Teenagers’ vandalism and the importance of parent-child relationships in addressing it

Vandalism in the urban environment is a common phenomenon but is difficult to evaluate. The scale of damage caused by vandalism is rarely analyzed, and therefore a limited number of scientific works are devoted to the phenomenon of vandal behavior and the identification of its causes. While the role of the family in the formation of deviant behavior is indicated by many researchers, the context of vandalism and the issue of family determination remains open. This article studies the parents’ styles of upbringing and their preparation for teenagers’ vandal behavior. By identifying the degree of influence of the family in the formation of such a destructive form of interaction between teenagers’ and the material environment it is possible to identify a group of teenagers who are ready to commit acts of vandalism. An attempt is made to correlate child-parent relations with teenagers’ motivational readiness to commit acts of vandalism. To study the relationship of child-parent relations and teenagers’ vandal behavior, data was collected (using psycho-diagnostic techniques) from 60 teenagers and their parents from complete and incomplete families, the socially well-off and the socially disadvantaged. The results were processed using descriptive statistics, MANOVA and linear regression analysis. It was found that parental upbringing styles play a decisive role in initiating vandalism, while the educational effects of mother and father have their own specific characteristics. The results can be used in the organization of social support for children from socially disadvantaged families in order to prevent vandalism and its radicalization. © 2018, Kazan Federal University. All rights reserved

SOCIAL-PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF YOUTH SUSCEPTIBILITY TO THE INTERNET IMPACT

Introduction. Today, the process of socialization of modern youth takes place in absoutely other circumstances in comparison with former generations. The social activity of young people and teenagers is being developed not only in real but also in virtual space. The Internet environment, where new generation representatives actively manifest themselves, has significant effect on their life goals and behaviour. This influence can be positive and useful, on the one hand, and negative, on the other, deforming human mind and own personality. The aim of the present article is to identify, describe and analyze social and psychological factors of youth susceptibility to psychological and informational impact of the Internet environment. Methodology and research methods. A method of sociological questioning was applied to find out the characteristics of young people behaviour in virtual space, degree of their involvement in “a world web”, and intensity of the Web-based interaction. Psychodiagnostic methods by A. V. Smirnov “Semantic universals of the information and cultural environment” were used for studying the peculiarities of young people attitude to the Internet. Results and scientific novelty. The features of attitudes of young people towards the use of the Internet, degree of their virtual environment immersion, frequency of usage and behaviour models on the Internet are considered. A risk group among examinees (data sample – n = 277, 14–25 years) is marked out and characterized. The representatives of this group showed high activity on the Internet, however, they do not draw attention to the Internet content: their relation to virtual space is based on aprioristic recognition of its need and usefulness with the accompanying denial of any propaganda of dangerous ideas and behaviour models which can endanger psychological health, own wellbeing and wellbeing of other people.Practical significance. The data obtained can be used for effective prevention of negative impact of information and social content of the Internet on young people singled out as a risk group.Введение. Процесс социализации современной молодежи происходит в иных, в сравнении с прежними поколениями, условиях. Социальная активность молодых людей и подростков разворачивается не только в реальном, но и в виртуальном пространстве. Среда Интернет, где активно проявляют себя представители нового поколения, имеет существенное влияние на их жизненные ориентиры и поведение. Это влияние может быть как позитивным и полезным, так и отрицательным, деформирующим сознание и личность. Цель данной статьи – вычленить, описать и проанализировать социально-психологические факторы восприимчивости молодежи к психологическим и информационным воздействиям интернет-среды. Методология и методики исследования. Для выявления характеристик поведения в виртуальном пространстве пользователей подросткового и юношеского возраста, степени их включенности в «мировую паутину» и интенсивности взаимодействия со средой Интернет применялся метод социологического анкетирования; изучение специфики молодежного коммуницирования с Интернетом производилось с помощью психодиагностической методики А. В. Смирнова «Семантические универсалии информационно-культурной среды» (СДИКС). Результаты и научная новизна. Рассмотрены особенности отношения молодых людей к интернет-пространству, степень их погруженности в виртуальную среду, плотность контактирования с нею и модели поведения в Интернете. Среди испытуемых (численность выборки – n = 277, возраст – 14–25 лет) выделена и охарактеризована группа риска, представители которой отличаются высокой активностью в интернет-среде, однако некритичны к ее контенту: их отношение к виртуальному пространству базируется на априорном признании его необходимости и полезности с сопутствующим отрицанием возможности в нем манипуляций, пропаганды опасных идей и моделей поведения, угрожающих психологическому здоровью, собственному благополучию и благополучию других людей. Практическая значимость. Полученные в ходе описанного в публикации исследования данные могут быть использованы при разработке мер профилактики и эффективного предотвращения негативного воздействия информационного и социального контента на группу риска юных пользователей сети Интернет.Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project № 16–29–09512)Российский фонд фундаментальных исследований (проект № 16-29–09512

