Features of adaptability of adolescents with different perceptions of parents' educational practices

Bondarenko Yuliya PhD in Pedagogy Associate Professor, Department of Socio-Cultural Communications and Mediation, T.G. Shevchenko Pridnestrovian State University 3300, Moldova, g. Tiraspol', ul. 25 Oktyabrya, 128 ajs2000@mail.ru Other publications by this author     Kilinskaia Natalia Senior Lecturer, Department of Socio-Cultural Communications and Mediation, T.G. Shevchenko Pridnestrovian State University 3300, Moldova, g. Tiraspol', ul. 25 Oktyabrya, 128 natalie-info@yandex.ru Other publications by this author     Buchkova Alla PhD in Sociology Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and Sociology, Plekhanov Russian University of Economics 117997, Russia, g. Moscow, per. Stremyannyi, 28, k. 1, aud. 340 life.pmr@gmail.com Other publications by this author

Gonchar Svetlana PhD in Psychology Associate Professor, Department of Socio-Cultural Communications and Mediation, T.G. Shevchenko Pridnestrovian State University 3300, Moldova, g. Tiraspol', ul. 25 Oktyabrya, 128 s-gonchar@mail.ru

The close attention of modern sciences to the study of the peculiarities of adolescence is primarily due to the fact that this period is considered one of the most important in the process of forming an autonomous healthy personality. At the same time, the accelerating processes of social transformations, total informatization, the influence of the Internet, the high intensity of education, the peculiarities of interaction with adults and peers can negatively affect young people.

The intensity of the processes of maturation and development, combined with the impact of the above factors, reduce the resources necessary to preserve physical and psychological health, as well as the disclosure of the potential of adolescents. The relevance of the study is determined by the growing prevalence of neuroses and other borderline mental disorders among this age group. The consequences of such violations in adolescence leave traces for many years of a person's life. Subsequently, they significantly determine not only the state of neuropsychiatric and psychosomatic health, but also the peculiarities of personality development, affect all levels and forms of adaptation (mental, social, professional) ^[1].

Innovativeness and uncertainty, spontaneity and dynamism, information saturation of modern socio-economic conditions in which the socialization of adolescents takes place, exert intense pressure on their psyche, increasing the intensity of the functioning of the mechanisms of its intrapsychic and social adaptation. This confirms the importance of studying the adaptive behavior of the personality of adolescents as a fundamental resource of social integration and psychological well-being.

Adaptive behavior is understood as a spatio-temporal form of the organization of adolescent activity, the regulation of which is mediated by the image of the situation of socio-psychological adaptation in the process of socialization of the younger generation ^[2]. This is the subordination of a teenager's activity to any pre-given norm or goal.

The active adaptation of an individual to the conditions of the social environment is influenced by a large number of reasons, both subjective and objective. Genetic factors also play an important role. They determine the properties of neuropsychic processes, the peculiarities of upbringing, as well as the requirements of the environment in which the individual is at the moment.

In adolescence, adaptive behavior is in the stage of active formation. The specificity of the adaptability of young people during this period is largely due to new trends in the development of the education system ^{[3; 4]}. In the age-psychological portrait of a teenager, typical characteristics can be identified that create a risk of reducing adaptive behavior, namely: discontent, anxiety, physical and mental malaise, fatigue, hypersensitivity and irritability, internal dissatisfaction, self-disbelief, negative attitude towards oneself, melancholy, guilt. In addition, the tension of the living space at this age is exacerbated by inflated social expectations against the background of the "devaluation" of the reference status of an adult.

The first experience of interacting with the social world for a child is communication with parents. This consolidating experience forms in the future certain patterns of behavior with other people, which are passed down from generation to generation. It is in adolescence that relationships with close adults begin to move to a qualitatively new stage ^[5]. The problem of mutual perception of teenagers and parents has been relevant at all times. The relationship between each other largely depends on the features of this perception, what features the subjects of interaction endow each other with, what they generally expect from communication. Satisfaction from communication is a subjective indicator of the quality of the relationships being built.

