Emotional and personal well-being of students: dynamic assessment in the conditions of unstable external environment

Abstract

Introduction. The socio-political conditions of the last decade have provided the “digital natives” with greater opportunities to unleash their potential. However, the ongoing changes in today’s BANI world pose challenges to their constructive attitude towards the reality, leading to continual psycho-emotional strain. This tells negatively on their sense of well-being, life satisfaction and activity in significant areas. The lack of harmony between the internal and external world, along with the instability of social systems, can provoke a person’s emotional/personal ill-being. The volatility of external environment associated with the pandemic and the special military operation underlay the article’s purpose of identifying the dynamics of change in assessing the existing situation in the country and the world as affecting the emotional and personal well-being (EPW) of students. Materials and methods. The target audience was represented by 152 full-time students of Tomsk Polytechnic University aged 18-21. The data collection took place in September 2021 – July 2022. The used materials included the authors’ questionnaire “Students’ view of emotional and personal well-being”; the emotional and personal well-being model by L.V. Karapetyan; Spielberger-Khanin anxiety test. Results. The comparative data analysis showed that the content of EPW concept and the factors influencing its level are changeable. There is a registered shift in the emphasis from “inner confidence” to “inner peace”, complemented by the context of “tranquility in the country/the world”. The trigger situations in the external environment are reflected in the respondents’ emotional reaction and have a significant impact on perception and experience of well-being, assessment of life quality and satisfaction. They provoked a 28% increase in situational anxiety. An increase in the share of young people who are at risk in terms of personal anxiety is registered. A highly significant statistically negative relationship was found between the EPW level and the level of situational anxiety (r=-0.224; p≤0.01), along with the statistically significant negative relationship between the EPW level and the level of personality anxiety (r=-0.360; p≤0.05). Conclusion. The comparative analysis of the 2021 and 2022 results showed an increase in situational anxiety. The political situation in the country and in the world proved to be the key factor. The identified correlation between the EPW level and the levels of personal and situational anxiety confirmed the hypothesis that the lower the (personal and situational) level of anxiety, the higher the EPW level of young people.