The Model of Prevention of Vandal Behavior Provided by the Deformations and Destructions of Valuable Sphere of Youth

The aim of the present article is to discuss current opportunities for prevention of vandal behavior of young people, taking into account the structural features of valuable sphere of teenagers and young men. Methods. Methods involve psychognostic techniques such as an axiological questionnaire by S. Schwarz, a questionnaire «Motives of vandal behaviour» by I. V. Vorobyeva, O. V. Kruzhkova, S. A. Ostrikova; method of theoretical modelling. Results. Vandalism is described as a fairly common phenomenon among young people, which may be the result not only of deviant orientation of the individual, but also the result of a mismatch of individual values of teenager or young man and imposed by society requirements for his value orientations. 832 teenagers took part in the complex psychological studies. The following four different groups of respondents have been identified and studied: – with an agreed system of prosocial value orientations; – respondents with a mismatched (deformed) system of values; – respondents with a destructive (antagonistic) system of value orientations; – respondents with agreed antisocial system of value orientations. The model of prevention of vandalism among young people is developed on the basis of the psychological characteristics of these groups and the description of the genesis and causes of vandal behavior with following applying the method of theoretical modeling. This model is based on the principles of accounting axiological aspects of regulation of activity, consideration of personal values as a dynamic system, taking into account the degree of stability of the system of individual value orientations, differentiation and depth of the psychological impact of variation in the choice of forms and methods of psychological influence. The recommendations are proposed; the most appropriate psychological work aspects with each of the groups of respondents are described. Scientific novelty. The proposed authors’ model involves personal values that are considered as a dynamic system. Fundamentally new approach to prevention interventions is realised: the model focuses not so much on sanctions actions as on technologies of psychological influences on the problem personality; and formation of steady prosocial strategy of person’s behaviour. Practical significance. The research findings and the application of the proposed model can be useful while planning of educative work in terms of educational institutions by the teachers, administrators and parents, as it provides the possibility to organize selective and point events to prevent destructive behavior of pupils and students, taking into account the characteristics of their value and the scope of actual problems in the manifestation of activity  Целью статьи является обсуждение актуальной проблемы современности – подросткового и юношеского вандализма – и возможностей его профилактики на основе особенностей структуры ценностей этого возраста. Методы и методики. В ходе исследования применялись психодиагностические методики: ценностный опросник Ш. Шварца и опросник «Мотивы вандального поведения» И. В.Воробьевой, О. В.Кружковой, С. А.Остриковой, а также метод теоретического моделирования. Результаты. Показано, что вандализм, который достаточно распространен в молодежной среде, может быть результатом не только девиантных наклонностей личности, но и следствием рассогласования ее индивидуальных ценностей и предъявляемых социумом требований к нравственным ориентирам. Среди 832 подростков и юношей, принявших участие в комплексных психологических исследованиях, были выделены и изучены четыре группы респондентов: с согласованной системой просоциальных ценностных ориентаций, рассогласованной (деформированной), деструктивной (антагонистической) системами ценностей и c согласованной асоциальной системой ориентаций. На основании психологических характеристик этих групп и описания генезиса вандального поведения разработана модель профилактики и предупреждения данного явления. В модели учитываются аксиологическая регуляция активности (ценностная детерминация любого поведенческого акта, действия, деятельности), степень индивидуальной устойчивости системы ценностных ориентаций; возможна дифференциация глубины психологических воздействий и их вариативность при выборе профилактических форм и методов. Сформированы рекомендации и описаны направления психологической работы, наиболее адекватные для каждой из выделенных групп молодежи. Научная новизна. В предлагаемой авторами модели, где личностные ценности рассматриваются как динамическая система, реализуется принципиально новый подход к профилактике и предотвращению вандализма: модель ориентирует не столько на санкционные мероприятия, сколько на технологии психологических воздействий на проблемную личность и формирование у нее устойчивой просоциальной стратегии поведения. Практическая значимость. Использование описанной модели при проектировании воспитательной работы в учебных заведениях позволит оптимизировать усилия педагогов, администрации и родителей, поскольку предусматривает возможность проведения точечных мероприятий по профилактике деструктивного поведения учащихся с учетом особенностей их ценностной сферы и индивидуальных особенностей в проявлении активности 

