Values as a Psychological Resource of Students in Russia and Kazakhstan Coping with the Fear of COVID-19

Abstract

The article is devoted to exploring the resource potential of values for coping with the fear of COVID-19 and negative psychological and emotional states in a cross-cultural context. The study involved 2,310 Russian and 500 Kazakhstan students (71.2% - girls, average age 19.7 years). It is found that with the moderate level of fear among the majority of students the proportion of Kazakhstan students experiencing depression, exhaustion and nervousness due to coronavirus over the past month is less than the proportion of Russian students, which is explained by the greater orientation of traditional Kazakhstan culture towards mutual dependence and support in difficult life situations. It is established that value orientation Openness to change, regardless of the country of residence, is accompanied by lower fear scores before COVID-19 and the absence of negative psychological and emotional states, while the focus on Conservation values is accompanied by higher indicators of fear and the presence of these psychological and emotional states. It is shown that the fear of COVID-19 encourages both Russian and Kazakhstan students to take more responsible attitude towards their own health and the health of others, to suppress their socially destructive tendencies and limit actions that harm others. It is concluded that the actualization of conservative values and the suppression of self-oriented hedonistic goals can be a psychological resource of the individual, which contributes to coping with fear and negative psychological and emotional states caused by the stressful impact of COVID-19.