Articles

Relevance. It can still be seen in contemporary studies that the difficulties of problem children are explored in an isolated manner, without any connection to the research on social-psychological practices of aid and correction. 

The goal of the article is to integrate the approaches aimed at understanding a problem child with main organizational practices of medical, psychological and pedagogical help. The phenomenon of a problem child is being looked at in the context of developing a project-oriented approach in cultural-historical psychology. 

Methods. The article uses the method of analyzing historically formed views on understanding a difficult child together with studying major views on organizing and structuring practical medical, psychological and educational help. The research was aimed at finding common features both in studies on different groups of problem children and that of different types of practices. 

Results and conclusions. In the course of the historical-analytical study the authors highlighted main principles in structuring the rehabilitation of problem children and adolescents, showed the directions of the latest research. These principles are described as social structures and may serve as basis for designing and later constructing required social-psychological and therapeutically-developing environments for problem children. These social structures are actively involved in shaping the child’s mental organization. They are expressed in the external social relations which can be described and later organized in a particular way to help a child to overcome the existing difficulties. These social relations can be described on different levels: microsocial (interpersonal relations) and macrosocial (different social groups and stratas, subcultures, mass social processes in the society). It allows to integrate the existing research in a cross-disciplinary field. In such systematic studies, one language can be used to describe difficulties of problem children as well as therapeutic environments most suitable for their correction. Thus, it opens up a new possibility to elaborate on project-oriented approach constructed on the basis of cultural-historical psychology.

The subject of this publication is the psychological analysis of the system of pedagogical correction (therapeutic pedagogy) developed by the famous Russian educator Vsevolod Petrovich Kashchenko, specialist in the field of education of difficult children. The author concentrates on some data of V.P. Kashchenko's scientific biography that are directly related to the opening of a unique medical and pedagogical institution in 1908 – a sanatorium-school for disabled children. It led to the emergence of a network of special institutions for children with developmental disabilities in the years to follow, especially in the Soviet period. 

The article analyzes the terms used by V.P. Kashchenko: “defective child”, “difficult child”, “special childhood”. The concept of “difficult child” was introduced by V.P. Kashchenko to denote a group of children with marked behavioral disorders and character traits that disrupt their successful socialization, and in particular cause problems in learning the curriculum, and often lead to asocial behavior in school years. Subsequently, the meaning of this term changed, but now it is used in a sense close to how it was regarded by V.P. Kashchenko. 

Methods. General characteristics of V.P. Kashchenko’s effective and practically proven system of education for children with behavioral disorders are given. An attempt is made to identify the psychological foundations of V.P. Kashchenko's pedagogical correction. The main principle is social conditioning of children's exclusivity, in particular difficult character traits, that are corrected by the complex system of methods developed by V.P. Kashchenko. The psychological analysis of V.P. Kashchenko's pedagogical system is based on the ideas of Russian scientists on the unity of education and development, the commonality of the laws of mental development of normal children and those with developmental disorders. 

Results. It is concluded that it is reasonable to refer to V.P. Kashchenko’s scientific heritage as a source of psychological and pedagogical information in the field of raising children with developmental disorders.

The article is dedicated to V.P. Kashchenko 150th anniversary celebrated this year. 

Relevance. The increase of children interest in entertainment TV programs, mobile applications and video games available on the internet causes a significant decrease in their physical activity: children get used to a sedentary or lying down lifestyle. The research problem lies in the contradiction that arises due tounderstanding of the positive effect of physical activity on the development of the regulatory functions of a preschooler, and a significant decrease in this activity in the digital conditions of the modern educational environment.The relevance and prospects of the study of the relationship between regulatory functions and physical activity of preschool children in new digital environment are not yet fully realized. 

The objective of the paper is to review the studies by foreign scientists in order to identify and describe relevant indicators of physical activity in preschool children interrelated with the main components of regulatory functions (inhibitory control, working memory, cognitive flexibility). 

Method. A theoretical review of research papers published over the past ten years (2010 –2020) on the subject of relationship of various physical activity indicators and regulatory functions in preschool children. 

Results. The paper provides a comparative analysis of studies conducted by foreign authors. It allows to reveal basic indicators of physical activity in children which are essential for the development of regulatory functions (sufficiency of physical activity; age-related appropriateness; the nature of physical activity; the form of physical activity arrangement), and particular indicators (the relationship of physical activity and regulatory functions in various sports, duration and intensity of physical activity, the availability of software for the development of physical activity in preschool children) as well. 

