The role of the child-adult community in the development of adolescents’ meaning of life

Abstract

Importance. The search for the meaning of life is a relevant issue during adolescence. A childadult community plays an important role in the development of meaning of teenagers’ lives by providing support, participation in social events, role models, and opportunities for selfrealization. Interacting with adult members of the community contributes to the development of value orientations among adolescents, the establishment of individual personal and professional goals, and provides support in the search for meaning of life. The purpose of the study is to identify the specific role of the child-adult community in the development of adolescents’ meaning of life.Materials and Methods. Analysis of Russian and foreign literature, conducting a survey among adolescents, conducting interviews and observations, as well as statistical processing of the results are used.Results and Discussion. It has been established that in developing the meaning of life, child-adult communities play the role of creating a supportive and emotionally favourable environment, mentoring and role models, and so forth. However, not all of the roles are fulfilled by the community equally. To increase the effectiveness of the child-adult community in matters of meaningful selfdetermination of adolescents, a programme of activities aimed at compensating for the lack of community work is developed.Conclusion. The study will help educational and social institutions to develop effective strategies and programmes of pedagogical support for adolescents, which may become an object of future research.