Vìsnik Dnìpropetrovsʹkogo Unìversitetu: Serìâ Psihologìâ (Mar 2016)
THE RELATION OF ADOLESCENTS’ SOVEREIGNTY OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SPACE WITH COPING STRATEGIES AND INTRAPERSONAL CONFLICTS
Abstract
Background. Every person within his or her lifetime forms a kind of psychological space which includes one’s body, territory, social relations, habits, belongings, and values. Breaking one’s personal autonomy by others may be viewed aggressively and hostilely. But this is with opposition to the surrounding when one determines and protects the borders of his or her space. The objective of this study is to reveal a possible relation of adolescents’ personal space with the type of coping strategies they choose and intrapersonal conflicts they may experience. Method. The relation between psychological space, coping behavior and intraper-sonal conflicts was assessed by strategy of finding differences between non-equivalent groups (φ*-Fischer coefficient) using the following psycho-diagnostic instruments: «The sovereignty of psychological space» (Nartova-Bochaver, 2004), «The level of interrelation of a value and its accessibility in different life spheres» (Fantalova, 1996), Coping Styles Questionnaire adapted by T.L. Krukova (Krukova, 2007; Lazarus & Folkman, 1988). Sample: 40 research participants (20 male and 20 female), aged from 18 to 24. Results. Adolescents with healthy personal borders tend to choose social support (φ*=1.71за p<.05) and planning (φ*=1.43 за p<.08) as coping strategies more often while teenagers with either rigid or drained psychological borders prefer escape (φ*=1.65 за p<.05) and are characterized by experiencing intrapersonal conflicts (φ*=1.78 за p<.04 and φ*=2.06 за p<.02). Conclusion. Groups of adolescents with healthy and either rigid or drained personal borders appeared to differ in coping strategies they choose and intrapersonal conflicts they experience. Further research is desirable to test the cross-age consistency of the discovered effect.
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