Conclusions. The review showed that the majority of the authors emphasized the significant role of basic physical activity indicators and their influence on regulatory functions. Aerobic exercises are the most effective in the development of regulatory functions in preschool children. Particular indicators are selected from the studies of the development of regulatory functions in specific sports (football, karate, yoga, mini-trampoline), and additional research on the duration and intensity of physical activity is needed.

Relevance. Research in the field of educational psychology is impossible without reliable and effective psycho-diagnostics methods for assessing students' motivational, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral characteristics. 

Objective. The article describes results of adaptation and validation of the Russian version of “Multidimensional School Engagement Scale” (Wang et al., 2019). School engagement is seen as the sustainable, purposeful, active participation of students in their school life manifested at the behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and social levels. 

Methods. A psychometric assessment of the method was carried out on a sample of the 6–11 grade students of Russian secondary schools (N = 687). In the process of adapting the questionnaire for Russian-speaking students, a direct and reverse translation of the questions was carried out and the factor structure of the questionnaire was investigated using confirmatory factor analysis, factor validity of the model invariance depending on gender, scales’ internal consistency and external validity was also checked. 

Results. The results of confirmatory factor analysis showed that original bi-factor structure of the questionnaire was preserved identifying two global factors: engagement and disengagement (χ2 (563) = 1252.66; p = 0.00; CFI = 0.938; GFI = .907; RMSEA = 0.042). The scales of the questionnaire have a sufficiently high reliability according to the internal consistency of their points (Alpha Cronbach from 0.63 to 0.90). The number of questions included in the Russian version corresponds to the original version of the questionnaire. 

Conclusions. The study results confirmed the relevancy of considering engagement a multidimensional construct including an assessment of behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and social aspects. The questionnaire can be used on the samples of students in grades 5 to 11. The article contains the text of the questionnaire, instructions and key. 

Relevance. There is growing interest in the market for educational applications in Russia. A significant number of these are aimed at preschoolers. Although much is known about the key features of preschoolers learning ( due to the cultural-historical approach as well ), there is still little research analyzing whether these features are taken into account in the design and methodology of mobile applications available on the market.

Objective. To analyze math apps for preschoolers from the standpoint of cultural-historical theory. 

Design. We went to Google Play and AppStore with the query “mathematics for preschoolers” and selected four apps that are most popular among users and recommended by experts. We analyzed them according to the following criteria: (1) adult engagement, (2) quality of the child’s interactions with the application content, (3) types of content, (4) forms of material presentation and the correspondence of the method of number concept formation to the preschool age specifics, (5) the quality of mathematical content, that ensures the principle of continuity with the primary school curriculum. 

Results. None of the apps was based on developmental learning methodology, and none used opportunities for involving an adult in a dialogue and joint activities with a child. Not all the apps considered the characteristics of the age group in their design of content and the child's interactions with the app. Only one of the apps provides continuity with the primary school curriculum. 

Conclusions. Scientific knowledge and practical achievements in the field of mathematical education for preschoolers are not always reflected even in the most popular programs. Our analysis allows to draw the attention of parents, teachers, and developers to important design elements that could make an app really educational for preschool children. 

Relevance. The spread of deviant behavior and violations of moral norms by adolescents increases in the transitive informational society with high variability of socialization forms and moral standards. These violations are declaratively accepted by teenagers while they maintain a positive moral self-esteem. The implementation of behavior that goes beyond the boundaries of accepted moral standards indicates a violation of moral self-regulation associated with a special attitude to one’s act according to the type of moral alienation. A. Bandura proposed a model to justify immoral behavior where moral disengagement mechanisms are highlighted, providing support for positive self-esteem and self-respect. The selected moral disengagement mechanisms are actively used in adolescents to explain their own and other people's immoral behavior. 

Objective: to determine the characteristics of the preferences of moral disengagement mechanisms in adolescence and youth. Research goals: analysis of preferences of the moral disengagement mechanisms, age dynamics analysis of moral disengagement mechanisms, gender differences analysis of preferences of the moral disengagement mechanisms, analysis of the psychometric parameters of the questionnaire of moral disengagement mechanisms.

The following methods were used in the study: the method of moral disengagement mechanisms by S. Moore in the Russian-language adaptation by Ledova Ya.A. and colleagues, the methodology “Justice and care” (author S.V. Molchanov). 

Participants. The study involved 551 adolescents aged 14 to 17 where 346 (62.8%) were boys and 205 (37.2%) were girls. It also surveyed 230 senior students of universities. 

