Countering Children's Depression as an Aspect of Social and Spiritual Security of Modern Society

Abstract

The chapter examines the peculiarities of the problem of depression among school children in the context of ensuring social and spiritual security. The chapter describes the problem of depression and its most negative consequence, suicide, and the reasons that push children to these social actions, among which the authors have identified the following: the social hierarchy of postmodern society, apathy and indifference of parents, the activities of religious cults and “death groups.” The activities of death groups are one of the main causes that lead to a violation of social security and have an impact on the younger generation, committing children to suicide. The mechanism of work of such groups, basic techniques, and mechanisms of their work are described. The authors conduct a sociological study in local secondary schools located in the Don region to identify the level of depression among school children. The authors propose a number of educational innovations and other methods aimed at identifying and preventing depression in the younger generation.