Deformation of the Meaning Sphere Among Students Living in Conditions of Military Conflict

Introduction. The work is devoted to the study of the deformation of the value-semantic sphere of the personality of students living in a war zone. The relevance of the study is explained by the routine nature of military conflicts in connection with the complication of the geopolitical situation. Living near a combat zone leads to significant changes in the personality structure of young people, especially in their meaning sphere. The data obtained can be used to develop programs aimed at correcting students’ value orientations and assimilating the values inherent in an active citizen who is aware of their role in society and strives for the prosperity of their country.

Objective. Identify and study the features of the deformation of the meaning sphere of the personality of students living in a war zone.

Materials and Methods. A total of 80 individuals served as the empirical object of research: 40 students living in the Southern Federal District and 40 students living in the Donetsk People’s Republic. Most of the respondents are female students studying humanities. To achieve the purpose of the study, methods such as the Purpose-in-Life Test, PIL (adaptation of D.A. Leontiev, 1988) and a test to study the real structure of individual value orientations were employed. Quantitative analysis and comparative analysis using the Mann-Whitney U test were utilized for statistical data processing.

Results. Differences in the value-semantic sphere were found among respondents living in peaceful areas compared to those in areas near the combat zone. Students who live far from combat sites are more aware of the meaning of their lives. This is manifested in their greater focus on achieving goals, their effort to comprehend the past, and their enjoyment of the present. At the same time, students living in peaceful cities also place more value on enjoying beauty and learning new things. Conversely, students living near the war zone tend to see greater value in material benefits.

Discussion. The data obtained from the study on the deformation of the meaning sphere among students living in a war zone correlate with the views of other authors. Thus, the revealed differences in value orientations can be explained by the fact that students living near combat zones are more focused on meeting basic needs.

1. Abakumova, I. V., & Kruteleva, L. Yu. (2016). The influence of mass media on the value-semantic attitudes of various groups of the population. In the Collection of materials on the problems of organization and provision of psychological assistance at various stages of emergencies, including radiation emergencies (pp. 4-17. Moscow: FKU CEPP EMERCOM of Russia. (In Russ.)

2. Bardi, A., & Goodwin, R. (2011). The dual route to value change: individual processes and cultural moderators. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 42, 271–287

3. Bardi, A., Lee, J. A., Hofmann-Towfigh, N., & Soutar, G. (2009). The structure of intraindividual value change. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97, 913–929

4. Barysheva, E. I. (2016). Psychological features of the emotional experiences of refugees from the combat zone. Penza Psychological Bulletin, (1), 59-77. (In Russ.)

5. Bogatov, V. V. (2015). Socio-psychological consequences of victims of military conflicts. Russian Social and Humanitarian Journal, (2), 14, 1-8. (In Russ.)

6. Borisov, R. B. (2019). The relationship between values and meaning-life orientations of the individual. In Psychological problems of the meaning of life and acme. Electronic collection of materials of the XXIV International Symposium. Dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the birth of V.E. Chudnovsky (pp. 37-41). Moscow: FSBSI "Psychological Institute of the Russian Academy of Education"(In Russ.)

7. Boyko, O. V., Novikova N. V. (2019). Individual psychological features of the individual's experience of a situation of military conflict. Bulletin of Vyatka State University, No. 4, 94-105. (In Russ.)

8. Grebenyuk, I. Yu. (2023). Supporting the social and emotional well-being of refugee students. Innovative Science, No. 2-2, 94-98. (In Russ.)

9. Gulyaikhin, V. N., Telnova, N. A. (2010). Fear and its social functions. Philosophy of social communications. Scientific and Theoretical Journal, No. 1 (10), 49-56. (In Russ.)

10. Janoff-Bulman, R. (1989). Assumptive worlds and the stress of traumatic events: applications of the schema construct. Social Cognition, 7, 113–136.

11. Komissarova, O. A. (2020). Personal anxiety of students as an indicator of changes in the value-semantic sphere. Bulletin of Omsk University. Series "Psychology", 1, 42-45. (In Russ.)

