Psychological well-being and ideas about life among Russian and Kalmyk students

Bolaeva Gerel ORCID: 0009-0000-8972-8943 Senior Lecturer; Faculty of Pedagogical Education and Biology; B.B. Gorodovikov Kalmyk State University 358000, Russia, Republic of Kalmykia, Elista, Gagarina str., 17, sq. 17 gbbolaeva@gmail.com

Introduction.

In modern psychology, the concept of "psychological well-being of a person" (PBL) has already been firmly established in the research of Russian scientists and is actively used in practice. Over the past twenty years, a fairly differentiated system of ideas has emerged both about the construct "psychological well-being" in general ^[1-7], and about differential psychological, socio-psychological factors affecting the level and qualitative features of psychological well-being of an individual ^[8-11]. For the diagnosis of PBL, the technique proposed by K. Riff (1995) and adapted for the domestic sample is traditionally used ^[10-14]. In addition to the traditional K. Riff method, the PERMA-profiler method has recently been included in the arsenal of methodological tools for studying the features of psychological well-being ^[15]. The developed methods allow us to generally consider the psychological well—being of a person as a subjectively assessed "success", "usefulness" of realizing the potential of a personality. K. Riff defined the psychological well-being of a person as the presence of specific, stable psychological traits that allow him to function significantly more successfully than in their absence. Six main components of psychological well-being are identified: positive relationships with others (having warm and trusting relationships with others); autonomy (independence); environmental management (a person's ability to effectively use external resources); purposefulness of life (highly developed ability to reflect, meaningfulness); personal growth (effective use of personality traits, development of talents); self-acceptance (self-recognition, positive attitude towards one's personality traits).

Literature review.

Despite the rich palette of research in the field of PBL, taking into account the socio-economic context and events taking place in society, it is possible to single out accents that draw attention to the interpretation of the problem of psychological well-being of the individual. One of such accents for the modern situation is the national peculiarities of the psychological well-being of the individual ^{[16, 17]}. We can give an example of the work of A.G. Samokhvalova, E.V. Tikhomirova, O.N. Vishnevskaya, N.S. Shipova, E.V. Asriyan, who in their article on the peculiarities of psychological well-being of Russian and Armenian students came to the conclusion that despite the similarities in the analysis of well-being as a result and purpose of activity and the image of the future, Students of different nationalities interpret the content of this construct in different ways. Russians combine family, personal and professional well-being more organically than their Armenian peers. At the same time, Armenian students better integrate success in interpersonal and intrapersonal interaction, while Russian students tend to separate these parameters ^{[18, p. 123]}.

The article by Li Tong and A.G. Samokhvalova shows that there are general cultural and specific characteristics of psychological well-being among Russian and Chinese students in early adulthood. A common cultural feature that unites Russian and Chinese students is a decrease in the overall level of psychological well-being. It is emphasized that a higher degree of life satisfaction is noticeable for Russian students. Russians give their lives full meaning, aim to change their social status in the future, and strive to achieve success in life. The psychological well-being of Chinese students is more defined; it can be depicted as well-being oriented towards social desirability, which is explicable according to the real socio-cultural context of their lives ^{[18, p. 65]}.

In a study by N.E. Esmanskaya and Nguyen Van Ut Ny, describing the psychological well-being of modern Russian and Vietnamese students, it was revealed that a high level of psychological well-being is characteristic only of Russian students, whereas in the group of Vietnamese students a greater number of respondents with a low level of PBL were found. It is emphasized that the highest indicators in both groups relate to the scale of personal growth ^{[19, p. 1]}.

The work of M.A. Latysheva and A.M. Suyunova examines the ethnic features of the value characteristics of the psychological well-being of Crimean high school students using the example of Russians and Tatars. The data demonstrate differences in the interrelationships of values at the level of individual priorities with well-being among Russian and Crimean Tatar high school students. It was found that despite the proximity of the values of respondents from different ethnic groups at the level of individual priorities, the dynamic relationship between the value types among Crimean Tatar adolescents is more pronounced competitive than among their Russian peers, reducing the degree of psychological comfort of schoolchildren ^{[20, p. 89]}.

Considering that the topic is represented by a relatively small number of studies, as well as due to the relevance of analyzing the psychological well-being of representatives of different national groups, we undertook an empirical study of the psychological well-being and ideas about their own lives of Russian and Kalmyk students.

Let us clarify that, according to the Large Universal Dictionary of the Russian language, the concept of "nationality" is defined as: "belonging to a nation, nationality as an ethnic characteristic of a person" ^{[21, p. 601]}. Among them are such nationalities as Russians and Kalmyks. The same dictionary defines the concept of "Russian" as "the East Slavic people who make up the main population of Russia; representatives of this people", and "Kalmyks" as "the people who make up the main population of Kalmykia; representatives of this people" ^{[21, p. 530]}.

Materials and methods of research.

