Family values as a resource of psychological safety in students studying in the new territories of Russia

Abstract

Psychological safety is one of the important conditions for the possibility of growth and effective development of a person, as well as for resistance to negative psychological influences. In the tense social environment that is typical of the new territories of Russia, various psychological influences are quite common, and students should be prepared for them. And it is to the family, to its support and stability that students rely on when they face the need to replenish their own resources. Therefore, the family is considered as one of the important resources for maintaining a state of psychological safety. At the same time, the researchers note the contradictory nature of the family value among modern youth. There are often depictions of both a chaotic and close-knit family as ideal. In terms of family functions, the psychotherapeutic function with preservation of personal autonomy takes precedence, while the parental function is not significant in the hierarchy of values for modern students. Therefore, it is important to determine the resource role of family values for students from new territories of Russia. The article presents an analysis of empirical data collected from a sample of students enrolled in educational institutions in the Zaporozhye region. The sample consisted of 1,034 individuals, of which 558 were female and 476 were male. Research methods: a scale of subjective well-being; indices of acceptance of aggressive, addictive, self-harming and suicidal, risky, delinquent behavior as normative and acceptance of ideas of extremism, nationalism, xenophobia, fascism; index of support for family values. Comparative analysis has shown that family values are more significant for women than for men. The integral index of psychological safety of students from the new territories of Russia was obtained by factoring the level of subjective well-being and indices of deviant behavior, as well as acceptance of ideas of extremism, nationalism, xenophobia and fascism. To identify the importance of family values as a resource for psychological safety, regression analysis was used. The results showed that family values are a significant resource for women but do not fulfil a resource role for men. It is essential to consider the results of this study when developing programs for the psychological and pedagogical support of the state of students' psychological safety in the new territories of Russia.