Extreme behavior: prerequisites for high risk of developing terminus syndrome (analytical literature review)

Extreme behavior: prerequisites for high risk of developing terminus syndrome (analytical literature review)

 

Authors

 

P. Cianconi

Department of Neurosciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Catholic University, Rome, Italy

 

https://doi.org/10.26617/1810-3111-2025-2(127)-131-142

 

Journal: Siberian Herald of Psychiatry and Addiction Psychiatry. 2025; 2 (127):  131-142.

 

Abstract

Background. The quantity of literature sources that define risky behavior as an increasingly important psychological problem of life priorities and values among adolescents and young people has increased recently. In this regard, of particular interest are the factors associated with high-risk behavior and potential threats to life safety, supported by explanatory video instructions posted for broadcasting in Internet chats. Objective: to study and analyze the trends in the loss of meaning in life and control over oneself, ignoring adverse consequences in situations of potentially fatal risk, denial of danger, a tendency to humiliating behavior towards others as challenges of modern society. Method. To collect literature data based on evolutionary theory, with comments on psychoactive substance users, seekers of abnormal mental experience in Internet portals, the following databases were used: Google Scholar, ResearchGate, Scopus, EMBASE, Cochrane Library. Results. The collection of information materials provided a wealth of factual data on behavioral patterns consistent with our proposed concept of terminal syndrome. It is obvious that the existence of a special tendency to self-destruction and exposing oneself and others to reckless and unreasonable risk and violence among adolescents and young people and the urgent need for psychocorrectional work should become one of the main tasks of practical work of psychiatrists and psychologists. Conclusion. Within the framework of the evolutionary development of the psyche and evolutionary psychological mechanisms, the following types of risky behavior are considered: violence, alcoholism, risky sexual behavior, self-harming behavior, body modification through piercing, tattoos, socially dangerous behavior, extreme selfies, harm to health, sensational message about suicide in Internet streams, debt obligations, extreme relief from suffering. These behavior patterns, based on senseless risk-taking and indifference to immediate or long-term consequences of threats and serious attempts at self-harm, are widespread among adolescents and young adults and are associated with their inherent personality and age characteristics: arrogance, the desire for self-affirmation and self-elevation above others, a tendency to risk and protest, emotional instability. In the context of the article, terminal syndrome is understood as final, preagonal, agonal, post-prognostic, extreme, culminating, terminative, limiting, concluding, last.

 

Keywords: teenagers, postmodernism, risky behavior, aggression, new cults, new/wrong/missing mythology, hacking, extreme body modification, postmodern identity, alcohol and drug use, extreme sports, abortion rights forums, online suicides and murders.

 

Article (pdf)

 

Contacts

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

Materials  

For citation: Cianconi P. Extreme behavior: prerequisites for high risk of developing terminus syndrome (analytical literature review).            Sibirskii Vestnik Psikhiatrii i Narkologii.2025; 2 (127): 131-142. https://doi.org/10.26617/1810-3111-2025-2(127)-131-142

 

REFERENCES

 

