Analysis of the socio-psychological adaptation of foreign students at medical universities in the Southern Federal District

Abstract

The article presents the results of a psychodiagnostic study of the socio-psychological adaptation of foreign students at medical schools in the Southern Federal District. Socio-psychological adaptation is a dynamic aspect of involving an individual's personality in a system of socially significant relationships, socio-psychological and professional-activity communications, in the implementation of the corresponding role functions. It has been established that medical students are exposed to many risk factors that violate the harmonious process of socio-psychological adaptation. Among the leading factors, the following are distinguished: the study of one of the most complex languages – Russian; differences in the cultural, communicative and linguistic characteristics of foreign students and residents of Russia; the risk of early emotional burnout during the acquisition of practical skills and intensive on the duration of classes in junior courses in a pandemic of new coronavirus infection. The study revealed that students in both samples have a normative level of socio-psychological adaptation, despite studying in different regions and in different languages (Volgograd State Medical University students study in English, ASMU students in French and Russian as a foreign language). At the same time, it was established that the most preferred strategies for behaviour in stressful situations in both groups are distance, positive reassessment, flight-avoidance and confrontation. The authors presented a statistical analysis of the data, which indicates that there are no statistically significant differences in the socio-psychological adaptation between the two samples for any of the tests performed. The results of this study can be used by the teaching staff, focused on the adaptation support of foreign students in medical universities, tutors and teachers of biomedical orientation for motivational and correctional activities of the pedagogical process. Also, these results will be useful for individual psychological correction of respondents with high maladaptation rates, low sociability indicators, and those who have problems with self-assessment of their capabilities.