The article deals with the problem of youth suicide, that remains very relevant today. The authors point out that only registered suicide attempts enter the official statistics, and there are still a large number of unsuccessful attempts that remain unregistered. Also, the emergence of so-called “death groups” against the backdrop of large-scale involvement of young people in social networks exacerbates the problem. To study the topic and prevent the formation of suicidal behaviour, a specific approach is required, since the topic of suicide is quite sensitive. To solve the problem, the authors conducted an empirical study aimed at developing a methodology for diagnosing suicidal risk among young people. The research consists of three stages. At the first stage, a systematic analysis of scientific sources was carried out, as a result of which the factors influencing the occurrence of suicidal tendencies were identified: demographic, psychological (personal) and social. Next, a questionnaire was developed with methods that diagnosed each factor: a modified questionnaire of suicidal risk by T.N. Razuvaeva, a method for measuring the severity of loneliness by S. G. Korchagina, projective questions and a semantic differential. As a result, based on the developed typology of the level of suicidal tendencies, the respondent was identified from the standpoint of suicidal risk. The second stage was a survey of 1000 students of all levels of education. The results of the survey allowed to assess the severity of the risk of suicidal behaviour among students. The final stage of the study was the conduct of biographical interviews (testing the methodology), as well as the survey itself, according to the developed methodology, of students who had real suicidal thoughts (unrealised suicide attempts). This stage allowed to test the effectiveness of the tools developed on the basis of existing methods for diagnosing suicidal tendencies in students. In conclusion, the authors compare the results obtained with relevant studies by other scientists who also used an integrated approach of diagnostic techniques. The results of the study can be used by universities in the implementation of educational work with students.

suicide, risk of suicide, factors of suicidal behaviour, suicidal behaviour, students

1. Ambrumova A. G., Borodin S. V., Mihlin A. S. Preduprezhdenie samoubijstv [Suicide prevention]. Moscow, Akad. MVD SSSR,1980: 164 (in Russ.).
2. Gilinskij Ya. I., Yunackevich P. I. Sociologicheskie i psihologo-pedagogicheskie osnovy suicidologii [Sociological and psychological-pedagogical foundations of suiciology]. St. Petersburg, IS RAN, 1999: 338 (in Russ.).
3. Dyurkgejm E. Samoubijstvo. Sociologicheskij etyud [Suicide. Sociological study]. Transl. from Fr. by V. A. Bazarov. Moscow, Mysl, 1994: 399 (in Russ.).
4. Klimov V. M., Ajzman R. I. The analysis of suicide risk factors among students of higher education institutions. Vestnik Novosibirskogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo universiteta, 2017: 5: 55–66 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.15293/2226-3365.1705.04.
5. Korchagina S. G. Psihologiya odinochestva: uchebnoe posobie [Psychology of loneliness: study guide]. Moscow, MPSI, 2008: 228 (in Russ.).
6. Menninger K. Vlechenie smerti [Death attraction]. Ed. by K. Menninger. Moscow, Eksmo-Press, 2000: 528 (in Russ.).
7. Myagkov A. Yu., Zhuravleva I. V., Zhuravleva S. L. Suicidalnoe povedenie molodyozhi: masshtaby, osnovnye formy i faktory [Suicidal behavior of youth: scale, main forms and factors]. Sociologicheskij zhurnal, 2003: 1: 48–70 (in Russ.).
8. Osgud Ch. The method of semantic differential in the comparative study of cultures (part I). Transl. by M. B. Vil'kovskij. Sociologiya: 4M, 2012: 35: 172–201 (in Russ.).
9. Rossijskij statisticheskij ezhegodnik [Russian Statistical Yearbook]. Moscow: Stat.sb./Rosstat, 2021: 692 (In Russ.).
10. Sorokin P. A. Samoubijstvo kak obshhestvennoe yavlenie [Suicide as a social phenomenon]. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniia, 2003: 2: 104–114 (in Russ.).
11. Tikhonenko V. A. Klassifikaciya suicidal'nyh proyavlenij [Classification of suicidal manifestations]. Ed. by V. A. Tikhonenko. Actual problems of suicidology. Moscow, 1978: 59–72 (in Russ.).
12. Faustova I. V., Komlik L. Yu., Filatova I. Yu., Kopylova N. M. Socio-psychological determinants of selfdestructive behavior of adolescents. Mir nauki. Pedagogika i psixologiya, 2020: 4 (8). Accessed 05.06.2021. URL: https://mir-nauki.com/PDF/39PSMN420.pdf (in Russ.). DOI: 10.15862/39PSMN420.
13. Federal'naya sluzhba gosudarstvennoj statistiki [Federal State Statistics Service]. Smerntost' ot samoubjstv [Mortality from suicide]. Accessed 06.05.2021. URL: https://www.fedstat.ru/indicator/58547/ (in Russ.).
14. Frejd Z. Pechal' i melanholiya [Sadness and melancholy]. Suicidologiya: proshloe i nastoyashchee [Suiciology: past and present]. Moscow: Kogito-centr, 2013: 255–270 (in Russ.).
15. Khabibulin D. A., Ovsyannikova E. A., Tuguleva G. V., Plokhotnyuk D. V. Personal determinants of suicidal risk in students. Perspektivy nauki i obrazovaniya. 2020: 1 (43): 271–281 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.32744/pse.2020.1.19.
16. Horni K. Nashi vnutrennie konflikty. Konstruktivnaya teoriya nevroza [Our internal conflicts. Constructive theory of neurosis]. Moscow, Akadem. proekt, 2008: 224 (in Russ.).
17. Shmatko N. A., Lenuar R., Merl'e D. et al. Nachala prakticheskoj sociologii. Ser.: Gallicinium [Beginnings of practical sociology. Serie: Gallicinium]. Moscow, Aletejya, IES, 2001: 401 (in Russ.).
18. Shnejdman E. Dusha samoubijcy [Suicide Soul]. Moscow, Smysl, 2001: 315 (in Russ.).
19. Erikson E. Detstvo i obshchestvo [Childhood and society]. Transl. from Eng. St. Petersburg, Lenato, AST, Univer. kniga, 1996: 592 (in Russ.).
20. Yung K. G. Analiticheskaya psihologiya i psihoterapiya: hrestomatiya [Analytical Psychology and Psychotherapy: chrestomathy]. Ed. by K. G. Yung. St. Petersburg, Piter, 2001: 512 (in Russ.).
21. Halbwachs M. Les Causes du Suicide. Paris, Félix Alcan, 1930: 520.
22. Lukas C., Seiden H. M. Silent Grief: Living in The Wake of Suicide. Scribner's, 1987: 240.
23. Wekstein L. Handbook of Suicidology: Principls, Problems and Practice. New York, 1977: 319.
24. World Health Organization. Suicide data. Accessed 05.06.2021. URL: https://www.who.int/teams/mental-health-and-substance-use/suicide-data/
25. World Health Organization. Suicide data. Accessed 05.06.2021. URL: https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/themes/mental-health/suicide-rates/