Meaning formations of the personality of high school students living in various conditions of the new Russian reality

Abstract

Introduction. Meaning formations are the main constitutive characteristics of a personality in early adolescence; they determine the dominant tendencies of its development, activity, attitude towards the world, other people and oneself. Today, the issue of meaning formations in young people in various socio-economic and cultural-historical conditions is becoming urgent. The research aims to analyze certain types and properties of meaning formations (meaningful orientations in life, personal meanings, meaning of life) of Altai and Lugansk schoolchildren. Research methods. The study was carried out within the project of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the Ministry of Education and the Russian Movement of Children and Youth ‘University Shifts’. The sample consisted of 320 people studying in Grades 10-11 (secondary school) in Altai Krai and Lugansk People's Republic. Life meaning orientations, types and properties of life meanings, and a life meaning crisis were diagnosed. The following methods were used: ‘Test of Life Meaning Orientations’ by D. A. Leontyev, ‘System of Life Meanings’ by V. Yu. Kotlyakov, ‘Questionnaire of Life Meaning Crisis’ by K. V. Karpinsky, and questionnaire ‘On the Meaning of Life’ by V. E. Chudnovsky. Methods of mathematical and statistical analysis were Mann-Whitney U test for two independent samples, Spearman's correlation, and multiple regression analysis. Research results. The lack of meaningfulness of life among Altai (19%) and Lugansk (49%) high school students is associated with weak temporal localization of meanings in relation to the future and present, and with insufficient internal localization of control (21% and 2%). The past primarily acts as a source of meaning generation. The lack of harmony in meaning formations is expressed in a meaning crisis in high school students of both research groups of a moderate (33% and 36%) and high degree (44% and 45%). The meaning formations of the personality of Altai high school students are characterized by the dominance of existential (38%) and hedonistic meanings (35%) with a relatively even distribution of types of meanings according to their orientation. For Lugansk schoolchildren, the leading ones were status meanings (39%), communicative meanings (34%) and self-realization meanings (32%). According to the orientation criterion, egocentric meanings dominate (57%). Conclusion. Specific properties of semantic formations (localization, harmony, and hierarchy) among Altai and Lugansk high school students were revealed, and differences were found in the hierarchical structure of life meanings and in predictors of meaningfulness of life and life meaning crisis. The results of the study can help organize psychological and pedagogical support for high school students experiencing life changes.