  1. Achtziger A, Hubert M, Kenning P, Raab G, Reisch L. Debt out of control: The links between self-control, compulsive buying, and real debts. J Econ Psychol. 2015 Aug; 49:141-149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2015.04.003.
  2. Alao AO, Soderberg M, Pohl EL, Alao AL. Cybersuicide: review of the role of the internet on suicide. Cyberpsychol Behav. 2006 Aug;9(4):489-93. https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2006.9.489. PMID: 16901252.
  3. Ashktorab Z, Golbeck J, Haber E, Vitak, J Beyond cyberbullying: Self-disclosure, harm and social support on ASKfm Proceedings of the 2017 ACM on Web Science Conference, WebSci 2017, Troy, NY, USA, June 25-28, 2017. https://doi.org/101145/30914783091499.
  4. Askew R. Functional fun: Legitimizing adult recreational drug use. Int J Drug Policy. 2016 Oct;36:112-19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2016.04.018.
  5. Avery AH, Rae L, Summitt JB, Kahn SA. The fire challenge: A case report and analysis of self-inflicted flame injury posted on social media. J Burn Care Res. 2016 Mar-Apr;37(2):e161-5. https://doi.org/10.1097/BCR.0000000000000324. PMID: 26862698.
  6. Barbieri S, Omizzolo L, Mazloum R, Previato S, Ravaioli C, Vettore G, Bergamini M, Snenghi R, Feltracco P. 919 New crazy game “Russian Biker Roulette.” Inj Prev.2016;22(Suppl 2), A327.2-A327. https://doi.org/10.1136/injuryprev-2016-042156.919.
  7. Barzilay S, Brunstein Klomek A, Apter A, Carli V, Wasserman C, Hadlaczky G, Hoven CW, Sarchiapone M, Balazs J, Kereszteny A, Brunner R, Kaess M, Bobes J, Saiz P, Cosman D, Haring C, Banzer R, Corcoran P, Kahn JP, Postuvan V, Podlogar T, Sisask M, Varnik A, Wasserman D. Bullying victimization and suicide ideation and behavior among adolescents in Europe: A 10-country study. J Adolesc Health. 2017 Aug;61(2):179-186. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.02.002. Epub 2017 Apr 5. PMID: 28391968.
  8. Gauthier JM, Witte TK, Correia CJ. Suicide ideation, alcohol consumption, motives, and related problems: Exploring the association in college students. Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2017 Apr;47(2):142-154. https://doi.org/10.1111/sltb.12269. Epub 2016 Jun 13. PMID: 27291684.
  9. Minkkinen J, Oksanen A, Kaakinen M, Keipi T, Räsänen P. Victimization and exposure to pro-self-harm and pro-suicide websites: A cross-national study. Suicide Life Threat Behav. 2017 Feb;47(1):14-26. https://doi.org/10.1111/sltb.12258. Epub 2016 Apr 20. PMID: 27094352.
  10. Behera C, Rautji R, Kumar R, Pooniya S, Sharma P, Gupta SK. Double hanging with single ligature: An unusual method in suicide pact. J Forensic Sci. 2017 Jan;62(1):265-266. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.13247. Epub 2016 Nov 11. PMID: 27861888.
  11. Branley DB, Covey J. Computers in human behavior is exposure to online content depicting risky behavior related to viewers’ own risky behavior of offline? Comput Human Behav.2017 Oct;75,283-287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.05.023.
  12. Fahey T. A Taste for the transgressive: Pushing body limits in contemporary performance art. M/C Journal. 2014;17(1). https://doi.org/10.5204/mcj.781.
  13. Boillot-Fansher AK. Risky dating behaviors in the technological age: consideration of a new pathway to victimization. Doctor of Philosophy (Criminal Justice), May, 2017, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas.
  14. Boles SM, Miotto K. Substance abuse and violence. Aggress Violent Behav. 2003;8(2):155-174. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1359-1789(01)00057-X.
  15. Borgia DN. Twilight: The glamorization of abuse, codependency, and white privilege. J Pop Cult. 2014;47(1):153-173. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5931.2011.00872.x.
  16. Borisov SN, Rimskiy VP, Ignatov MA, Ignatova VS. Ontology of freedom and anthropology of violence: To transhumanity criticism. Soc Sci. 2021;11(7):1107-12. https://doi.org/10.3923/sscience.2016.1107.1112.
  17. Bradley Munn SR, Michael K, Michael M. The social phenomenon of body-modifying in a world of technological change: past, present, future. 2016 IEEE Conference on Norbert Wiener in the 21st Century (21CW), Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 2016:1-6. https://doi.org/10.1109/NORBERT.2016.7547463.
  18. Ellis BJ, Del Giudice M, Dishion TJ, Figueredo AJ, Gray P, Griskevicius V, Hawley PH, Jacobs WJ, James J, Volk AA, Wilson DS. The evolutionary basis of risky adolescent behavior: implications for science, policy, and practice. Dev Psychol. 2012 May;48(3):598-623. doi: 10.1037/a0026220. Epub 2011 Nov 28. PMID: 22122473.
  19. Buckley K. The evolution of the vampire “other”: symbols from folklore to millennial literature. Honors Theses. 2016:504. https://doi.org/egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/504
