L.A. Yasyukova, associate professor, Ph.D.
St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg
A.M. Aleksankov, associate professor, Ph.D.
O.E. Piskun, associate professor, Ph.D.
St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University, St. Petersburg

Keywords: students, personal and intellectual characteristics, adaptation, physical education and sports classes, healthy lifestyle.

Introduction. Originated in the field of natural science – that of biology [5], over the past 50 years the studies of adaptation have expanded to the field of humanities and social science, became enriched with their ideas, gained new content and value. Issues of socio-psychological adaptation were most intensely developed in the 60s-80s of the XX century. The four-factor adaptation model proposed by U. Bronfenbrenner and shared by all scientists of today was formed [7]. In the past decades a certain evolution in the understanding of psychological adaptation was observed, a separation of the concepts of “adjustment” and “adaptation” took place; moving from a passive adjustment to a construction of a system of productive interaction between an individual and the environment, from the ultimate goal – a homeostatic balance, a lack of conflict – to self-actualization and self-realization of an individual in a real social environment [3, p. 10]. The interest of researchers to the problems of adaptation of students is traditional. Various aspects of socio-psychological adaptation are being studied:  joining a group by an individual, emotional well-being, self-esteem, self-realization [4 et al.]. Psychological support of the educational process is suggested in order to optimize adaptation: consulting, trainings, role plays, various cultural events, physical education classes [2 et al.].

As seen from the theoretical analysis, the least studied aspect of the process of adaptation of students is what all the studies of adaptation began with - the very state of health, the possibility of increasing adaptive reserves thanks to a healthy lifestyle and physical education and sports classes (PES). Researches in this area are rare [1, 6].

The purpose of the study was to identify personal characteristics of students that contribute to the formation of the motivation for a healthy lifestyle, PES and health promotion.

Materials and methods. We have developed a questionnaire including a set of questions to find out students’ general attitude to PES, their opinion on how they influence a person’s life, the development of a personality, the qualities being formed and strengthened and the impact they have on their own life. The selection of participants included 1^st-3^rd-year students (275 persons: 128 male and 147 female students).

Preliminarily conducted interviews showed that every person develops a complex of ideas he is not fully conscious of about qualities of an individual (positive or negative) characteristic of athletes, that further significantly affect the formation of one’s own attitude to sports and healthy lifestyle. Psychological characteristics of students were studied using the intelligence structure test of R. Amthauer, Cattell’s personality test (form A) and tolerance techniques of L.A. Yasyukova. An express-method with a description of emotional states was developed to study general adaptation. The students registered the mood that they frequently experienced lately. A scale of five grades (adaptation criteria) was offered: optimistic, quiet (adaptive states) and irritable, anxious, depressed (maladaptive states). A standard statistical processing of the study results was carried out, the results were analyzed with regard to age, gender characteristics of the students and the degree of their adaptation (adaptive and maladaptive).

Results and discussion. Data in Table 1 show that more than a third of students have problems with adaptation to studies in technical universities, and the difficulties do not diminish in the course of studies (the percentage of maladaptive students among 2^nd and 3^rd-year students is higher), female students adapt significantly harder than male ones. Statistically significant differences were detected between adaptive and maladaptive students in their attitude to healthy lifestyle (Table 2). Successfully adapting students have a more expressed overall positive attitude: a desire and willingness to exercise. Given the opportunity they are happy to attend sports classes that have a positive impact on their mood, enhance physical well-being and overall health. PES give an energy boost, increase energy supply, working capacity of students, their self-esteem, and self-confidence, develop volitional self-control, help make friends, i.e. obviously contribute to the optimization of the process of adaptation to university studies. Data in Table 2 also show a more positive attitude to sport and more active involvement in the sports classes of male students compared with female ones. Perhaps, it is this that increases the adaptive capacity of male students, and female ones do not use sports classes enough to optimize adaptation.

Table 1. Adaptation characteristics of 1^st-3^rd-year students, %

Table 2. Comparative characteristics of attitude of students of St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University to physical education and sports classes (%; “do not know” answers are omitted)

Table 3 shows that in general the students are positive about the impact of PES on the personality formation as the grades of all the characteristics are much higher than the neutral zone of 4.5 points and are certainly not within the scope of negative grades. No differences in opinions of male and female students were revealed; at the same time certain differences were found between adaptive and maladaptive students. For instance, adaptive students believe that PES contribute to the formation of organized self-discipline, level-headedness, self-confidence; maladaptive students are not sure of that.   

