Ideas about the Characteristics of Responsibility in Adolescents

Abstract

Background. The problem of human responsibility arises in a situation of crisis, value and meaning changes in society. The study is focused on identifying ideas about significant criteria and self-assessments of responsible behaviour in middle adolescents. Objectives. The aim of the study is to analyze the concept of responsibility in teenagers. Study Design. The study was carried out in the format of a written survey: identifying the characteristics of a responsible person, self-assessments in terms of significant parameters of responsibility; additionally, information was collected on the participation of adolescents in social practices within the framework of an educational institution. Study Participants. Adolescents aged 13–15 (n = 118, of which 48% are men, 51.6% are women), students of secondary schools took part in the research. Methods. The method of associations and testing was used: 1) a story-reasoning on the topic “A responsible person is…”; 2) modification of the technique “Responsibility as a systemic quality of personality” (Pryadein, 2014); 3) self-assessment on a 7-point scale of responsibility in studies, family, friendship, hobbies and activities. Results. The parameters of responsibility highly rated by adolescents are “Willingness to be responsible for the consequences of one's actions”, “Devotion”, “Development of the ability to empathize, sensitivity to someone else's pain and joy”. Differences between gender groups in the empathy, diligence, initiative, the ability to independently formulate moral duties were revealed. Among the spheres of responsibility manifestation, adolescents rate the educational sphere low, which reflects the educational model of moral education with an emphasis on the transfer of knowledge, rather than on the moral practice. Conclusions. Adolescents' ideas about responsibility are shifted to the area of understanding what responsible behaviour is, rather than to the awareness of their own responsible actions, which shows the separation of the modern education system from life practice. It is important to study the manifestation of responsible behaviour in individual actions and group interaction in social practices.

Keywords

• adolescence
• socialization
• responsibility
• responsible behaviour
• areas of responsibility