Victimological Aspects of Human Capital in Old Age

Budyakova Tatyana Petrovna ORCID: 0000-0003-1739-837X PhD in Psychology Professor, Department of Pedagogy and Educational Technologies, Bunin Yelets State University 399770, Russia, Lipetsk region, Yelets, Kommunarov str., 28 budyakovaelez@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Mikheeva Ekaterina Vladimirovna Undergraduate, Bunin Yelets State University 399770, Russia, Lipetsk region, Yelets, Kommunarov str., 28 mikhe3vak@yandex.ru

Human capital is a concept that emerged in economics in the 50s of the XX century, aimed at assessing the importance of intangible assets associated with a person for the economic development of a corporation (firm) or the whole society (state) ^[4]. The applied result of this concept was the emergence of a new type of investment – investment in human capital, meaning the company's investments in both professional development and in the social and physical well-being of its employees ^[14].

Currently, in China, the most dynamically developing economy in the world, the transition from quantitative to qualitative economic growth is associated with human capital. Chinese works show that intangible assets, among other things, should include cognitive and non-cognitive abilities of a person that allow achieving a good economic effect, which clearly indicated the psychological nature of human capital ^[20]. It should also be noted that international legal standards have fixed, in fact, the psychological definition of human capital as a set of knowledge, skills, abilities and other personal qualities embodied in people and contributing to personal, social and economic well-being ^[2].

In the same vein, domestic research has also developed, including on human capital in old age. For example, the position of N.N. Shestakova and her colleagues is that the human capital of the elderly includes general and special knowledge, professional skills, features of life and professional motivation, which under certain conditions can bring income or other benefits. Complementing cognitive elements with a motivational factor, the authors strengthen the psychological component of human capital ^[3]. For our stated research topic, it is important to note that almost immediately the work on the study of human capital in relation to old age highlighted the victimological (victim, Lat. – victim) aspect of the problem, although the authors do not single out this aspect separately, in fact it is implicitly present. Thus, the above-mentioned team of researchers notes that when retiring, it becomes problematic to realize human capital due to its lack of demand or obsolescence (uncompetitiveness) ^[3], which becomes a factor of victimization of an elderly person.

 From the time of his first research, investments in the upbringing and education of children were initially considered a source of human capital focused on the elderly for parents ^[6]. Hence, many scientific papers are devoted to how material support and the cost of children's education will improve the quality of life of the family as a whole, including during the transition to the retirement age of parents ^[18]. However, both social practice and its analysis in scientific research have shown that parents' investments in children often do not perform the function of reverse transfer in old age, not justifying the hope for attention and support by children in late ontogenesis ^[12]. This reduces the chances of elderly people to a safe environment at retirement, makes them more victimized ^[13] and even victims of family violence ^[9].

Modern studies of human capital prove that the sources of human capital should be expanded, especially for the elderly, including single elderly people. Thus, it is noted that the level of education and experience as a traditional baggage of human capital does not reflect the whole picture of the impact of the human factor on the efficiency of the economy. It is proposed to include in the elements of human capital such indicators as health, which was also called physical capital ^[7], as well as readiness to learn and acquire new competencies and simply the ability to work effectively despite old age ^[1]. For the elderly, such a factor of human capital as the "feeling of youth" was also identified – the younger a person feels, the more likely it is to make productive financial plans ^[19].

In positive psychology at the beginning of the XXI century, the concept of positive psychological capital arose. The content of this type of capital initially consisted of four main components: self-efficacy, resilience, hope and optimism ^[15]. Currently, this type of capital includes components that are heterogeneous in psychological nature, such as: characterological traits (optimism, endurance, perseverance, energy, dedication, indifference), targets in the form of hope for a positive, positive thinking itself, the quality of activity in the form of its effectiveness and even emotions in the form of experiencing pleasure and others ^[17]. At the same time, studies show a close relationship between psychological capital and human capital and even a direct correlation between them ^[10]. Thus, the factor of successful employment, traditionally related to human capital, is also considered an indicator of the height of psychological capital ^[16]. 

