambetova. According to Sergei Sklyar, junior researcher at the Department of Suicidology and Epidemiology of the Republican Scientific and Practical Center for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Narcology of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan, it is not entirely correct to isolate any individual causes leading to suicide. “In each specific case, it is the interaction of various factors,” he believes. But the main thing is that the teenager is lonely. Moreover, according to the representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Kazakhstan, Hanaa Singer, the initial reasons leading to childhood loneliness are varied. A study conducted by UNICEF in Ukraine showed that children may become desperate as their parents leave abroad in search of work. “Such children feel lonely, despair and lose hope. This leads to serious emotional and psychological disturbances. Children stop communicating with friends, relatives and especially with parents, who, it seems to them, have forgotten about them. Children become irritable, anxious and aggressive. As a result, they begin to think about voluntary death. The world becomes alien to them, they stop trusting people,” continues Ms. Singer. In Kazakhstan, labor migration is unlikely to be a significant factor, however, even here, parents often do not pay due attention to their children. Mr. Katkov adheres to the theory that suicide can be caused by the maladjustment of adolescents. Over the past 15-20 years, the aggressiveness of the information environment of the teenage subculture has increased significantly. “At the same time, the level of psychological health—resistance to such influences—is noticeably reduced. As a result, some teenagers, especially those with a low level of stress resistance, develop the so-called demoralization syndrome,” he emphasized. Obvious manifestations of this condition are bad mood, anxiety, restlessness, a feeling of impasse, hopelessness, confusion in thoughts, and inability to find any constructive solution to existing problems. According to Mr. Katkov, the teenager is simply desperate to find outside help. “Frustration can reach such strength that the thought of leaving life is perceived with relief,” the expert sums up. The beginning of all beginnings Any adult knows that it is necessary to raise a child from birth. But not everyone succeeds. Mr. Sklar encourages parents to be tolerant: “They must love, understand and accept their children for who they are.” But if a teenager feels false, he will withdraw and there will be no contact, says Ms. Bekmagambetova. Parents are often harsh in their interactions with their children. To confirm this, we can cite a case that Ms. Bekmagambetova told us. “One day an eighth-grader girl came up to me asking for advice,” she began. - It turns out that she fell in love with her peer, but he does not reciprocate her feelings. I wanted to predict the events that followed. The girl became interested. I outlined what followed: tears into the pillow and complete misunderstanding on my mother’s part. The girl was even surprised and asked: how do you know? And then she said that she turned to her mother and heard in response: “You will have many more such assholes in your life!” Grandmother and grandfather, according to the girl, are generally “not in the know,” since they have long since passed this stage of their lives. The girl’s reasoning for choosing me as an adviser was that the teacher is always “in the know” because she works with children.” Not finding understanding from their parents, teenagers often idealize those they are trying to be like. If inA courtyard authority of dubious reputation acts as an idol, expect trouble. When the ideal is a parent or a positive older brother, idealization is positive and protects the teenager from impulsive actions. Children in the lower grades are the most fearful. They are afraid of the teacher because he can scold them for bad behavior or grades in front of the whole class. And this a priori reduces the child’s self-esteem. He is afraid to hear reproaches addressed to him from his parents. “All parents today reproach their children for the same thing. Like, we are doing everything so that you, our offspring, have all the conditions for successful study, but you study poorly,” she continues. When a child asks his parents why they love him, they often answer: for “A’s” and good behavior. The child loves his parents unconditionally. Ms. Singer says the need to earn money for a decent living should not make parents insensitive: “Children are more vulnerable than adults. We cannot put our interests above the interests of children.” The environment as it is Children’s environments are different. When a teenager experiences violence in the yard, school, or lack of understanding from friends, he can become a social outcast. This is another factor contributing to suicide. If the environment is friendly, children quickly gain self-confidence. Adults must provide a safe environment for children, Ms. Singer said. Mr. Katkov believes that an antisocial environment with extremely aggressive forms of behavior contributes to the growth of suicidal risks: “If the microsociety sets positive examples and protects the teenager from an aggressive environment, then the risks of suicide are significantly reduced.” A teenager, Mr. Sklyar believes, reacts very sharply to harassment, rejection or isolation from his usual social circle, which includes friends, classmates, and often high school students, whom the teenager most often looks up to. Another important factor can be, according to him, imaginary or real problems in the relationship with the object of love. According to Ms. Bekmagambetova, parents should not put pressure on their children if they do not agree with their choice - this can lead to irreparable consequences. It is much more reasonable to