The increasing prevalence of mental and behavioral disorders among adolescents, who are a critically important demographic group for the stability of society, poses a significant public health problem in Ukraine. These disorders, often exacerbated by psychological deprivation arising from insufficient family and social support, often lead to social maladjustment and deviant behavior, including a sharp increase in early alcoholism. Purpose The purpose of this study was to improve psychocorrectional work among adolescents with deviant behavior. Novelty The novelty of this study lies in its comprehensive study of factors contributing to deviant behavior and alcoholism among specific vulnerable groups of adolescents (boarding school students and medical college students), as well as in providing empirical evidence of the effectiveness of a targeted psychocorrectional approach adapted to their complex psychosocial challenges. Methods Ninety adolescents aged 15-17 from boarding schools and a medical college were examined using complex clinical, psychopathological, experimental and psychological methods. Psychocorrectional interventions included rational psychotherapy and social training. Results The results revealed high levels of smoking and alcohol consumption among the study groups, which was often caused by a lack of parental supervision and a distorted perception of adult life, as well as significant adaptation difficulties, insecurity and anxiety. Biological factors (e.g., birth trauma, traumatic brain injury) and family factors (e.g., mental health problems of parents, addiction to psychoactive substances) were identified as key factors. After the intervention, positive results were observed with a noticeable decrease in harmful habits in both groups. Conclusions Deviant behavior of adolescents is the result of a complex interaction of internal pathogenic factors and adverse external circumstances. This highlights the urgent need for integrated prevention strategies, including moral and legal, anti-alcohol/anti-drug and comprehensive sexual education, to ensure the harmonious development and social adaptation of young people
Русіна et al. (Thu,) studied this question.