Background. The significant expansion of the Internet over the past few decades has led to new public problems. A broad discussion of the development factors of Internet adduction helps to popularize the idea of the existence of an addictive risk, in particular in the adolescent’s population. The interpersonal characteristics of adolescents and family members can increase vulnerability to Internet addiction.

Objective. To analyze the characteristics of the family relations of adolescents in groups with different levels of Internet addiction.

Design. The study included 1,119 Internet users – 565 girls and 554 boys between 15 and 18 years of age studying in secondary school in Kopeysk, Chelyabinsk region.

Results. The split of the CIAS scale by final score allowed the sample to be divided into 3 subgroups: minimum, moderate and high risk/availability of IA (Internet adduction). There are significant differences in the way adolescents perceive the pedagogical practices of parents: participants with moderate risk of IA more often reported hostility (p < 0.001) and inconsistency (p < 0.001) on the part of the father, also characterized their mother as directive (p = 0.001), hostile (p < 0.001), inconsistent (p < 0.001) and critical (p = 0.010). The minimum risk group noted a more emotional relationship with the father (p = 0.024) and the mother (p = 0.005). In comparisons 1 and 3 the results repeated the inter-group differences of the first two groups, but with the exception of criticism, which was not significant. Groups 2 and 3 were distinguished by inconsistency (p < 0.001) and hostility (p = 0.018) on the part of the mother. Similar results were obtained in the construction of the correlation model. Through step-by-step regression analysis, factors that contribute most to the development of Internet addiction were determined – “Inconsistency (mother)” (p < 0.001).

Conclusion. The data show that there are some differences in the way in which parents perceive the pedagogical system in adolescents, with varying levels of Internet addiction.

Background. The COVID-19 pandemic, along with a threat to somatic health and human life, poses a challenge to people’s mental health. The search for predictors of the negative consequences of the pandemic for the mental health is an urgent task for the psychological community.

Objective. to test the assumption that the psychological impact of a pandemic may be more significant for people with a potentially more severe course of the disease and an increased likelihood of death (representatives of the risk group), than that of the general population, and can be accompanied by more pronounced psychoemotional disorders.

Design. In the first two months after the introduction of restrictive measures for the COVID-19 epidemic, an online survey of the population was conducted on social networks using valid methods suitable for screening studies. We used a specially developed questionnaire and included psycho-diagnostic techniques in the “Google questionnaire” format. The study involved 449 people aged 12 to 82 years old, average age 30 years old, moda1 – 22 years old. The sample was divided into the main and control groups. The main group – the risk group – was 81 people, the size of the control group or the conventionally named “health group” – 368 people.

Results. It was revealed that the commitment to self-isolation is not associated with the respondents’ belonging to the risk group. Despite the discovered connection between belonging to the risk group and the fear of contracting coronavirus infection, psycho-emotional disorders at a statistically significant level of significance were more often diagnosed in the “health group” (45%), and 26% in the risk group. Among the members of the risk group, a high level of experience of loneliness is less common (1% versus 8% for the “health group”).

Conclusion. On the whole, the results showed a significant negative effect of the new conditions on the mental state of people. The hypothesis that people from the risk group turned out to be more susceptible to psycho-emotional distress during the period of self-isolation has not been confirmed. The most active part of the population appeared to be most vulnerable to distress. For them the current situation turned out to be frustrating to their usual needs.

Background. Family of schizophrenic patient plays a key role in their psychosocial adaptation. On the other hand, according to numerous data, adverse family relations are associated with high relapse risk. Family member’s illness is a severe stress factor for the whole family. However, families differ from each other to the degrees of emerging dysfunctions. Yet mechanisms which underlay interactional disturbances in those families remain unexplored.

Objective. The study represents complex research of the role of symptoms severity, interactional characteristics of a family, which are represented in family flexibility and cohesion parameters (FACES-3), and emotional and communicative competence (EmIn Lousin D.V.) as well as life satisfaction of main caregiver in psychosocial adaptation of a patient with schizophrenia.

Design. The paper presents the research of 122 test subjects, paired in dyads – schizophrenic patient (paranoid form) and their major caregiver. Patients gender distribution: 33 female and 28 males, average age 32.5±9.44 (M±SD), hospitalizations rate – 5.44 ±5.27, average illness duration – 9.93±6.85. Caregiver’s genders: 12 males and 49 females. Average major caregiver’s age – 53±11.91.

Results. Derived from structural equations, a model was invented showing that symptoms severity plays negative role in psychosocial adaptation of a patient with schizophrenia (p<0.001), whilst more balanced family characteristics have a supportive effect (p<0.001). Communicative competence of major caregiver increases balance of family characteristics (p<0.001).

