Social attitudes and values of children in new realities

Abstract

Introduction. The problem of shaping social attitudes and life values is currently being brought up to date by the social changes caused by the crisis in political and public life, which entails the destruction of habitual stereotypes. Children are faced with the challenge of finding their place in a rapidly changing world. The aim of this article is to explore the social attitudes and life values of children from the Kherson region. Research methodology and methodologies. The research methodological basis is the systematic approach of B. F. Lomov. The research involved 221 children from the Kherson region on holiday in children’s health camps in the Republic of Crimea. The age of the participants ranged from 7 to 17 years old. The empirical basis consisted of methods: the author’s observation card for the students’ state and behavior, questionnaire to measure general social attitudes in children E. Frankel-Brunswick, associative experiment, test “Meaning-Life Orientations” in the adaptation of D.A. Leontiev, I. G. Senin’s questionnaire terminal values. For statistical processing of the research materials the calculation of descriptive statistics (M±SD), Pearson correlation analysis (r) and analysis of variance (F) were applied. Results. The study was conducted within the framework of the project "Center for Human Social Identification" (Priority-2030). Based on the analysis of the observation map, respondents revealed disturbed or unstable behavior (22.5%), sleep disorders (16.5%), attention disorders (16.5%), learning difficulties (16.5%), aggressiveness (15%), acute feeling of loneliness (10.5%), isolation, refusal of communication (10.5%), frequent headaches, abdominal pain (10.5%), communication disorders (8.6%), helplessness (6.6%), anxiety, fear for loved ones left in their small homeland (6%), self-destructive behavior (5.3%), memory impairment (3.7%), tremor, tics (3%), which indicates psychophysical stress and insufficient adaptation to the new social situation of development, low level of prejudice, orientation of goals for the future, dissatisfaction with life "here and now". The most relevant areas for them are training, education and professional life. Analysis of the results of E. Frenkel-Brunswick questionnaire to measure the children's general social attitudes showed that the majority of children revealed extremely low (23.8%), low (33.3%) and lowered (38%) levels of prejudice. The average level of prejudice was recorded at 4.9%. Statistically significant correlations between the indicators of behavioural and emotional disorders were recorded. The analysis of descriptive statistics calculated taking into account the gender of the respondents showed that there were no significant differences between the subgroups of girls and boys in terms of the indicators included in the analysis. Conclusion. Children from the Kherson region have an acute need to learn about the new social reality and hope that the Russian Federation will become their second homeland, bringing peace and stability. The data obtained in the research can be used by psychologists working in the educational system to develop recommendations to optimize the process of adaptation of children from the Kherson region, to develop programmes aimed at their adaptation and socialization, one of the most important points in which will be teaching the Russian language and culture, especially to the migrant children.