Склонность к социальному серфингу среди молодежи России: региональная специфика

Introduction. The phenomenon of social surfing, as a specific mobility strategy, largely determines the life of Y and Z generations, and creates an ambiguous context in terms of threats and opportunities for the formation of life trajectories of Russian youth. This actualised the search for theoretical and methodological foundations of understanding and practical tools for assessing the state of this problem, which, in turn, made it possible to scale this phenomenon in the context of the modern youth environment in Russia. The aim of the present research was to identify the degree of loyalty and potential tendency to use the "social surfing" strategy by the representatives of young people in Russian regions, taking into account the assessment of the approval of gender models of this behaviour strategy. Research methodology, methods and techniques. The methodological framework for describing the phenomenon of social surfing is based on the social topology of M. Castells, the heterological concept of the rhizome by J. Deleuze and F. Guattari, the philosophy of mobility by J. Urry, Z. Bauman, U. Beck, the theory of transitivity (E. M. Dubovskaya, T. D. Martsinkovskaya, E. A. Kiselev), the studies of the specifics of youth identity and self-realisation in social space (M. C. Schippers, N. Ziegler, M. Loreto Martínez, P. Cumsille, A. K. Vikulov, T. V. Plotnikova and others) and the modern concepts of happiness (M. Argyll, D. A. Leontiev, A. L. Zhuravlev and others) The study was conducted in different regions of Russia (Novosibirsk, Ekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Kazan, Ulyanovsk, Glazov) using psychodiagnostic methodology "Propensity to social surfing of young people" developed by the authors. The study involved young people (N = 510 people aged 18-27 years old, among them female - 68 %, male - 32 %). Results and scientific novelty. It was found that 11.2 % of young men and women approve of social surfing, evaluate its behavioural model as positive and allow similar options for choosing their own life trajectory. Comparative analysis revealed significant differences in loyalty to the social surfing strategy among young people living in different regions of the Russian Federation: the greatest loyalty was manifested by the young residents of Ekaterinburg, Glazov, and Kazan, while the residents of Chelyabinsk predominantly demonstrated a negative attitude to this strategy. The respondents showed an unequal attitude towards male and female social surfing models: with a relatively condescending attitude towards the male model, social surfing of women is frowned upon and is associated with weakness and statement. Meanwhile, the approval of the male model of social surfing creates certain risks of marginalisation and value-semantic anomie among young people. The practical significance of the conducted research is due to the potential possibilities of using the data obtained for choosing approaches to work with young people in the conditions of their high mobility, as well as for creating educational and professional trajectories. © 2021 Russian State Vocational Pedagogical University. All rights reserved.The current research was supported by the grant from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR), project No. 16-33-01057 OGN

PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF INVOLVEMENT OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN EXTREMIST GROUPS IN THE INTERNET ENVIRONMENT

