Conscious Self-Regulation and Professional Development of Students from Russian Regions with Different Stress Loads

Background. Modern research on the professional development of university students is difficult to imagine without considering the influence of conscious self-regulation and stress. Though the cross-regional aspect of this problem is gaining researchers’ attention, it still remains under elaborated.

Objective. The goal is to examine the features of professional development of students from regions with different stress loads depending on the development of conscious self-regulation, psychological well-being, future orientation, and the level of chronic stress.

Study Participants. The study sample (N = 445) consisted of 279 students from Moscow City Pedagogical University and Kaluga State University (central regions of Russia) and 166 students from Donetsk State University (Donbas).

Methods. The study implemented “Acute and Chronic Stress Scale” (ACSS), Self-Regulation Profile Questionnaire by Morosanova (SRPQM-2020), Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS), the short version of the Stanford Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI-15), and the Well-Being Manifestations Measurement Scale (WBMMS). Correlation analysis, group comparisons, and structural equation modeling (JASP, R) were applied for the data processing.

Results. A model of psychological resources for students’ professional development under stress was developed and empirically verified. The findings confirmed that conscious self-regulation, psychological well-being, and orientation for future act as psychological resources for students’ professional development. Furthermore, conscious self-regulation contributes both directly and indirectly to students’ professional development by supporting psychological well-being and future orientation. Negative effects of chronic stress on professional development are entirely mediated through a chain of connections with psychological resources. The regional specificity was revealed: under conditions of a highly stressful environment, as seen in Donbas students, the relationship between psychological well-being and future orientation weakens, whereas the contribution of conscious self-regulation to maintaining these resources and directly to professional development increases.

Conclusions. The structure of relationships among psychological resources, professional development, and the impact of chronic stress is invariant with respect to students’ residing in the regions with varying stress load. The identified differences in the strength of particular relationships suggest regional specificity reflecting different degrees of integration of resources into students’ professional development under stress.

References

Akkermans, J., da Motta Veiga, S.P., Hirschi, A., Marciniak, J. (2024). Career transitions across the lifespan: A review and research agenda. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 148, 103957. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2023.103957

Baeva, I.A., Laktionova, E.B., Kondakova, I.V., Savenko, Y.S. (2024). Personal resources of psychological safety of students studying in new territories of the Russian Federation. Integratsiya obrazovaniya = Integration of Education, 28(3), 366–383. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.15507/1991-9468.116.028.202403.366-383

Banshchikova, T.N., Sokolovskii, M.L., Tegetaeva, J.R. (2023). Conscious self-regulation as a resource for overcoming stress and achieving subjective well-being: ethno-regional specificity. Teoreticheskaya i eksperimental’naya psihologiya = Theoretical and Experimental Psychology, 16(1), 19–42. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.24412/TEP-23-2

Boo, S., Wang, C., Kim, M. (2021). Career adaptability, future time perspective, and career anxiety among undergraduate students: A cross-national comparison. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education, 29, 100328. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhlste.2021.100328

Derevyankina, N.A., Yuferova, M.A. (2023). Psychological diagnostics of emotional reactions of adolescents and young men from the LPR, DPR and newly liberated territories. Yaroslavskii pedagogicheskii vestnik = Yaroslavl Pedagogical Bulletin, (3), 137–147. (In Russ.)

Fomina, T.G., Bondarenko, I.N. (2024). Validation of the Well-being Manifestations Measurement Scale (WBMMS) on a sample of Russian students. Lomonosov Psychology Journal, (2), 243–264. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.11621/LPJ-24-23

Hartung, P.J., Savickas, M.L. (2024). Career Adapt-Abilities Scale (CAAS). In: C.U. Krägeloh, M. Alyami, O.N. Medvedev, (eds.). International handbook of behavioral health assessment. (pp. 1–18). Cham: Springer Publ.

Jia, D., Yuan, X. (2024). A review of the relationship between health behaviors and career adaptability among university students. Journal of Medicine and Health Science, 2(4), 43–49. https://doi.org/10.62517/jmhs.202405407

Kondratyuk, N.G., Potanina, A.M., Morosanova, V.I. (2025). Validation of the “Scale of career-adaptive abilities” methodology on a sample of students: the Russian context. Psikhologicheskii zhurnal = Psychological Journal, 46(2), 96–109. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.31857/S0205959225020106

Kotova, M.B., Maksimov, S.A., Kurakin, M.S., Kostina, N.G., Takhirov, R.A., Drapkina, O.M. (2025). Socio-psychological and personal risk factors of stress development in students. Profilakticheskaya meditsina = Russian Journal of Preventive Medicine, 28(6), 81–87. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17116/profmed20252806181

Leonova, A.B. (2004). Complex strategy of professional stress analysis: From diagnostics towards prophylaxis and correction. Psikhologicheskii zhurnal = Psychological Journal, 25(2), 75–85. (In Russ.)

