Objective. The research was aimed at examining the possibilities of applying social network analysis to the study of ethnocultural identity of Russian adolescents.

Design. By creating a code in the language R (R 3.6.1 + R Studio 1.2.1335), the analysis of the relations of a number of communities of the social network «Vkontakte», whose content is relevant to various aspects of ethnocultural (ethnic, cultural, religious, regional, national) identity was performed. In these communities Moscow and St. Petersburg dwellers aged 14 to 18 years were identified and sampled (78,784 Moscow-based users and 210,815 St. Petersburg-based users). Based on the results, social graphs were constructed and the analysis of relations between communities in the two cities of Russia was carried out.

Results. The general tendencies and differences between the links of online communities, the content of which is relevant to various aspects of ethnocultural identity in the cities of Russia under consideration, are revealed. For the target category, Moscow-based and St. Petersburg-based user-adolescents, the online communities were considered to be most relevant between those with ethnic content. The differences relate to connexions between large community called «Russia» and other studied online communities. There is no connexion between all other communities from Moscow with community «Russia» while adolescents-users from St. Petersburg actively participate in the community «Russia», especially those who are in communities whose content is devoted to ethnic and cultural issues.

Conclusion. The results show the existing outlooks for the social networks analysis, which allows to cover a wide range of users of online communities, for the study of ethnocultural identity of adolescents in the digital society. Obtained by analyzing social networking data derived from user activity in Internet communities, reflect the regularities, identified through an earlier social-psychological study involving adolescents who live in the same area. The socio-cultural context mediates online identity and offline identity in a similar way, which is confirmed by the revealed differences in the connections of online communities in different subjects of the Russian Federation. Despite the long-term social network analysis in sociology and other sciences, psychology is using this method as exploratory tool. In relation to the study of ethnocultural identity and related phenomena SNA requires additional development based on the interdisciplinary interaction of various sciences and areas and the necessary comparison of the results with the results obtained by other methods.

Background. One of theoretical approaches towards developmental tasks in adolescence is the study of personal autonomy. The modern fast-paced world expects adolescents to be independent and proactive.

The Objective is to study the overall state of the issue and to highlight the mostly discussed theoretical approaches to personal autonomy, to provide the reader with the detailed review of the approaches to personal autonomy from the view-point of autonomy conflict resolution.

Design. The analysis of various approaches to personal autonomy identified developmental sources of autonomy within intra- and in interpersonal ways. The paper discusses theoretical approaches to adolescent’s personal autonomy that considers conflict as a mechanism of development. The paper presents a model of psychological readiness to resolve autonomy conflicts that may disclose how conflicts are triggered and how they could be resolved within intra- and in interpersonal way.

Results. An analysis of classical and modern research has shown that personal autonomy is appropriated by adolescents through their resolution of conflicts in various areas of the psychological space. Based on the provisions of a number of theoretical approaches, it has been revealed that the core matter of conflicts is the contradiction “external control vs one's own will” and the contradiction “dependence vs independence”. The author proposes studying personal autonomy by drawing insights form psychological readiness of autonomy conflicts resolution using locus of control scale and also through the measurement of actual conflicts of autonomy and assertion as conflict resolution style using existential experience.

The author's vision of the personal autonomy of adolescents is based on the study of psychological readiness to resolve autonomy conflicts at the dispositional level. Conflict as a mechanism of development is a developmental crisis stage where contradictions could be removed. Diversity of classical and modern studies show that the autonomy is developed in adolescents through the resolution of conflicts in different spheres of psychological space. The social cognitive domain theory of J.G.Smetana and the theory of psychological sovereignty (S.K.Nartova-Bochaver) are discussed in detail. According to the theories under consideration, personal autonomy reveals in adolescents to a different degree and at different levels. In some domains, they are more independent, while they do not manifest independence in other psychological domains.

Conclusion. The approach to adolescents’ personal autonomy as autonomy conflict resolution in different psychological domains is described. Autonomy conflict resolution can be controlled or prohibited by close relatives, e.g. parents. The model of psychological readiness of autonomy conflict resolution may disclose how autonomy conflicts are triggered by and be resolved within intra- and in interpersonal way. The contradictions may be removed through autonomy conflict resolution.

Background. The issue of antisocial behaviour and adolescent aggressiveness are usually studied from the perspective of family psychological well-being. Social and economic inequality of contemporary families are important factors of cultural and historical context of the of modern adolescents’ developmental situation.

Objective. The paper provides an attempt of articulating the theoretical basis of adolescents’ aggression, i.e. family SES analysis. The paper is also dedicated to the research of differences in adolescents’ aggression indicators within gender- and family SES- groups spectrum.

