Family Self-Determination Of Students In The Process Of Professionalization

Is the professional orientation a factor of activation and formation of family self-determination among students?

What role does the training stage (course) play in the process of family self-determination of modern students?

To assess the validity of differences in components of family self-determination depending on the professional orientation.

To investigate the influence of the training stage (course) on the process of family self-determination of students.

Research Instruments

For diagnostics of substantial and structural characteristics of family self-determination, the method of semantic differential, the questionnaire A Value and Availability Ratio in Various Vital Spheres Technique, and a projective technique Incomplete Sentences, and A Purpose-in-Life Test were used to collect the data.

Data analysis procedures

Mathematical-statistical methods were used for the data analysis that allowed us to establish reliability of results of our research. All calculations were performed by means of the computer program IBM SPSS Statistics 21. Descriptive Statistics, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov’s test, Kruskal-Wallace’s criterion of one-factor dispersion analysis for independent samples (F), and Spearman's rank correlation (r_s) were used to analyse the data.

Research Sample

The study was conducted in the Astrakhan state University, the Astrakhan branch of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. The study involved 774 students: 295 first year students, 196 second year students, 127 third year students, 156 fourth year students majoring in Psychological and Pedagogical Education, Psychology, Sociology, Public and Municipal Administration, and Management.

The impact of such a factor as professional orientation on family self-determination

To assess the impact of such a factor as professional orientation on family self-determination, the analysis of the structural and content characteristics of the examined phenomenon for students majoring in the following courses - Psychological and Pedagogical Education, Psychology, Sociology, Public and Municipal Administration, and Management - was carried out. The structure of family self-determination is a set of interrelated components, the qualitative characteristics of which determine the indicators of readiness of the individual for marriage and family life. The cognitive component includes the necessary range of knowledge about the life of a modern family, the formation of the cognitive image of “I am a future family man (I am a future husband / wife, I am a future father / mother, I am an owner, I am a son / daughter)” and ideas about the future marriage partner (an ideal husband / wife, an ideal father / mother).

Differences in the level of statistical significance were found for such elements as “I am a future father / mother” (the value of the criterion H = 7.796 at the level of significance p = 0.05); “I am an owner” (H = 11.434 at p = 0.01). The value of parenthood is lower among students majoring in Management in comparison with other courses (Fig.1). The median values indicate that the significance of the image “I am an owner” is lower among the students majoring in Sociology and Management.

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The value-emotional component comprises family values (happy family life, freedom, love, marriage, parents’ family, my future family, parents), assessment and perception of marriage and family relations (relation to the family status of the individual within the family structure, marriage, parent, family, mother, father, future marriage partner, future children, myself, romantic type of love, sex, family recreation and leisure), and life orientation (purpose in life, process of life, productivity of life, meaning of life).

Significant differences for the following elements of family self-determination were revealed: the “parent family” (H = 15.169 at p = 0.002), “my mother” (H = 12.644 at p = 0.005), the “attitude to family” (H = 18.551 at p < 0.0001), “We are family, attitude to your own family” (H = 12.931 at p = 0.005), “attitude to future children” (H = 19.408 at p < 0.0001), “attitude to family recreation and leisure” (H = p = 0.001), “attitude to father” (H = 7.885 at p = 0.048), “meaningfulness of life” (H = 7.916 at p = 0.048).

Figure 02 clearly shows that the value of the parents’ family is the most important for students majoring in Psychology and Pedagogics and Psychology. Those majoring in Sociology appreciate the relationship with mother to a lesser extent as compared to their peers. At the same time, those majoring in Sociology have a more positive attitude towards the family as a social institution, their own family, future children, joint family recreation and leisure than students of other professional orientations. A more positive attitude to “father” was also characteristic of students majoring in Sociology, and State and municipal administration. Students majoring in Psychology", and Pedagogics and Psychology, and State and municipal administration demonstrated higher indicators of meaningfulness of life.

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Regulatory-behavioral component comprises a set of operations and ways for achieving a conscious goal of activity, namely: building life plans in the time perspective (my past, my present, my future), orientation in social family roles and interpersonal relationships (leadership and responsibility in the family, the rights and responsibilities of spouses), communicative initiative and activity in interaction, effective communicative skills and resolution of family conflicts (attitude to conflicts and divorce), willed self-regulation, self-control. Differences in the level of statistical significance are found for such elements of family self-determination as “my past” (H = 13.529 at p = 0.004), “my present” (H = 9.026 at p = 0.029), “my future” (H = 8.769 at p = 0.033), “primacy and responsibility in the family” (H = 26.775 at p < 0.0001), the “rights and obligations of spouses” (H = 16.281 at p = 0.001), “attitude to divorce” (H = 19.535 at p < 0.0001), “attitude to family conflicts” (H = 17.031 at p = 0.001).

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From Figure 3 it can be seen that the value of the past and the present is the least significant for the students majoring in Sociology and Management. Students majoring in Psychology are oriented to the future. Students majoring in State and municipal administration are more ready to take responsibility for the family and take a leadership position. Students majoring in Sociology have a more positive attitude to the rights and duties of the spouses, a very negative attitude to divorce and family conflicts as compared to other students.

The motivational component of family self-determination reflects motivation for marriage. This research studied the peculiarities of marriage motives such as security, harmonious sexual relations, duty, success, compensation for the feeling of loneliness, personal independence, love, material well-being, revenge, communication with people, recognition of others, parenthood, self-actualization, and happiness. Some significant differences were found between such marital motives as “achievement of success” (H = 21.217, p < 0.0001) and “self-actualization” (H = 8.008 p = 0.046). The motives of marriage mentioned here are the most attractive for the students majoring in Management (Fig.4). Students majoring in Sociology have lower indicators of success and self-actualization below the selective median.

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The reflexive component of family self-determination implies the presence of such qualities as an objective self-assessment and evaluation of your personal activity, developed self-consciousness and self- understanding, internal locus of control (locus of control is self, locus of control is life), critical evaluation of the achieved results and forecasting of subsequent results. Some significant differences were found in the indicators of “self-confidence” (H = 11.913 at p = 0.008), “life as locus of control” (H = 7.871 at p = 0.049) for the students majoring in different courses. Fig. 5 shows that the indicators of self-confidence, freedom from internal contradictions are above the value of the median in the sample as a whole for the students majoring in Sociology and State and municipal administration. Students majoring in Management have lower indices on the scale of life as locus of control than other students.

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Results of statistical analysis

Correlation analysis was used in the study of the influence of the level of training on the process of family self-determination of students. Spearman’s rank correlation revealed a significant correlation for such elements of family self-determination as the “position of an individual within the family structure” (r _s = -0.146 if p = 0.009), “attitude to the romantic type of love” (r _s = -0.163, p = 0.003), “my past” (r _s = -0.103 p = 0.007), “harmonious sexual relationship” (r _s = 0.092 p = 0.016), “communicating with people” (r _s = -0.125 at p = 0.001).

Negative correlation coefficient means that junior students had a more positive attitude to the position of an individual in the structure of the family, romantic type of love, value of the past, the importance of such a motive for marriage as communication with people than senior students. A positive correlation indicates that the importance of the motive of harmonious sexual relations for marriage for senior students increases.