A Phenomenological-Structural Approach to Suicide in Adolescence
Between Structural Vulnerability and Clinical Possibility
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37067/rpfc.v15i2.1327Palabras clave:
Adolescence, Suicide, Phenomenological-structural psychopathology, Embodiment, Intersubjectivity, Digital contextResumen
Suicide in adolescence is often approached through epidemiological risk factors or diagnostic categories, yet these perspectives frequently fail to account for why this life stage is marked by such intense vulnerability to existential suffering. This article argues that adolescence constitutes a singular condition of risk not primarily because of external factors, but because it involves a radical reorganization of the basic conditions of subjective experience. Drawing on a phenomenological-structural framework, the paper examines how the profound reconfiguration of temporality, spatiality, embodiment, and intersubjectivity during adolescence creates a terrain in which suicidal ideation may emerge as a response to overwhelming instability rather than as a discrete pathological symptom.
The analysis shows that the adolescent experience is characterized by an excessive openness to the future, a destabilization of embodied self-experience, an abrupt expansion of social and symbolic space, and a shift from vertical to horizontal forms of intersubjective support centered on peers. These structural transformations are further intensified in contemporary digital contexts, where fragile bonds, collective narratives, and online exposure amplify both contagion and vulnerability, as illustrated by the Werther and Papageno effects.
Clinically, the article proposes that effective intervention requires more than risk management or symptom reduction. While pharmacological measures may reduce acute danger, therapeutic work must primarily aim to restore temporal movement and biographical continuity through singular intersubjective engagement. By reframing adolescent suicide as an expression of structural vulnerability rather than mere pathology, this phenomenological-structural approach offers a conceptual and clinical framework capable of integrating individual suffering, social context, and therapeutic responsibility
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Esta obra está bajo una licencia internacional Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial 4.0.
Los autores conservan los derechos de autor sin restricciones y deben indicar la publicación inicial en esta revista en caso de cualquier publicación posterior de su trabajo.