Design. The research was conducted as an online survey in the public schools of Russian Federation. The present sample consisted of 883 respondents (59% were females, 41% were males). The average age was 16 years. Adolescents’ aggression was assessed by the short version of Buss-Durkey Inventory. Statistical analysis methods included Kruskall-Wallis test, T-test, Mann-Whitney test and factor analysis (maximum likelihood).

Results. The study revealed that differences in aggression indicators are mainly reflected in the subjective aspects of aggression (resentment and guilt), and also a general indicator of aggression depending on the socio-economic status of the family. Different levels of preparedness for physical aggression are shown by respondents from families in which only the father or only the mother works. Both females and males are prone to various manifestations of aggressiveness. Differences in indicators of aggression in the context of cultural capital and the socio-economic status of the family are reflected mainly in the subjective aspects of aggression.

Conclusion. Statistically speaking, the differences obtained are quite significant, but from an absolute point of view they are extremely small. The indicators of socio-economic well-being of a family are related to adolescent aggression indirectly, with psychological characteristics being the key point. Specific features of the relationship between parents and the child, features of educational practices preferred by parents, features of family organization, etc. Economic well-being appear only a condition that facilitates or, conversely, complicates the implementation of educational practices adopted in the family. The major role belongs to the activity of both parents and children. A further research is required to verify the latter.

Background. The paper describes the results of the experimental study of working memory in early schoolchildren and adolescents. The capacity of working memory develops through preadolescence to adolescence, while the developmental changes of representations of serial order are not clear enough so far.

Objective. The accuracy of delayed reproduction of movements (the open polygonal chains, trajectories) reveals. The sample included 32 early schoolchildren (mean age 10.4±0.75 years old) and 25 adolescents (mean age 14.6±0.3 years old). The subjects reproduced trajectories of different length (from 4 to 6 elements) using the graphical tablet. Another factor in the experiment carried out was a mode of stimulus presentation: the trajectories in were presented either as a static line-drawing (static mode) or a small moving pointer (dynamic mode).

Design. The errors of reproduction in two age groups and in different conditions were analyzed. We distinguished three types of errors: (1) severe distortions which are caused by inability to keep the sequence in working memory; (2) insertions or omissions of elements of the trajectory which are related to the problems of encoding the visual spatial information in the motor representation; (3) distortions of proportions of the trajectories, which are related with visual-motor coordination during motor reproduction of the sequences.

Research results showed that in adolescence the accuracy of delayed reproduction is better than in early ages. The most obvious difference in accuracy between the groups of early schoolchildren and adolescents were observed in dynamic mode. The analysis of different types of errors revealed that adolescents less often make insertions and omissions of elements. It may be caused by development of executive functions in adolescents.

Conclusion. The study showed that the capacity of working memory increases in adolescents. In addition, the precision of the representation of serial information are higher in adolescents in the more complicated dynamic mode.

Background. The relevance of the study is fueled by the emergence of new types of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, “rejuvenation” of children and adolescents who use drugs. The reference literature does not provide the information about those facts that narcotic substances contribute to maladjustment and trigger deviant behavior.

The Objective is to study the risk factors for deviant adaptation associated with drug abuse, the role of information on drugs and drug addicts in choosing a solution “for” or “against” using narcotic substances.

Design. A special questionnaire of 27 questions was developed. The questionnaire was aimed at finding out the level of knowledge about drugs, drug addiction and drug addicts before the first test. The frequency of drug use that could cause addiction was identified. The possibility of quitting using drugs, the presence of addicts in the social environment and their attitude to them on a temporary interval between the first use and the beginning of drug use were analysed. The sample included 34 active drug addicts at the age of 20-29 years, who are registered as drug addicts in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria.

Research Results. The data analysis makes it possible to document the characteristics of drug addiction in those who have experience in drug use. The answers of active drug addicts and ordinary adolescents revealed their heterogeneity. The data obtained show the main factors that influence the heterogeneity are the age factor and the factor of ignorance.

Conclusion. The research results show the availability and relevance of information on drugs obtained from information sources, peers and adults, advertising the safety of small doses and “light” drugs. There are only superficial representations of drug addicts about drugs and their dangers prior to their consumption in adolescents. This allows to make a conclusion about the lack of systemic prevention of drug addiction in adolescents.

Background. The issue of preventing antisocial behavior in the juvenile is relevant nowadays as delinquent, unlawful behaviour in children and adolescents is a powerful risk factor of asocial development of the personality on the whole, and also the factor that negatively affects their entire future.

The Objective is to analyze the causes and consequences of the asocial development in children and adolescents, to consider theoretical studies devoted to the prevention of antisocial behaviour and juvenile delinquency, neglected and homeless children and adolescents, and their rehabilitation and resocialization.