The purpose of the study is to study the peculiarities of psychological well-being and ideas about their own lives among Russian and Kalmyk students.

Russian Russian and Kalmyk students identified the main objectives of the study, firstly, to analyze the features of psychological well-being in groups of Russian and Kalmyk students; secondly, to identify the features of ideas about life in groups of Russian and Kalmyk students; thirdly, to compare the features of the relationship between indicators of psychological well-being and ideas about life in groups of Russian and Kalmyk students.

Based on the analysis of research on the problem, we have formulated the following hypotheses:

- significant differences in the level indicators of psychological well-being can be found in the groups of Russian and Kalmyk students;

- significant differences in the features of life concepts can be found in the groups of Russian and Kalmyk students;

- the interrelationships between indicators of psychological well-being and the peculiarities of the ideas about life in groups of Russian and Kalmyk students may differ.

The study sample consisted of two groups of students aged 18 to 23, 40 people each:

1. A group of Russian students (hereinafter referred to as Group 1) studying at the Timiryazev Russian State Agrarian University (Moscow Agricultural Academy), who were born, have lived most of their lives and currently reside in Moscow. Among them, 11 men (27.5%) and 29 women (72.5%).

2. A group of Kalmyk students (hereinafter referred to as Group 2) studying at B.B. Gorodovikov Kalmyk State University, who were born, have lived most of their lives and currently reside in Elista, Republic of Kalmykia. Among them, 18 men (45%) and 22 women (55%).

The research methodology was the descriptive method, the categorization method, the analysis method, the questionnaire "K. Riff scale of psychological well-being" (adapted by T.D. Shevelenkova and T.P. Fesenko) and the projective drawing technique "My Life" (authors - S.A. Bezgodova, A.V. Miklyaeva, S.M. Yatsyshin), "the method of expert assessments on the discrete Likert scale", and mathematical statistics methods were used to process and analyze the data obtained. Mathematical processing of statistical data was carried out using the SPSS Statistics 22.0 program.

The results of the study.

Data on the percentage of respondents with different levels of PBL in groups 1 and 2 are presented in Table 1.

Table 1

The ratio of respondents with different levels of PBL in group 1 and group 2

Group 1 is characterized by the absence of respondents with a high level of PBL. The majority of respondents in group 1 demonstrate average values of the overall PB index, and 40% of respondents belong to the group with a low PBL level. As for individual scales, the same trend, that is, the absence or insignificant number of respondents with high scores on the scales, is typical for the entire group. Only 20% of Group 1 respondents demonstrate a high level of PBL on the "Autonomy" scale. Most have averages on all scales. As for low indicators, such indicators are typical for 45% of respondents on the scale of "Environmental management", for 45% of respondents on the scale of "Positive relationships with others" and 42.5% of respondents on the scale of "Environmental management".

In group 2, the ratio of indicators for different levels of PBL on all scales indicates that with a small number of respondents with low levels of PBL (2.5%), the majority of respondents (62.5%) demonstrate an average level of overall psychological well-being. The most "resourceful" indicator for group 2 is "Autonomy", since there are no respondents with a low level of this indicator, and the share of respondents with an average and high level is 75% and 25%, respectively.

If we talk about the general trend that precedes the analysis of significant differences in the indicators of PBL in groups 1 and 2, then we can state a more "favorable" situation in terms of the level indicators of PBL in group 2. In addition, if the "resource" indicator for group 1 is "Autonomy", then for group 2, in addition to this indicator, Scales such as "Self-acceptance", "Personal growth" and "Environmental management" contribute to the overall PBL indicator.

We analyzed the significant differences between the PBL indicators of the two groups according to the Mann-Whitney U criterion. As a result of statistical data processing, no significant differences were found between the indicators of psychological well-being in the selected groups.

The next task of the study is devoted to a comparative analysis of the features of the ideas about life in the group of Russian students (group 1) and in the group of Kalmyk students (group 2). A group of 5 experts (students of the Faculty of the Kalmyk State University named after B.B. Gorodovikov) evaluated the results of the drawing technique "My Life" using the method of expert assessments according to the discrete Likert scale by criteria: stability-variability, benevolence-hostility of the world, emotional background (positive/negative), activity-passivity, boundaries with the world (present/absent), boundaries with society (present/absent).

The values of the indicators of the "My Life" drawing technique obtained as a result of an expert assessment are shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 - Comparison of the average values of the indicators of the drawing technique "My life" in group 1 and group 2

It makes sense to clarify that the experts evaluated the parameters based on the "interpretative contexts" proposed by the authors of the methodology: the general characteristics of life, the emotional background of life, the meaningfulness of life and the "boundaries" of one's own life and the indicators corresponding to these contexts. The overall "portrait" of their own lives is quite contradictory for group 1 respondents. On the one hand, the image is characterized by high indicators for such descriptors as "stable", "friendly", but a "negative emotional background" dominates, and "boundaries" with the world and society are actualized. Group 2 is characterized by a more "balanced" view of their own lives, associated with high values in terms of "goodwill" of the world and "activity" with a tendency to lack "boundaries" with the world and society.

