Difficult Social Situations Research Articles

Social Enterprise Intention of Non-STEM University Students: Experimental Evidence

The concept of social enterprise is an imperative facet of modern entrepreneurship that emphasizes the potential for businesses to generate profits while promoting societal well-being. However, this dual objective presents a significant challenge for entrepreneurs as it demands a strong commitment to social responsibility. Our study aimed to investigate the emerging trend of anti-social decisions made by young people in response to complex socio-economic constraints. The inquiry involved a series of classroom experiment conducted on 240 undergraduates in a hypothetical environment. The experiments presented the participants with opportunities to make prosocial or anti-social decisions regarding their occupational choices under four different socio-economic conditions and also in a structured coordination game. The results suggest that prospective employees may be more likely to make choices that benefit themselves, rather than others, when faced with difficult social and economic situations. However, those who opt to be self-employed expressed the highest prosocial motivation, indicating a strong desire to contribute to society. It is important to take these findings into account when creating educational policies and adjusting economic policies, such as tax policies. We need to encourage and educate young people in Sri Lanka to develop and express their desire to create positive social change, by promoting pro-social values and behaviors.

Recognizing the Need for Customized Social Stories: A Parent's Perspective in the Pakistani Context

This study explores the importance of customized social stories in the context of Pakistan to improve the social skills of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Data was collected from 62 parents of diagnosed children with ASD across various cities using a quantitative descriptive approach and survey method. The research instrument demonstrated a reliability score of Cronbach's Alpha 949, and field experts verified its validity. Findings reveal a solid parental desire to develop culturally relevant social stories to aid in teaching and supporting their children. Parents emphasized the effectiveness of these stories in enhancing their children's social skills and daily functioning. The use of social stories intervention for improving social skills among children with autism spectrum disorder is minimal, according to research that reviewed recent literature on the topic. It is because the social stories currently available are mainly in a western context, which does not accurately reflect Pakistan's social context, necessitating the development of customized social stories specifically tailored to the needs of Pakistan's current autistic population for different difficult social situations. This study will offer a piloted mechanism to assess the written and visual content of a given customized social story in the Pakistani context and a tentative framework for creating and assessing customized social stories to ensure their appropriateness for Pakistan's environment and culture. The study concludes that there is a significant need to create and disseminate customized social stories within the Pakistani context, providing valuable resources for parents to train better and support their children with ASD at home and in various social situations.

Понимание коммуникативных намерений говорящего и популярность в кругу сверстников у детей младшего школьного возраста

<p>The aim of this study was to explore the role of the theory of mind – the ability to attribute mental states to other people in order to explain their behavior – in popularity with peers and in the social competence of children of primary school age. The participants were 92 children aged 9–12 years (M=9,97; SD=0,80; 47 girls). We used the F. Happé “Strange Stories” test, used to study children's understanding of the speaker's communicative intentions in situations of ambiguously understood social interactions, to assess theory of mind. The popularity of children in the group was studied using a sociometric method. For an external evaluation teachers assessed the social behavior of children and adolescents using a specially designed questionnaire. The results obtained testify to the relationship of children’s theory of mind with both their popularity with peers, and with their social competence as a whole. The understanding of communicative intentions in difficult social situations by children is related with both peer preference for socializing and perceived popularity among peers. An external assessment of social competence among primary school age children by teachers has shown that children who are more successful in understanding the communicative intentions of other people are rated by adults as more popular among their peers, while the less successful ones are those who more often become the object of ridicule and often fall under the negative influence of others.</p>

Compassion, collaboration, and community: Strategies for staff well-being.

Compassion, collaboration, and community: Strategies for staff well-being.

High Autistic Traits or Low Social Competence? Correlates of Social Camouflaging in Non-Autistic Adults.

