Abstract
The purpose of the research is to determine the specific features of children’s mental development in puberty and the specifics of the development of destructive attitudes in them. The theoretical and methodological foundation of the scientific research was a combination of qualitative methods of structural and functional analysis of the problem of providing psychological help to pupils, an analytical approach to exploring the specific features of the development of autodestructive behavior in adolescents. The practical value of the obtained results consists in the possibility to use the highlighted approach early diagnosis and targeted psychological support to schoolchildren.