Study of the Connection between Personal Resources and Psychological Well-being of Students at the Initial Stage of University Education

The study on the psychological well-being of students is becoming one of the key priorities in educational institutions, especially during changes in society. The purpose of the study is to investigate the relationship between personal and family resources and the psychological well-being and life satisfaction of student youth. The following methods were used in the study: Ryff Scales of Psychological Well-Being, Life Satisfaction Scale, Well-Being Index, Tolerance-intolerance of Ambiguity Questionnaire, Hardiness Survey, General Self-Efficacy Questionnaire, Self-Control Scale, Life Meaning Orientations Test, Author’s questionnaire with 15 questions and a closed list of possible answers. 41 students aged 18 to 21 years took part in measurements using these methods. The study was carried out in two stages. At the first stage, possible correlations between psychological well-being and indicators of personal and family resources were assessed for the entire group of respondents. At the second stage, in order to differentiate students by level of psychological well-being, two groups were identified: students with a high level of psychological well-being and students with a low level of psychological well-being. Mathematical and statistical analysis was carried out using descriptive statistics, the Mann-Whitney U test, Spearman correlation analysis, ranking procedures, and the method of constructing regularized networks of partial correlations. The study found that students with high levels of life satisfaction and psychological well-being exhibited more pronounced personal resources, such as self-efficacy, vitality, control and a positive attitude towards others and themselves. They also have clear goals in life and are quite satisfied with their implementation. A connection has been established between students' well-being and tolerance for uncertainty. The higher the level of psychological well-being, the more students are inclined to accept uncertainty, change and strive to solve complex problems. The results of the study emphasize the importance of personal and family resources, as well as students' positive attitudes towards themselves and others in achieving a high level of psychological well-being. They also indicate the importance for psychological well-being of the factor of tolerance to uncertainty associated with good health and the desire to develop and solve difficult life problems. The preservation of the psychological well-being of young people in educational settings is facilitated not only by the increase in personal resources, but also by the functional role of the teacher, thoughtful, well-organized design of the educational environment.

1. Artemenkov S. L. The Issues of Construction and Analysis of Ordered Partial Correlation Networks in Psychological Research. Modelirovanie i analiz dannyh [Modelling and Data Analysis]. 3. 36–56. DOI: 10.17759/mda.2021110303 (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)
2. Artemenkov S. L. Ordered Partial Correlation Networks in Psychological Research. Modelirovanie i analiz dannyh [Modelling and Data Analysis]. 2. С. 31-50. DOI: 10.17759/mda.2021110202 (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)
3. Asmolov A. G. Sistemno-deyatel'nostnyi podkhod k razrabotke standartov novogo pokoleniya [System-activity approach to the development of a new generation of standards]. Pedagogika [Pedagogy], 2009, no. 4, pp. 18-22.
4. Voronina A. V. Problema psihicheskogo zdorov'ya i blagopoluchiya cheloveka: obzor koncepcij i opyt strukturno-urovnevogo analiza // Sibirskij psihologicheskij zhurnal. 21. 142-146.
5. Lepeshinskij N. N. Adaptaciya oprosnika «SHkala psihologicheskogo blagopoluchiya» K. Riff // Psihologicheskij zhurnal (Minsk). 3. 24-37.
6. Mitina L. M., Mitin G. V. Strukturno-soderzhatel'naya model' novoj praktiki psihologicheskoj podgotovki pedagogov // Aktual'nye problemy psihologicheskogo znaniya. 1(62). 122-143. DOI: 10.51944/20738544_2023_1_122
7. Ovcharova R. V. Razrabotka pokazatelej i analiza faktorov razvitiya lichnostnogo potenciala i psihologicheskogo blagopoluchiya uchashchihsya v sisteme obshchego obrazovaniya. V kn.: Psihologicheskoe blagopoluchie lichnosti v sovremennom obrazovatel'nom prostranstve /sost. V. Bratchikova. Ekaterinburg: URFU. 2013. 11-16.
8. Persiyantseva S. V. Psihologicheskoe blagopoluchie i cennostnye orientacii v strukture lichnostnogo potenciala rossijskoj molodezhi [Psychological well-being and value orientations in the structure of personal potential of Russian youth]. V kn.: Gercenovskie chteniya: psihologicheskie issledovaniya v obrazovanii / pod red. S.A. Bezgodova. SPb.: RGPU im. A.I. Gercena. 2022. 321-328. DOI: 10.33910/herzenpsyconf-2022-5-41 (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)
9. Polivanova K. N. New Educational Discourse: The Well-Being of Schoolchildren. Kul'turno-istoricheskaya psikhologiya [Cultural-Historical Psychology], 2020. 16(4), 26–34. DOI: 10.17759/chp.2020160403. (In Russ., а in Engl.)
10. SHevelenkova T. D., Fesenko P. P. Koncepciya psihologicheskogo blagopoluchiya lichnosti i metodika ego issledovaniya. V kn.: Novye teoretiko-metodologicheskie podhody k issledovaniyu v klinicheskoj psihologii / pod red. T. D. SHevelenkovoj. M.: Lev". 9-48.
11. Antonovsky A. The Sense of Coherence as a Determinant of Health // Behavioral Health: A Handbook of Health Enhancement and Decease Prevention / ed. by J.D. Matarazzo, N. Miller. New York, 1984. 194-202.
12. Bandura A. Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavior change // Psychological Review. 1977. Vol. 84. 191-215.
13. Bradburn N.M. The structure of psychological well-being. Chicago: Aldine, 1969. 318 p.
14. Carver C. S., Scheier M. F. Optimism // Handbook of Positive Psychology / ed. by C. R. Snyder, S. J. Lopez. Oxford University Press, 2002. 221-244.
15. Diener E., Fujita F. Resources, personal striving, and subjective wellbeing: A nomothetic and ideographic approach // Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1995. Vol. 68. 926-935.
16. Diener E., Wirtz D., Tov W., Kim-Prieto C., Choi D., Oishi S., Biswas-Diener R. New measures of well-being: Flourishing and positive and negative feelings // Social Indicators Research. 2009. Vol. 97 (2). 143–156.
17. Epskamp S., Fried E. I. A tutorial on regularized partial correlation networks // Psychological Methods. 2018. № 4. 617–634.
18. Janoff-Bulman R. Assumptive worlds and the stress of traumatic events: Application of the schema construct // Social Cognition. 1989. № 7. 113-136.
19. Keyes C. L. M., Shmotkin D., Ryff C. D. Optimizing well-being: The empirical encounter of two traditions // Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2002. 82(6). 1007–1022.
20. Maddi S. The Story of Hardiness: 20 Years of Theorizing, Research and Practice // Consulting Psychology Journal. 2001. Vol. 54. 173-185.
21. McLain D. L., The MSTAT-I: A new measure of an individual’s tolerance for ambiguity // Educational and Psychological Measurement. 1993. Vol. 53. 183-189.
22. Rotter J. B. Some problems and misconceptions related to the construct of internal versus external control of reinforcement // Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 1975. Vol. 43. 56-67.
23. Ruff C. D., Singer B. Psychological Well-Being: Meaning, Measurement, and Implications for Psychotherapy Research // Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics. 1996. Vol. 65 (1). 14–23.
24. Seligman M. E. Р. Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life with a New Preface. New York: A Division of Random House, 2006. 337 p.
25. Shamionov R. M., Grigoryeva M. V., Grinina E. S., Sozonnik A. V. Characteristics of Academic Adaptation and Subjective Well-Being in University Students with Chronic Diseases // European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education. 2020. № 10. 816–831. DOI: 10.3390/ejihpe10030059