The following results were obtained: the characteristics of preferences were analyzed and a hierarchy of mechanisms of moral disengagement mechanisms was identified; various groups were distinguished by the nature of preferences of moral disengagement mechanisms; age dynamics of preferences of moral disengagement mechanisms were determined ;gender differences in the preferences of moral disengagement mechanisms are highlighted; the psychometric parameters of the used methodology were analyzed; the possibilities of its use was demonstrated.

Relevance. Adolescence is an important stage in human life. It offers a lot of possibilities for personal development, but it also presents serious challenges, such as development of autonomy, the search for individuality. Parent-child relationships are generally considered a factor of the development of adolescent’s autonomy. Family psychology identifies adolescence as basis for a separate stage in the family life cycle. In this regard, it seems important to investigate the processes of separation and development of the autonomy of adolescents not only in parent-child relations, but in a wider family context. 

Objective. The goal of the research is to study the family factors of autonomy and separation processes development in adolescence. 

Method and participants. 51 adolescents in age from 13 to 18 years took part in the study. The following methods were used: questionnaires on autonomy and separation processes, family and child-parent relations, “Family Sociogram”, the incomplete sentences method. 

Main results. The main content of the ideas about independence and autonomy in adolescents is shown: adolescents determine their autonomy primarily through the behavioral aspect and alienation. Emotional differentiation goes difficult, and adolescents are often susceptible to emotional influence in relationships with significant people. Fear of losing sovereignty is negatively associated with family cohesion, expressiveness, and independence of family members. Neurotic denial of dependence on others is negatively associated with family cohesion, independence of family members, and transparency of family rules. Lack of acceptance of the adolescent, excessive emotional distancing and lack of consent and cooperation in the family is negatively connected with autonomy development and separation of adolescents. 

Conclusions. It is necessary to consider the development of autonomy and separation processes in adolescence in the context of family relations. Negative family factors are connected with separation difficulties and lack of autonomy in adolescence.

Relevance. In the correctional facilities the staff plays a special role in the life of juvenile offenders serving sentences and isolated from the society. It is not only the rehabilitation process in the juvenile correctional facility but also the success of resocialization after serving the sentence that is determined by their actions and the attitude towards the juvenile convicts. 

Objective. The aim of the study was to study exactly which indicators of mental health and emotional state of juvenile convicts are associated with perceived and received socio-psychological support from psychologists and caregivers of the juvenile correctional facility in comparison with support from other sources. 

Methods and participants. The study involved 657 adolescents serving sentences in nine juvenile correctional facilities, aged 14 to 19 years (564 boys and 93 girls).The study used the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), an item specifically developed for identifying the frequency of seeking help from various categories of people present in respondents' lives; the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales - DASS-21); the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS); and the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE). 

Results. Differences were identified in the relationship between perceived social support from different sources and the frequency of seeking help for different categories with indicators of mental health and emotional state of young convicts. The study also identified the impact of different support sources on anxiety, stress, and the strength of positive and negative emotions.  The study emphasizes the special role of caregivers and psychologists compared to other categories of stuff in predicting the levels of depression, 

Conclusions. The perceived social support from the staff and the frequency of juvenile convicts asking psychologists and caregivers for help have a significant impact on mental health indicators and the emotional state of juvenile offenders. Peers and friends have the least impact on the mental health and emotional state of incarcerated youth, as opposed to free adolescents. On the contrary, “significant adults” represented by staff of correctional camps (educators and psychologists) make a significant contribution to reducing mental health disorders and improving the emotional state of offenders. Perceived social support from “significant others” helps reduce stress. Asking educators for help can be considered a predictor of lower levels of depression, anxiety, and stress in juvenile convicts. In turn, the level of positive emotions is mostly determined by seeking help from a psychologist. 

Relevance. The article is devoted to the study of adolescents who do not have evaluative and/or prescribed respect for their parents as well as presents factors associated with disrespectful attitude to their parents: gender, family composition, financial security of the family, social status of the parent, features of upbringing and child-parent relationships. The disrespect for parents has not yet been studied in detail. 

Objective. Identification of factors contributing to disrespectful attitude of adolescents towards their parents. 

Sample. In total, 294 people participated in the study: 218 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years; 76 parents of these adolescents aged 33 to 48 years.

Methods: Adolescents were offered the author's questionnaire “Respect for Parents”, the ADOR method – “Adolescents about Parents”, Parents answered questions from “Analysis of Family Relationships” (AFR). 

Results. Four groups of adolescents were identified based on cluster analysis of “Respect for parents” method: respectful, disrespectful, evaluatively respectful, and prescriptively respectful. It was found that boys do not respect their parents more often than girls. Adolescents from single-parent families are also more likely to disrespect their parents. The gender of the parent is not related to respect indicators. The social success of the parent and the financial security of the family are important factors associated with the respect of adolescents for their parents. The relationship of a large number of features of parenting and child-parent relations (both in the perception of adolescents – ADOR method and their parents – AFR method) with indicators of respect for parents among adolescents was analyzed. 

