Использование метода семантического дифференциала в исследовании представлений юношей и девушек о семье

Abstract

The article describes the experience of using a modified version of the semantic differential method in researching later adolescents’ images of their parental and a future of their own. Our research conducted in 2013–14 covered 205 students (61 men and 144 women) from higher and secondary professional institutions, aged from 17 to 24, 108 of whom were ethnic Russians (52.7%) and 97 Ossetians (47.3%) (Moscow, Vladikavkaz, Alagir). For the major research methodology, we chose the modified version of the semantic differential method (E. Yu. Artemyeva, V. F. Petrenko). The method of data analysis has been suggested by O. V. Almazova. As it proved out, students’ estimates of the image of their future marital were significantly more positive than those of the parental family. The ideas of parental and future marital have been found to possess significant gender and cultural differences. Women are more likely to use emotional characteristics, such as warm and soft. Men more often use characteristics traditionally viewed as masculine, such as strong. Gender distinctions in the ideas of future marital led to more positive estimates being given by women rather than men. We have revealed both invariant and culture-specific features of both types of images as developed by Russian and Ossetian students. Common for both groups was the similarity of semantic profiles of the images and higher average estimates of my future marital family than “our family (parental). Distinctions between the two groups manifested themselves in the fact that Russian students are more focused on modern-type cultural values, and Ossetian students — on the values of the traditional type of culture (according to J. Townsend).