Autistic traits have been linked with the use of social camouflaging behavior by non-autistic people. In addition, low social competence (i.e., poor social skills) has also been posited as a possible explanation for the use of social camouflaging by non-autistic people. In this study, we investigated the comparative influence of autistic traits and social competence on three components of social camouflaging (compensation, masking, and assimilation) in a sample of non-autistic adults. Using a cross-sectional design, we recruited 284 undergraduate students (28.5% male; 69.7% female; 1.8% not specified) who reported that they had never been diagnosed with autism. Participants completed standardized measures assessing social camouflaging, autistic traits, social competence, and psychological distress via an online questionnaire. We found that women reported greater use of social camouflaging, and greater social camouflaging use was associated with worse psychological distress. We also found that both social competence and autistic traits were associated with the use of social camouflaging, with higher autistic traits influencing camouflaging use to a greater degree than low social competence. Compared with the use of compensation- and assimilation-based social camouflaging, masking was the least well explained by the current predictors. We conclude that social competence and autistic traits are important factors influencing the use of social camouflaging by non-autistic adults. However, there are other (unknown) factors that contribute to the use of each aspect of camouflaging by non-autistic individuals, and a deeper understanding of the individual motivations for social camouflaging use is still needed. In turn, this may allow for the development of psychosocial interventions to offset the need for social camouflaging and mitigate the negative psychological consequences often associated with its use.

Population Segmentation Using a Novel Socio-Demographic Dataset.

Appending market segmentation data to a national healthcare knowledge, attitude and behavior survey and medical claims by geocode can provide valuable insight for providers, payers and public health entities to better understand populations at a hyperlocal level and develop cohort-specific strategies for health improvement. A prolonged use case investigates population factors, including social determinants of health, in depression and develops cohort-level management strategies, utilizing market segmentation and survey data. Survey response scores for each segment were normalized against the average national score and appended to claims data to identify at-risk segment whose scores were compared with three socio-demographically comparable but not at-risk segments via Nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test to identify specific risk factors for intervention. The marketing segment, New Melting Point (NMP), was identified as at-risk. The median scores of three comparable segments differed from NMP in "Inability to Pay For Basic Needs" (121% vs 123%), "Lack of Transportation" (112% vs 153%), "Utilities Threatened" (103% vs 239%), "Delay Visiting MD" (67% vs 181%), "Delay/Not Fill Prescription" (117% vs 182%), "Depressed: All/Most Time" (127% vs 150%), and "Internet: Virtual Visit" (55% vs 130%) (all with p<0.001). The appended dataset illustrates NMP as having many stressors (e.g., difficult social situations, delaying seeking medical care). Strategies to improve depression management in NMP could employ virtual visits, or pharmacy incentives. Insights gleaned from appending market segmentation and healthcare utilization survey data can fill in knowledge gaps from claims-based data and provide practical and actionable insights for use by providers, payers and public health entities.

Acceptability and feasibility of an online psychosocial intervention for Dutch adolescents with a visible difference: A mixed-methods study

Adolescents with a visible difference can experience difficult social situations, (e.g., people staring or making unwanted comments) and are at risk for mental health problems. Unfortunately, interventions for adolescents with a visible difference experiencing appearance-related distress are scarce and lack an evidence-base. This study tests the acceptability and feasibility of YP Face IT, an innovative online psychological intervention using social skills training and cognitive behavioural therapy, to Dutch adolescents. Adolescents aged 12–17 with a visible difference and access to an internet-enabled computer or tablet participated. They completed YP Face IT (eight sessions) and questionnaires were administered pre- and post-intervention. After completing YP Face IT, participants were interviewed to assess the acceptability and feasibility of YP Face IT and study procedures. Overall, 15 adolescents consented to participation, one person dropped out after one session. Most adolescents appreciated the intervention and all would recommend it to other adolescents experiencing appearance-related distress. Everyone reported learning experiences after following the sessions. Some struggled with motivation, but reminders by the website and research team were helpful. The Dutch YP Face IT intervention may be acceptable and the current study design is feasible to use. An RCT should be conducted to assess the effectiveness of the intervention.

Resilience and coping in difficult social situations among children from low socioeconomic families.

The study aimed to compare factors influencing social adaptation of children from families at risk of social exclusion versus their peers with higher socioeconomic status. The analysis applied to coping strategies in difficult social situations as well as intrapersonal and interpersonal attitudes, and attitudes towards the world. The study involved 169 children (girls n = 85, boys n = 84) aged 13-14 years. Children were included in the criterion group based on a statutory minimum subsistence level applicable for a given year in Poland. Children with higher levels of resilience scored high in cognitive-intellectual and physical spheres as well as in personality, pro-social, socio-moral and support spheres and the sense of efficacy. Factors such as socioeconomic status and family structure were found to differentiate children in terms of coping mechanisms and attitudes towards themselves, other people and the world. The study revealed that the child's psychological resilience is of particular importance for social adaptation.

