Makukh O. Peculiarities of Primary School Pupils' Marginal Mental Disorders in the Course of Studies.

The thesis presents a versatile research of the theoretical and experimental problems of the marginal mental disorders and their effect on primary pupils and adolescents' activities. Considerable space is devoted to a detailed critical exposition of the various existing theories of "marginal conditions" and concepts of the physiology of primary school pupils with special stress on the research. The results of a study of the young pupils' condition and their mental disorders are indicative of the fact that the mental health worsened among the mentioned category during their primary adaptability to new conditions of life. Doubtless, junior pupils and adolescents' neuroses represent a variety of psychiatric conditions in which emotional distress or unconscious conflict is expressed through various physical, physiological, and mental disturbances, which may include physical symptoms (e.g., hysteria). The definitive symptoms are anxiety, sadness or depression, anger expression in children and adolescents, irritability, mental confusion, low sense of self-worth, etc., behavioral symptoms such as phobic avoidance, vigilance, impulsive and compulsive acts. The author emphasizes that pupils' marginal mental disorders are stipulated by dependency, aggressiveness, and socio-culturally inappropriate behaviors. The author describes physiological, affective, and cognitive mechanisms by which didactic and discovery methods appear to work, as revealed by research. It should be articulated that the optimal instructional method depends on the instructional objective, the educator's skills, and the nature of the students.