LIFE SENSE ORIENTATION AND SELF-REGULATION AS PSYCHOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF CONSTRUCTIVE COPING IN ADOLESCENCE

Abstract

Background. The crisis state of the modern world and due to it — the increased level of stress threatening to the psychological and physical health of people make the problem of identifying the psychological factors of coping with stress especially urgent. Young people are among the most psychologically vulnerable social groups in times of crisis, as evidenced by research conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Life sense orientations and conscious self-regulation are considered as personality factors associated with constructive coping with stress. Objective. The study had its purpose to investigate the role of self-regulation and life sense orientations in coping with stress in adolescence. Methods. The study implemented the following methods: Crumbaugh and Maholic's “Purpose-in-Life Test” (PIL) adapted by D. Leontyev, Morosanova’s Self-Regulation Profile Questionnaire (SRPQM), WSQ adapted by T.L. Kryukova, E.V. Kuftyak, COPE Stress Coping Inventory adapted by E.I. Rasskazova, T.O. Gordeeva, E.N. Osin. Mathematical and statistical data processing was carried out in Excel program by means of correlation analysis. Sample. The study involved university students in St. Petersburg aged 18 to 23 years (N = 60, 50% of girls). Results. Correlation analysis of the data obtained demonstrated that life meaningfulness is positively correlated with active coping (r = 0.440, p < 0.01), problem solving (r = 0.333, p < 0.01), social distraction (r = 0.357, p < 0.01) and negatively correlated with behavioral avoidance of the problem (r = –0.442, p < 0.01) and emotion-oriented coping (r = –0.500, p < 0.01). Self-regulation level is positively correlated with problem solving (r = 0.606, p < 0.01), planning (r = 0.510, p < 0.01), active coping (r = 0.369, p < 0.01), inhibition of competing activity (r = 0.334, p < 0.01). Conclusions. The study revealed that in adolescence, constructive ways of coping with stress correspond to high rates of meaningfulness of life and self-regulation. Young people who have a higher level of life meaningfulness and a higher general level of conscious self-regulation are less likely to give up their goals when faced with difficult life circumstances. On the contrary, their purposeful activity is aimed at finding an optimal solution to the problem. The data obtained empirically confirm the important role of life meaningfulness and self-regulation in constructive coping with stress. Analysis of the relationship of these psychological factors with coping strategies gives reason to conclude that while self-regulation allows to mobilize one’s resources for a quick and effective solution to the problem, meaningfulness of life helps to cope with long and intractable situations that require the preservation of physical and mental resources for a long time.

Keywords

• life sense orientation
• conscious self-regulation
• coping
• stress
• adolescence
• students