Design. The paper studies the issue of adolescent aggression in modern Russian society. The paper recites a wide range of foreign and Russian research, analyses regulatory and legal documents and regional practices, and also employs the data of the author’s survey of Russian adolescents conducted in 2017.

Research results. Family reshaping in terms of psychology and relationship between family members have a direct effect on deviant or antisocial behaviour in adolescents. A significant negative correlation between the school climate and the aggressiveness of schoolchildren was revealed. High positive intercorrelations within the indicators of the school climate were found to be high: school safety and teacher-student relations. Children who are not involved in bullying, assess the climate and school safety significantly higher than the children who are bullied. This pattern is typical for all participants in the persecution, regardless of their role, i.e. the victim, the aggressor or the observer.

Conclusion. Based on the data reviewed, the recommendations given can be taken into account when establishing the state policy on preventing antisocial behaviour and the aggression in the juvenile. The significance of the joint school and family measures that can be an effective tool for preventing teenage aggression is drawn special attention to.

Background. Connected with the changes that have taken place in the labour market in the last decades, psychologists are faced with the scientific and practical task of improving vocational guidance work with high school students using new programs to develop their personal and professional identity.

Objective. Based on the epigenetic theory of development the objective is to generalize and systematize the theoretical and empirical studies of personal and professional identity in adolescents aged 15–16, establish new empirical facts, verify the results already obtained and develop practical recommendations for improving vocational guidance counseling for high school students.

Design. Some features of the relationship between personal and professional identity of high school students aged 15–16 were studied. First of all, the relationship of personal identity with age was studied. In the course of the research, such methods as studying personal identity of D. Marcia modified by V.R. Orestova and O.A. Karabanova and methods of professional identity of A.A. Azbel and A.G. Gretsov were used. The methods were disseminated among 158 respondents, and the questionnaires filled by 132 respondents turned out to be suitable for processing.

Research Results. Several hypotheses were put forward: 1. The level of personal identity development is significantly associated with the age of high school students. 16-year-old 10th-graders outnumber 15-year-old 9th-graders. Between the age groups, significant differences were identified (p = 0.048), so the hypothesis is confirmed. 2. The majority of 15-year-old 9th-graders (63.3%) and 16-year-old 10th-graders (62.2%) who go to Moscow schools have a status of a moratorium. The hypothesis is confirmed. 3. For the age of 15-16 years, the dynamics of professional identity is absent. The hypothesis is confirmed. The differences between adolescents of 15 and 16 years in this parameter are not statistically significant (p = 0.993). 4. The level of personal and professional identity development is higher in females than in males. The hypothesis was not confirmed as the differences between females and males are not significant (p = 0.122), (p = 0.928).

Conclusion. As a result of generalization of theoretical and empirical data, an author's approach to improving vocational guidance work with high school students is proposed.

Background Experience as a psychological phenomenon is a subjective attitude of a person to the world around him, in which the ideological attitudes of the person are reflected. In the adolescent period, the cardinal changes of interests, values and outlook take place in general, thus experiences acquire a special course. Modern adolescents are especially concerned about the problems of the future: life planning after graduation, further relationships with friends and parents, career choice, establishing contacts with peers, etc. 

Objective. The specific features of adolescents with deviant behaviour determine the relevance and novelty of this research. The objective is to identify the emotional experience of the specific psychological problems of deviant adolescents. A diagnostic method “Psychological problems of adolescents” (L.A. Regush, E.V. Alekseeva, A.V. Orlova, Yu.S. Pezhemskaya) was used as the main research procedure. 

Design. The study involved 50 secondary school students divided into two groups according to behaviour type. The first group consisted of 25 subjects characterized by frequent behavioural disorders, the second group consisted of 25 subjects with socially acceptable behaviour. The compared groups are unified in terms of age (14-16 y.o.) and gender (male). 

Results. The data analysis showed that in adolescents with behavioural disorders average indicators are much higher (except for the scale “issues related to the society development”) than in adolescents with socially acceptable behaviour. The excess of an upper limit of the permissible values for deviant adolescents is fixed according to scales of psychological problems connected with “the self”, “school”, and “parents’ place”. Based on the statistical analysis using the Mann-Whitney U test, significant differences in the scales on “school related issues” (p≤0,000), “future related issues” (p≤0,011) and “self related issues» (p≤0,014). The differences in the experience issues related to the society development (p≤0,016) and the parent’s place related issues (p≤0,023) were recorded in adolescents with behavioural disorders. The lack of the statistical support of the number of assumptions (the severity of the experience of problems related to peer interaction, leisure, and health) is due primarily to the fact that the content of the method «Psychological problems of adolescents» does not take into account a full range of the needs, motives, values, attitudes, etc., specific to the system of experiences of adolescents with deviant behaviour. This aspect actualizes the need to design a diagnostic tool for solving the social-psychological and psychological pedagogical objectives of deviance studies in their applied orientation. 