A review of the literature on the problem of human capital has revealed some gaps in its study in relation to old age. Firstly, despite the obvious psychological component of the components of psychological capital, at the moment there is not enough proper psychological research of this phenomenon. Secondly, only fragmentary studies of victimological and other negative consequences caused by shortcomings in the creation and preservation of human capital are presented. Thus, it is noted that in late ontogenesis, as a rule, there are no effective financial planning skills even among scientists entering old age ^[5], which creates the ground for victimization even of highly educated and wealthy people.

Modern victimology is an interdisciplinary science within which psychological studies of the victim's personality are intensively developing. Her achievements were: the introduction into the scientific apparatus of the psychological category "victimhood", which is understood as the victim's predisposition to victimization, the development of psychological typology of crime victims, theories of victim personality, etc. It is no coincidence that victimological research has become the basis of a new direction in psychology – "security psychology", which actively uses victimological terms: victim, victimization, victimization, etc. The development of victimological knowledge in relation to old age in the context of the development of the psychological part of the doctrine of human capital will create favorable conditions for ensuring the security of the individual in this period of personogenesis.

In connection with the above, we formulated the purpose of our empirical research: to identify the psychological component of human capital in old age, which would ensure the anti-victim status of an elderly person.

Research methodology

The methodology of the research is a synergetic approach with its creative principles of nonlinearity and self-organization, which allowed combining the activity paradigm with the victimological approach in one study and revealing the psychological components of the economic theory of human capital.

Research methods: a) case method; b) qualitative content analysis.

The general hypothesis of our empirical research was the assumption that human capital in old age is not only the baggage of knowledge, skills and abilities that allow you to "stay afloat" among younger competitors, but it is, in addition, psychological and other tools for preserving human dignity in old age, including through productive the use of time and resources to prepare for a decent life in old age.

Justification of the research methodology. The case method allows us to analyze different options for adaptation to old age and evaluate their effectiveness due to the fact that an indefinite number of people, including those with whom direct contact is impossible, become the object of study. However, their life path can serve as a standard for describing certain strategies for managing human capital in old age.

The material of the methodology. 30 cases have been developed, which reflect the problems of accumulation and realization of human capital in old age. The emphasis is placed on the facts that illuminate the solution of the issues of creating a favorable living space.

In this part, we presented a part of the cases (seven) as examples of the material that was subjected to content analysis.

Case 1. "Buranovskiye babushki".

Case 2. "Leonid Kuravlev".

Case 3. "Grandmother in the family".

Case 4. "Apartment in a special house".

Case 5. "Nephew".

Case 6. "Accountant".

Case 7. "Architect", etc.

Research results and their discussion

When creating and analyzing cases, information about the peculiarities of the implementation of human capital in old age was recorded and attention was focused on the victimological aspects of this implementation. In particular, attention was paid to the elements of life situations that gave rise to the victim's position in an elderly person.

The cases used in the study were created on the basis of information presented in the media, as well as on the basis of conversations with elderly and middle-aged people with elderly parents. The sources for the formulation of cases were also materials of judicial practice, as well as information received from close relatives of elderly people (for example, nephews). As a result , two types of cases were obtained: a) individually defined, in which fragments of biographies of specific persons are recorded and generalized, in which typical situations are fixed, repeated in different biographies.

So, the generalized case, called by us "Grandmother in the family", contains facts that were often repeated in our conversations, when a grandmother sets one of the goals of her residence in the family of her daughter or son to transfer her personal life experience to children, subjectively realizing this as her parental duty. This case reveals such victimological causes of conflicts in the family as "unobtrusiveness in dictating the rules of life to children" and not always appropriate parental requirements and advice. In such cases, human capital in the form of life experience turns out to be not an advantage of old age, but a barrier in communicating with loved ones. Hence, as it was confirmed in our cases, only a small part of the children seek to live with their parents, but conscientiously fulfilling their duty, do not leave them without custody.

