Activity as a predictor of the subjective well-being of Chinese adolescents

Bashkin Evgenii Bronislavovich ORCID: 0000-0002-4118-813X PhD in Psychology Head of the Department of Psychology and Pedagogy, Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University of Russia 117198, Russia, Moscow region, Moscow, Miklukho - maklaya str., 10, room 2 bashkin_eb@pfur.ru Shlyakhta Dmitrii Aleksandrovich ORCID: 0000-0001-8853-0919 PhD in Psychology Lecturer, Department of Psychology and Pedagogy, Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University of Russia 117198, Russia, Moscow region, Moscow, Miklukho-Maklaya str., 10, room 2 shlyakhta-da@rudn.ru

Yan' Yapin Postgraduate student, Department of Psychology and Pedagogy, Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University of Russia 117198, Russia, Moscow region, Moscow, Miklukho - maklaya str., 10, office 2 1042218245@rudn.ru

Introduction

The presence of mental health problems in adolescents has become one of the most significant social issues of Chinese society. As of the end of 2022, 30.28% of patients with depression under the age of 18 were identified in China (in 2020, their number was 24.60%), which is a rather alarming signal for society and the state ^{[4, 7]}. Among these 30.28%, many teenagers are in school (about 50%), and 41% dropped out of school altogether due to depression, which generally negatively affects their subsequent socialization in adulthood and in the future can lead to certain problems of social well-being in the following decades. Under these conditions, the study of the peculiarities of the subjective well-being of Chinese adolescents acquires high importance, which generally determined the relevance of the research topic.

The purpose of the article is to study the importance of proactive behavior for the subjective well–being of Chinese adolescents. Achieving this goal will make it possible to identify the components underlying the subjective well-being of Chinese adolescents, which can later be used in the development of national measures to support adolescent mental health.

Theoretical overview

By now, many theoretical schools have been formed that study the essence and components of mental health and well-being, including the school of psychodynamics (Z. Freud, A. Adler, K. Jung, V. Frankl), gestalt therapy (F. Perls, L. Perls, P. Goodman, I. Bosco, E. Bauman), the School of Personality Psychology (K. Rogers), the school of cognitive behavioral therapy (A. Beck, A. Ellis), the Soviet School of Activity Psychology (L. S. Vygotsky, S. L. Rubinstein, A. N. Leontiev, K. A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya). All of these schools are characterized by the consideration of subjective well-being as the absence of health disorders. At the same time, the attention of these scientists is mainly focused on the study of the impact of mental disorders, depression and other abnormalities on well-being.

In recent decades, scientific circles have been actualizing the consideration of subjective well-being not only as the absence of health problems, but also as a condition in which a person is able to adapt to life situations and most effectively realize their own potential ^[11]. This idea formed the basis of K. Riff's concept of positive mental health, which identifies five components as part of psychological well-being, including a positive attitude towards oneself and one's past, the presence of goals that determine the meaning of human life, the persistence of development and self-realization, a positive attitude towards others, the ability to follow one's beliefs ^[10]. K. Riff's methodology has gained quite wide popularity in Russia, where there is an active formation of its own psychological school of a comprehensive model of commitment to mental health, developed by researchers of the Department of Psychology and Pedagogy of the RUDN ^[1].

In China, mental health has traditionally been studied from the standpoint of Chinese medicine and associated with the concepts of qi energy, harmony of soul and body, and balance in the human body. At the end of the last century, due to the development of scientific and social exchange with European countries, the concept of mental health in its modern sense appeared in China. At the same time, this concept was borrowed from the ideas of the schools of cognitive behavioral therapy, psychodynamics and gestalt therapy, and has been used in its original form for a long time. In the works of modern Chinese authors, the understanding of the essence of mental well-being as the opposite of ill health still continues to prevail ^{[3; 6; 8; 9]}, this once again underlines the need to revise the methodological approach to studying the well-being of Chinese adolescents.

Adolescence is usually considered as a transitional period from childhood to adulthood, with significant physiological changes (such as height, weight and reproductive system), psychological maturation and development (attachment relationships, cognitive development), external environmental influences (peer pressure) and other factors. All of the above combined contributes to the dynamic development of adolescent mental health and determines their subjective well-being.

In the works of many Chinese researchers, the subjective well-being of adolescents is studied from the point of view of its negative aspects. A significant part of the works is devoted to the study of mental health problems, including anxiety and depression, and the duration of disorders ^[12]. Studying only the negative aspects of subjective well-being seems insufficient for a deep understanding of it. In this regard, the application of the concept of positive mental health by K. Riff seems definitely promising.

