Current Trends in the Manifestation of Socio-Psychological Distress in Adolescents

Tsirul'nikova Elena Aleksandrovna ORCID: 0000-0003-1648-1761 PhD in Pedagogy Associate Professor, Department of Theory and History of Pedagogy, Yaroslavl State Pedagogical University named after K.D. Ushinsky 150000, Russia, Yaroslavl region, Yaroslavl, Republican str., 108/1, office 1 e_ceryl@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Lukanin Nikita Sergeevich Graduate Student, Department of Theory and History of Pedagogy, Yaroslavl State Pedagogical University named after K.D. Ushinsky 150000, Russia, Yaroslavl region, Yaroslavl, Republican str., 108/1 lukanina-mv@mail.ru

Socio-psychological well-being in adolescence plays an important role in the formation of personality and affects all further human development. At the present stage of development of society, the ongoing socio-cultural changes, modernization of the educational process, increasing the requirements for the personality of the student also have a significant impact on the psychological state of adolescents. In particular, one of the main aspects that come to the fore in the development of the modern education system is the creation of conditions for the formation of psychological skills and abilities among students, with the help of which they will be able to maintain a positive direction in their own development and self-realization under rapidly changing conditions, information saturation and inconsistency of the modern world. We can definitely say that the portrait of a modern teenager is undergoing significant changes under the influence of external factors and changes in the conditions of its development. All this actualizes research on the topic of socio-psychological well-being of schoolchildren and the study of modern trends in the manifestation of the studied state from the point of view of the dynamic aspect.

The topic of subjective well-being over the past decade has attracted increasing attention to the study of both foreign and domestic researchers (M. Argyle, N. Bradburn, A. Waterman, E. Diener, K. Riff, R. Emmons, S. A. Mukhina, R.M. Shamionov, I.S. Zimina, M.N. Gavrilova, O.V. Polozova, O.S. Savelyeva, V.A. Ananyev, A.V. Voronina, T. O. Gordeeva, D. A. Leontiev, L. V. Kulikov, O. A. Idobaeva, T.D. Shevelenkova, etc.). Psychological well-being reflects a sense of subjective mental comfort and health of the individual. This condition is primarily associated with a person's ability to be highly active and efficient, as well as with the adaptation of the subject to society ^[1].

Socio-psychological well-being can be defined as a characteristic reflecting the quality of a person's life associated with his level of socio-environmental orientation and socio-household adaptation, which, in turn, include optimal modes of social, family, household and professional activity for an individual ^[2]. From the point of view of inner experience, psychological well-being is reflected in the openness of the individual, the ability to react emotionally and live the whole range of emotional responses, in the ability to overcome alienation and feel unity with the surrounding world (N.K. Smirnova, M.V. Valyuzhenich) ^[6].

Socio-psychological difficulties of adolescents in foreign literature are considered as a combination of such aspects as social (external social conditions, the influence of peers and family, social support), emotional (feelings and emotional experiences of a teenager) and educational (various cognitive problems, school motivation and adaptation) ^[7]. In the study of N. Y. Makeeva, behavioral and neurotic symptoms of socio-psychological distress are highlighted:  communication with peers prone to illegal behavior, lack of hobbies, hobbies, constant absenteeism in educational institutions, lack of stable friendly relations with peers, conflicts with teachers, unkempt appearance, non-compliance with personal hygiene standards, the presence of bad habits, a tendency to theft, a tendency to escape, leaving home ^[5].

As part of our research, we tried to determine the content of the main difficulties that reduce the level of socio-psychological well-being of adolescents. To do this, we analyzed the content of counseling practice with teenagers of the Municipal Institution "City Center for Psychological, Pedagogical, Medical and Social Assistance", Yaroslavl and identified the typology of requests for consultations in the period from 2012 to 2022. Based on this, all consulting requests were classified by us as follows:

- communicative problems, reflecting the specifics of the relationship with the society of a teenager;

- problems arising in the development of general educational and universal actions related to the experience of the examination period, with motivation and school failure, with the peculiarities of the formation of cognitive functions;

- psychoemotional difficulties and crises, this aspect reflects various kinds of psychoemotional difficulties, the experience of eating behavior disorder, suicidal disorders, autoaggression, as well as traumatic experience;

- destructive behavior associated with antisociality, aggression and dependent behavior.

