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Sociodynamics
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Some aspects of self-preservation behavior of students during the coronavirus pandemic

Sterliadeva Natalia

PhD in Sociology

Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Conflictology, Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education "Altai State University" 656049, Russia, Altai Krai, Barnaul, 66 Dimitrova str., office 520

656049, Russia, Altaiskii krai, g. Barnaul, ul. Ul. Dimitrova, 66, kab. 520

sterlyadeva@socio.asu.ru
Other publications by this author
 

 
Chukanova Tat'yana Viktorovna

PhD in Sociology

Associate Professor, Department of Social and Youth Policy, Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education "Altai State University" 656049, Russia, Altai Krai, Barnaul, 66 Dimitrova str., office 504

656049, Russia, Altaiskii krai, g. Barnaul, ul. Dimitrova, 66, of. 504

chukanova.64@mail.ru

DOI:

10.25136/2409-7144.2022.4.37752

Received:

28-03-2022


Published:

06-05-2022


Abstract: The article is based on the materials of a sociological study conducted in 2021 in the city of Barnaul. The author emphasizes the importance of personal responsibility for the preservation and strengthening of one's own health. Notes the importance of human behavior in relation to their health as a necessary factor of their physical and mental well-being. On the basis of a questionnaire survey of students of Altai State University, some features of the self-preservation behavior of students during the spread of the coronavirus pandemic were studied. The analysis showed that the majority of respondents are aware of the importance of maintaining health, but at the same time do not actively engage in the preservation and restoration of health. Students lack the skills and abilities to lead a healthy lifestyle. According to the survey, the coronavirus pandemic did not have a special impact on certain aspects of the self-preservation behavior of students. Only a small part of the respondents tried to change their habits during the spread of the new coronavirus infection COVID-19, including vaccination. The sociological study revealed the attitude of modern student youth to the anti-covid measures taken. The results of the study indicate that one of the functions of the university in modern realities should be the work on changing the behavior of young people in relation to their own health, on the formation of healthy lifestyle skills.


Keywords:

health, self-preserving behavior, student youth, attitude to health, healthy lifestyle, the value of health, health culture, subjective assessment of health, coronavirus pandemic, anti-covid measures

This article is automatically translated.

Health is one of the most important needs of a person, determining his abilities for any activity. According to the researchers, health is the main value of human life, it occupies the highest step in the hierarchy of human needs [3].

 To a certain extent, health depends on a person's personal responsibility for its preservation. Lifestyle is an essential factor in the preservation and development of health, which shows how the daily life of social groups, society or an individual is organized.

The health of the population is recognized as a strategic potential and a factor of national security of the country, and the promotion and cultivation of a healthy lifestyle become a priority state task and the task of the whole society [1].

The value of health becomes not only human, personally significant, but also social capital, without which it is impossible to achieve high indicators of social development, as well as ensuring the national security of the state [8].

Self-preserving behavior and a healthy lifestyle are closely related, as they contribute to the strengthening and preservation of health, but they are not identical [7].  

A healthy lifestyle can be defined as behavior aimed at preserving and developing human health. Self-preserving behavior is conditioned by the socio-economic, political conditions of the place of residence, the patterns, stereotypes of behavior, norms, values of society and a particular person, his way of life.

 Self-preserving behavior is defined as "a system of actions and relationships mediating the health and life expectancy of an individual" [2, p. 15].

According to I.B. Nazarova, "self–preserving behavior is not only a timely request for qualified help, but also a certain lifestyle involving active physical education, quitting smoking and alcohol, regular preventive monitoring" [6].

Self-preserving behavior can be considered "as the willingness of each member of society to be responsible for preserving their own health and prolonging life" [8].

According to A.I. Fedorov, a person's attitude to health can be characterized by the following indicators: assessment (self-assessment) of health, medical and hygienic awareness (knowledge in the field of health), values in the field of health, human activity to preserve their health [9, p. 91].

