The influence of combining professional and educational activities on the stress resistance of adult students

Zinatullina Azaliia Maratovna ORCID: 0000-0001-9223-5074 Lecturer, Department of Scientific Basis of Extreme Psychology, Moscow State University of Psychology and Education 127051, Russia, Moscow, Sretenka str., 29 azaliazinatullina@mail.ru

Introduction

In the realities of today, higher education is becoming a necessary stage of personal and professional development of a person of the XXI century, especially given the transformational processes in the economy and the high importance of the growth of the influence of human capital on it ^[2]. The formation of science and the education system are strategically important directions of the Russian state, which is interested in achieving international prestige and authority in order to integrate into the world process ^[5]. A modern specialist in the framework of his profession cannot do without the implementation of professional development tasks, the acquisition of new knowledge and competencies, the improvement of existing skills, since the employer's requirements on the labor market for applicants are growing, and therefore the second and (or) additional higher education are part of the process of constant professionalization. Thus, when choosing the level of education, adult specialists often give preference to the master's degree institute, which offers training in a wide range of areas where it is possible to improve their qualifications in various types of activities over a two-year period of study ^[5].

At the same time, we can observe an increase in external stressful factors related to the socio-political and economic situation every day, which, in turn, can lead to various man-made, informational and environmental threats ^[4], which negatively affects the emotional and physical state of the individual. Moreover, the very fact of simultaneous combination of training and performance of work duties for adult learners contributes to intellectual overload and, as a result, high overstrain, which also affects the effectiveness of the activities carried out.

In connection with the above, the skill of stress tolerance in our time is one of the key personal characteristics of a modern person, which allows you to adapt to constantly changing conditions in a rapidly developing society. As A.B. Leonova notes, the issues of mental well-being, the disclosure of the motivation of specialists and ensuring productive work affect not only external stimuli and causes of stress, but also the search for adaptive capabilities and resources of the individual, thanks to which she can cope with difficult and critical situations, and in the works of G. Selye, who studied the phenomenon of "stress", it is the "mechanism of plastic adaptation of the subject to the requirements of the environment" that is laid down ^[6]. And an important criterion indicating successful individual adaptation to environmental conditions is physiological and mental health under various circumstances. And here it is advisable to talk about "eustress", when even with stressful events or experiences, an individual is able to maintain his well-being. But the reverse reaction will indicate "distress" when the adaptive resources of the body are not enough or they are exhausted to overcome the difficulties that arise.

Returning to adult students, we understand that the combination of the educational process and the implementation of professional activities, as well as the fulfillment of other life obligations (family, social, etc.) for many will be a stressful factor. It is also worth emphasizing that it is in adulthood that a person also faces a crisis of self-actualization in the context of his life path, when there is a restructuring of previously habitual stereotypes, attitudes, habits, views and values ^[9]. In other words, during the period of maturity, there are a huge number of life tasks and goals that require the development of stress tolerance skills and adaptive abilities from the individual.

Thus, the aim of the study was to study the influence of the factor of combining professional and educational activities on the stress resistance of adult students.

Materials and methods of research

1. Stress tolerance test according to the K method. Shriner, which includes 9 questions assessing stress resistance. The scale of this technique is the reverse: the higher the score, the lower the degree of regulation in stressful situations) ^[10].

2. The Holmes and Rage stress tolerance test, which includes 43 statements on the assessment of determining the level of individual stress load and stress resistance. The scale of this technique is the reverse: the lower the score, the greater the degree of resistance to stress ^[8].

3. The method of determining neuropsychiatric instability "Prognosis", consisting of 84 questions. The scales of this technique are straight: the lower the score, the higher the neuropsychic stability ^[7].

4. Methods of mathematical statistics: Student's t-criterion, one-factor analysis of variance Anova.

Selection

The empirical basis of the study was:

- 147 people who have higher education and carry out professional activities, but are not currently studying from 20 to 60 years old: 22 men and 125 women;

- 187 people who are studying for a master's degree and carry out professional activities from 20 to 60 years: 106 men and 81 women.

The characteristics of the sample are presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Characteristics of the empirical study sample

Research results and their discussion

The results of a comparative analysis of the stress resistance of students and non-students of adult respondents are presented in Table 2.

