Auto-aggressive suicidal behavior is a set of actions, the purpose of which is to damage one's own he alth (mental, physical). This is such a variant of the manifestation of aggression in actions, when the object and the subject are one and the same. Aggression directed at oneself or others is a phenomenon provoked by similar mechanisms. Aggressive behavior is formed and looks for a way out, directed at another person or at oneself.
Types and forms
Before drawing up an action plan for the prevention of auto-aggressive behavior, which sooner or later many psychologists, psychotherapists, psychiatrists have to do, it is necessary to realize what varieties of this action are. In particular, suicidal tendencies are very common, when a person consciously behaves in such a way as to part with life. Another form is the suicidal equivalent, that is, self-directed destructive behavior, including such actions that the person is not aware of, althoughoccasionally, deliberately committed ones are also included here. The main goal of such behavior is not the deprivation of life, but self-destruction, the gradual destruction of oneself, one's psyche and body.
When developing a preventive plan for the auto-aggressive behavior of minors, specialists should be aware of two options for the manifestation of this kind of activity. Either suicide or self-harm, also called parasuicidal activity, is possible. Their main difference is the goal pursued by a person. If one tries to die, the other wants to harm himself, nothing more. Another aspect is the probability of successfully achieving the desired, which differs in parasuicidal and suicidal behavior. The second option is when a person consciously seeks to die. This is possible under the influence of a conflict within the personality or due to the influence of external factors.
Causes and consequences
Prevention of auto-aggressive behavior of adolescents includes the analysis and identification of all factors that can provoke a person to such actions. In a considerable percentage of cases, it is possible to establish the presence of a psychopathic disorder, due to which there is a persistent desire to take one's own life. At the same time, there are no external aggressive factors affecting the person.
Suicidal behavior usually involves a conscious urge to die. A person behaves intentionally, he is able to comprehend his actions. If the reason for attempts to take one's own life is related to psychopathology, then there is a high probability of misunderstandingcommitted by the patient. In particular, if schizophrenia is accompanied by mental automatism, then actions that can cause death of a person are possible due to an uncontrollable force that forces a person to act in such a way.
Based on the characteristics of the case, it is necessary to determine what kind of suicidal behavior a person is prone to: anomic, altruistic or egoistic. In the first case, the reason is the life crisis experienced, some kind of tragedy, in the second case, the motivation is the idea of some benefits received by others from the death of a person. The third option is provoked by a conflict situation in which a person cannot accept the demands of society, the behavioral norms that society forces to comply with.
Anomic model
This kind of auto-aggressive behavior of minors and adults is usually characteristic of people with a he althy psyche. Suicide becomes a response to difficulties that cannot be overcome, as well as events that cause frustration. A suicidal act is far from always a sign of a mental disorder, but it is impossible to conclude from it that there is no such disorder. The anomic behavioral model includes such response options chosen by the person who evaluates the event in a certain way.
From practice it is known that when drawing up a plan for the prevention of auto-aggressive behavior, special attention should be paid to people suffering from somatic chronic pathologies, because they are more likely toto the anomic suicidal model. The likelihood of attempts to take one's own life is greater if the underlying disease is accompanied by pain, and it is very pronounced. Similar behavior is also possible in cases where a person is faced with some problem, but all options for resolving it are categorically unacceptable for him. This can be explained by worldview, religion, morality. Seeing no way to solve the complexity, a person considers the possibility of dying as the easiest option.
Altruistic model of auto-aggressive behavior
In prevention activities, attention should be paid to the motivation that pushes people to attempt to take their own life for altruistic purposes. The main foundation of such behavior is the personality structure of a person who believes that the benefit of others (a certain specific person or all together) is much more important than his own, and his life itself means much less than the benefit of others. This pattern of behavior is common among people who are oriented towards lofty ideas, who put the interests of society above everything else and are not able to evaluate their own existence outside the environment.
There are examples of aggressive and auto-aggressive behavior, explained by altruistic goals, both on the part of mentally ill people and completely he althy people. Some were aware of what was happening, while others were not. There are frequent cases of attempts to deprive oneself of life due to frenzy against the background of religion, as well as an explanation of one's motivesstriving for some common good.
