Cosa Salverà gli Uomini dal Suicidio? – Parte VI

Photo by Noah Silliman on Unsplash

Abbandono Scolastico Maschile e Suicidio

Pressioni Sociali a Ottenere Buone Performance Scolastiche e Suicidio

Secondo Gunnell e colleghi (2011):

“Scarsi risultati scolastici […] sono associati a un aumento del rischio di suicidio nei maschi […] Abbiamo scoperto che il rendimento scolastico all’età di 16 e 18/19 anni era fortemente inversamente associato al rischio di suicidio nei maschi, ma non nelle femmine. Tra i maschi c’era un rischio quattro volte superiore tra coloro che avevano il 20% più basso dei voti scolastici all’età di 16 anni rispetto a quelli con il 20% più alto. […]

Un buon rendimento nella scuola secondaria (16 anni) e in quella secondaria superiore (18 anni) è associato a un rischio ridotto di suicidio negli uomini, ma non nelle donne”.

Abbandoni Scolastici

Considerato il maggior rischio suicidario per i maschi nell’ottenere buone performance scolastiche, dovremmo preoccuparci vedendo che i ragazzi hanno un tasso di abbandono scolastico significativamente maggiore delle ragazze in quasi tutto il globo.

Infatti in tutti i Paesi OCSE, tranne sei, una percentuale maggiore di ragazzi rispetto alle ragazze non raggiunge il livello base di competenza in nessuna delle materie fondamentali: matematica, lettura e scienze (OECD, 2015).

Negli Stati Uniti, ad esempio, la percentuale media di studenti che non raggiungono il livello base di competenza è del 71% più alta per i ragazzi che per le ragazze.

Nella maggior parte dei Paesi OCSE, inoltre, i ragazzi abbandonano la scuola superiore a tassi più elevati rispetto alle ragazze.

Nell’istruzione superiore, le femmine hanno superato il tasso di laurea dei maschi in quasi tutti i Paesi OCSE, in media di 14 punti percentuali (OECD, 2016).

Numerosi studi hanno suggerito diverse strategie per superare questi ostacoli, come: un maggiore coinvolgimento nelle attività fisiche e ginnastiche per i maschi; un apprendimento collaborativo piuttosto che lezioni frontali; una maggiore presenza di insegnanti uomini che fungano da modelli per rispecchiarsi da parte dei ragazzi maschi (in un’area, quella dell’insegnamento, dominata da maestre donne).

Oltre a questi suggerimenti, però, alcuni studi mostrano la presenza di una discriminazione di genere. Secondo Cappelen et al. (2019), infatti, la percezione che le femmine siano svantaggiate potrebbe indurre le persone a dedurre che i maschi con basse prestazioni si siano impegnati meno delle femmine con basse prestazioni.Questo farebbe sì che, a parità di risultato, i bambini e ragazzi maschi ricevano voti peggiori rispetto alle bambine e alle ragazze femmine, contribuendo al dropout maschile.

Questo meccanismo viene chiamato la “crisi dei ragazzi” (boy’s crisis), richiamando l’attenzione sull’esistenza di un pregiudizio di genere nei confronti dei maschi con basse prestazioni (Autor & Wasserman, 2013).

Sia nel sistema educativo che sul posto di lavoro, la percezione che i maschi siano avvantaggiati può portarci a interpretare un maschio che fallisce, più di una femmina che fallisce, come una persona che non si è impegnata a sufficienza, e quindi potrebbe farci trovare giusto che vengano stanziate meno risorse, minori sforzi e meno energie per assisterlo.

Questa idea potrebbe portare le insegnanti e la società a ritenere che, a parità di situazione, se i maschi abbandonano la scuola, sia perché non si sforzano, aiutandoli dunque di meno; mentre potrebbero aiutare maggiormente le femmine a non abbandonarla, perché le vedrebbero maggiormente come vittime di discriminazioni esterne piuttosto che come ragazzine svogliate o pigre (come invece considerano i maschi).

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