Conclusion. Adolescents may not have evaluative respect (conscious deference, the result of evaluating a person) or prescribed respect (the result of assimilating social norms of honoring elders) for their parents, or they may not fully respect them. Adolescents do not respect parents who lack psychological acceptance of children, lack parental feelings, and are hostile to them. Also, adolescents do not respect parents who show dominant hyperprotection

Relevance of current research is determined by insufficient focus on the prevention of deviant economic socialization in children and adolescents in the conditions of high uncertainty of socio-economic prospects for Russian society and high risks of economic shocks. 

Objective. To justify the importance of prevention of deviant economic identity at the stage of formation of the "economic ethos of culture" in the senior preschool age and the subsequent "technological ethos of culture" in primary school age and adolescence and to determine the main directions of prevention.

Method. Theoretical and methodological analysis, comparative and critical analysis, as means of clarifying the concept of "deviant economic identity" and defining its place in the context of such close concepts as "economic socialization," "economic deviance," "professional identity" etc.. 

Results. The concept of “deviant economic identity” is clarified. It is understood as the association of a person not only with a given economic activity or specific professionals (as role models to follow), but also with values and ideological positions underlying such activities. The "paradoxicality" of deviance can be a discrepancy between the norms of a particular society and general cultural norms, as well as the discrepancy between the generally accepted ideas about deviance and ideas about the deviance by the particular individual or group (at the level of families, collectives), which often provokes an identity crisis.

Conclusions. Psychological and educational work with children and adolescents in order to prevent deviant economic identity is especially important because of the susceptibility of this age to socially dubious variants of economic relations and weak propaganda of worthy examples of economic behavior in the society. The article highlights the psychological and pedagogical conditions for the emergence, development and prevention of deviant economic identity in children and adolescents, which can be used in the psychological practice, associated not only with an orientation towards established values, but also with the culture (method) of the search for these values.

Relevance. Specialists providing psychological assistance to children with developmental disorders use programs based on different determination models. Each model and the resulting technology solves a well-defined range of problems and has limitations. The content of the models, as a rule, is not reflected, which reduces their efficiency. 

Purpose of the work is to compare the models determining the development of the psyche and behavior as the basis for constructing programs of psychological assistance to children with special needs. 

Method. Theoretical critical analysis and synthesis of literature on the research problem. 

Results. The contents of determination models of the development of the psyche and behavior (classical, neo-classical, post-neo-classical) are compared according to 4 characteristics. The types of determination factors and psychological assistance programs for children with developmental disorders are analyzed. A comparative analysis of psychological assistance programs and deterministic models on the basis of which they are built is carried out. The limitations of the models when using them to build developing programs are highlighted and described. It is shown how groups of factors under study are taken into account in the content of training programs. The limitations of models are highlighted and described. An innovative technology and algorithm for studying the system of determination influences in the framework of the post-neo-classical model of the private level for their use in research and practice of helping difficult children is proposed. 

Conclusions. Determination models can be practically reviewed as clarifying and complementing each other. Understanding the possibilities and limitations of intervention technologies developed on the basis of different models expands the possibilities of providing psychological assistance to children and adolescents with developmental disabilities. 

The groups of external factors that determine the indicators of the development of "difficult" children do not fundamentally differ from those of normo-typical children.

Groups of internal factors related to the indicators of the viability of a child and adolescent with developmental disabilities can act as learning goals in the construction of programs for psychological and pedagogical assistance to difficult children.

The analysis of psychological assistance programs for children with special needs has shown that they are based on classical and neo-classical models and have both strengths and limitations due to the concepts of the systemic nature of the human psyche embedded in the models.

The relevance of the article is explained by crisis nature of modern childhood and the risks of informational socialization, reflected in loss of value in becoming mature, the loss of the leading role of education, and the growth of deviant behavior in children and adolescents. Social anomie and cultural deprivation create a diverse information environment that poses the risks of promoting the cult of violence, cruelty, extremism, suicidal behavior, involving children and adolescents in the consumption of psychoactive substances, the formation of Internet addiction and computer gaming addiction.

The purposeof the article is to analyze risk management capabilities of information socialization as a manifestation of a childhood crisis. 

Methods – theoretical and comparative analysis, generalization. 

