Understanding Emotions as a Unique Predictor of Social Self-Realization in Part-Time and Full-Time Students

Self-realization, as a psychological phenomenon that combines well-pronounced motivational and cognitive-evaluative components, largely determines adaptive resources of a person. This article analyzes the relationships among three types of self-realization, basic personal traits, professional experience and emotional intelligence of young adults on a sample of 125 students (girls and boys) of the Southern Federal University. A part of the sample consisted of part-time students who combined work and professional training (n=51), the rest were full-time students in their respective fields of study (n=74). The study tested three research hypotheses, namely that: (1) The respondents would report relatively low level of social self-realization, in comparison with professional and personal self-realization; (2) Significant differences would be observed in indicators of social self-realization, but not in emotional intelligence, between the sub-samples of part-time and full-time students; (3) Professional experience, basic personal characteristics and individual indicators of emotional intelligence would contribute to the respondents' subjective assessment of their social self-realization. Results of ANOVA, correlational and regression analysis of data collected using psychodiagnostic techniques by Kudinov (self-realization profiles), Lyusin (EmIn), and Sschebetenko (Big Five-2), by and large, confirmed all three study hypotheses, in particular and most importantly – about the differences between the two categories of respondents in the level of their social self-realization and in various combinations of its predictors, specifically, about the unique role of the ‘understanding emotions’ factor. The article also discusses the importance of self-realization for successful social adaptation of young people and describes various psycho-correctional and psychological-pedagogical methods, including specialized training of emotional intelligence, designed to compensate for low social self-realization.