Psychosocial aspects of youth suicide: identifying social representations of health and education professionals from bonfim/mg

Abstract

In view of the proportion and growth of suicide rates among Brazilian youth, studies that contribute to the expansion of the understanding of death by self-injury in these age groups and to better deal with the issue in practice are becoming increasingly relevant. Thus, a qualitative case study was carried out on theme/category-based content analysis in the light of the Theory of Social Representations with the objective of identifying social representations of young people's suicide by health and education professionals. The study was carried out through in-depth and semi-structured interviews carried out online with professionals from the city of Bonfim/MG, already considered the city with the highest consumption of tranquilizers in Brazil. Through the data, it is considered that it was possible to identify differences between the social representations of general suicide with those of young people, indicating the existence of social representations of young people's suicide by education and public health professionals in the city of Bonfim. Therefore, substance abuse, relationships, psychic pain, and immaturity are considered at the most central core of the social representations of youth suicide. Being self-mutilation and the internet the most recent topics that touched the discussion about the young person's death by self-injury. Through the results, medicalization is questioned as a mental health strategy institutionalized by the municipality and the possible effects of this on the way youths deal with their issues. It examines how much a stigmatized perception of a youth can impact the treatment of the subject from the perspectives that professionals have. Furthermore, the prevention of the suicide demands psychosocial contributions, requiring the involvement of economic sectors and social protection strategies. Being the area of education with its professionals a possible area of prevention of suicide of young people.