Os significados e sentidos de universitários acerca do suicídio

Abstract

Suicide consist of a complex and multi-determined phenomenon, being considered one of the main current public health issues. The high levels of psychological distress among university students, added to the scarcity of qualitative studies on the subject, make in-depth investigations into the collective and individual representations about suicide of this group essentials. With this in mind, the general objective of this study was to investigate the psychosocial aspects of the collective meanings and subjective senses of university students at the Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar) about suicide. Thereunto, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 7 graduate students and 5 postgraduate students, of which 8 were women and 4 were men. The data analysis was performed using the technique of thematic content analysis, being suicide the main meaning unit. The results found were divided into three thematic categories and their respective nucleus and subnucleus of analysis. The first category, named “The collective meanings about suicide” sought to critically portray the social representations identified by the participants about the phenomenon, in addition to highlighting the determining elements that compose them. The category “The subjective senses about suicide” aimed to identify the individual perspectives and affections among students on the subject and explore their experiences with the phenomenon. Finally, the last category, entitled "The interfaces between mental health, university and suicide", intended to investigate the different experiences of the participants on mental health in the university environment, in addition to identifying the possible determining units present in this context that are dialectically related to the suicide. In conclusion, it was determined that both collective meanings and subjective senses are fundamental elements in the investigation of suicide and for the construction of effective interventions. Finally, we emphasize the importance of implementing actions in the university context that focus on the student permanence, the promotion of mental health and the enhancement of the protective components present in this environment.