The subjective assessment of one's health reflects to a certain extent an objective characteristic of health. It also allows you to get information about the health status of people who do not go to the doctor, which means that in this case there are no medical studies. In addition, taking into account the subjective assessment of their health, it is possible to predict the behavior of people who belong to the risk group. In general, self-assessment of one's health is related to an individual's self-assessment of himself and his capabilities.

The result of the self-preserving behavior of the population is a certain level of health and life expectancy. Human behavior in relation to his health is the most important factor influencing his physical and mental state, since under similar environmental, genetic and household conditions, physical well-being is due to this factor [5, p. 141].

As the researchers note, being the most important characteristic of social well-being, an individual's assessment of their own health also becomes one of the criteria for the degree of adaptation of an individual [4].

As part of an empirical study conducted in Barnaul, the features of self-preservation behavior of student youth during the spread of the coronavirus pandemic were studied. 120 1st, 2nd and 3rd year students of the Institute of Humanities of Altai State University took part in the questionnaire survey. The analysis of this study showed the following results.

According to the study, the majority of respondents (61%) consider their health to be good, slightly more than a third (35%) – satisfactory, only 7% - poor, the rest of the survey participants cannot determine their level of health. At the same time, only 21% of respondents take care of their health all the time. When defining health as a value, the following results were obtained: 33% of the survey participants consider health to be the main value in life, while they are ready to take care of it. Almost half of the respondents (46%) noted that "health is important, but it is not always possible to take care of it." The majority of students (72%) believe that health depends on themselves. At the same time, slightly less than a third of respondents (29%) have changed their attitude to health during the coronavirus pandemic, consider it a real threat to their own health. More than half of respondents (52%) are afraid for the health of their relatives and friends (especially the elderly). Some of the respondents (12%) are convinced that the new coronavirus infection will not harm either themselves or their loved ones.

Awareness of the value of health does not guarantee its preservation and strengthening. It is necessary that in the motivational sphere of the personality there are attitudes to self-preserving behavior. The consequence of positive personal motivation and willingness to lead a healthy lifestyle can only be certain actions. In this regard, in the course of the study, an attempt was made to identify the attitudes of students to self-preservation behavior. One of the components of a healthy lifestyle as the basis of self-preservation behavior is physical education and sports. Despite the fact that the majority of students surveyed agree with this (86%), only 18% of respondents regularly exercise, and only 6% of students perform physical exercises and morning exercises. At the same time, it should be noted that some of the respondents (31%) are still fond of various sports, they sometimes do them, and there is not enough time or money for regular classes. Most of the respondents (59%) walk in the fresh air to maintain their health and attend physical education classes at the university. In general, the data obtained indicate insufficient physical activity of students.

A significant part of the student youth (86%) spoke in favor of giving up bad habits. Since they believe that the absence of bad habits is a necessary component of self–preservation behavior. But at the same time, according to a third of respondents (31%), alcohol and cigarettes are sometimes acceptable.

The most important component of self-preservation behavior is proper nutrition. More than half of the respondents (53%) monitor their diet, follow the recommendations on healthy eating, try not to eat unhealthy and high-calorie foods (fast food, carbonated drinks). Most of the respondents (67%) eat fruits and vegetables, 13% of students try to take vitamins. But in general, the study showed that the intention to preserve health is not the main motive of eating behavior. Some of the respondents who follow the diet (19%) do it out of a desire to keep a figure or lose weight, and also follow fashion. Almost a third of respondents (29%) noted that high-quality healthy food is not available to them by income.

The results obtained only confirm the conclusions of a number of researchers that "the reasons for the passive behavior of students to preserve and restore health are seen in a low health culture, a lack of skills and abilities to lead a healthy lifestyle. Without rejecting the importance of a healthy lifestyle, students question its necessity during the student period of life" [10].

