Young People’s Social and Psychological Satiety with Life in a Megapolis: Conceptual Approach and Research Results

The relevance of the study is associated with the study of viability resources of young city dwellers in the context of growing urbanization processes. The article presents theoretical and empirical research data regarding the problem of operationalization of the phenomenon of social and psychological satiety, which is a psychological state generated by peculiarities of the urban environment. The article presents concept description, gives data on its operationalization, formulates the hypothesis and shows some results of its empirical verification. The purpose of the study is to identify and analyse the interconnection between emotional experiences and preferred coping strategies with the state of satiety with living conditions in a metropolis in a group of young people. The major hypothesis of the study involves an assumption that there is a connection between feelings of satiety caused by the intense influence of the phenomena of the urban environment on the psyche and behavior of respondents, and their preferred methods of coping with the satiety situation. The study involved 159 people aged 19 to 30 years. Research methods: questionnaires developed by the authors and aimed at studying manifestations of social and psychological satiety (T. V. Drobysheva, I. V. Larionov). The questionnaire was used to identify socio-demographic characteristics. It is shown that in the group of respondents the state of socio-psychological satiety with living conditions in a metropolis is experienced as a feeling of apathy, boredom, irritation caused by imposed contacts with strangers, advertising activities of trading companies and overpopulation of the city. These phenomena of urban life are perceived by young people as violating their psychological privacy and making them want, first of all, to leave, to change the environment or activity, to find new forms of leisure or other places to spend their free time. The results found in the work indirectly indicate the protective function of socio-psychological satiety, expressed through the desire of respondents (young city dwellers) to reduce the intensity of negative emotional experiences related to living conditions in a metropolis. The questionnaires developed by the authors in the course of the study are of practical importance for researchers of the urban environment.