Abstract. The aim of the article is to consider the psychological characteristics of involvement of youth in extremist community through the Internet. Methods. The theoretical analysis and modeling were used as the main methods.Results. The Internet is described as a means and space of psychological influence on young people, which can be both positive and negative. Absorption of teenagers, boys and young men, in a virtual space essentially converts their activity and, as a result, transform the leading activity, which in turn leads to different mental tumors. Three main effects from the exposure of the Internet are found out: «the effect of the goals of drift», mythology and «the effect of excitement»; their impact on the individual in each age periods is noted. Consideration of the main motivational reasons, taking into account the specifics of building human interaction with the environment made it possible to identify and describe the main types of behavioural patterns exhibited by young people on the Internet. The degree of activity of young people in the network is described from the perspective of integrated strategies of behaviour: information blocking, changes in the distance, control, transformations. Risk groups of users, the most susceptible to extremist manipulations are designated. «Vulnerability areas» of representatives of each group are summarized and described; a step-by-step algorithm of victims’ involvement in extremist communities by recruiters is described.Scientific novelty of the present study consists in discussion of one of the most acute problems of the present – the changed conditions of a growing and socialization of younger generation; constant stay in network virtual space is an integral part of today’s existence, wherein unformed and immature person is very vulnerable to the influence of extremist content. To prevent the increased potential threat of involvement of young people in destructive, asocial and criminal activity, the authors suggest to draw close attention and to subject to the purposeful attacks of extremist communities. Detailed studying of social and psychological features of network behaviour of youth being affected by the dangerous content will help to provide well-timed prophylaxis of extremist moods among young people.Practical significance. The materials of the research can be used to identify and effectively prevent the influence of extremist groups on young Internet users.Исследование выполнено при финансовой поддержке РФФИ в рамках научно- исследовательского проекта «Интернет как инструмент формирования психологической готовности молодежи к экстремистскому поведению», проект № 16-29-09512Исследование выполнено при финансовой поддержке РФФИ в рамках научно- исследовательского проекта «Интернет как инструмент формирования психологической готовности молодежи к экстремистскому поведению», проект № 16-29-0951

Vandal Practices as a Psychological Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Received 5 March 2021. Accepted 2 September 2021. Published online 11 October 2021.We would like to thank the director of the Center of Academic Writing “Impulse” of Tyumen State University, Valeria Evdash, who lent professional support in preparing this manuscript.Vandalism can be seen as a form of individual self-realization and expression of the individual and collective responses to change. In this paper, we intend to look at the meaning and motivations behind acts of vandalism. We also aim to classify cases of vandalism that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, we analyzed 80 cases of vandalism related to the COVID-19. The information was obtained from open online sources: publications in online communities and media found through the use of hashtags #COVID-19 and #vandalism. As a result, five categories of vandalism were identified: (a) vandalism as a mechanism of adaptation to change; (b) vandalism as a coping strategy; (c) vandalism as an unconscious defensive reaction to a threatening situation; (d) vandalism as resistance to change; and (e) vandalism as a reflection of the sense of social injustice. We found that vandalism during the pandemic was used mostly as a way of adaptation to change and as a coping strategy. Moreover, our findings have also demonstrated that social instability and transitivity in the crisis period stimulate people to rethink the current social order and search for new social forms,structures, and principles.This research was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (Project No. 17-18-01278)

Primary School Children’s Vandalism: The Problem of Upbringing and Interaction in Russian Families

The study is devoted to the problem of primary school children’s vandalism, and particularly its connection with child-parent relationships on the example of Russian families. We define the main predictors of a child’s vandal activity on the basis of psychological diagnostics of 228 8–9-year-old children and the assessment of the frequency and specifics of their vandal behaviour by their 228 parents. The children are classified into 3 groups by the extent of their propensity for vandalism. The complex analysis identifies personal and emotional factors influencing the frequency of a child’s acts of destruction and transformation of other people’s items, devaluation of their own and others’ things including those explained by the covert desire to acquire new items. The research findings confirm a significant role of the parent-child relationships in the formation of the child’s readiness for vandal behaviour. In particular, we prove that limitation of a child’s freedom by excessive strictness and hyper protection aggravates children’s propensity for vandalism

Young adults in the magapolis: recognition of landmarks of the urban environment and the problem of orientation

