Psychotherapy Targets for Neurotic Disorders in Adolescents

Introduction. The issue of neurotic disorders in childhood and adolescence remains one of the most debated topics today, as there is no unified perspective on neurotic pathogenesis. This is primarily due to an insufficient understanding of the psychosocial factors underlying its mechanisms. A deeper understanding of parent–child relationships in adolescents with neurotic disorders makes it possible not only to identify targets for psychotherapeutic intervention but also to monitor treatment dynamics in clinical practice. Objective. To identify the targets for further psychotherapeutic work with adolescents with neurotic disorders, based on an assessment of their parent-child relationships and quality of life. Material and methods. The study involved 80 male respondents of middle adolescence (aged 14 to 16 years). The main group consisted of 40 adolescents with neurotic disorders, and the control group included 40 healthy adolescents. In accordance with the research objectives and the characteristics of the variables analyzed, the normality of the data distribution was tested using the KolmogorovSmirnov test. A comparative analysis of the empirical data was performed using the Mann-Whitney U test. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was applied to identify correlational relationships. Results and their analysis. The study examined the quality of life indicators of adolescents with neurotic disorders included an analysis of parent-child relationships. The results showed that adolescents with neurotic manifestations are characterized by reduced social and psychophysiological activity. Most often, however, this is associated with the activation of destructive psychological defenses in response to maternal expectations and demands. This defensive position, on the one hand, reduces tension in the mother-son relationship, but on the other hand, it triggers the development of somatic symptoms. Conclusion. The study results revealed that mothers of adolescents with neurotic disorders employ destructive parenting strategies. A directive and hostile maternal parenting strategy provokes the activation of regressive psychological defense mechanisms, such as “withdrawal into illness”. In contrast, an unstable strategy, constantly fluctuating between love and trust to alienation and cruelty, leads to psychosocial dissonance, which results in neurotic disorders and the onset of deviant behavior.