The analysis of significant differences between the indicators of the "My Life" drawing technique in the two groups according to the Mann-Whitney U criterion allows us to state that no significant differences were found.

An independent objective of the study was to study the correlations in groups 1 and 2 between the indicators of PBL and the projective drawing technique "My Life" in order to test the hypothesis that the relationship between indicators of psychological well-being and the peculiarities of ideas about life in groups of Russian and Kalmyk students may differ. The correlation analysis (according to the Pearson criterion) showed that the relationship between the indicators of these methods, as well as the age of the respondents in group 1 (Table.2), and in group 2 (Table.3) different.

Table 2 - Significant correlations between the PBL indicators and the indicators of the "My Life" methodology in group 1

* Correlation is significant at 0.05 (two-way).

** The correlation is significant at 0.01 (two-way).

Table 3 - Significant correlations between the PBL indicators and the indicators of the "My Life" methodology in group 2

* Correlation is significant at 0.05 (two-way).

** The correlation is significant at 0.01 (two-way).

Based on the data obtained, it can be stated that the characteristics of the stability/ variability of their own lives of respondents of different nationalities are associated with different indicators of PBL. In group 1, the PBL indicator "environmental management" is positively associated with the indicator of "stability/variability of life", that is, the more the respondent has the power and competence to manage the environment, the more changes the subject demonstrates in his own life. Also, the higher the indicator of "environmental management", the more passive life is portrayed by the interviewees, that is, the more all external activities are controlled, the more passively a person interacts with the outside world. Group 1 is characterized by a negative relationship between the age of the respondents and the presence/absence of "boundaries with society", that is, the older the respondents, the more the "boundary" in relation to society becomes relevant in their ideas about their lives.

In group 2, the PBL indicator "personal growth" is positively associated with "stability/variability of life", that is, the higher the "personal growth", the higher the variability of life among the subjects, or the more the respondent changes in accordance with his own knowledge and achievements, the more dynamic his idea of his own life is characterized. The indicator "personal growth" is negatively associated with "activity / passivity of life", that is, the higher the subjective assessment of the realization of one's personal potential, the more ideas about one's own are evaluated by the indicator "passivity". The negative nature of the relationship between the PBL indicator - "self-acceptance" and "boundaries with the world" indicates that the higher a person evaluates his past, the more the indicator of the presence of "boundaries" with the world is emphasized.

Discussion of the research results.

The possibility of a full-fledged interpretation of the data obtained presupposes a thorough approach to the analysis of the value-semantic sphere of the ethnically identified groups of respondents and represents a promising direction for further research. Hypotheses about the presence of significant differences in groups 1 and 2 in terms of personal psychological well-being and specific ideas about life have not been confirmed. However, the data obtained at this stage of empirical research may indicate that the features of psychological well-being of young people are interrelated with their ideas about their own lives, and different components of psychological well-being are interrelated with various aspects of their own life in groups of students with different socio-demographic characteristics.

Limitations of the study.

The limitations of the study include, firstly, a small sample size and age restrictions. Secondly, there are also limitations related to the possibilities of projective techniques and interpretation of the results. These limitations can be considered as guidelines for further research.

Conclusion.

Thus, the study obtained data on the absence of significant differences in indicators of psychological well-being, including the overall level of psychological well-being, as well as in perceptions of one's own life in terms of the general characteristics of life, the emotional background of life, the meaningfulness of life and "boundaries" with the world and society in groups of Russian and Kalmyk students. At the same time, as a result of the correlation analysis, it was found that for the selected groups of students, different indicators of psychological well–being are interrelated with such features of ideas about their own lives as "stability - variability" and "activity – passivity". For a group of Russian students, it is an opportunity to manage and change the environment, whereas for Kalmyk students, it is a desire to realize their potential and personal growth.

Conclusions.

We have achieved the following objectives: firstly, to analyze the features of psychological well-being in the groups of Russian and Kalmyk students, where Kalmyk students have higher levels of performance; secondly, the features of the ideas about life in both groups were highlighted; thirdly, correlations were found in both groups between the indicators of PBL and ideas about their lives. In the future, we will consider a more thorough analysis of the data obtained as a prospect for further research in the field of psychological well-being of the individual and ideas about their own lives among groups of Russian and Kalmyk students. The conducted pilot study opens up further opportunities to study the topic of the relationship between psychological well-being and ideas about a person's own life, taking into account both the qualitative features of the relationships themselves and the influence of various internal and environmental factors on these features. Special attention needs to be paid to the analysis of the diagnostic capabilities of methodological tools, in particular, the possibility of using projective techniques as auxiliary psychodiagnostic tools needs to be clarified.