Two subsequent cases show that focusing solely on investing in children as a source of human capital can lead to psychological bankruptcy. The individually defined case "Accountant" illustrates the situation that occurred in Yelets, when a woman, an accountant by profession, who raised her son alone, paid for his medical education, also invested all her savings in housing for his family, which was bought in another city. When the woman retired and told her son that she wanted to live with him, the son refused, saying that his wife was against it. Her son's response was perceived as humiliation, she was treated for several months for the consequences of psychological trauma, which is a clear product of victimization.

The Architect case is similar in content. The mother, a successful person in her professional field, who owned three apartments, gave them all to her son, an architect, in the hope that he would provide and brighten up her old age. However, having sold all the apartments for his own needs, the son refused to support his mother, thereby humiliating her human and maternal dignity.  She had to rent a house in rural areas, because her pension does not allow her to pay rent in the big city where she previously lived. The deterioration of social and housing conditions led to an exacerbation of chronic diseases, that is, it had a victimological effect.

In the "Accountant" and "Architect" cases, the data of elderly studies were confirmed, which indicate that the main components of human and psychological capital in solving the life problems of an elderly person are much more effective when they are mediated by social support ^[8]. It is no coincidence that, first of all, the content of the concept of social capital as a set of measures of social support and social participation was adjusted for this category of people ^[11]. At the same time, the hope for the state is evidence of the underdevelopment of planning skills and the creation of human capital with an orientation towards old age in most modern people.

The case "Leonid Kuravlev" just shows how the famous actor's human capital in the form of national fame helped him become a client of an expensive private home for the elderly.  During his stay, he was provided with a separate room, the staff treated such a tenant with respect. However, the very fact of living on someone else's territory did not allow him to feel like the owner of the dwelling, since it was, although not state-owned, but bought for a certain time, as in a hotel. L. Kuravlev practically did not communicate with any of the guests, apparently feeling like a victim of circumstances when his children could not provide for him decent care at the location of his own home, and he himself did not foresee such a scenario. At the same time, his dignity was further humiliated by the pity of the staff.

Meanwhile, there are also anti-antimicrobial scenarios for the disposal of human capital, which are reflected, in particular, in the case of "Buranovskiye Babushki". This case is relevant for our research because it presents a new way for modern Russia to dispose of human capital in old age. The members of the Buranovsky Grandmothers ensemble, using their talent as human capital, earned a substantial fee, which they invested in the construction of their own private home for the elderly, intending to live in it. Own private home for the elderly is not a traditional state institution for the elderly, in which residents do not have property rights, and they are completely dependent on the staff, which they cannot select themselves, and on the regime that is imposed on them. The owners have the right to dispose of their property at their discretion. This to a certain extent neutralizes factors that victimize, for example, residents of public and private homes for the elderly and elderly.

The case "Apartment in a special house" is a similar version of the "Buranov grandmothers", which takes place in Germany. We are talking about houses specially built for the elderly. The layout of the house provides for the possibility of organizing places of public catering and pastime for residents, as well as the availability of a medical aid point. At the same time, apartments can be both owned by residents and rented out on the terms of social hiring. In such houses, there is also a choice of the form of food: a public dining room or your own cooking at home. For elderly people who find themselves without the support of relatives and friends, this is a good anti-victim option for continuing a comfortable life with maximum dignity in old age (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arbeiterwohlfahrt?wprov=sfti1 ).

The creation of houses provided with infrastructure for elderly owners, in our opinion, should become one of the social projects of the state. The example of the "Nephew" case shows how victimization could be avoided in a particular case if such a state project existed. The specified case contains the plot of the case considered in the Yelets City Court. The nephew offered his aunt to move into a three-room apartment, combining his two-room apartment with her one-room apartment. My aunt agreed because she wanted to avoid loneliness, including helping to raise her great-nephew. However, the nephew's family was not going to take care of her and was only waiting for her aunt to die or find another reason to get rid of her. To do this, the nephew began to create unbearable living conditions for her, and publicly represented her as mentally disabled and dangerous for living together. The aunt filed a statement of claim in court, demanding the exchange of the apartment. The tribal leader tried to prove through the same court that the aunt should be placed in a specialized boarding school. If there was such an opportunity, this elderly woman could have received her share of care and participation by exchanging her apartment for an apartment in a specialized home for the elderly.