give arguments, to draw the child’s attention to some points so that he makes a decision on his own. Where childhood is spent Children spend most of their time at school. Parents' participation in the life of educational institutions is often limited to sporadic attendance at parent-teacher meetings. Meanwhile, children can be hurt by anything. “They may feel like outcasts because of what they perceive as their parents' low social status,” Ms. Singer gives an example. As in places of detention, authority in school is usually enjoyed by older and physically developed students, who, no matter what they do, usually remain unpunished. Let's say a child is humiliated at school or his money is taken away. Parents in this situation usually complain to the administration or class teacher. The administration is not interested in washing dirty linen in public: its activities are assessed by higher authorities according to the traditional scheme - the fewer emergencies, the better the institution works. Therefore, the teachers' council always tries to hide the problem. At the same time, the class teacher is a forced person and will do what the administration tells him. If the situation escalates, parents do what seems right to them: they transfer the child from a “bad” school to a “good” one. “But who can guarantee that even in the new place there won’t be classmates who will bully him? After all, this child is genetically drawn to those peers who will humiliate him,” explains Ms. Bekmagambetova. At best, he will break down psychologically, at worst, he will commit suicide. In an aggressive environment, children feel abandoned and betrayed. They feel external pressure, fall into deep depression and lose all hope for the best. An attempt to commit suicide is a way to escape from problems or to attract the attention of parents, teachers andpeers. According to Ms. Singer, the education system must become child-friendly, and violence and aggression in schools must be eradicated. This cannot be done if neither the administration nor the teacher are interested in eliminating the causes. A teacher's low salary and low social status in society significantly reduce his interest in work. “In essence, that’s why instead of teachers, schools are full of what I would call lesson teachers. They came, taught lessons, and went home,” says Ms. Bekmagambetova. Typically, the school responds to emergencies after they happen. Usually, under the powerful pressure of the director and teaching, children expose specific culprits and are punished. However, no one wants to understand the underlying reasons for what happened. Can the police help? School inspectors should theoretically help school administration and teachers carry out preventive work: prevent crimes. According to Ms. Bekmagambetova, the school inspector should become part of the teaching staff. To achieve this, he needs to talk to students who are prone to violence, as well as children who may be potential victims of violence. But this is ideal, while in reality everything is different. Often inspectors simply forget where they are. They transfer the morals familiar in the law enforcement system to school, so most often they try to “split” children in order to find the culprit in the emergency and then punish them. As in the law enforcement system as a whole, the inspector is required to have a detection rate, while prevention is limited to formal conversations with difficult teenagers at various intervals. Ms. Singer described the consequences of this behavior by inspectors: “Children are often afraid of people in uniform.” First, we need to ensure that inspectors fulfill their official duties, Mr. Katkov believes: “Through the system of juvenile affairs inspectors and so-called school police officers, it is necessary to identify facts of criminal pressure, racketeering among teenagers and promptly stop criminal activity.” What to do ? According to the Social and Economic Policy Working Papers conducted by UNICEF, during an economic and financial crisis, the number of attempts to commit suicide doubles. Kazakhstan is not immune from such danger. So far, no sharp jump in the rate of completed suicides among children and adolescents has been recorded in the republic. “There really is growth, but these are percentages, not orders of magnitude,” says Mr. Katkov. But what happens if a major crisis does happen? Is Kazakhstan ready for the fact that young citizens will begin to die in the hundreds? If not, first of all, Mr. Sklyar believes, the state must train the required number of child psychologists: now there are clearly not enough of them, the staff is formed on a residual basis. Often a failed mathematician or philologist is appointed as a psychologist. Something is already being done within the framework of the Salamaty Kazakhstan program for the period 2011-2015. Firstly, the practice of psychological testing is being widely introduced. And not only in schools, but also in preschool institutions. Testing makes it possible to diagnose low levels of psychological stability, as well as high suicidal risks in children and adolescents at an early stage. Along with the training of new personnel, existing specialists must undergo retraining within the framework of the program. It is planned to train school psychologists and social educators in simple but effective technologies to increase the level of psychological stability. But that's not all. According to Mr. Katkov, in recent weeks the issue of large-scale introduction of a special FAS program (the English acronym for “family and school”) into the domestic educational system has been discussed. Its essence is to train families in the most advanced technologies for preventing abnormal behavior in children. Of course, this program is not a panacea for all ills, but parents will learn to solve many problems on their own. According to the FAS program.