Conclusion. The revealed differences point to the need for timely development of the measures for the social psychological prevention of emotional destabilization and / or the reconstruction of the system of experiences of adolescents with a deviant development trajectory. Based on the obtained results, an educational experiment designed to amplify the experiences of adolescents with deviant behavior has been developed and is being tested.

The paper discusses the features of parenting in adolescents and the correlation of these features with the development of respect for parents. The first part of the paper suggests considering respect for parents as an important component of the parent-child relationship; it shows the relevance of studying the respect; it stipulates the choice for the study of adolescence; it describes some concepts of respect and offers the author’s selecting two values of respect for parents. The research is relevant due to the insufficient number of empirical studies of respect for parents and practical demand. The research results of 218 adolescents aged 12 to 17 and 129 of their parents (N=347) are shown. The research is conducted using the author’s questionnaire “Respect for Parents”, ADOR technique, adolescent essays “My parents”, and the technique “Analysis of Family Relationships”. The results are processed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 20.

The Paper describes the research results adolescent respect for parents, adolescents’ perception of parents’ attitude to them, and features of family parenting. A significant correlation between the features of parenting and respect/disrespect for parents in adolescents are considered. Most adolescents have a feeling of respect for their parents and show respectful behaviour; in this regard, the features of family upbringing have a stronger influence on developing the feeling of respect for parents rather than a prescribed respectful behaviour. The paper lists specific characteristics of parenting, affecting the feelinge of respect for parents and respectful behaviour towards them.

The paper describes research on the role and place of computer games in the lives of children and adolescents, and also perceiving how young gamers estimate the impact of various aspects of computer games and experience games in general on themselves.

The study involved gamers between the age of 11 and 19 years. The study is conducted using surveys and interviews. The issues are related to those aspects of games that are perceived as most important, attractive, and cause the greatest emotional response, and also determine the selection of games; how users appreciate game characters including users’ attitudes to the games and the place of the computer game in their lives.

The study revealed that children and adolescents generally have a positive attitude towards computer games and find them a useful and enjoyable part of life, they do not feel shame and remorse for wasting time playing computer games, and are going to continue to play on into adulthood. Playing computer games they learn to communicate and make decisions.

The most important aspect of evaluating game characters is their visual representation.

The character appearance in the game is one of the main factors of their attractiveness. Adolescents do not appreciate only important aesthetic component of the visual images, but also their meaning: reflection of personality or actions of characters in visual images.

Preferences in selecting games are largely determined by the player actions in the game rather than the game plot. For adolescents computer game is an opportunity to try themselves in different situations and get the experience of interacting with other people, who may get inaccessible in real life. A computer game for children is a model of a successful living, so it can be used as a means of personal self-development. Computer games make a full-fledged sphere of life in adolescents through which they gradually realize the importance of school and studies, sports, and hobbies. Playing computer games adolescents relax, socialize and gain social and cognitive skills

Having established the conception of digital competence consisting of four components (knowledge, skills, motivation and responsibility) implemented in four areas (content, communication, consumption, and the techno-sphere), we propose the idea of models of digital competence as a specific systems of adolescents’ beliefs about their abilities and desires in the online world. These models (1) may be realistic or illusory, (2) their development is mediated by the motivation and online activity and (3) they regulate further online activities as well as the further development of digital competence. On the basis of nationwide study of digital competence (N=1203 Russian adolescents of 12-17 years) using latent class method we revealed 5 models of digital competence corresponding to its lowest level, the average level at high and low motivation, high specific (in the components of skill and safety) and high general level. It has been shown that higher appraisal of their digital competence is related to the opportunity of a more prolonged and self-service access to the Internet as well as the history of independent development of skills online. The illusion of digital competence is associated with a wide but shallow exploration activities online. Motivational component is related to the participation and recognition of the role of others in the development of digital competence, in comparison with others’ online skills and knowledge, as well as subjectively lower «digital divide» with parents. We suggest that the motivational component of the digital competence is developed if adolescent has a successful interaction via Internet, learn from other people and also if the range of her activities and interests online activity involves and requires the development of new skills.

Based on digital competence model’s analysis, we have figured out 3 main types of Internet-users: (1) beginners, (2) experienced users, (3) advanced users. All these types fall into different risk groups, determined by variable possibilities of facing content-, communication-, technical- and customers- online-threats.

The paper presents a large-scale scientific and practical project “Finding the resources for psychological well-being enhancement of adolescents in Russia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan”, carried out by an international team of psychologists in Russia, Netherlands, Finland, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan. The authors describe studies conducted in the framework of this project, methods used for identifying the psychological well-being of children , and the proposed and partially tested psychotherapeutic means for its improvement.