Summarizing, it can be noted that even the presence of traditional types of human capital in the form of fame, the presence of children and grandchildren, talent, professional success does not guarantee a calm and contented life in old age and further in old age. At the same time, the key basic element of life satisfaction is the presence of comfortable living conditions and communication, due to the freedom of choice of these conditions. It can be stated that human capital in old age is preserved human dignity, when you are respected, and not humiliated with pity, especially not treated disdainfully. In such a situation, an elderly person does not feel like a victim.

Conclusion

The scientific novelty of the study is that, for the first time, it shows that the study of human capital exclusively by economic methods does not give a significant increase in scientific knowledge. Thus, a typical way to measure human capital in the economy is to compile economic indices using purely statistical procedures. For example, the efficiency of human capital is calculated as the ratio of the proportion of people receiving higher education in relation to the total mass of the population. At the same time, even economists themselves admit that there is no direct correlation between the number of people receiving higher education and the quality of life in old age ^{[18; 19]}. Our research has shown that such ambivalent results are the result of ignoring the obvious psychological component of all components of human capital and the lack of psychological tools in its study. The examples of the "Accountant" and "Architect" cases are evidence that even a high-quality higher education is not a guarantee of a safe and secure life for elderly parents and, accordingly, cannot show positive trends in the statistical picture of human capital indices.

The scientific novelty of the study was also the formulation of the main goal and psychological criterion of the quality of human capital in old age – the preservation of human dignity. This is important for age psychology in terms of the development of the theory of functioning and development of personality in old age, which is currently in its infancy. In particular, there is currently no single established opinion in age psychology about what types of activities should be leading at this age and determine the prospect of development in it. At the same time, the data of our study indicate that the preservation of human dignity can be considered as the goal of all activities in old age. This gives impetus to further research in the field of psychology of the elderly.

The culture of relations in Russian society is still such that most children try to take care of their elderly parents not because they give financial investments to them, but because they are brought up in respect for them. Thus, human capital in old age can be formulated as a system of moral and ethical principles that were passed on to children in the process of upbringing and which were correctly and consciously applied at the right time.

At the same time, modern elderly people actually have to adapt to new socio-economic conditions and moral and psychological attitudes that are not similar to the traditions of the attitude towards the elderly in the USSR, in which they were born. Hence, a new goal of preparation for a new period of ontogenesis was actualized – the creation of anti-antimicrobial living conditions in which an elderly person is not perceived as a burden to the family and society, but gets the opportunity to get satisfaction from life, retains dignity in old age and old age. In this sense, the human capital of the elderly must necessarily include an anti-victim component that allows taking all measures of victimological protection, ensuring the safety of their personality and preserving dignity as the main intangible benefit of the individual.

At the same time, we are not talking about the fact that parents should not take care of their children, and that it is absolutely not worth investing in their children, because of the risks of being in a victimized position in old age. Taking care of children is the duty and obligation of parents, backed up by guarantees of assistance from the state, which increases investments in families with children every year. At the same time, the complete shifting of responsibility for their future to children just leads to the position of a weak side (a potential victim), when someone will make a decision for you that may not meet the interests of an elderly person, including humiliating him as a person. Planning your independent life in old age, including financially, is an integral part of human capital in modern conditions.

It is obvious that material security also serves as a guarantee of psychological security. An obligatory component of human capital in old age should be knowledge about different possible variants of one's life in late ontogenesis: their positive and negative variants. Such a forecast will make it possible to develop safe forms of communication with relatives, and to teach how to dispose of their acquired funds of both property and non-property plan.