TERRITORIAL LEVEL OF SUICIDAL ACTIVITY

Purpose. To investigate the nature of the population of the territorial units of the Grodno region and the prevalence of suicides in them. Material and methods. We used data from the 2009 population census of the Republic of Belarus and statistics on the number of suicides in the Grodno region in 2009. For data processing, the statistical software package «SPSS Statistics», «Microsoft Office Excel» (Analysis ToolPak), namely, parametric (calculation of average values, Student's t-test) and non-parametric statistical methods (Pearson's χ2-test) as well as correlation, clustering and analytical methods for studying formal mathematical models were used. Results. Suicide, predetermined by the possibility of it being committed by a person, is caused not only by intrapersonal conflict, but also by the presence of global definitions of suicide at the ethnocultural level. The established link between the suicide frequency and the “primary” ethnoculture at the territorial level indicates both the influence of the ethnocultural characteristics of the population on suicidal activity and the importance of measures in suicide prevention that need to be carried out at the level of local executive and administrative bodies with due attention to authentic interests of the population.