Abstract: Transformations and reforms in all areas of Russian society have led to the social transformation, including an increase in the number of conflict situations. The level and quality of social well-being of people depend on their attitude, willingness to actively participate in social, economic and political processes related to both personal, family and public life. The growing social crisis has caused a significant increase in interest in the problems of social well-being or disadvantage, both for an individual and for society as a whole. In his work, the authors study in depth the impact of social disruption on the occurrence of conflicts among young people. Conflict situations often arise in youth communications, which emphasizes the need to identify and effectively resolve them. Research aimed at studying the factors of social well-being and finding mechanisms for solving social contradictions are becoming especially important for reducing the level of disadvantage. The study was conducted using a selective method. The sample consists of 348 respondents, namely, students of six higher educational institutions: AltSU, AltGPU, ASAU, AltGTU, ASMU, BUI of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. The sample size was determined by the researcher's capabilities. The method of selecting units of the general population was a quota sample, the selection parameters were the higher educational institution and the gender of the respondents. Thus, it can be concluded that the social disadvantage of young people can enhance their conflict potential. It, in turn, can result in protests, which will negatively affect the state of the whole society. Based on the theoretical analysis and the results of empirical research, we have made the following conclusions:
1. A third of young people rated their conflict potential as high.
2. According to their subjective assessments, 15% of students stated low social well-being.
3. In the areas that determine the quality of people's lives, 64.2% of respondents who classified themselves as socially disadvantaged faced conflicts.
4. More active and protesting forms of defending their opinions (participation in rallies and strikes) are chosen to a greater extent by young people who are in conditions of social disadvantage.
5. Socially well-off youth prefer to defend their interests in the form of filing complaints.