Alienation and the search for the meaning of life: psychological portrait of a modern teenager

Abstract

Introduction. The problem of alienation in adolescence is relevant because it can lead to serious consequences such as mental health problems, social isolation and a negative impact on future relationships, so its solution is an important task for psychologists and society as a whole. The purpose of the study is to study the psychological alienation and meaningfulness of the life of adolescents. Materials and methods. The study of the psychological alienation of adolescents in the aspect of the meaningfulness of life was carried out on the basis of a comprehensive school in the city of Yekaterinburg. It was attended by 120 teenage students of the ninth grade (68 boys, 52 girls), the average age is 15 years. The following methods were used in the study: "Test for alienation" (method of subjective feeling of alienation by D. Russell and M. Ferguson); “Test of life-meaning orientations” (method of D. A. Leontiev’s SJO); Subjective assessment of interpersonal relations (S.V. Dukhnovsky). Statistical methods of data processing: methods of descriptive statistics; Mann-Whitney U-test, Kruskal-Wallis H-test, Spearman's rank correlation test, SPSS Statistics 22.0 software package. Research results. The descriptive analysis made it possible to identify the problem areas of the study, they were a high level of alienation in 28.6% in the male and 15.6% in the female groups of adolescents. The lack of formation of meaningful life orientations in more than 28.60% in the male and 15.6% in the female groups, adolescents' dissatisfaction with the nature of interpersonal relations on the scales "Tension of relations", "Alienation in relations", "Conflict in relations" and "Aggression in relations" are expressed in 15.6%, most likely this is due to a high level of alienation. According to the results of a comparative analysis, a tendency to difference was found in the male and female groups of adolescents. Differences were found on the following scales: "Alienation in relationships" (p<0,1), "Conflict in relationships" (p<0,1), "Aggression in relationships" (p<0,1). The indicators are higher in the male group of adolescents; young men are characterized by a lack of trust, understanding, and intimacy. They are cautious about establishing close relationships and choosing those with whom they build deeper emotional bonds, and they tend to maintain control. This may be due to age characteristics, the conditions of upbringing, the unformed culture in interpersonal relations (competition) between boys. Conclusion. Addressing the problem of alienation requires a comprehensive approach and cooperation from parents, schools and other institutions that interact with adolescents. It is important to create a favorable social environment in which adolescents can develop social skills, find like-minded people and receive the necessary support and understanding.