  20. Burgess A, Miller V, Moore S. Prestige, performance and social pressure in viral challenge memes: Neknomination, the ice-bucket challenge and smear-for-smear as imitative encounters. Sociology, 2017;52(5):1035-1051.https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038516680312.
  21. Cianconi P, Tarricone I, Ventriglio A, De Rosa C, Fiorillo A, Saito T, Bhugra D. Psychopathology in postmodern societies. J Psychopathol. 2015;21:431-439. https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:152250019.
  22. Litwiller BJ, Brausch AM. Cyber bullying and physical bullying in adolescent suicide: the role of violent behavior and substance use. J Youth Adolesc. 2013 May;42(5):675-84. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-9925-5. Epub 2013 Feb 5. PMID: 23381779.
  23. Donnelly GE, Ksendzova M, Howell RT, Vohs KD, Baumeister RF. Buying to blunt negative feelings: Materialistic escape from the self. Rev Gen Psychol. 2016; 20(3):272-316. https://doi.org/10.1037/gpr0000078.
  24. Downing J, Bellis MA. Early pubertal onset and its relationship with sexual risk taking, substance use and anti-social behaviour: a preliminary cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health. 2009 Dec 3;9:446. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-9-446. PMID: 19958543; PMCID: PMC3091535.
  25. Duarte BN. Entangled agencies: New individual practices of human-technology hybridism through body hacking. NanoEthics. 2014;8(3):275-285. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11569-014-0204-z.
  26. Elliott S, Evans J. A 3-year review of new psychoactive substances in casework. Forensic Sci Int. 2014 Oct; 243:55-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2014.04.017. Epub 2014 Apr 16. PMID: 24810679.
  27. Le Garff E, Delannoy Y, Mesli V, Allorge D, Hédouin V, Tournel G. Cyanide suicide after deep web shopping: A case report. Am J Forensic Med Pathol. 2016 Sep; 37(3):194-7. https://doi.org/10.1097/PAF.0000000000000241. PMID: 27367575.
  28. Gini G, Espelage DL. Peer victimization, cyberbullying, and suicide risk in children and adolescents. JAMA. 2014 Aug 6;312(5):545-6. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2014.3212. PMID: 25096695.
  29. Glenn CR, Klonsky ED. Social context during non-suicidal self-injury indicates suicide risk. Pers Individ Dif. 2009;46(1):25-29.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2008.08.020.
  30. Haim M, Arendt F, Scherr, S. Abyss or shelter? On the relevance of web search engines’ search results when people Google for suicide. J Health Commun.2017;32(2): 253-258.https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2015.1113484.
  31. Hamada S, Kaneko H, Ogura M, Yamawaki A, Maezono J, Sillanmäki L, Sourander A, Honjo S. Association between bullying behavior, perceived school safety, and self-cutting: a Japanese population-based school survey. Child Adolesc Ment Health. 2018 Sep;23(3):141-147. https://doi.org/10.1111/camh.12200. PMID: 32677287.
  32. Hicinbothem J, Gonsalves S, Lester D. Body modification and suicidal behavior. Death Stud. 2006 May;30(4):351-63. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481180600553419. PMID: 16572532.
  33. Godawa B. Avatar: A postmodern pagan myth. Christian Research Journal. 2010 Apr;33(2).
  34. Sampsel K, Godbout J, Leach T, Taljaard M, Calder L. Characteristics associated with sexual assaults at mass gatherings. Emerg Med J. 2016 Feb;33(2):139-43. https://doi.org/10.1136/emermed-2015-204689. PMID: 26315648; PMCID: PMC4752638.
  35. Karamanou M, Papaioannou TG, Soulis D, Tousoulis D. Engineering 'posthumans': To be or not to be? Trends Biotechnol. 2017 Aug;35(8):677-679. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2017.04.011. Epub 2017 May 15. PMID: 28522218.
  36. Kelly BC, Wells BE, Pawson M, Leclair A, Parsons JT, Golub SA. Novel psychoactive drug use among younger adults involved in US nightlife scenes. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2013 Nov;32(6):588-93. https://doi.org/10.1111/dar.12058. Epub 2013 Jun 24. PMID: 23795887; PMCID: PMC3833082.
  37. Kniazeva M, Belk RW. Supermarkets as libraries of postmodern mythology. J Bus Res. 2010;63:748-753. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2009.05.012.
  38. Kucharski AJ. Modelling the transmission dynamics of online social contagion. Computer Science. 2016Jan. https://doi.org/10.48550|arXiv.1602/00248.
  39. Kyriacou C, Zuin A. Cyberbullying of teachers by students on YouTube: challenging the image of teacher authority in the digital age. Res Pap Educ. 2015;31(3): 255-273. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2015.1037337.
  40. Linkletter M, Gordon K, Dooley J. The choking game and YouTube: a dangerous combination. Clin Pediatr (Phila). 2010 Mar;49(3):274-9. https://doi.org/10.1177/0009922809339203. Epub 2009 Jul 13. PMID: 19596864.