Table 3. Opinion of students of St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University about qualities formed thanks to PES classes

Note. (9 points – maximum positive impact, 0 points - negative impact, 4.5 points – no impact at all).

The study revealed statistically significant differences with regard to personal characteristics (Cattell’s questionnaire and tolerance technique) between male and female students as well as between adaptive and maladaptive ones. Male students are less ambitious compared with females (L: 4.64 and 5.58), they have a lower level of anxiety (O: 3.98 and 4.86) and mental stress (Q₄: 4.33 and 5.38), more pronounced positive emotional disposition with regards to PES (indices: 6.89 and 5.33), confidence in the positive health impact of the classes (indices: 6.89 and 5.53). Adaptive students are generally more tolerant than maladaptive ones (Т_total: 26 and 23), do not have national, religious, racial prejudices (Т₂: 4.4 and 3.1), are emotionally balanced (C: 6.26 and 4.63), eager to communicate (H: 5.01 and 3.83), less anxious (factor O: 3.96 and 5.71) and mentally stressed (Q₄: 4.65 and 5.83), have a more positive emotional disposition with regards to PES (indices: 6.5 and 5.0) that improve their general state of health (indices: 7.9 and 6.3), they are generally more focused on a healthy lifestyle (indices: 14.4 and 11.3). Unfortunately the study revealed a significant reduction in the students’ emotional disposition and general positive attitude to PES by the 3^rd year of university studies (indices: 6.1 – 1^st and 2^nd years, but 4.7 – 3^rd year).

At the same time major differences were detected during a correlation analysis conducted separately for the groups of adaptive and maladaptive students. In the group of adaptive students highly significant positive correlations of the focus on healthy lifestyle and PES were obtained with personal mobility (Q₁­), communicative activity (H­) and all the indicators of tolerance (Т₁ – a wide range of cultural interests; Т₂ – recognition of the equality of different cultures; Т₃ – kindness, tolerance to other cultures’ representatives; Т₄ – empathy, sympathy; Т₅ – self-control of emotions in conflict situations). These correlations show that the most socially active, mobile, tolerant young people are actively engaged in PES and fulfill the goal of leading a healthy lifestyle. In the group of adaptive students highly significant correlations were obtained of the logical component of conceptual thinking (R. Amthauer’s 3^rd subtest) with a point of view about the multidimensional positive impact of sport on personality development, formation of self-discipline, independence, leadership, self-confidence, self-criticism, emotional balance and team spirit. Obtained correlations with intelligence suggest that healthy lifestyle maintenance and engagement in PES are a conscious choice of the students keenly aware what they need it for.   

Completely different correlation pleiades were detected in the group of maladaptive students. There were obtained highly significant negative correlations of mobility (Q₁¯), anxiety (O­), diligence (G­) with the focus on healthy lifestyle and exercise. These correlations suggest that a negative attitude to PES is formed in conservative, diligent and anxious students (these are the exact characteristics of the vast majority of maladaptive students). The most diligent maladaptive students believe that sport helps people consolidate such qualities as indifference, unscrupulousness, negativism, impulsivity, anxiety, lack of self-confidence. Another correlation pleiade obtained suggests that the most conformal (Q₂¯), disorganized (Q₃¯), emotionally reactive (C¯) students positively assess such quality as team spirit, perceiving belonging to a group as a kind of psychological protection, a possibility to compensate their own shortcomings. No correlations of the attitude to sports classes with intellectual indices were obtained. This fact indicates the unconscious nature and inconsistency of views of the maladaptive students about the impact of PES on the human life. The study shows that, perhaps, these unconscious and contradictory notions, having a negative vector, block the students’ desire to engage in PES even when the university provides all the facilities for that.  

Conclusion. Our research has disclosed a variety of positive effects of PES classes on the adaptation of students to studies in a technical university and showed that personal characteristics of students such as spacious mind, mobility, communicative activity, tolerance promote the healthy lifestyle motivation formation and contribute to its full implementation in the learning process in the technical university. While, on the contrary, conservatism, excess diligence and anxiety, lack of organization, protective conformism facilitate the formation in students of the negative attitude to PES classes and generally reduce their adaptive capacity. We believe, such studies are an essential part of the process flows of activities conducted at university physical education departments intended to enhance the adaptive resources of students.

References

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Corresponding author: piskun@imop.ru