Morosanova, V.I. (2021). Conscious self-regulation as a meta-resource for achieving goals and solving the problems of human activity. Lomonosov Psychology Journal, (1), 4–37. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.11621/vsp.2021.01.01

Morosanova, V.I., Bondarenko, I.N., Tsyganov, I.Yu. (2025a). Stress, Conscious Self-Regulation, and Examination Success in Engineering Students. Lomonosov Psychology Journal, 48(2), 284–304. https://doi.org/10.11621/LPJ-25-21

Morosanova, V.I., Bondarenko, I.N., Zhemerikina, Yu.I. (2026). Regulatory and personal resources of students’ exam performance under different levels of stress. National Psychological Journal, 21(2), 21–35. https://doi.org/10.11621/npj.2026.0202

Morosanova, V.I., Fomina, T.G. (2026). Chronic stress and its impact on psychological well-being of modern students: the resource role of conscious self-regulation and optimism. Psikhologicheskaya nauka i obrazovanie = Psychological Science and Education, 31(1), 20–35. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17759/pse.2026310101

Morosanova, V.I., Kondratyuk, N.G. (2020). V.I. Morosanova’s questionnaire “Style of self-regulation of behavior — 2020”. Voprosy Psychologii, (4), 155–167. (In Russ.)

Morosanova, V.I., Kondratyuk, N.G. (2025). Impact of stress and psychological resources on the Russian students’ well-being and professional development. Teoreticheskaya i eksperimental’naya psihologiya = Theoretical and Experimental Psychology, 18(4), 9–56. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.11621/TEP-25-29

Morosanova, V.I., Kondratyuk, N.G., Potanina, A.M. (2024). Regulatory resources of professional self-determination in students under stress: Research approaches and theoretical foundations. Lomonosov Psychology Journal, 47(2), 31–60. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.11621/vsp.2024.02.03

Morosanova, V.I., Kondratyuk, N.G., Potanina, A.M. (2025b). Psychological resources of students’ professional development. Teoreticheskaya i eksperimental’naya psihologiya = Theoretical and Experimental Psychology, 18(2), 176–203. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.11621/TEP-25-18

Morosanova, V.I., Zinchenko, Yu.P. (2024). Short Questionnaire of Acute and Chronic Stress: Development and validation. Sibirskii psikhologicheskii zhurnal = Siberian Psychological Journal, (94), 6–22. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17223/17267080/94/1

Nestik, T.A., Nikishina, O.S. (2021). Attitude to the pandemic and time perspective: Psychometric properties of the short version of the Stanford Time Perspective Inventory. Yaroslavskii psikhologicheskii vestnik = Yaroslavl Psychological Bulletin, (3), 29–36. (In Russ.)

Smirnov, V.A. (2024). Emotional state as a factor of young people social well-being in new Russian Regions. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya = Sociological Studies, (11), 154–160. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.31857/S0132162524110134

Soufi Amlashi, R., Majzoobi, M., Forstmeier, S. (2024). The relationship between acculturative stress and psychological outcomes in international students: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1403807. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1403807

Tolochek, V.A. (2022). Professional career as a phenomenon: Open questions. Part 1. Organizatsionnaya psikhologiya = Organizational Psychology, 12(4), 9–28. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17323/2312-5942-2022-12-4-9-28

Yang, T., Peng, S., Oliffe, J.L., Zhang, W. (2025). Geographical disparities of uncertainty stress and life stress among university students: A study across all provinces in Mainland China. Stress and Health, 41(1), e70009. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.70009

Yi, X. (2025). Study on the empowering effect of psychological resources on college students’ career planning. Frontiers in Humanities and Social Sciences, 5(9), 289–296. https://doi.org/10.54691/4ptq3414

Zhang, Z., Yu, X., Liu, X. (2022). Do I decide my career? Linking career stress, career exploration, and future work self to career planning or indecision. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 997984. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.997984

Zinchenko, E.V., Filonenko, V.I., Detochenko, L.S., Voronaya, V.D. (2024). Social anxiety of Russian students: territorial aspect. Nauchnyi rezul’tat. Sotsiologiya i upravlenie = Research Result. Sociology and Management, 10(3), 133–149. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.18413/2408-9338-2024-10-3-0-9

Zinchenko, Yu.P. (2011). Methodological problems of basic and applied psychological research. National Psychological Journal, (1), 42–49. (In Russ.)

Zinchenko, Yu.P. (ed.). (2021). Psychological support during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moscow: Moscow University Press. (In Russ.)