Assessing social cognitive functions in elementary school children: or problems of motor activity disorders

The urgency of the research issue is due to the tendency of an increase in the number of children with disorders of the muscle-skeleton system and motor skills. In this regard, these children have problems in learning activities, relationships with peers and adults. The purpose of the research presented in the paper was to study the social and psychological peculiarities of the personality of elementary school children with motor activity (motor skills) disorder. To solve the tasks set in the study and test the hypothesis, a number of methods and techniques were used: theoretical analysis of scientific literature, empirical methods: observation, experiment, questionnaire, technique of N.I. Ozeretsky; children's version of S. Rosenzweig's test; "school-based anxiety” test. The study revealed that two options are possible in the development of the personality of elementary school children with motor activity disorders: favorable and unfavorable. An unfavorable variant of the child's personality development is associated with “non-constructive” behavior, which manifests in the inability to withstand difficult social situations. A favorable variant of personal development is characterized by the predominance of “constructive” behavior, which allows one to overcome life difficulties.

HARDINESS IN THE STRUCTURE OF PERSONAL RESOURCES CONDUCIVE TO OVERCOMING PROFESSIONAL BURNOUT AMONG WORKERS DURING A PANDEMIC

Today, the risk of emotional exhaustion is increasing and a decrease in the professional activity of healthcare workers is observed due to an epidemiologically unstable situation in the world. The importance and social significance of solving this problem is connected with the fact that the burnout syndrome has a complex form and can be interpreted differently from the point of view of root causes and final outcome. This, in its turn, guides to the exploratory search for directions of psychological means and methods of influence. The purpose of the paper is to study hardiness in the structure of personal resources of overcoming professional burnout among healthcare workers during a pandemic. The leading techniques for the study of this problem were the following: psychodiagnostic technique “Diagnosis of emotional burnout”, personality questionnaire, hardiness test. Hardiness has been studied in the structure of personal resources of overcoming professional burnout. The authors have proven that doctors possessing hardiness are distinguished by personal qualities that help them adapt and withstand difficult social situations. The features of professional burnout have been identified among healthcare workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. It has been found that a high level of hardiness in the structure of personal resources is a factor in overcoming professional burnout among doctors. The results obtained made it possible to develop practical recommendations to prevent professional burnout and boost hardiness among healthcare workers during the pandemic. The paper is intended for specialist psychologists, clinical psychologists, and healthcare managers.

Executive function and the development of social information processing during the preschool years

The six-step social information processing (SIP) model (Crick & Dodge, 1994) describes how children respond to difficult social situations, but little is known about the underlying cognitive abilities that support the individual SIP steps. Given excu executive function’s (EF) association with behavioral displays of competent and aggressive responses to provocation, the current study examined how three EF components (i.e., response inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility) relate to four SIP steps (i.e., encoding, interpretation, response generation, and response evaluation). In addition, the current study looked at how attributions made about the transgressor in the first two SIP steps affect processing in the later SIP steps. Seventy-two 4- to 5-year-old children completed one EF task for each component and were given a structured interview that assessed four steps of the SIP model. Working memory and age were related to encoding (fact recall and emotion attributions), response generation, and response evaluation. Cognitive flexibility was only related to response evaluation. The individual contributions of EF and age, as well as early SIP steps, differ for each step. The specific processes by which working memory may relate to each step are discussed, as well as how the encoding step provides a foundation for adequate processing in later steps. The results of the current study provide novel information about how cognitive processes contribute to the development of SIP.

Особливості проживання та долання складних соціальних ситуацій усиновлювачами в груповій психологічній роботі

