SPECIFICS OF COPING STRATEGIES OF STUDENTS WITH DIFFERENT KINDS OF LOCUS OF CONTROL

Abstract

Background. The article examines the results of studying coping strategies of students taking into account their subjective locus of control. The introduction includes a detailed description of the concepts of coping behavior and coping strategies, as well as an analysis of the factors influencing the variety of coping strategies. The authors conclude that locus of control, being one of personalized resources of coping behavior, is a promising research area. The scientific novelty of the article is the establishment of connection between the area of locus of control and the level of constructiveness of coping strategies among students. Purpose. The authors advert to this issue in order to determine the influence of locus of control on the level of adaptability of behavioral strategies. Materials and methods. For solving the research tasks, the authors used a complex of theoretical and empirical methods, including the analysis of psychological and pedagogical literature, comparison, systematization, concretizing, summarizing pedagogical experience, questioning, testing, and pedagogical experiment. The instruments of diagnostics included the method of diagnosing locus of control (by E.F. Zeer, G.A. Karpova), method of diagnosing coping mechanisms by E. Heim, adapted by L.I. Vasserman, and the method of diagnosing the level of subjective control (by J. Rotter). Results. The main part of the article describes the results of diagnostics of students’ locus of control. Moreover, the authors reveal the correlation of internal and external locus of control with coping strategies, taking into account their adaptability and areas of mental activity (cognitive, emotional and behavioral). The research consisted of 3 stages: differentiation, correlation and specification, while each stage included different instruments of diagnostics. In conclusion, the authors prove the necessity of developing and introducing a program for increasing the level of general internality of students in the process of formal and informal educational activity.

Keywords

• coping behavior
• coping strategies
• locus of control
• students