Background. The paper deals with understanding success in terms of generation value gap, transitivity and high social uncertainty as a component of self-determination of an individual acquires particular relevance, determining the vector of a person’s personal development.

The Objective of this research is to study the ideas of modern adolescents about success linked with self-esteem and assessment of their own success in significant spheres of life, i.e. education career and interpersonal relations. The study is based on the assumption that the notions of success as self-development will be associated with a higher level of self-esteem and assessment of success in adolescents.

Design. The study involved 500 adolescents (291 girls and 209 young men), students of the 10th and 11th grades of schools and gymnasiums (average age 16 years), Moscow, Russia. To study the ideas of adolescents about success, Adolescent Representations of Success (ARS) questionnaire was developed. To study the self-esteem of adolescents, the method of Dembo-Rubinstein was used in the modification A.M. Prihozhan, as well as a purposefully designed questionnaire to study indirect evaluation of success.

Results Three models of success that characterize the attitude of adolescents to the success are identified: success as social recognition, success as fulfillment of external social requirements, and success as self-development and self-actualization. The differences in the self-esteem of adolescents with different ideas about success are revealed.

Conclusion. The research confirmed the hypothesis and showed that varying perception of success in adolescents is closely related to self-esteem and evaluation of their own success. Understanding success as self-development and self-actualization is associated with a higher level of self-esteem and assessment of own success which promotes psychological well-being in general. Adolescents who share a model of success as fulfillment of external social requirements associate success with achieving goals with overcoming obstacles and satisfaction with results and place value on luck. For adolescents who are focused on the model of success as social recognition it is typical to place value on their personal authority among the peers, thus having high assessment rates of their success as a whole.

Psychological research of career life is usually devoted to individual choice of a career and career development. With the introduction of the concept of “career satisfaction”, and the definition of its types, components and factors into the scientific sphere, it is now possible to study the psychological characteristics and patterns of career satisfaction.The objective of the research is to reveal the psychological characteristics of career satisfaction in adulthood.

The sample comprises 100 adults from 25 to 45 years of various jobs (teacher, shop assistant, commercial director, freight handler, psychologist, journalist, etc.). The research revealed that among the participants the average level of job satisfaction is observed (63 per cent). High level of job satisfaction is found in 7 per cent of the participants. Low and very low levels of job satisfaction is typical for 30 per cent of the participants.

The comparison of the results in groups with different levels of job satisfaction in reference with the level of personal self-actualization (harmonious, adaptive and inert/ irrational) determines its basic indicators and identifies factors that allow career satisfaction, including both career-based and emotional ones. There are no significant differences in the content of career satisfaction in males and females.

Significant differences were obtained within different age groups for personal barriers, internality and sociocentrism. The statistical analysis also shows that within “person-symbol” qualified employees indicators of activity, vigor, and internality are higher.

The position of the company executive provides great opportunities for human self-development and application of creative approach to the tasks to be performed. On the other hand, the nature of the activity places objective requirements to the executive and thereby restricts freedom of expression, is implemented at the expense of personal interests and self-actualization. Contrary to popular thesis that managerial activities produce a deteriorating affect on the manager’s health, and only health availability ensures the execution of the managerial functions, the paper explores the assumption that a successful self-actualization of the company executive may sustain professional healthy state. This study aims to determine the relationship of professional psychological health of managers and personal self-identity in managerial activities.

The experimental group included participants whose estimates of personal occupational health were quite high, with the absence of stress levels manifestations, satisfied with their administrative work and with high self-cesteem of career success (n=50). The comparison group was represented by a group of managers with four alternative indicators of occupational health, but identical by social demographic features and organizational and psychological parameters of their managerial activity. Mathematical processing of results was conducted with the use of Student T-criterion correlation analysis. The results showed that in the group of “occupational health” self-actualization is characterized by professional activity, leader position, independence, meaningful administrative work and life in general, purposefulness, ability to set goals, to find the meaning of life and career satisfaction, ability of self-guidance, ability to control their life, ability to adjust. Thus, occupational health is associated with a mature personality and managerial self-actualization.