Egoistic model
Such auto-aggressive behavior of minors and persons over 18 years of age is possible if others place too high demands on them, and their behavior does not meet them. A tendency to suicidal acts of this type is characteristic of those whose character develops pathologically, as well as personality disorders and accentuations. To a greater extent, lonely people who are faced with alienation and feel misunderstood by others are prone to attempts to die. The risk of a suicide attempt is higher for someone who feels unnecessary to society, unclaimed.
Features and nuances
To be able to effectively prevent auto-aggressive behavior, you must first study this phenomenon, evaluate the factors provoking it, and already on the basis of this, develop preventive measures. Much of the modern approach to prevention is based on a major study conducted in 1997. It was on the basis of its results that a conclusion was made about a specific auto-aggressive personality pattern. It has been suggested that self-directed aggression is not a personality trait, but a complex set of them.
It is customary to talk about self-esteem, character, interactivity and social interaction as additional blocks inherent in the personality pattern of a person prone to self-directed aggression. When compiling a report on auto-aggressive behavior for a specific patient, it is necessary to start with a characterological sub-block. It was found that directed at itselfaggression is always associated with personal characteristics: introversion, depression, a tendency to pedantry. A negative association was found with demonstrative behavior.
Self-assessment in auto-aggressive behavior
In terms of personality pattern, a sub-block associated with self-esteem stands out. This is necessary in order to identify the causes of inappropriate behavior in a particular case, as well as to prepare measures to prevent the irreparable. It has been established that self-assessment is the center of personal structure. This became the basis for separating self-esteem into a sub-block of auto-aggression. The level of self-hostility is negatively related to self-esteem in general. The higher the self-directed aggression, the worse a person evaluates his physical form, the ability to be independent, to act at his own discretion.
With auto-aggressive behavior of adolescents, there is an inability of young people to adapt to the conditions of life in society, as well as an inability to successfully interact with others. There is a lack of sociability, instead of which shyness is noted. Self-directed aggression is accompanied by a rejection of the characteristics of one's personality, a low assessment of one's qualities, which in itself causes the complexity of social interaction and becomes an obstacle to productive communication. At the level of behavior, this is expressed in painful shyness, a tendency to avoid communication with others.
Social aspect
This subblock is due to the peculiarities of the perception of others. Auto-aggressive behavior of adolescents and adults is relatively weakly associated with a negative perception of others, however, there is a significant relationship with the assessment of other representatives of society as more significant. For example, if teenagers treat their parents and teachers positively, this leads to an increase in self-directed aggression. They are guided by the idea that other people have of them, which leads to double reflection.
Thinking that others rate them low leads to an increase in self-directed hostility. This phenomenon is associated with low self-esteem, to which a person exhibiting auto-aggressive behavior is prone. At the same time, self-directed aggression is not associated with other variants of hostility. Exception: direct connection to resentment.
Terms and theories
Aggression is such actions realized by a person that are aimed at causing damage to an individual (perhaps the whole group at once). Hostile aggression is observed if a person seeks to inflict suffering on another. For example, instrumental aggression is possible, accompanied by certain goals other than harm or suffering. Aggression characteristic of adolescents is considered a social phenomenon of a peculiar nature. It has been established that the consolidation of such behavior is due to upbringing in the family, as well as the first years of life, but to some extent all the lived years influence it. Negative relationships between representatives of different generations in the family and aggression are closely related, this has been shown by numerous studies. True, there is no definitiveevidence of the dependence of the severity and severity of the punishments practiced and the aggressiveness of the child.
Adolescent auto-aggressive behavior must be considered in connection with both self-esteem and external evaluation and the general perception of oneself as a person. At the same time, referents play a special role - parents, teachers, children close in age. In the absence of external support for the child's self-esteem and a tendency to aggression, the appearance of a frustrator becomes the cause of aggression. Adolescents are especially prone to self-destructive behavior. Neurotic faces are more prone to this.
Military structures
The topic of prevention of auto-aggressive behavior in military institutions and military units is extremely relevant. Several studies have been carried out to identify the specifics of this issue. It was found that those who were studied in stationary conditions often had personality disorders, approximately one in four. Every third person was diagnosed with neurosis or adaptive disorders, almost half of those prone to auto-aggressive behavior were diagnosed with organic mental disorders.