  41. Masarykova univerzita v Brně. Fakulta sociálních studií. Cyberpsychology, 2007. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace. Vol. 10. [Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University]. https://cyberpsychology.eu/article/view/6170/5899.
  42. Medrano JLJ, Lopez Rosales F, Gámez-Guadix M. Assessing the links of sexting, cybervictimization, depression, and suicidal ideation among university students. Arch Suicide Res. 2018 Jan-Mar;22(1):153-164. https://doi.org/10.1080/13811118.2017.1304304. Epub 2017 Apr 7. PMID: 28287925.
  43. Mok K, Ross AM, Jorm AF, Pirkis J. An analysis of the content and availability of information on suicide methods online. JConsum Health Internet. 2016;20(1-2):41-51. https://doi.org/10.1080/15398285.2016.1167579.
  44. Müller A, Mitchell JE, de Zwaan M. Compulsive buying. Am J Addict. 2015 Mar;24(2):132-137. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajad.12111. PMID: 25864601.
  45. Stevens R, Bonett S, Kenyatta K, Chittamuru D, Bleakley A. Sex, drugs, and alcohol in the digital neighborhood: A multi-method analysis of online discourse amongst Black and Hispanic Youth. Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. 2019. https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:102353634.
  46. Nathanson C, Paulhus DL, Williams KM. Personality and misconduct correlates of body modification and other cultural deviance markers. J Res Pers. 2006; 40(5):779-802. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2005.09.002.
  47. Netolicky DM. Cyborgs, desiring-machines, bodies without organs, and Westworld: Interrogating academic writing and scholarly identity Int J Pure Communication Inquiry. 2017;5(1):91-103. https://doi.org/10.17646/KOME.2017.16.
  48. Palamar JJ, Su MK, Hoffman RS. Characteristics of novel psychoactive substance exposures reported to New York City Poison Center, 2011-2014. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2016;42(1):39-47. https://doi.org/10.3109/00952990.2015.1106551. Epub 2015 Dec 17. PMID: 26678258; PMCID: PMC4767576.
  49. Pater J, Mynatt E. Defining digital self-harm. CSCW '17: Proceedings of the 2017 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing. Association for Computing Machinery New York,2017:1501-1513. https://doi.org/10.1145/2998181.299822.
  50. Porpora DV. Dehumanization in theory: anti-humanism, non-humanism, post-humanism, and trans-humanism. JCrit Realism. 2017);16(4):353-367. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767430.2017.1340010.
  51. Primack BA, Colditz JB, Pang KC, Jackson KM. Portrayal of alcohol intoxication on YouTube. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2015 Mar;39(3):496-503. https://doi.org/10.1111/acer.12640. Epub 2015 Feb 20. PMID: 25703135; PMCID: PMC4510943.
  52. Roberts JA, Tsang J-A, Manolis C. Looking for happiness in all the wrong places: The moderating role of gratitude and affect in the materialism-life satisfaction relationship. J Posit Psychol. 2015;10(6):489-498. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2015.1004553.
  53. Santacroce R, Martinotti G, di Giannantonio M. The light at the end of the tunnel is a train: Risky behaviours in the era of social networks. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2017 Aug; 63(5):468-469. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764017709301. Epub 2017 May 25. PMID: 28545318.
  54. Solana EP. Transumanesimo e postumano: principi teorici e implicazioni bioetiche. Medicina e Morale. 2009;58(2):267-282. https://doi.org/10.4081/mem.2009.253.
  55. Duct tape challenge. By Storybird. Butt chugging, vampire biting ‒ is your kid taking a crazy risk? There’s Nothing Like a Mother Daughter Relationship, 2016.
  56. JudgeA. Cyborgs, Legaborgs, Finaborgs, Mediborgs: Meet the extraterrestrials ‒ them is us. 2013, March.
  57. Vento AE, Martinotti G, Cinosi E, Lupi M, Acciavatti T, Carrus D, Santacroce R, Chillemi E, Bonifaci L, di Giannantonio M, Corazza O, Schifano F. Substance use in the club scene of Rome: a pilot study. Biomed Res Int. 2014;2014:617546. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/617546. Epub 2014 Aug 28. PMID: 25243163; PMCID: PMC4163412.
  58. Wessel A, Kasten E. Body piercing and self-mutilation: A multifaceted relationship. Am J Appl Psychol. 2014; 3(3):104-109. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20140304.14.
  59. Wilson R. Avenues of concern in the rise of enhancement technology: Is a transhumanist and posthumanist future really better? Religious Studies Review. 2017;43(2):109-115. https://doi.org/10.1111/rsr.12898.
  60. Wombacher K, Reno JE, Veil SR. NekNominate: social norms, social media, and binge drinking. Health Commun. 2017 May;32(5):596-602. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2016.1146567. Epub 2016 Jun 22. PMID: 27331576.
  61. Zolfagharian, M, Yazdanparast A. The dark side of consumer life in the age of virtual and mobile technology. JMark Manag. 2017;33(15–16):1304-1335. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2017.1369143.