12. Kudryashova, S. K. (2018). Value-semantic attitudes: analysis of the concept. Modern studies of social problems, 9 (5-2), 90-94. (In Russ.)

13. Laufer, R. S. (1988). The serial self: War trauma, identity, and adult development. In Human adaptation to extreme stress: From the Holocaust to Vietnam (pp. 33-53). Boston, MA: Springer US.

14. Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York: Springer.

15. Leontiev, D. A. (2007). Psychology of meaning. Nature, structure and dynamics of semantic reality: a textbook for students of higher educational institutions studying in the field and specialties of psychology. Moscow: Meaning. (In Russ.)

16. Leontiev, D. A. (2014). Meaning formation and its contexts: life, structure, culture, experience. World of Psychology, 1 (77), 104-117. (In Russ.)

17. Leontiev, D. A. (2020). Happiness and subjective well-being: towards the construction of the conceptual field. Public Opinion Monitoring: Economic and Social Changes, 1 (155), 14-37. (In Russ.)

18. Lunin, S. L. (2016). Features of personal transformations of young men and women migrants and internally displaced persons from the territories of local military conflicts. " PhD Thesis. Rostov-on-Don. (In Russ.)

19. Magomed-Eminov, M. Sh. (2015). Cultural and activity approach to post-traumatic stress. B From the origins to the present. 130 years of the organization of the psychological society at Moscow University: a collection of materials of the anniversary conference in 5 volumes (pp. 190-191). Limited Liability Company (In Russ.)

20. Magomed-Eminov, M. Sh., Kvasova, O. G., & Savina, O. O. (2015). Post-traumatic growth as a model of response to the geopolitical crisis. Modern studies of social problems, 1 (21), 5-25. (In Russ.)

21. Nestik, T. A. (2023). The impact of military conflicts on the psychological state of society: promising areas of research. Social Psychology and Societies, 14 (4), 5-22. (In Russ.)

22. Ovchinnikov, N. V., Khavrov, M. S., & Matievsky, V. S. (2023). The impact of military conflicts on the psyche and human life. Matrix of scientific knowledge, 11-1, 554-560. (In Russ.)

23. Rokeach, M. (1973). The nature of human values. New York: The Free Press.

24. Rokeach, M. (1979). Understanding human values. New York: The Free Press.

25. Samykina, N. Yu. Voitsekhovskaya, A. S. (2017). Reflection of life scenarios in human life meanings. Safe educational environment in the changing conditions of modern society: Collection of materials of the II International Scientific and Practical Conference (pp. 58-62). – Moscow: Individual entrepreneur Afanasyev Vyacheslav Sergeevich. (In Russ.)

26. Schwartz, S. H. (2010). Basic values: how they motivate and inhibit prosocial behavior. In M. Mikulincer, & P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Prosocial motives, emotions, and behavior: The better angels of our nature (pp. 221–241). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

27. Schwartz, S. H., & Bardi, A. (1997). Influences of adaptation to communist rule on value-priorities in Eastern Europe. Political Psychology, 18, 385–410.

28. Solovieva, M. A. (2016). Study of subjective well-being of persons staying in the zone of military conflict. Journal of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, 1 (35), 48-54. (In Russ.)

29. Sukhodolskaya, A. V. (2012). Life values through the prism of the concept of "war" in the everyday discourse of the older generation dialect carriers. In Traditions and Innovations in Philology of the 21st Century: A View of Young Scientists. Materials of the All-Russian Youth Conference (pp. 500-502). - Tomsk: Tomsk State University Press, 2015. - 156 p. (In Russ.)

30. Udalova, L. V. (2018). Problems of the influence of modern terrorism on personal self-development (Social and philosophical analysis). Doctoral dissertation: Mytishchi (In Russ.)

31. Verkasalo, M., Goodwin, R., & Bezmenova, I. (2006). Values following a major terrorist incident: Finnish adolescent and student values before and after September 11, 2001. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 36, 144–160.

32. Zolotova, N. V. (2007). Psychological views of B.V. Zeigarnik. " PhD Thesis. Yaroslavl. (In Russ.)