Among completed suicidal cases, psychological autopsy revealed borderline pathologies in 35% of cases. Approximately one in five during his lifetime was characterized by chronic alcoholism, psychopathy was observed in 8.5%. Every third military man who successfully completed suicide, as statistical studies show, had not previously recorded mentaldeviations.
Features
Exploring the auto-aggressive behavior inherent in military personnel, we revealed two main options for losing the ability to adapt: accompanied by hostility towards oneself and devoid of such a component. The second option provokes escapes, illegal actions, simulation of diseases. People who are prone to aggression in relation to themselves tend not only to commit suicide, but also to parasuicide (inflicting injuries of varying severity on themselves and demonstrating readiness for suicide). All these behaviors are different from each other and require a different approach to correction.
The fact that the level of aggression towards oneself is increasing, and the increased risk of committing a suicidal attempt may be indicated by certain phrases, actions that a person is not aware of. In medicine, they were called auto-aggressive drift, that is, a sequence of actions through which a person harms himself.
The presence of an inferiority complex associated with physical data or mental status is considered a risk factor for auto-aggressive behavior. Risk factors include:
- drug use;
- liquor;
- get into accidents;
- inflicting tattoos that cause particular pain.
Behavioral Styles
Self-directed aggressiveness can be expressed in one of two ways: heteroaggressive and not accompanied by heteroaggressiveness. The presence of personality disorders often leads toheteroaggressive behavioral variant. This is more typical of poorly educated people. They quickly lose adaptation in other conditions. Statistics show that often people who are prone to this pattern of behavior have previously made suicidal attempts, and among close relatives there have been cases of violent death. There is a higher probability of a hetero-aggressive aspect in behavior in a person whose birth was accompanied by pathology. As adults, such people tend to take risks.
If there is no hetero-aggressive behavioral aspect, it is probably a more highly educated person. Such a person retains the ability to adapt to external conditions longer, often suffers from neurosis, somatic pathologies. Among his relatives, with a high degree of probability, you can find chronic alcoholics. People themselves tend to avoid behavior, they feel their own inferiority.
Prognosis for suicidal tendencies and its outcome largely depends on stylistically self-directed aggression. Thus, the heteroaggressive aspect indicates a relatively high risk of parasuicide, self-harm. Such people are more likely to demonstrate readiness for suicide, while those who do not have a heteroaggressive aspect tend to hide tendencies. In their environment, the percentage of fatal cases is higher.
Nuances of prevention
To prevent suicidal attempts among military personnel, it is reasonable to single out individual cases associated with difficult feelings about the imperfection of life, relationships. Destructive behavior based on everyday and family problems should be singled out separately. The regulation, which subjugates military personnel, leads to their loss of adaptation in a relatively mild form against the background of character accentuation and organic disorders. Completed suicides, as statistics show, are more often associated not with external, but with internal conflicts: erotic, family, existential.
Warning features: working with teenagers
Traditionally, boys and girls are perhaps the most difficult contingent for psychologists, psychotherapists, and psychiatrists. Currently, some measures have been developed to prevent auto-aggressive behavior of minors, which are used if the patient has suicidal thoughts inherent in him. Conducting conversations is also justified if a tendency to such reflections is assumed. Everything should start with listening. Many patients are frightened by their aspirations and desires, they want to talk about them, but they are not able to speak freely.
A psychologist is a person who can provide them with a comfortable environment. It is important to communicate with a teenager correctly, without interrupting or disputing his statements, asking, but not starting a monologue. Another aspect of therapy is the explanation that suffering cannot be exclusive. The person himself considers his misfortune global and not repeated by others, which gives rise to additional depression. In addition, lack of experience does not allow finding a solution. The task of the specialist is to help in this before the aggression is directed at itself and leads tofatal consequences.
One of the effective methods of preventing auto-aggression is aesthetic. It is important for a young person to look good in life and after death. An accurate, detailed description of the corpse categorically repels many, thereby preventing an irreparable step. Another aspect is the connection with neighbors, which many people forget about. At the same time, the task of the psychologist is to isolate from the social circle exactly the person to whom the life of a teenager standing on the edge is especially important.
Being an attentive listener, a specialist can effectively prevent cases of self-directed aggression, providing all possible assistance to people in need.