Thus, by the subjective well-being of adolescents, we will understand not only the absence of functional disorders, but also emotional, psychological and social well-being, allowing the individual to use his own positive psychological resources to adapt to society.

Research methodology

The aim of the empirical study was to study hypotheses about activity as a factor in the subjective well-being of Chinese adolescents. The empirical study examined the following hypotheses about the subjective well-being of Chinese adolescents:

H1: Proactive attitudes affect the subjective well-being of Chinese teenagers.

H2: Awareness of one's own self-efficacy has a positive effect on the subjective well-being of Chinese teenagers.

To solve the tasks, a survey was conducted using a questionnaire that includes the following psychodiagnostic techniques:

– questionnaire "Scale of psychological well-being" by K. Riff (84 questions), which highlights the schools "positive relationships", "self-acceptance", "goals in life", "environmental management", "autonomy", "personal growth";

– the scale of R. Schwarzer's proactive attitudes;

– General self-efficacy questionnaire (10 questions);

The obtained data were studied using methods of mathematical and statistical processing (including the calculation of averages, standard deviation indicators, the Shapiro-Wilk criterion, nonparametric Kraskel-Wallis analysis of variance, which allowed comparing the indicators of independent samples, regression and cluster analysis). Jamovi software was used for the calculation.

The study involved 302 adolescents (151 boys and 151 girls) aged 17 to 19 years old living in China in Beijing (62.6%) and in a village in Henan Province (37.4%).

The results of the study

Descriptive statistics of the obtained indicators

As a result of the analysis using the methods used, 8 independent variables were obtained. Descriptive statistics of variables are presented in Table 1.

Table 1 – Descriptive statistics of variables (N=302)

In the methodology "Scale of psychological well-being" by K. Riff, the value of the indicator "positive relationships" characterizes the presence of a person's trusting relationships with others (minimum value 25, maximum 77). In the sample, the average value was 56.1, therefore, Chinese teenagers are characterized by an average attitude towards themselves.

The average value of the "self-acceptance" indicator in the sample of Chinese adolescents is 57.1 (with a minimum value of 20, a maximum value of 78), which indicates the average severity of self-acceptance, one's own bad and good qualities.

The value of the indicator "goals in life" was 57.1 (with a minimum value of 20, a maximum value of 78), which indicates an average pronounced sense of direction in life, the relative presence of perspectives and beliefs characterizing the meaning of life.

The average values of the indicator "environmental management" in the sample of Chinese adolescents are 47.8 (with a minimum value of 21, a maximum value of 64), which indicates low possession of power and competence in relation to environmental management, weak control of external activities, which also leads to low efficiency of using available opportunities. Many Chinese teenagers lack a sense of control over what is happening around them, and feel unable to change circumstances.

According to the "autonomy" scale for Chinese teenagers, the average value was 56.1, with a minimum of 26 and a maximum of 75. This indicates that respondents have an average degree of ability to withstand the assessments of others, make important decisions, and act in a certain way.

The value of the indicator "personal growth" averaged 57.2, with a minimum of 22 and a maximum of 81. This allows us to find that, in general, Chinese teenagers have an average degree of feeling of their own "growth", and are moderately open to new experiences.

According to R. Schwarzer, a proactive attitude is a personality characteristic reflecting an optimistic expectation about the resources of the environment and one's own resources, based on responsibility and a desire to change the situation. The positive orientation of the proactive attitude should be noted, since it reflects not only the willingness of the subject to change himself and the environment, but also generally indicates a positive attitude towards an uncertain future. The value of the "proactive attitudes" indicator averaged 23.1, with a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 32 ^[2].

The concept of self-efficacy was proposed by Albert Bandura. He suggested that the expectation of self-efficacy means a person's belief that he is able to behave in a way that will lead to the desired results (success). The value of the indicator "general self-efficacy" averaged 28.7, with a minimum of 13 and a maximum of 40 ^[5].

At the first stage, the normality of the distribution was also assessed according to the Shapiro-Wilk criterion. It was found that its value for all variables is less than 0.001, therefore, the hypothesis of the normality of the distribution cannot be accepted. Based on this, the nonparametric Kraskel-Wallis analysis of variance was used for further analysis.

The results of the cluster analysis of the activity indicators of Chinese teenagers

Cluster analysis was used to divide a sample of Chinese adolescents into groups characterized by varying degrees of activity indicators. To do this, a k-means analysis was performed for the variables "proactive attitudes" and "general self-efficacy". The Hartigan-Wong algorithm was used, and the included variables were standardized. As a result of the analysis, 3 clusters were identified (Figure 1).