The results.The risks of information socialization associated with a low level of information security are highlighted. Significant age-related psychological characteristics of the child are identified and analyzed. These characteristics determine the effect of the psychological impact of information products on the development of the child. They are specified for preschool, primary school age, younger and older adolescents. A comparative analysis of the features of cognitive activity and mental development is presented: the degree of vulnerability of the child to the effects of harmful content; preservation of psychological well-being; readiness to imitate the social patterns of behavior presented on the Internet. The tasks to ensure informational security of children and adolescents have been specified.

Conclusions. Accounting for age-related psychological characteristics will allow to create an effective risk management system for informational socialization of children. Such a system includes the tasks of the age classification of information products and building the developing content of the information environment. The creation of interdisciplinary science of social ecology of childhood will make it possible to make significant progress in overcoming the crisis of modern childhood. 

Background. This article considers the prediction ability (anticipation of future events) in preschool children with hearing impairment. The ability to anticipate the results of their interaction with the surrounding social world is by no means unimportant in the social adaptation of children with hearing impairment. Prediction in preschool children with hearing impairment is a rather poorly studied topic. There are studies about particular types of anticipation, such as emotional anticipation. Based on analysis of previous studies, a detailed study of the structural and functional characteristics of the prognostic ability of children with hearing impairment compared with children with neurotypical development is significant.

Objective. To learn about the ability of hearing-impaired preschoolers to anticipate future situations.

Design. The empirical study involved 50 children aged 5–7 years with hearing impairment and without developmental disabilities, attending preschool educational institutions of the Republic of Tatarstan. The following methods were used: “Ugadaika” [“Guessing Game”] (L.I. Peresleni, V.L. Podobed) and the authors' methodology “Prognostic Stories”, developed by teachers at Kazan Federal University.

Results. In children with hearing impairment, we identified ineffective methods of carrying out predictive activities, irrational forecasting strategies, forecasting difficulties in certain areas of relationships and activities, as well as problems of mastering the rules in a normative situation.

Conclusion. The study confirmed the importance of external regulation in the social life of a child with a hearing impairment, which helps the children to predict more successfully in organized activities than in free ones. The most developed relationships in children with hearing impairment are in the child – parent domain. In their own forecasting, children with hearing impairment are more characterized by a passive position; in most situations, the children pointed to other participants, most often adults, as the subjects of future events.

Background. Sex differences in the study of the cognitive domain are significant for the interpretation of data in different fields; however, the nature of the differences remains an open question. This article presents the results of a study of gender differences in cognitive performance in children of preschool and primary school age.

Objective. To study gender differences in the cognitive performance in children of preschool and primary school age.

Methods. The sample consisted of students from kindergartens and schools in Moscow (N = 301). Two versions of the Wechsler Test were used as the main instruments for diagnosing cognitive abilities: the Wechsler test for preschoolers (WPPSI-IV) and the Wechsler children's test (WISC-V). Analysis of the results used Student's t-test and a measure of the effect size (Cohen's d).

Results. The effect of gender on cognitive performance varies significantly depending on the age of the children. The most pronounced gender differences were identified among children of early preschool age: girls received significantly higher scores on the index of verbal comprehension and the general intelligence scale. In the children of middle and older preschool age, there were no statistically significant gender differences for any evaluated parameter. In the younger schoolchildren, differences between boys and girls were found in the speed of information processing and the vocabulary subtest. Girls were ahead of boys in completing tasks included in the information-processing speed index, while boys were better at completing the vocabulary subtest.

Background. The study explores two main processes of perception of facial expression: analytical (perception based on individual facial features) and holistic (holistic and non-additive perception of all features). The relative contribution of each process to facial expression recognition is still an open question.

Objective. To identify the role of holistic and analytical mechanisms in the process of facial expression recognition.

Methods. A method was developed and tested for studying analytical and holistic processes in the task of evaluating subjective differences of expressions, using composite and inverted facial images. A distinctive feature of the work is the use of a multi-dimensional scaling method, by which a judgment of the contribution of holistic and analytical processes to the perception of facial expressions is based on the analysis of the subjective space of the similarity of expressions obtained when presenting upright and inverted faces.

Results. It was shown, first, that when perceiving upright faces, a characteristic clustering of expressions is observed in the subjective space of similarities of expression, which we interpret as a predominance of holistic processes; second, by inversion of the face, there is a change in the spatial configuration of expressions that may reflect a strengthening of analytical processes; in general, the method of multidimensional scaling has proven its effectiveness in solving the problem of the relation between holistic and analytical processes in recognition of facial expressions.

Conclusion. The analysis of subjective spaces of the similarity of emotional faces is productive for the study of the ratio of analytical and holistic processes in the recognition of facial expressions.