Метою дослідження було визначити причини виникнення складних соціальних ситуацій у сім’ях усиновлювачів та особливості опрацювання таких ситуацій під час групової психологічної роботи. &#x0D; Для вирішення цих завдань використано напівструктуроване інтерв’ю, включене спостереження, методи і техніки транзактного аналізу та монодрами. Визначено, що складні соціальні ситуації в сім’ях усиновлювачів виникають найчастіше у батьків, які мають певні психологічні та соціально-психологічні особливості (неопрацьована власна дитяча травма, нерозв’язані проблеми в подружніх стосунках, неконструктивна мотивація до усиновлення; неспроможність оцінити свої слабкі та сильні сторони у вихованні дитини-сироти або дитини, позбавленої батьківського піклування, яку вони хочуть усиновити або удочерити). &#x0D; На основі результатів опрацювання складних соціальних ситуацій з усиновлювачами в групі психологічної взаємодопомоги доведено ефективність групової психологічної роботи. Усиновлювачі опанували навички саморефлексії, почали самостійно аналізувати причини негативної поведінки дітей, навчилися відкрито говорити про власні переживання і страхи. Психологічна робота з батьківською і дитячою его-структурою методами транзактного аналізу та монодрами допомогла усиновлювачам прожити власні дитячі травми, що справило позитивний вплив на формування близьких стосунків з дитиною та вирішення складних соціальних ситуацій у сім’ї. &#x0D; У процесі групової роботи визначено низку групових механізмів, спираючись на які група усиновлювачів може розв’язувати проблеми сімейної взаємодії та долати складні соціальні ситуації. До таких механізмів віднесено групову фасилітацію, групову наративізацію індивідуальних історій, групову рефлексію та генераційний досвід долання травм. &#x0D; Показано, що завдяки цим механізмам та пов’язаним із ними груповим феноменам долаються соціальні та групові міфи про усиновлення як про подвиг і негативну фатальність ситуації усиновлення, відчуження та напруження в сім’ях, негативні сімейні сценарії взаємодії, трансгенераційні травми та негативні послання батьків, натомість набуваються нові моделі поведінки в сім’ї, розвиваються гармонійні стосунки. &#x0D; Перспективою подальшого дослідження є корекція негативного життєвого сценарію усиновлених дітей шляхом групової психологічної роботи з ними починаючи з молодшого шкільного віку. Оскільки батьки не завжди можуть допомогти усиновленій дитині подолати психологічні проблеми самостійно, часто вони стикаються з негативною проєкцією і незаслуженим обезцінюванням та недовірою дітей. &#x0D; Практичне значення дослідження полягає в тому, що його результати можна використовувати для впровадження психологічного оцінювання майбутніх усиновлювачів. Створення психологічних груп взаємопідтримки усиновлювачів зменшує ризики дисфункції сім’ї та розусиновлення.

EU’ve Got to Be Kidding: Anxiety, Humour and Ontological Security

ABSTRACT Recent years have seen a pronounced turn to humour in EU discourse. From attempts to build solidarity with/through the rights of satirists after the Danish Cartoon Crisis and Charlie Hebdo, to ongoing efforts to re-brand the EU as a reflexive and liberal polity through self-deprecating messaging and the use of snark in diplomacy on Brexit/Trump, the rise of EU humour raises critical questions for IR. This paper argues that one important way to think about humour is as a mechanism for managing anxiety. A widely known ‘defence mechanism’, humour, joking and laughter can suspend the seriousness and pressure of difficult social situations. We draw on the literature on ontological security to argue that, when deployed in political and diplomatic discourses, humour might tell us rather more about the power relations, hierarchies, and instabilities which characterise a given polity.

Courage in childhood: Classifying the actions of courage performed by elementary school students

ABSTRACT The study is aimed at exploring, through lexical analysis, the courageous actions performed by elementary school students. Five hundred ninety-two Italian children were interviewed about the most courageous action that they had ever performed during their life. Exploratory cluster analysis with Iramuteq was run to analyse the children’s answers and four clusters were found. The first cluster referred to actions performed with physical risks (physical courage). The second cluster referred to actions to protect or defend others, especially peers, in difficult and unpleasant social situations (moral courage). The third cluster referred to courageous actions in dealing with threats concerning personal well-being (psychological courage) and the fourth cluster referred to physically and psychologically courageous actions. Gender differences were found for the first and third cluster with girls reporting more physical courage and boys more psychological courage. The study has important implications for research and practice.

Guaranteeing the safety of home care providers

The home is a unique place of practice for caregivers, with specific constraints linked, notably, to the environment. In addition to the well-known risks (infections, moving/lifting patients), the caregiver faces isolation and sometimes difficult emotional, social and environmental situations. The prevention of these situations requires continuing training and improved communication as well as appropriate tools and safety measures.