In the course of the study, some behavioral attitudes of student youth were identified during the spread of a new coronavirus infection. In general, the majority of respondents (69%) have a positive attitude to anti-weed measures carried out by the authorities. However, there is no consensus among students about the measures taken to combat the pandemic. Thus, the majority of respondents (79%) observe the rules of personal hygiene: they wash their hands with soap, use antiseptics, but only 19% regularly wear masks. Most of the students (73%) consider them useless. Only 6% of respondents try to keep a social distance. 14% of respondents do not take any measures. 38% of respondents oppose the introduction of QR codes, almost a third of respondents (29%) consider the introduction of QR codes to be a necessary means of preventing the epidemic, 24% of students - for their introduction only in certain places and during the peak of the pandemic.

When identifying the intentions of students to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the following results were obtained. Only a small part of respondents (12%) were vaccinated at the time of the survey. For the majority of vaccinated students (78%), vaccination is a fairly effective means of protection against coronavirus. The rest (22%) did it due to forced circumstances, among which were named "parents insisted", "a trip on vacation or to another city", "the introduction of QR codes necessary to visit public places". In general, according to 73% of respondents, whether or not to vaccinate is a personal matter for everyone.

Among those who were not vaccinated at the time of the survey, 14% believe that vaccination against COVID-19 does not bring any benefit and harm. At the same time, they expressed their intention to be vaccinated in the event that it will also be required in the future to attend mass events or travel. Some respondents (6%) have already had coronavirus, half of them (52%) plan to be vaccinated after the fall of antibodies, and 40% believe that they were slightly ill and will not be vaccinated in the future, the rest (8%) have not yet decided.  When identifying the reasons for refusing vaccination, the following results were obtained: 19% of respondents do not plan to get vaccinated, as they believe that this will harm their health, if not now, then in the future ("vaccination can affect reproductive function, negatively affect DNA"). Also among the reasons for refusing vaccination were distrust of the vaccine ("the unexplored nature of this vaccine, - years of testing are needed", "the virus mutates, - the vaccine will not help", 11%); satisfaction with their health ("strong immunity", 8%); the presence of chronic diseases, including allergic (7%); fear of symptomatic manifestations of vaccination (5%). In general, students oppose the introduction of mandatory vaccination in higher education institutions. According to the majority of respondents (88%), vaccination should be voluntary.

In addition to the behavioral attitudes described above, the study attempted to find out whether the coronavirus pandemic had any effect on certain aspects of the self-preservation behavior of students. Only a small part of the respondents (28%) tried to change their habits in order to increase immunity. Respondents named the following health-saving measures: they stopped self-medicating (they go to the doctor at the first signs of illness); increased physical activity; began to spend more time outdoors, including walking without using public transport; changed their diet; began to use vitamins and preventive medications; reduced alcohol and cigarettes consumption.

The results of the study indicate that one of the functions of the university in modern realities should be the work on changing the behavior of young people in relation to their own health.

References
1. Varlamova S.N., Sedova N.N. A healthy lifestyle-a step forward, two steps back // Sociological research.-2010.-No. 4.-P. 75-88.
2. Zhuravleva I.V. Adolescent health: a sociological analysis.-M.: Publishing House of the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2002.-240 p.
3. Kanevskaya T.M. Promoting the values of a healthy lifestyle as a means of preventing addictions in the student environment of a pedagogical university: theory and practice // Pedagogical education in Russia.-2011.-No. 4.-P. 87-95.
4. Kozyreva P. M., Smirnov A. I. Dynamics of self-assessments of the health of Russians: current trends in the post-Soviet period. Sociological research.-2020.-No. 4.-P. 70-81. DOI: 10.31857/S013216250009116-0.
5. Lebedeva-Nesevrya. Sociology of health: a textbook for university students; Perm State Nat. Research University.-Perm, 2011.-238 p.
6. Nazarova I.B. Subjective and objective assessments of public health // Sociological journal.-1998.-No. 3/4.-P. 246
7. Petrash M. D., Murtazina I. R. The concept of “healthy lifestyle” in psychological research // Bulletin of St. Petersburg University. Psychology and pedagogy.-2018. – Vol. 8.-No. 2.-P. 152–165.
8. Rostovskaya T.K., Ivanova A.E., Knyazkova E.A. Practices of self-preserving behavior of Russians (results of the All-Russian sociological survey Demographic Well-Being in Russia). Problems of social hygiene, public health and the history of medicine. 2021;29(1):66-75. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.32687/0869-866X-2021-29-1-66-75.
9. Fedorov A.I. Adolescents' attitudes towards health: a sociological analysis // Education and science.-2008.-No. 1 (49).
10. Filonenko V.I., Nikulina M.A., Patrakov E.V., Kovtun O.P. Ideas about health and health saving among student youth // Sociological research.-2018.-No. 7. P.-152-157. DOI: 10.31857/S013216250000188-9.