In connection with the leading educational role of the family, the question of how to strengthen the positive and minimize the negative impact of the family on the development of adolescent adaptability is relevant ^[6]. The predominant parenting style or parental style of behavior has the greatest influence on the child in the family. The parental style of behavior is understood as a system or set of parental emotional attitude to the offspring, the perception of the child and the ways of behavior with him. The concept of "parental style" or "parenting style" is used to determine attitudes and appropriate behavior towards children in the family. M. A. Minina understands the style of family education as the most characteristic for a particular family relationship between parents using certain means and methods of pedagogical influence, and the child. Different styles of family upbringing have different effects on the formation and development of the latter's personality ^[7].

Within the framework of our study, the peculiarities of the adaptability of adolescents who evaluate their upbringing differently by their parents were analyzed.

N. L. Konovalova ^[8] defines the adaptive potential of a person as an integrating characteristic of mental health. At the same time, mental adaptability is assessed as an integral property of personality. Adaptability can also be considered as a set of internal factors that determine the effectiveness of adaptive changes ^[9].

 A. G. Maklakov and S. V. Chermyanin have shown that personal adaptive potential is a characteristic of a person's mental development, which makes it possible to predict the effectiveness of activities in various extreme conditions ^[10].

The theoretical and methodological basis of the study was an existential approach that promotes personal self-determination and the assertion of a vital active position ^[11], as well as theories and concepts of personality that interpret the factors of adaptive behavior formation, combining individual psychological characteristics of the individual and the environment ^{[12; 13]}.

The aim of the study was to study the peculiarities of the adaptability of adolescents with different perceptions of the educational practice of parents.

The subject of the study is the adaptability of adolescents with different perceptions of the style of family education.

In this study, testing methods were used, namely: the multilevel personality questionnaire "Adaptivity-99" (MLO AM) by A. G. Maklakov and S. V. Chermyanin and the methodology "Teenagers about parents" (ADOR) (author E. Shafer, modification Z. Mateychika and P. Rzhichana); a method of mathematical data processing.

The total sample size is 348 teenagers of grades 7-8 of the Bendery Theoretical Lyceum, MOU TSH No. 2, MOU TSH No. 9, GO SPO "School of the Olympic Reserve", Republic of Moldova, Transnistria. The study in the conditions of a pandemic was conducted from 01.03.2021 to 01.04.2021. The results obtained give us an idea of the manifestation of adaptive potential in adolescents.

The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that for the first time the peculiarities of the adaptability of adolescents with different perceptions of the educational practice of each parent were studied. The specifics of the relationship between the indicators of adaptability of adolescents and the specifics of their perception of relationships with their mother and father are studied in detail.

Based on the analysis of the considered modern studies, a hypothesis was put forward that adolescents with high rates of adaptability and emotional stability, in assessing their family upbringing, expressed, first of all, positive interest, closeness and lack of hostility in relations with both parents. Adolescents with maladaptation disorders have a high level of hostility, inconsistency of educational influences and criticism from both parents in assessing their family upbringing.

The results of the empirical study showed that the integrated level of social adaptation in the sample of subjects has an average value (see Figure 1). However, the majority of subjects (79%) revealed a low level of personal adaptation. Also, half of the subjects had a low level of behavioral regulation and a low level of communicative potential. All other factors of adaptability are developed at an average level, but there are more low indicators in percentage ratio than high ones. Thus, the majority of adolescents in our sample have signs of various accentuations, which are partially compensated in the usual conditions and can manifest themselves when changing activities. Such people are usually characterized by low emotional stability. Possible manifestations of aggression and conflict. Teenagers of this group require an individual approach, constant monitoring, corrective measures.

Fig. 1. Distribution of adaptability indicators according to the MLO-AM method ("Adaptability-99") in a sample of subjects (in %)

The analysis of the results using the ADOR methodology gives us an idea of how teenagers evaluate the methods of education of their parents (see Fig. 2 and Fig. 3).

