Alena G. Lisichkina

Background. The analysis of research in the field of professional self-determination of youth, conducted at the Psychological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the 1920–2020s, reveals the dynamics of objectives and content of the scientific approaches to the problem in the context of historical and socio-economic development of our country. 

Objective. To identify the changes in the interpretation of the research subject and show the process of expanding the concept of professional self-determination from choosing a profession to becoming a professional during training and real work as well as the psychological readiness for professional self-determination. 

Methods. The study was conducted in line with the comparative historical approach which allowed for establishing changes in the phenomenology of socio-psychological processes in different historical epochs. 

Results. The article highlighted the priority directions of scientific research: from identifying the interests of youth and finding a profession that meets them to teaching labor skills and abilities as a way to increase labor motivation; from focusing on specific professional branches and specialties to finding an educational route in the field of prospective future work. The authors revealed the significant signs of the further transformation of the process of professional self-determination of school graduates under conditions of the post-industrial and digital economy. They are: the increase in the independence of young people when choosing their professional future, the destruction of the tradition of labor dynasties and the loss of value attitude to the chosen profession as a life’s work. 

Conclusion. The analysis made it possible to put forward the assumption that in the conditions of the digital economy, the very structure of the professional self-determination phenomenon is fundamentally changing, being aimed not so much at choosing and mastering a specific profession, but at finding a wide scope of application of one’s inclinations and abilities.

Background. Searching for social roles, ways and means of life self-determination is the most important task of the personality development in adolescence. In this regard, the study was focused on the personality traits, conscious self-regulation of achieving life goals and readiness for active self-realization.

Objective. To reveal the relationship between personality traits, conscious self-regulation, and readiness for active self-realization in adolescent students.

Study Participants. The study involved 462 students of Moscow universities (175 girls, 287 boys, average age 19.2 years).

Methods. The students’ personality features were assessed by means of the ultra-short version of the Big Five-2 Inventory (BFI-2-XS). The general level of conscious self-regulation development was evaluated with “Self-Regulation Profile Questionnaire by Morosanova — SSPM 2020”. The level of self-realization activity was determined using the “Questionnaire of Activity in Self-Realization” proposed by Andreeva, Lisichkina. Statistical data processing involved methods of correlation, cluster, variance, and multiple regression analysis included in SPSS 22.0.0 package.

Results. New data were obtained showing that all the considered psychological characteristics are closely interrelated at a high level of statistical significance and, possibly, influence the students’ readiness for self-realization. The cluster analysis allowed to identify three individual-typological groups of students differing in the level of conscious self-regulation development, the severity of personality traits, and their readiness for active self-realization. Students with high levels of conscious self-regulation, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, openness to experience and low neuroticism demonstrate greater readiness for active self-realization compared to the students who have the opposite tendency in all the listed indicators. Regression analysis allowed to reveal a greater contribution of the conscious self-regulation to the readiness for active self-realization compared to extraversion and conscientiousness.

Conclusions. Conscious self-regulation and personality traits make a significant contribution to the formation of students’ readiness for active self-realization in various spheres of life (studies, professional sphere, relationships, etc.). A high level of conscious self-regulation development is a psychological resource for the students’ active self-realization, allowing them to focus their efforts on planning both the near and distant future, to build a sequence of necessary steps being flexible and persistent in achieving their goals.