Representaciones sociales de estudiantes de psicología sobre el suicidio en niños

Abstract

The main objective of this research work is to understand the social representations of a group of psychology students from Fundación Universitaria Católica Lumen Gentium on suicide in children between 7 and 11 years old. To achieve this objective, the previous categories were taken into account: social representations, suicide in children and social representations of suicide. The research is descriptive, with a qualitative perspective and with a constructionist paradigm. Data collection was carried out by means of a semi-structured interview, with a phenomenological-experimental design and with a cross section. It was developed in the city of Cali-Colombia, in the Melendez campus. The participating population, are in a range between 22 and 33 years, it should be noted that this group was made up of three women and two men. Which are in period of their professional practices, in clinical and educational areas with children. In the Results, it was found that psychology students consider that the social context of children from 7 to 11 years old is a fundamental factor for whether or not suicidal behavior is generated, since they consider that internal factors such as a base pathology are an important comorbidity However, they argue that a vulnerable environment has more influence. It was also found that within the social representations of the students they are not clear about key concepts about child suicide, therefore, they have few tools to intervene in cases of this nature.