Conclusion. The results indicate that the possibilities of social adaptation in patients with schizophrenia are determined by both objective factors (the severity of psychopathological symptoms) and the character of family dysfunctions that are closely associated with the emotional and communicative competence of main caregivers. In this way development of communicational skills in major caregivers may be the part of complex psychosocial interventions into schizophrenic patient’s families. Further research in this area may be aimed both at assessing the effectiveness of interventions, and at improving the tools to be used through experimental methods of assessing the family disruptions and emotional and communicative competence, as well as expanding the number of measured parameters (e.g. cognitive deficit of patients) for a more comprehensive understanding of the problem.

Background. Impaired ability to regulate the emotional state is significant both in the onset of alcohol addiciton and in its course. Despite the fact that it is generally accepted to consider alcoholism from the point of view of the biopsychosocial paradigm, cross-cultural studies of the individual psychological properties of patients with alcoholism are extremely few.

The Objective of the research was to analyze strategies and methods of emotional regulation within alcoholism in the residents of St. Petersburg (Group 1) and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) (Group 2). Research hypotheses: there are regional and national differences in the emotional regulation strategies; emotional regulation strategies may occur due to socio-cultural factors.

Design. The research involved patients who were treated with drug at St. Petersburg Bekhterev Research Psycho-Neurological Institute (St. Petersburg Bekhterev NIPNI) and Yakutsk Republican Drug Dispensary. The sample included persons aged 18 to 70 years old diagnosed with alcohol addiction syndrome (F10.2) in accordance with ICD-10 and fluent in Russian. In total, 60 people took part in the study, 30 of them were residents of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region (Group 1), 30 people are residents of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) (Group 2).

Results. Significant regional differences were found in the use of the cognitive strategy of emotion regulation “positive reavaluation” (p = 0.01) in the residents of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region and residents of Yakutia. The basic strategy of emotional regulation is “suppression of expression” (p = 0.02), and also such difficulties of emotional regulation as “aversion of emotional reactions” (p = 0.002), “difficulties in showing impulsive reactions” (p = 0.007), “limited array of strategies emotional regulation ”(p = 0.003) are characteristic of residents of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). They reflect the cultural-based features of the northern peoples that are expressed in emotional restraint, propensity to suppress emotions and feelings.

Conclusion. The study of emotional regulation in alcohol pathology in reference to national and regional affiliation of individuals is of fundamental importance for solving problems in the field of ethnic psychology and psychiatry. In order to effectively provide medical, psychological and psychotherapeutic care to patients with alcohol addiction and other forms of addictive disorders it is necessary to take into account national and regional characteristics that can be an internal resource for the success of the assistance provided.

Background. Psychological characteristics of gamers (video games players) is an extremely relevant field of research today, because prevalence of gaming is wide and growing, covering all current generations (Avetisova, 2011; Bogacheva, Voiskunsky, 2014; Snodgrass et al., 2017).

Objective. The study reveals the explicit real-life motives in online gamers and the reasons why they choose certain leisure compared to other passtimes.

Design. The sample includes 10,916 Russian-speaking gamers from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and other CIS countries. The main explicit motives in the real-life gamers are considered: motives of cognition and motives of achievements. The discriminant analysis method identified and described three groups of players: with motives of cognition and motives of achievements of a rational type, motives of cognition and motives of achievements of an indefinite type. A comparison was made between male gamers and male non-gamers according to the degree of explicit motives. High mean ​​on the Likert scale are observed in non-gamers within motives associated with communication and interaction with other people (Wilcoxon test, p≤0.01) and in motives aimed at perception of beauty, significance and grandeur (Wilcoxon test, p≤0,001). The gamers have a higher assessment of situations related to the clarity of the tasks, and perform significantly less interest in situations within which they can influence something (Wilcoxon test, p≤0.01).

Research Results. A scale for assessing real-life motives is designed to estimate the empirically identified motives in gamers on multiple choice scales and then on a five-point Likert scale. There are three groups of gamers with different types of motivation have been identified and described, a comparison of the severity of these motives in male gamers and male non-gamers has been made.

Conclusion. Cognitive motives and motives of achievement for male gamers and male non-gamers were expressed in equally high figures, which may be due to the universality and significance of the values ​​of knowledge and achievements in modern society. Perhaps computer games are the most available leisure to gamers that satisfy their needs for cognition and achievement. A further task is set to test these assumptions using other methods (for example, in-depth interviews).

In stressful environment, animal can use different coping strategies. Passive animals manifest freezing behaviour at predator attacks, active ones are trying to have an impact on a stressful situation. Each coping style is presupposed to have a neurobiological basis and it helps animals to survive in aggressive and mutable environment.

Being under a long lasting stress, leaders can be affected by cardiovascular and ulcer diseases, but a short term impact can cheer them up, improve neuroendocrine stress response more than passive coping style in animals.

This paper analyzes animal pattern of coping behaviour, their inheritance based on gender, social status and age.

The research shows how anxiety affects social behaviour of people individuals and typological reactions were compared.