The difficulties and problems presented above, faced by modern adolescents, determine the content of the socio-psychological distress of schoolchildren.

In the studies of T.V. Kornilova, S.D. Smirnov, E.L. Grigorenko, the factors influencing the socio-psychological distress of adolescents are differentiated into external and internal. The authors found that these components influence each other and determine the overall level of socio-psychological distress of a teenager's personality. Thus, the internal psychological distress is more influenced by such an external factor as a cruel attitude (violence) over a schoolboy. Destructive behavior of adolescents is formed both on the basis of social and with various psychoemotional disorders of adolescents. Also, researchers have found that problems related to relationships in the family affect psychological distress and difficulties with socialization in adolescence. ^[4]

According to the research of V.N. Kolesnikov, Yu.I. Melnik, it has been established that the problems of a communicative nature that determine the level of socio-psychological distress are considered in some studies from the point of view of a teenager's ability to seek help and social support. Neither school nor teachers are a source of social support for teenagers. At the same time, 49.8% of young men note that they generally do not have a person on whom they could rely and to whom they would be ready to turn for help. While 70% of girls say that close people are still present in their lives. In general, the willingness of a teenager to seek social support contributes to the reduction of socio-psychological distress of adolescents. At the same time, first of all, schoolchildren are ready to turn to the "significant other", in second place – to family members and in third to friends. In adolescence, there is an average severity of anxiety, and, in general, girls are more likely to experience anxiety and various kinds of fears (V.N. Kolesnikov, Yu.I. Melnik) ^[3].

At the same time, according to modern research, life satisfaction, including relationships with parents, peers, teachers and grades, has average values in adolescents. Most of all, teenagers are not satisfied with school life in this matter, in particular, with their own assessments and relationships with teachers (V.N. Kolesnikov, Yu.I. Melnik) ^[3].

Next, the results of the analysis of advisory practice on each type of difficulties and problems of socio-psychological well-being among adolescents in the Yaroslavl region will be presented.

Fig.1. Dynamics of teenagers' consulting requests to the City Center for Psychological, Pedagogical, medical and Social assistance from 2012 to 2022.According to the results of the study of the dynamics of requests for consultations among adolescents from 2012 to 2022, the following can be said.

Communication problems for the presented period range from 103 to 250 requests per year. In general, the value of the registered cases is in the same range, no significant differences in the severity of the communicative aspect of socio-psychological well-being were found for the selected period of time (p?0.05). Despite this, over the past 5 years there has been a tendency to increase the appeals of adolescents with communication-related problems. This suggests that over time, the relevance of teenagers' requests on the topics of relationships with parents, teachers and peers increases.

General educational and universal actions for the period from 2012 to 2022 also remain in the range of values from 76 to 222 cases of appeals per year. Significant differences in the severity of aspects of general educational and universal actions during the study period were established (p?0.05, U=764.5). However, since 2015-2016, there has been a downward trend in registered cases of appeals on this topic. The results obtained indicate that there is currently a decrease in the number of adolescents seeking help in situations of upcoming exams, low academic motivation, school failure, unformed UUD or with neuropsychological problems.

Such an aspect of socio-psychological distress as psycho-emotional difficulties and crises in the period from 2012 to 2022 has a statistically significant tendency to increase actualization in adolescence (p?0.001, U=648.5). This may indicate two trends:  firstly, the fact that over the past decade, the relevance of such problems as violence, suicidal tendencies and autoaggression, eating disorders, as well as personal psycho-emotional difficulties has been increasing among adolescents; secondly, in recent years, systematic work on early detection and prevention of these problems has been significantly updated – educational organizations closely cooperate with medical andpsychological and pedagogical centers – from this the number of consulting cases increases, but many difficulties are solved at the initial stages.

