PERSONAL EVALUATION OF LIFE SITUATIONS AS UNCERTAIN ONES IN VARIOUS LIFE AREAS

Abstract

The paper analyses various approaches to the issues of uncertainty as a personal evaluation of different life situations. An evaluation by an individual of the complexity of his/her life situation in general does not correspond to his/her evaluations of life situations in specific life areas. The article determines that the most problematic life areas for an individual are “socio-economic”, “professional” and “own health”. A person’s life satisfaction depends on perception of own life situation as uncertain. Dissatisfaction does not define a situation as uncertain, but any uncertainty causes the dissatisfaction. The article notes that a situation demanding decision-making is the main condition for uncertainty; this is observed especially often in the professional and family spheres, and the least often in the everyday life. Men more often describe a situation as uncertain than women concerning the most life areas. However, men estimate the degree of uncertainty for their life situations far lower than women. The most problematic areas for men are (in decreasing difference with women): the family, personal health and personal-intimate areas, while those for women are everyday life and the socio-economic area. The professional sphere is equally problematic for both genders. Despite these quantitative differences, the structural component, showing the ranks of the life areas as for abundance of problems in them, is almost the same for men and women. That is why there are no gender differences in the structure of uncertain life situations. There are significant age differences as for life situation uncertainty in general, as well as in all specific life spheres. The age factor ambiguously influences uncertainty in human life. Situations are estimated as uncertain more often by youth and less often by 35 year old people. However, the older group of the examined people experience uncertainty essentially more often.