Vìsnik Dnìpropetrovsʹkogo Unìversitetu: Serìâ Psihologìâ (Apr 2016)

SYSTEMIC REFLECTION AS A PRECURSOR OF THE OPTIMAL FUNCTIONING OF ADOLESCENTS

  • A. H. Chetveryk-Burchak,
  • V. Y. Kuts

DOI
https://doi.org/10.15421/101610
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 22, no. 9/1

Abstract

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Background. In recent decades, positive psychologists have concentrated research efforts on the investigation of the precursors of optimal functioning of an individual, shifting the focus from repairing damage within disease model of functioning to enhancing the positive aspects. The present study sought to determine which dispositional private self-focused attention variables (systemic reflection, introspection, quasi-reflection) have the predictive power for subjective and eudaemonic forms of well-being and mental health of adolescents. Objectives. The main purpose of the current research is to study the relationships between different types of reflection and optimal functioning of the adolescents. Method. The sample consisted of 60 adolescents (32 male and 28 female) aged from 15 to 17 years. To answer the research questions the following data tools were chosen: “Differential type of reflection” (Leontiev et al.), “Emotional Creativity Inventory” (J.R. Averill), Adolescent “Mental Health Continuum – Short Form” (C. Keyes); “The Satisfaction with Life Scale” (Diener et al.); “Scales of psychological well-being” (C.D. Ryff); “PANAS” (Watson et al.). Results. The results demonstrated that systemic reflection was positively correlated with emotional creativity, psychological and subjective forms of well-being and mental health continuum of the adolescents. The multiple correlation-regression analysis yielded the most informative aspects of the reflection and emotional creativity predictive of the optimal functioning of an individual. They include: positive correlations with systemic reflection and all features of emotional creativity (novelty, effectiveness, authenticity), and negative with quasi-reflection. Conclusions. It was proved that systemic reflection was a statistically significant positive predictor for optimal functioning of the adolescents.

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