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The problem raised by the author in the presented article is undoubtedly relevant, and in this sense the author's approach and the results of the relevant research may have heuristic value. It is important that the author does not focus on one aspect in considering this problem, but suggests focusing on several aspects directly related to the topic. In terms of content, it can be noted that the author proceeds from a conceptual understanding of one of the key values for any person – the value of health. In this sense, the author focuses on various interpretations of the value of health, but also provides his own vision of the content of this concept. At the same time, the author also focuses on the concept of self-preservation behavior: its definition is given, some variants of its interpretation are analyzed. The elaboration of key concepts can be regarded as an undoubted advantage of this work. There is no doubt about the theoretical elaboration of the topic, although it would probably make sense to define the boundaries of sectoral sociology, within which a specific study is being undertaken – I believe that this may be the sociology of health. However, judging by the results of the theoretical analysis of the problem, the author is guided by the provisions of this particular branch of sociological science. As for the empirical part of the work, here we see that the author based the research methodology on a questionnaire survey of students. At the same time, the sample is not indicated, the strategy for selecting respondents is not given, but at the same time, to pose a problem that may become one of the key ones in the prospects of research practice, the available data on the nature of empirical research is quite sufficient to verify the results obtained. So, the author conducted a survey of students, the article contains some results that allow us to reveal the stated topic at the proper level. First of all, the variability of the final results attracts attention, which directs the author of the article to obtain important final generalizations. For example, the author shows that "awareness of the value of health does not guarantee its preservation and strengthening" and concludes that it is necessary to have attitudes to self-preservation behavior in the motivational sphere of the personality." Of course, we should agree with the author of the article that the results obtained allow us to give an overall assessment of positive personal motivation and willingness to lead a healthy lifestyle. Actually, this is the main purpose of the study formulated by the author of the article. The article also pays special attention to the characteristics of one of the components of a healthy lifestyle as the basis of self–preservation behavior - physical education and sports. On the one hand, it is quite traditional (and expected for works on the designated topic) that the author refers specifically to this aspect of self-preservation behavior, but at the same time, the empirical data obtained make it possible to formulate some points that are important for the disclosure of the topic of the article. The figures given by the author are beyond doubt and fully reflect the social practice considered by the author. On the other hand, the author demonstrates sufficient possibilities for integrating empirical results into the author's approach, which gives an idea of some new aspects of youth behavior and, in particular, self-preservation practices of students. Interesting results were obtained by the author in the course of clarifying the students' attitudes to the situation with covid, to vaccinations against this disease, etc. The above generalizations give a clear picture of how, under the influence of covid, some social practices of certain groups or communities change and contribute to the emergence of new systems of value orientations of individuals. Thus, it can be stated that the author managed to reveal the topic indicated in the title of the article, to present the final conclusions that are important for understanding the problem. The bibliography reflects the knowledge of the problem and allows you to get important conclusions. The article may be recommended for publication.