The risk of destructive behavior as an indicator of socio-psychological distress of adolescents varies in the range from 44 to 107 cases of appeals per year. There is a slight tendency to an increase in appeals on this topic, but no statistically significant differences were found (p?0.05). In addition, fewer clients apply for the aspect of destructive behavior than for other issues. All this suggests that behavioral disorders, dependence on surfactants and gadget addiction are not relevant requests for treatment among adolescents, despite the increase in the number of such cases.

It is important to note that 2015-2016 was a turning point in the dynamics of teenagers' requests regarding aspects of socio-psychological distress. Requests of a communicative nature related to emotional difficulties and destructive behavior began to increase, while cases of appeals related to general educational and universal actions decreased.

At the same time, as a result of correlation analysis, it was found that with an increase in problems in the communicative aspect of socio-psychological distress, the severity of deviant behavior in adolescents increases (r=0.738, with p<0.05). This suggests that with difficulties in relationships with significant adults, peers, parents and teachers, the likelihood of deviant behavior, aggression, and various forms of addiction increases. I. S. Ganishina in her research has established that the peculiarities of relationships with close people leads to the formation of deviant behavior ^[2]. This also confirms the relationships we have identified.

Summarizing the results obtained, we can say that at the moment there are a number of trends in the manifestation of socio-psychological distress: such aspects as difficulties in relationships with others are becoming more acute, adolescents tend to show autoaggression, eating disorders and face psychoemotional difficulties, violence. The revealed trends may indicate that modern adolescents, experiencing crisis situations and severe emotional states, unable to receive social support from the environment, are increasingly inclined to live their states in themselves through autoaggression.

The obtained research results substantiate the relevance of the development of psychological assistance and support for adolescents, which is reflected in the updating practice of the center for psychological, pedagogical, medical and social assistance.

Responding to the current needs of adolescents, a system of new correctional, developmental and preventive programs has been developed and implemented on the basis of the City Center for Psychological, Pedagogical, Medical and Social Assistance.

 To improve the psycho-emotional aspect of socio-psychological well-being, such innovative activities of the center as the municipal internship platform "Crisis psychological counseling in educational organizations are being implemented. Specifics and methods of work of a teacher-psychologist".

To reduce the risk of destructive behavior of adolescents, the municipal resource center "Preventive work and the provision of psychological and pedagogical assistance to children with autoaggressive and suicidal behavior in educational organizations", the municipal innovation platform "Formation of motivation for rational nutrition among students of educational organizations", as well as the municipal internship platform "Organization of preventive work and the formation of psychological and pedagogical competence in employees of educational organizations working with children who have destructive behavior."

Special attention is paid to systematic work with parents, because the socio-psychological well-being of adolescents directly depends on the degree of involvement of parents and close environment in the life of a teenager, on their willingness to help a teenager master constructive ways of coping with difficult life circumstances ^[5,8]. Therefore, based on the conducted research, we have compiled a program to reduce the socio-psychological distress of adolescents, as a result of which, through the joint activities of adolescents and parents, the development of communication between them, learning new strategies for coping with stressful situations and the continuity of family constructive ways to overcome difficult life situations, it was possible to reduce the prevalence of communication problems with parents (W=-106 at p<0.05), destructive behavior (W=-189 at p<0.01), as well as to reduce the severity of autoaggression (W=-92 at p<0.05) among adolescents. At the moment, this program is being implemented as a component of the regional project "Parent Academy "Parent +".

Thus, the conducted research made it possible to develop an up-to-date system of psychological correctional and preventive work focused on key subjects of interaction with a teenager and thereby contribute to the resolution of difficulties that reduce the level of socio-psychological well-being of adolescents.