Figure 1 – Scatter diagram of the indicators of the scales "proactive attitudes" and "general self-efficacy" Data are standardized, clusters are highlighted

The first cluster, with a relatively low severity of activity indicators, included 47 respondents, the second with average activity – 92 and the third with high activity – 163 subjects. As expected, the groups at a high level of significance (<.001) differ in the severity of the variables included in the analysis. The average values of proactive attitudes were 14.9, 22 and 29; the average values of the variable "general self–efficacy" were 18.3, 27.6, and 35.9, respectively. According to the results of the analysis, we obtained three subgroups (clusters) of respondents with varying degrees of activity, which were conditionally called "low", "medium" and "high".

Comparative analysis of the subjective well-being of Chinese adolescents in groups with different activity indicators

In order to identify differences in the severity of the components of subjective well-being between groups of Chinese students obtained from the results of cluster analysis of the scales proactive attitudes and general self-efficacy, a nonparametric one-factor analysis of variance according to Kraskel-Wallace was conducted. This version of the analysis was applied because the distribution of the studied variables significantly differs from the normal law according to the Shapiro-Wilk criterion (see tab. 1)

Based on the results of the analysis, it can be concluded that all components of subjective well-being at a high level of significance (<.001) differ in groups characterized by different activity.

Table 2 – Comparison of subjective well-being in groups of Chinese adolescents

Subsequent post hoc analysis using the Dvass-Steele-Critchlow-Fliegner (DSCF) method also revealed significant high-level (<.001) differences in pairwise comparison of all groups for all studied components. We see that the higher the activity indicators, the higher the subjective well-being of Chinese teenagers.

Regression analysis of the influence of activity indicators on the components of subjective well-being of Chinese adolescents

Multiple regression analysis was performed to test the hypotheses of the study. The predictors were the "proactive attitudes" scale and the "general self–efficacy" questionnaire, and the components of subjective well-being as dependent variables.

Table 3 shows the six models being tested. The multiple correlation coefficient is significant according to Fisher's F criterion for all models (<.001), the multiple determination coefficient for all models is high (at least 0.85). All regression coefficients B are significant according to the Student's t-criterion at a high level (<.001) Standardized regression coefficients ? take values from 0.341 to 0.612. For all components of subjective well-being, except for "Environmental management", the contribution of the predictor "questionnaire of general self-efficacy" is higher than that of the scale "proactive attitudes".

Discussion of the results

The subjective well-being of Chinese teenagers consists of several components, among which the most significant are positive relationships, self-acceptance, and environmental management. All of them are closely related to proactive attitudes and the general self-efficacy of adolescents.

Proactive behavior plays an important role in the subjective well-being of Chinese teenagers. The results of the study prove that proactivity is especially important for a teenager's ability to overcome stress, ultimately achieving individual well-being. It also indicates that a significant part of Chinese teenagers are determined to actively solve emerging problems, are purposeful and take action to improve their quality of life.

Table 3 – Regression analysis of the impact of the proactive attitudes scale and the general self-efficacy questionnaire on the components of subjective well-being

Self-efficacy is of particular importance in proactive behavior. It characterizes the attitude of adolescents to their own resources and opportunities in changing the environment. Many Chinese teenagers, according to the study, rate their own self-efficacy highly, which demonstrates their confidence in themselves and their abilities. This largely determines the subjective well-being of Chinese teenagers.

Teenagers with a proactive behavior model are positive about their lives. They have a different perception of the obstacles that arise in their path, and are able to make more effective decisions to overcome them. By actively setting goals, having self-confidence, and successfully achieving their goals, Chinese teenagers accumulate positive experiences towards themselves, which generally increases their self-esteem, life satisfaction, and directly determines subjective well-being.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we note that the subjective well–being of adolescents is an important issue of far-reaching importance. The prospects of society and the nation as a whole depend on how teenagers feel, how confident they are in their abilities and in the possibility of achieving goals for a better future.

According to the results of an empirical study, it was found that many Chinese teenagers have high proactivity, which is characterized by the presence of such signs as initiative, determination, self-confidence, the ability to quickly adapt to environmental changes, plan and actively build their future. Despite the fact that the proportion of adolescents with high proactivity was more than 50%, many Chinese adolescents still have low proactivity, while their level of subjective well-being is significantly lower than that of adolescents with a proactive behavior model. This is a very alarming signal for the state, since it requires timely measures to improve the situation and increase the subjective well-being of adolescents.

The results of the study have high theoretical significance and can be used to develop a national policy of measures to support the subjective well-being of Chinese adolescents, as well as to conduct comparative international studies of the subjective well-being of adolescents in China and other countries.