AGE-SPECIFIC CHARACTERISTICS OF STUDENTS’ ADAPTATION POTENTIAL IN THE CONTEXT OF A PANDEMIC

Abstract

The paper proves the relevance of studying the specific features of the adaptation potential of students of different ages under recurrent periods of forced distance learning during the second wave of the pandemic in October-December 2021. The study aims to investigate age-specific features of students’ adaptation potential in the context of distance education during the pandemic. The research objectives are to study the specific features of students’ adaptation potential, identify the structural elements of adaptation potential, and determine their relationships in students in different age groups. Materials and methods. Sixty seven students (aged 18 to 24) (Mean±SD = 20.7±1.8) took part in the surveys. Diagnostic material included vitality test by S. Muddy; the Young Schema Questionnaire “YSQ-S3R”; questionnaire “Ways of Coping Behavior” (WSQ) by Lazarus; and clinical questionnaire for the detection and evaluation of neurotic conditions (by K.K. Yakhin, and D.M. Mendelevich). Statistical data was processed using IBM SPSS Statistics 27. The methods of mathematical statistics employed in the research were Pearson’s correlation coefficient; parametric Student’s t-test, and Mann-Whitney U-test for independent samples. Research results. Correlation analysis has revealed the presence of strong inverse correlations between resilience and maladaptive schemas (“vulnerability” and “distrust”, “submission”, “failure”, “rigid standards”, “dependence/helplessness” and “defectiveness”), neurotic states and coping strategies. As a result, two opposite trends in adaptation to the pandemic have been identified for various age groups. The scales of Early Maladaptive Schemas (EMS) and coping strategies have shown numerous positive correlations, with the exception of the strategic decision planning, which has negative correlations with some schemas found in the sample. Conclusion. The EMS is viewed as a manifestation of psychological rigidity, which reduces the adaptive potential, whereas the absence of pronounced maladaptive schemas increases the adaptive potential. Thus, a conclusion can be made about the evolution of adaptive capabilities in an individual at different stages of the adolescence: with age, the indicators of resilience go up, whereas the EMS manifestations go down. At different ages, the adaptive potential is shaped through a variety of mechanisms: in early adolescence, psychological flexibility (ability to adapt) manifests itself in sensitization, i.e., increased sensitivity to environmental influences; at an older age, the tendency to neuroticism weakens, and the tendency to flexible cognitive attitudes and flexible behavioral responses to changing environmental conditions intensifies.