Tolerance to uncertainty and career direction as predictive factors of nervous-mental stress in university students

Abstract

Introduction. The relevance of studying the factors that cause neuropsychic stress is associated with the emergence of new challenges and dynamic changes in society that have a negative impact on the physical and mental well-being of a person. Increasing the level of tolerance to uncertainty and choosing an adequate career direction are a successful coping strategy in solving problems of neuropsychic stress (hereinafter referred to as NPS) of students. The purpose of the study is to study tolerance to uncertainty and career orientations of students with different levels of mental stress. Materials and methods. The study was conducted on the basis of the St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering (N = 194), using diagnostic tools: «Nervous-mental stress scale (NPS)» by T.A. Nemchin, methodology «Study of career orientations» by E. Shein, «Uncertainty Tolerance Scale, MSTAT-I» by D. McLane, adapted by E. G. Lukovitskaya, E. N. Osina. To process the data, the following methods were used: descriptive statistics, Kolmogorov-Smirnov criterion, Student's t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient (r), regression analysis (step-by-step method). Results. In the sample of respondents, the career orientation toward «autonomy» and «service» predominates. Indicators of tolerance to uncertainty are at an average level. It was revealed that the sample of young people included students with high (22%), average (31%) and low (47%) levels of neuropsychic stress. Reliably significant differences were found in groups of students with high and low levels of neuropsychic stress in career orientations: respondents with a low level of mental stress are more focused on «challenge» (5,7 ± 1,9; p < 0,001) and «integration of lifestyles» (7,2 ± 1,3; p < 0,05). In groups of students with high and average levels of SPN, career orientations are negatively correlated with neuropsychic stress. In young people with a high level of NPI, the greatest contribution to increased stress is made by the indicator «attitude to uncertain situations» (R²=0,45). The prognostic parameter for students with an average level of NPI is the career orientation «integration of lifestyles» (R²=0,20). Career orientation «service» (R²=0,19) acts as a significant predictor of NPI in young people with low levels of mental stress. Conclusion. The results obtained may be of interest to researchers dealing with the problem of neuropsychic stress and the factors that cause it.