Table 2. Comparative analysis of average indicators of stress resistance of students and non-students of men and women

Based on the data obtained, statistically significant differences were found in all methods for determining stress resistance in men and women. So, men who are not studying according to the stress tolerance test according to the K method. Shriners are resistant to stress (3.7 points at p ? 0.01), while men studying at the magistracy have a higher score, which indicates the need for them to use self-control methods if stressful situations arise (4.9 points at p? 0.01). In accordance with the Holmes and Rage stress tolerance test, non-students and male students have scores higher than the normative indicators, however, it is worth noting that the former are more comfortable with individual stress load (487.6 points at p ? 0.01) than male undergraduates (736.0 points at p? 0.01). Similar results were obtained using the method of determining neuropsychiatric instability "Prognosis": the scores of students (26.3 points at p < 0.05) and non-students (22.6 points at p < 0.05) of men indicate that there is a probability of nervous breakdowns, and in moments of extreme and difficult situations it increases. At the same time, we draw attention to the fact that after all, men who are not studying are more stable in their behavior, manifestation of character and feel better.

As for women, statistically significant differences were obtained by the K method. Schreiner's test – students with 4.2 points (at p? 0.01), non–students with 2.7 points (at p? 0.01); according to the Holmes and Rage test – students with 721.0 points (at p? 0.01), non-students with 384.3 points (at p? 0.01); according to the "Forecast" method - students have 24.5 points (at p? 0.01), non-students have 22.1 points (at p? 0.01). As we can see, women who do not study according to the first method are resistant to stress, unlike students. Almost 2 times non-trained women have a greater resistance to it, and they may face neuropsychiatric tension in difficult situations, but to a lesser extent.

Thus, both male and female students, as we believe, due to the high loads associated with combining professional and educational activities, along with the fulfillment of a number of other social, family obligations, have lower stress tolerance, and therefore a one-factor analysis of variance Anova was subsequently conducted in order to identify the influence of the factor of combination two types of activity on the indicators of resistance to stress. The results are shown in Figures 1-3.

Figure 1. The effect of combining professional and educational activities on stress resistance (according to the method of K. Shriner's)

Note. 1 – students in the master's program; 2 – not students; current. effect : F(1, 331) = 17.042, p =,00005*.

Figure 2. The effect of combining professional and educational activities on stress tolerance (according to the Holmes and Rage test)

Note. 1 – students in the master's program; 2 – not students; current. effect : F(1, 331) = 60.501, p =,00000*.

Figure 3. The effect of combining professional and educational activities on neuropsychiatric instability (according to the "Forecast" method)

Note. 1 – students in the master's program; 2 – not students; current. effect : F(1, 331) = 3.9052, p =,04897*.

From the graphs presented in the form of figures, it can be seen that the combination of professional and educational activities really affects the indicators of stress resistance and neuropsychiatric instability. This may explain the fact that non-learning adults have more internal physical and mental resources to overcome various stressful events and situations. Moreover, you need to understand that studying in a master's degree is an additional intellectual load, and along with this, the following tasks appear simultaneously for students: 1) the need to resolve the issue of paying for master's degree in the absence of a sufficient number of budget places in accordance with the Order of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation dated 08/21/2020 No. 1076 "On approval of the Procedure for admission to higher education educational programs - bachelor's degree programs, specialty programs, master's degree programs"; 2) the implementation of scientific activities, so how to obtain a master's degree according to the Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation dated 22.03.2006 No. 62 "On the educational program of higher professional education for specialized training of masters" implies conducting high-quality scientific research ^[3]; 3) performing a large number of tasks that are part of independent work ^[1]; 4) in addition to educational activities in the master's program, students are required to undergo various types of practices that undergraduates should have time to attend along with employment, etc.

Despite the actual high importance for adult specialists of obtaining a master's degree, additional and (or) highly specialized education requires huge resources for advanced training, obtaining new knowledge and the formation of important professional competencies, therefore, thanks to the study, it was found out that today the question of the development of adaptive capabilities of adult learners within the framework of their development is acute. stress resistance.

Conclusions

The modern world is in constant development, which affects the economic, political, spiritual, social spheres of society, therefore, it is important for a person today to have various types of skills, abilities, knowledge, to be competitive, and therefore studying at a higher school is one of the necessary stages in the framework of professional development, formation and self-determination, which is the most safely provided there is such a personal quality as stress tolerance, because at the same time there is a high risk of information stress, intellectual and physical overload.

As the results of the study among adult respondents aged 20 to 60 years showed, the factor of combining master's degree studies and professional activity has a direct impact on stress resistance indicators. Thus, undergraduates are more prone to experiencing stress and neuropsychiatric breakdowns, unlike adult specialists engaged only in the implementation of work activities. All this makes us take into account the urgent need to develop stress tolerance, critical thinking skills and analytical thinking of an adult who aspires to be a full-fledged, physically and mentally healthy person.

Thanks. The author thanks the project manager, Doctor of Psychological Sciences, Professor T.N. Berezina.