Lifestyles of Modern Student Youth

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problem of modern youth lifestyle constructing which is actual and deals with active transformations taking place in the socio-cultural space of Ukraine. The main construct which is the theoretical basis of the study is “lifestyle” as an integral characteristic of individuality which is considered in A. Adler’s approach. Lifestyle is understood as a multidimensional phenomenon that unites different levels and aspects of personality development: early personality’s experience, level of personality’s maturity, features of personality’s emotional traits, stable interpretations of the world, features of social interaction and relationships’ maintaining. The aim of the work was to find out typical patterns of lifestyle constructing by modern student youth. The empirical research was carried out on a student sample (21-27 years old) of both sexes; the total number of the studied people was 195. The method of early memories’ analysis and its quantitative assessment by the parameters of social interest, life position questionnaire, self-assessment of personality’s maturity, method of diagnosis of personality’s maturity, world assumptions scale, diagnosing of interpersonal relationships’ style, differential emotions scale were used in the investigation. Result in six typical models lifestyles constructing were identified: "Avoidance of contact", "Superiority Complex", "Assertiveness", "Mimetism", "Maturity", "Interpersonal dependence". The revealed styles can be presented as a model with three dimensions: "orientation from people – to people" ("Avoidance of contact" and "Interpersonal dependence"); " external orientation – internal orientation "("Mimetism" and "Maturity"); “Self-grandiosity – healthy self-esteem” (“Superiority Complex” and “Assertiveness”). The article reveals the content of each style, provides data on gender differences and the main trends in the life structuring at modern youth space. It has been shown that young women are characterized by a greater tendency to imitate external norms and behavior patterns, which makes them vulnerable to social influences, especially in crisis periods during their life. Modern young men experience difficulties in assimilating masculinity, which leads to models of codependency assimilation in relations with a close social environment and fixes the personality in an immature life position. The revealed patterns do not cover all possible diversity, but determine the main trends in the life structuring in the modern youth space.