Shaigerova, L.A.

Background. The Internet and social media play an important role in the mental and personal development of children and youth. Recent studies have shown that the daily Internet activity of the digital generation (creating a profile, chatting with friends, comments and likes, etc.) is associated with the establishment of personal identity, relationship with peers, social involvement, as well as self-expression. Thus, the analysis of social media becomes an important issue in the study of socialization and personality identity.

Objective. The relevance of a theoretical review in this area is due to the need to structure existing ideas on the role of culture in the development of identity in a digital society. One of the important tasks is to systematize the empirical data accumulated in different ethno-cultural contexts through traditional and innovative methods of research. Current research focuses on the impact of Internet activity in social media on the identity development in a member of the "digital society".

Results. Contemporary science around the globe has accumulated data on the cultural mediation of identity. The results of studies obtained in different sociocultural contexts indicate that the use of social networks by the younger generation, their behavior on the Internet, the influence of the Internet and social media on identity largely depend on the cultural characteristics of a particular society.

Numerous though often contradictory results require systematization and generalization, analysis of the possibilities and limitations of the methods used to study online identity. In particular, the methods of big data analysis, which are gaining popularity, are widely praised for the possibilities they can provide. However, the application of these methods in social and psychological research remains ambiguous, which becomes topical in connection with ethical issues, such as invasion of privacy through the collection of personal data of users (especially when children and adolescents are involved). Moreover, it seems hard to neglect doubts about objectivity and accuracy of these methods.

Conclusion. The article considers modern ideas on the identity development of the younger generation in its connection with Internet activity and the use of social media. The results of studies that confirm the cultural mediation of online identity are analyzed. Possibilities and limitations of the analysis of Internet activity and social media in the study of identity are demonstrated. Recommendations on the effective and ethical application of such analysis as well as on the combination of big data analysis with traditional socio-psychological research methods are summarized.

The review will contribute to an in-depth study of global and culturally determined trends in the identity development of the digital generation at the present stage of cultural and historical evolution of society. It will also outline the prospects for analyzing Internet activity and social media while studying these trends.

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 relevance of identifying methodological problems in the study of bilingualism and its impact on individual and social processes is due to the economic, political and socio-psychological characteristics of modern multicultural and multilingual societies. The special significance of the study of bilingualism acquire in the Russian language context. It is characterized by the need to find a balance between raising the status of the Russian language (as the main unifying factor of civil identity) and the development and preservation of the languages of the peoples of Russia (as an important component of the ethnocultural identity of their representatives).

Objective. The work is aimed at the analysis of the main methodological problems that arise during the research of bilingualism, identifying its impact on cognitive processes and the relationship of bilingualism with ethnocultural identity.

Method. From the point of view of the system approach and cultural-historical psychology, a critical analysis of studies of bilingualism, its impact on cognitive processes and the relationship with ethno-cultural identity was carried out.

Results and conclusions. Methodological problems that complicate the study of bilingualism, systematization and generalization of their results, and the application of the results in various spheres of social practice are identified. A number of methodological challenges need to be overcome in the field of studying the impact of bilingualism and multilingualism in order to obtain valid and reliable research results and implement practical, socially significant tasks in the field of preserving the languages of the peoples of Russia along with strengthening the status of the Russian language. The need for interdisciplinary studies of bilingualism and its impact on cognitive processes and ethnocultural identity based on the application of a systematic approach, including in the Russian multilingual context, is shown.

Relevance.The growth of mental health disorders, psychological problems in modern society among different categories of the population, including representatives of different cultures and faiths and the lack of cultural development of specific approaches to understanding mental health and psychological well-being raise the problem of cultural conditionality of representations of mental health and psychological well-being in a number of important interdisciplinary problems, of high scientific and practical importance in such multinational and multicultural countries as Russia.

Objective.To examine the relationship between cultural context and mental health and psychological well-being.

Methods.Review and analysis of current research in the field of cultural conditioning of various aspects of mental health and psychological well-being.

Conclusions.The analysis of the different approaches to the study of representations of mental health and psychological well-being has allowed to establish that the existing differences in ways of coping with stress, the level of stigma in seeking psychological help have cultural conditioning and do not only depend on socio-economic living conditions, but also on subjective perceptions of these phenomena, as well as ethnic and cultural identity of people in a particular society. The urgency and necessity of development of new and cultural-specific adaptation of existing diagnostic tools for comparative study of ideas about mental health and psychological well-being within one territorially united society, which is characterized by high ethnic and cultural diversity, are shown.