The image of the crisis situation as viewed by Belarusian students

Abstract

Introduction. A crisis situation is a broad notion that includes a crisis event that caused life difficulties, the crisis state experienced, the person himself as the subject of the situation and other participants in it, as well as other internal and external circumstances. Stress resistance and human behavior in a crisis situation are largely determined by the way a person evaluates what is happening. The selection of significant events from the context of the situation largely depends on the person's perception of what is happening. The aim of the research is to study the image of a crisis situation and its consequences on the basis of students' perceptions. Materials and methods. The research involved 1st-4th year students studying in the educational institution “F. Skorina Gomel State University”. The sample of research was composed of 369 students (181 boys and 188 girls) aged from 16 to 24. The average age of the respondents was 18.6. As a psychodiagnostic toolkit was used the original method “Image of a crisis situation” (N.G. Novak). Results of the research and their discussion. The analysis of respondents' perceptions revealed the image of a crisis event, the image of a crisis condition, as well as perceptions of possible consequences of experiencing a crisis event. Conclusions: modern Belarusian students reflect a crisis event as sudden, destructive, undesirable, unusual, unexpected, abrupt, threatening, useless, excessive, takes away strength, a person feels a sense of internal tension, a sense of internal instability, confusion, lack of control over the situation, depletion of adaptive resources, understands that something needs to be done, that something needs to be done (it will not resolve itself), but does not know exactly how to behave, feels the need for support, and asks for help himself, ready to support and help others; key signs of a crisis state: timid, angry, sad, tired, excited, sensitive, gloomy, upset, annoyed, agitated, emotionally unstable, a sense of injustice, senselessness, misunderstanding of what is happening, anxiety, confusion, hatred, quiet, silent, honest, noble, dependent, lost, intelligent, passive; positive and negative poles are defined, reflecting the likely consequences of the process of experiencing a crisis event.