The HandS project - Handling Suicide risk of adolescents at school - aimed at facing the phenomenon of suicide risk among adolescents by targeting to school and school professionals, as teenagers are a category of persons at risk which personal and relational life is strictly linked to school, teachers and schoolmates. Teachers and care professionals must be aware of the special vulnerability of adolescents, who must face different personal, school, family, or any other situations and combine it with an emotional balance that is often immature. While they are victims of incommunicable thoughts, these students are also in danger of exclusion and isolation, which exacerbate their mood and state of mind. Establishing bonds of trust allows inclusion and early detection of mental health problems that may appear. Supporting teachers and other care professionals in the circle of school education with regard to suicide risk of adolescents means to bring in everyday school life and activities a new strength in the recognition of the student as a complex person to be carefully observed and protected.
Suicide in adolescence is a major public health problem and is one of the three most frequent causes of death among young people between 15 and 24 years of age. The factors related to suicidal behaviour include individual, family, and social factors. Personality characteristics such as impulsiveness and aggressiveness, and poor coping with frustration, among others, lead to self-injurious behaviours, risky, disruptive and challenging behaviours. These personality traits are in turn associated with behavioural alterations and antisocial relationships that can derive from problems of domestic violence suffered since childhood. However, what happens when the adolescent does not match this type of personality profile? when they have social resources and healthy family support, and still show suicidal behaviour? Defining the profile of the adolescent at risk allows us to design interventions to reinforce their self-esteem, with the intention of offering them resources that can help overcoming difficult moments. The HandS project has been aimed to provide training to professionals at school at the levels of health, education and interpersonal dynamics, on prevention of suicidal risk in adolescents as an urgent need.