Significações produzidas por docentes do ensino médio sobre suicídio de estudantes adolescentes no município de Manaus/AM.

Abstract

This dissertation, linked to the Psychosocial Processes track of the Graduate Program in Psychology at the Federal University of Amazonas and to the macro-project “The subjective dimension of social phenomena,” aimed to investigate the meanings produced by high school teachers regarding student suicide in the municipality of Manaus. The research was grounded in the theoretical-methodological assumptions of historical dialectical materialism and Socio-Historical Psychology, adopting a qualitative, exploratory approach, conducted in a state public high school in Manaus. The study was structured in two complementary stages. The first stage consisted of a scope review, guided by the following guiding question: “What do empirical studies say about teachers' performance in relation to the risk of suicide among young people in the school environment?” The second stage, empirical in nature, sought to clarify the meanings produced by high school teachers in Manaus about the suicide of adolescent students. Ten volunteer teachers participated. Information was gathered through semi-structured interviews in focus groups, favoring a collective space for reflection and exchange of experiences. The data were submitted to Thematic Analysis, based on the full transcription of the material, resulting in four analytical categories. The general results indicate that teachers express limited knowledge about the phenomenon of suicide in adolescence and report a need for theoretical and practical support to identify and intervene in situations of risk in the school context. In addition, the absence of scientific material produced based on teachers' meanings reveals a misalignment between the expectation of preventive actions in schools and the reality of theoretical and empirical support for such actions to take place. The results highlight the urgency of training actions and institutional policies that support teachers' efforts to address the problem.