Parent Perspectives on Exclusive Enteral Nutrition for the Treatment of Pediatric Crohn Disease

Exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN) is infrequently used in the United States but is an effective treatment for pediatric Crohn disease (CD). Limited data exists regarding patient and parent perspectives on this treatment modality. The aim of this study was to determine parent and provider perspectives regarding EEN and understand parent-cited barriers to its use. We surveyed the parents/guardians of children ages 1 through 17 with CD in our institution regarding EEN. Healthcare provider perspectives regarding reason for stopping EEN and those cited by survey respondents were compared using retrospective chart review. One hundred fifteen (62.5%) out of 184 recipients responded to the survey. Ninety percentage of respondents had heard of EEN but of these, 26% had not discussed it with their gastroenterologist. Thirty-eight patients (33%) were treated in the past and 15 (13%) were currently on EEN. Common barriers cited by current EEN users were cost/finances and difficult social situations. Of the children who stopped EEN, most did so as parents felt it was not working (n = 14, 37%). In these cases, their primary gastroenterologist cited treatment failure for 4 cases and nonadherence for 6. Despite the efficacy of EEN and interest in dietary treatments by patients with CD, there are many barriers surrounding effective communication and successful implementation of dietary therapies. Future research is needed regarding patient-physician communication, cost mitigation, and coping with the social limitations of dietary therapies.

Design of a Digital Comic Creator (It's Me) to Facilitate Social Skills Training for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Design Research Approach.

BackgroundChildren with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often face difficulties in social situations and are often lagging in terms of social skills. Many interventions designed for children with ASD emphasize improving social skills. Although many interventions demonstrate that targeted social skills can be improved in clinical settings, developed social skills are not necessarily applied in children's daily lives at school, sometimes because classmates continue to show negative bias toward children with ASD. Children with ASD do not blame the difficult social situations they encounter on their lack of social skills; their main goal is to be accepted by peers.ObjectiveThis study aims to design a comic creator—It's me—that would create comics to serve as transformational boundary objects to facilitate and enact a horizontal interaction structure between high-functioning children with ASD and their peers, aiming to increase mutual understanding between children at school.MethodsThis research project and this study are structured around the Design Research Framework in order to develop the comic through an iterative-incremental process. Three test sessions, which included 13, 6, and 47 children, respectively, were initiated where the focus shifted in time from usability during the first two tests to the initial assessment of acceptance and feasibility in the third session. A stakeholder review, which included six experts, took place after the second test session.ResultsA digital comic creator, It's me, was produced within this study. Children can create their own personal comic by filling in a digital questionnaire. Based on concepts of peer support, psychoeducation, and horizontal interaction, It's me has a rigorous base of underlying concepts that have been translated into design. Based on the first test sessions, the comic has shown its potential to initiate personal conversations between children. Teachers are convinced that It's me can be of added value in their classrooms.ConclusionsIt's me aims to initiate more in-depth conversations between peers, which should lead to more mutual understanding and better relationships between children with ASD and their peers. The first test sessions showed that It's me has the potential to enact horizontal interaction and greater understanding among peers. It's me was designed as a boundary object, aiming to connect the objectives of different stakeholders, and to trigger reflection and transformation learning mechanisms. The applied design research approach might be of added value in the acceptance and adoption of the intervention because children, professionals, and teachers see added value in the tool, each from their own perspectives.

M230. VIRTUAL REALITY FOR IMPROVING SOCIAL ACTIVITIES AND PARTICIPATION (VR-SOAP): DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW TREATMENT FOR YOUNG PEOPLE WITH PSYCHOSIS

BackgroundYoung people with a psychotic disorder have the same social goals as their healthy peers, but their social networks are smaller, they participate less often in leisure activities and are less successful in work and education. Current treatments have only moderate effects on social functioning. Virtual Reality (VR) has a great potential to improve the social functioning of young people with psychosis. With VR, individuals can practice with simulations of difficult social situations in a safe and personalized way. Therefore, we aimed to develop and investigate feasibility of a novel VR treatment (VR-SOAP) for improving social contacts, leisure activities and social participation of young people with a psychotic disorder.MethodsAs a first step, a literature search of causes of impaired social functioning was conducted. Underlying relationships and mechanisms of the causes were identified. The causes of impaired social functioning were translated into concepts for the VR modules. The concepts were translated into requirements for the VR modules. Subsequently, the software and the treatment manual were developed in an iterative process with a team of experiential experts, psychosis therapists, researchers, VR experts and software engineers. The final prototype will be tested in a small pilot study with three therapists and six patients. In order to determine the feasibility and acceptability of the treatment and to evaluate and improve the treatment protocol using input from therapists and patients.ResultsSeveral determinants of impaired social functioning were identified: negative symptoms, impaired social cognition, paranoid ideations, social anxiety, low self-esteem, self-stigma and poor communication skills. These causes are multifaceted, but at the same time interrelated and overlapping. VR-SOAP was designed as five modules that address these causes, four optional modules (1–4) and one fixed module (5). The treatment is personalized and takes the specific individual contributing causes into account. Patient and therapist select two out of four optional modules. In module 1 (Negative symptoms) patients will focus on increasing their motivation and pleasure in dealing with amotivation and anhedonia. In module 2 (Social cognition) patients will practice with recognizing facial emotions and interpreting social situations. Module 3 (Paranoid ideations) consists of exposure exercises and behavioural experiments testing harm expectancies. In module 4 (Self-esteem and self-stigma) patients will focus on positive aspects of the self and challenge self-criticism. All patients will end with module 5 (Communication and Interaction skills), in which experiences, knowledge and skills from other modules are integrated and applied in role-plays. Currently, the pilot feasibility study is ongoing. Preliminary results will be presented.DiscussionVR-SOAP is a promising new intervention for enhancing the social functioning of young adults with psychosis. VR is very useful for practising new social behaviour. It enables patients to practice with real-world social situations in a safe and gradual way. In the coming years, a single-blind randomized controlled trial will be conducted to test the effect of VR-SOAP on social contacts, leisure activities and social participation.