Fig. 2. Mother's attitudes, her behavior and parenting methods from the point of view of adolescents using the ADOR method in a sample of subjects (in %)

Figure 2 shows that in most adolescents, the perception of the educational impact of the mother is determined by a low level of directive, criticism and hostility with a high level of autonomy, inconsistency and intimacy.

Fig. 3. The father's attitudes, his behavior and methods of upbringing from the point of view of adolescents using the ADOR method in a sample of subjects (in %)

The most pronounced factors in assessing the behavior and methods of parenting of the father are a high level of positive interest, an average level of directivity (higher than that of the mother), a high level of hostility (much higher than that of the mother) and a high level of autonomy and inconsistency with a high proximity factor and a low criticism factor.

To compare the results obtained, the Pearson correlation coefficient was used in order to identify the relationship between the factors of adaptability of adolescents and their perception of parenting methods (see Table 1).

Table 1

Indicators of the Pearson correlation measure between the results of the MLO-AM and ADOR methodology

*** - Strong communication measure 

 **- The average measure of communication

Adaptability factors such as behavioral regulation, maladaptation disorders, asthenic reactions have the most significant connection with the assessments of relationships with parents. Factors such as moral normativity and psychotic reactions are associated with the perception of parents' educational practices less often. At the same time, personal adaptation and communicative potential have practically no significant connections with the perception of parents' educational practice.

Thus, almost all the features of adolescent adaptability are associated with the scale of hostility in relationships with the mother, as well as the scale of inconsistency in upbringing. At the same time, the factor of intimacy with both father and mother is equally important for the development of adaptability. A strong measure of the relationship between a high level of hostility on the part of the mother and maladaptation disorders, as well as the relationship of maternal hostility with asthenic and psychotic reactions of adolescents, was found. Interestingly, in the relationship with the father, there is a significant relationship only between the scale of hostility and maladaptation disorders and asthenic reactions.

In the relationship with the mother, there is a connection between inconsistency in upbringing and behavioral regulation of a teenager, communicative potential and maladaptation disorders. At the same time, in the relationship with the father, there is no significant connection between inconsistency in upbringing with any of the factors of adolescent adaptability. However, the factor of closeness of both parents is associated with behavioral regulation, maladaptation disorders, asthenic reactions and psychotic reactions.

Note that the scale of positive interest is associated with behavioral regulation and asthenic reactions only in the case of a relationship with the mother. In the relationship with the father, this factor does not matter so much. But the criticism factor in both parents is associated with maladaptation disorders. Directive, however, becomes significant for maladaptation violations only in the relationship with the father.

Thus, the factor of closeness with both parents is more associated with high adaptability, while hostility and inconsistency in upbringing in relationships with the mother are associated with a decrease in adaptability.

At the same time, it can be assumed that such a high percentage of maladaptation in our sample is mediated by the simultaneous presence of factors such as inconsistency of educational influences, hostility in relations with the mother, as well as the presence of situationally manifested intimacy. In this connection, this study should be continued in order to identify additional links and factors within the problem under consideration.

Consequently, our hypothesis that adolescents who are able to independently develop a strategy for their own behavior and have emotional stability, primarily positive interest, closeness and lack of hostility in relations with both parents are expressed in the assessment of their family upbringing, has been partially confirmed. There was also partial confirmation of the assumption that adolescents with pronounced maladaptation disorders have a high level of hostility, inconsistency of educational influences and criticism from both parents in assessing their family upbringing.

The results of the study are of interest, including from the point of view of further preventive work with adolescents and their parents. It was found that the educational impact of the father and mother is not the same. In this regard, it is important to develop recommendations and topics of educational meetings for parents of adolescents, taking into account the conclusions obtained in the study.

The development of new methods of family psychotherapy requires a deeper understanding of the processes that occur in the family of adolescents with different levels and characteristics of adaptability. Psychological mechanisms of the formation of parental relationships, largely dependent on the peculiarities of mutual perception by family members of each other, should be taken into account in the development of methods and programs of psychological assistance to adolescents.