These patterns can be used by people in a situation of uncontrolled stress to prevent diseases and depressive disorders through altering one’s type of behavior to the one which is more effective. In addition, knowledge of behavioural types can assist teachers in implementing the learning process as in stress situations (e.g. taking exams, working on course papers, doing tests) not all students are able to effectively perceive and present the resulting material. On the other hand, active students could encourage short-term rather than long-term stressor irritation. It is necessary to pay special attention to students with low social economic status who display active response to stress. According to statistics, problem students often become aggressors and commit antisocial and sometimes criminal acts.

The coping styles mentioned here above are not polar, there are no clear boundaries of personality. In addition, behaving according to the active / non-active type is identified by customary and inherited behaviour patterns.

The paper is an attempt to summarize the interaction of the two largest schools of psychology in Russia: the psychological schools of Moscow and St. Petersburg. The paper is a sketch dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the psychological faculties of Moscow and St. Petersburg, and should not be appreciated as a historical treatise. Tense ties between the psychological schools, that originate in the distant past, have gone through different historical stages. Slavophilevs Westernizer traditions affected the initial difference in these schoolsemerging into the opposition: either the human being is studied entirety with his/her vast subjective experience, but losing the reliability of our statements (peculiarity of Moscow school), or we study the human being accurately using objective methods, but losing the integrity of our ideas (peculiarity of St.-Petersburg school). Both psychological schools, having gone through the ups and downs, have retained their identity and their emphasis on research. Moscow scholars in their studies are aimed to larger issues and still rely on large-scale Vygotsky-Leontiev approach. Scholars of St.-Petersburgtouch upon more specific issues using empirical methods, but still continue with nostalgia and hope making plans about creating a common concept of human individual according to Ananiev. Nowadays between the two schools there is no opposition, but only one mutual love.

Psychological foundation is determined as systematizing factor of scientific support of sport. The functioning of psychic is defined as the main determinant of functional and psychological traumatizing in exercising and competing sport activities. The objectives of psychological support of athletes training are formulated as the individualizing of sport activity management techniques; the psychological surveillance of the resistance to exercise activities and readiness to compete; the rehabilitation of psychological freshness and functional capacity to work; the individual and group counseling; the optimization of interpersonal climate in sport teams.

The article analyzes the results of the conducted burnout study and describes personal and socio-demographic causes of this syndrome. The author names professions that are most exposed to burnout and provides with anti-burnout programs, developed by Russian specialists.

The subject and tasks of sport psychology as an integrated practical area of psychological science are outlined. Features of specialists' training in this field at the St.Petersburg State University are shown.

The author provides an overview of the training process in economic psychology at St. Petersburg State University, revealing the history of development, current tasks and objectives of this branch of psychological science, outlining its further prospects and its place and role in national science and education. The questions raised include the effectiveness of training psychologists in this domain.

The author analyzes modern system of training of practical psychologists in Russia, and training system of psychology students at universities, its strengths and weaknesses. Considerable attention is paid to training of school psychologists.

The article compares the systems of training and assessment of psychologists in the U.S. and in Russia, and presents with the results of joint comparative study of practices of US-Canadian and Russian psychologists by the following criteria: role, responsibilities, subject areas, specialized knowledge.

The authors, leading members of the Chair of Ontopsychology of the Department of Psychology of SPSU, in their article reveal the history of the "ontopsychology" concept and discuss the subject and tasks of this branch of psychological science. Special attention is paid to cooperation of Russian psychologists with Italian scientist A. Meneghetti, and to work of the Slavic Association of Ontopsychology and Chair of Ontopsychology of SPSU, as well as to the practical applications of Ontopsychology.

The author discusses the nature and very essence of consciousness, understanding of it in Russian and foreign psychology. The views on consciousness which occurred at different stages of society's development and state ideology' impacts upon individual consciousness are discussed, along with major trends in the study of consciousness in modern psychological science.

Interview with Larissa A. Tsvetkovoj, Candidate of psychological sciences, Dean of faculty of Psychology of the St.-Petersburg state university. Vice-President of Russian Psychological Society.

An original method of leaders assessment, “The Matrix of Leadership”, designed for use in training and coaching as a tool for self- awareness and self-development, is described in this article. The author discusses the results of several “Personality Development” trainings,which employed this method, and shows that the “Matrix of Leadership” could be the first step in recognizing the tasks of leadership potential development.

The article investigates causes of illiteracy of modern schoolchildren, examines the shortcomings of training programs that do not provide education of high quality in primary school. Possible ways to provide psychological assistance to students with poor performance are discussed.

The author describes the results of empirical studies concerning the two sides of human-nature interaction. The first concerning nature’s “lack of rights”, and the second focuses on “lack of rights” of an individual as part of nature. The aim of this first study was to identify possible areas and mechanisms for implementing environmental policy in the field of ecological consciousness and the development of ecological culture. The second study was focused on the activity of consumers and their expectations with respect to the state as an institution that ensures environmental protection and control.