Interdisciplinary Model of Subsoil Use System

The difficult environmental, economic, social and political situations require a deep analysis of interdisciplinary connections in industrial areas. The “system of subsoil use” is a set of mined subsoil areas characterized by geological, geomechanical and aerogasdynamic processes, and industrial production, connected to the civil society and the natural environment by the flows of energy, substance, and information. The flows of biogenic elements in the areas of subsoil use change in the direction of increasing the physical flows of the bio-elements carrying (into the World Ocean) the biological product flows. Energy flows in the areas of subsoil use, that are present in the form of net primary production of the biosphere, radically change in the direction of increasing the anthropogenic (man-made) channel to 8-12%. Environmental information flows in subsoil use areas contain data about whether the environmental conditions are suitable for the biotic regulation. The originality of the “system of subsoil use” concept lies in taking into account the energy, substance, and information flows distribution between the system components and the possibility of an objective analysis of the system effectiveness and its compliance with the concept of sustainable development of industrial areas.

Group stereotypes and symbols of overcoming difficult social situations in the image of small groups

Introduction. Sometimes a person meets with complex social situations. How a person lives these situations down? What is the experience that supports and drives a person to recovery? How does the group help for a person in this? These questions now arise for each of us, because there is no person in the world who would have had the experience of living in complex social situations&#x0D; Purpose. The purpose of the article is to describe the results of the study of group stereotypes and the symbolism of complex social situations in small groups of different directions.&#x0D; Methodology. The sample of empirical research is 132 individuals - 16 groups of different directions: therapeutic (2), educational (7) and crisis (5) (real groups that were in situations of conflict and crisis) and self-help groups (2). Self-help groups are a group of families of demobilized soldiers (heterogeneous) and a group of veterans.&#x0D; The empirical study was conducted in 2 stages. In the first stage, the questionnaire “I am in the group” was prepared and tested. It consists of 21 questions and demographic data of the respondents (age, gender). In the second stage of the empirical study, the seminar “Difficult Social Situations: Experiences of Living and Overcoming” was conducted in the study groups, followed by a survey of respondents. The duration of the seminar is 3-4 hours, depending on the needs of the group&#x0D; Results. The article presents the results of an empirical study of group stereotypes and symbols in the image of small groups in complex social situations. The research identified stereotypical perceptions of the group and overcoming difficult social situations, outlined by the author as external and intra-group stereotypes. External group stereotypes include the destructive, relatively destructive, conditionally constructive and constructive groups of stereotypes described by the respondents. The groups of stereotypes pertaining to external groups are described in detail: relatively destructive (Uniqueness, Closeness and Complexity) and conditionally constructive (Causality and Willingness). Intra-group stereotypes are indicated too. Also, the article highlights a number of group symbols and group processes highlighted by the respondents, describes the analysis of the results of the “Symbolization of experience” methodology. Typization of symbolization of complex social situations and ways of overcoming them is presented. The symbols of this process are determined by the respondents by those symbols that demonstrate the dynamics (or transformation) of the character itself, the dynamics of the plot development, and the abstract ones, which have internal, not obvious, outside logic. Examples of these characters are described.&#x0D; Conclusion. The analysis of the results of the study showed that group stereotypes play a key role in predicting strategies for overcoming difficult social situations, and symbolizing this process helps to find support and help, both within and outside the group