Developing the Potential of Post-traumatic Growth as a Psychological Target for Training Candidates for Substitute Parents

Abstract

In recent years, the Russian state has been actively engaged in protecting the rights of children deprived of parental care. As part of the amendments to the Constitution (Article 67), the State assumed the responsibilities of parents in relation to this category of children. These responsibilities are realized through the development of family life, the most important tool of which is the training programs for persons wishing to adopt orphaned children. Their necessity was legislated in 2012, and in the Action Plan for the Decade of Childhood (dated January 23, 2021 No. 122-r) the task of improving them was set, the implementation of which the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation in terms of developing programs for preparing citizens for the reception of orphaned children was entrusted to the MSUPE. The new program considers the development of the potential for post-traumatic personality growth (PPTPG) as such a target. The results of the study (N=188 candidates for substitute parents) are presented. It is proved that the psychological resources of candidates include family viability, resilience, emotional intelligence, potential for compassion, the ability to self-regulate and child-oriented reception motives.