Для развития городской среды, внедрения, освоения и распространения инновационных тенденций в ней молодым людям как основным представителям “креативного класса ”, в первую очередь необходима удобная система ориентации в городе, поэтому изучение городских ориентиров приобретает особое значение. Построение удобной системы ориентации в городе, создание условий понятности и доступности ключевых городских объектов возможно только после анализа актуального состояния городской среды и ее объектов. Поэтому в данной статье описывается потенциал знаковых объектов города Екатеринбурга как ориентиров в глазах представителей современной молодежи. Исследование было проведено в рамках лабораторного эксперимента с применением айтрекера Tobii Pro Spectrum с демонстрацией черно-белых фотографий выбранных 67 объектов городской среды и с фиксацией времени принятия респондентом решения об узнавании объекта. Результаты исследования позволили сделать выводы, что узнаваемость объектов городской среды и время принятия решений об узнавании имеют выраженную криволинейную взаимосвязь.For the development of the urban environment, the introduction, development and dissemination of innovative tendencies in it, young people, as the main representatives of the “creative class”, first of all need a convenient orientation system in the city, therefore, the study of urban landmarks is of particular importance. The construction of a convenient orien-tation system in the city, the creation of conditions for clarity and accessibility of key urban objects is possible only after analyzing the current state of the urban environment and its objects. Therefore, this article describes the potential of iconic objects of Ekaterinburg as landmarks in the eyes of representatives of modern young adults. The study was carried out as part of a laboratory exper-iment using the Tobii Pro Spectrum eye tracker with the demonstration of black and white photographs of selected 67 objects of the urban environment and with fixing the time of the respondent's decision to recognize the object. The results of the study allowed to conclude that the recognition of objects in the urban environment and the time for making decisions about recognition have a pronounced curvilinear relationship

The potential of adult education for the prevention of institutional vandalism

The purpose of this article is to study the potential of live-long education in the context of the prevention of social and psychological vandalism of personnel in an organization.Целью представленной статьи является изучение потенциала обучения взрослых в контексте профилактики социально-психологического вандализма персонала в организации

FUNCTIONS OF VANDALISM IN YOUTH BEHAVIOUR: FROM PERSONALITY TO SOCIETY

Introduction. Graphic vandalism has become a widespread phenomenon in the space of modern cities. Traditionally, vandalism has been assessed as a negative phenomenon, leading to the destruction of the material, visual and social environment of urban public space. Recently, however, the discourse on the positive meaning of certain forms of vandalism (graffiti, street art, etc.) has been activated. At the same time, there is no discussion of the role and influence of vandalism on public and individual life, although, like any socio-cultural and socio-psychological phenomenon, vandalism has the basis and carries certain messages.The aim of this research was to identify and describe the functions of graphic vandalism, taking into account socio-cultural and socio-psychological aspects.Methodology and research methods. The study was conducted in the spatial environment of the megalopolis (Ekaterinburg, Russia) by photographing results of vandal acts (more than 6000 photographs) with subsequent trace-assessment and content analysis of images.Results and scientific novelty. The structural functions of vandalism at the socio-environmental and individual-subjective levels are identified and characterised. The signalling and designing functions, preparation of social changes and management of public mood are referred to the first level. At the second (individual-subjective) level, the demonstrative-and-protest function, functions of reactions, compensation and self-expression are allocated. The functions are illustrated with the examples of visual representations. A two-dimensional model of vandalism functions is formed, where the functions are distributed in the spaces of “construction / reconstruction”, “emotional regulation / moral regulation”. It is noted that any function of vandal activity at the individual level becomes a kind of marker “points of tension” at the socio-environmental level. The functional variety of vandalism becomes the reason of its ambiguous perception with diverse and occasionally contradictory estimates. The authors came to the conclusion that vandalism is socially considered as the evolutionary managerial instrument of social development, which is capable to weaken impermeability of the normatively and traditionally established limits, providing adjustability of the cultural and material environment in the conditions of innovative and mobilisation changes of society. From the perspective of the personality, vandalism is concerned as individual behaviour over the socially defined limits of activity among ordinary members of the society. Thus, vandalism as the phenomenon of public life acts as a norm and a deviation, to which an assessment is given in dependence on functional significance and subject self-identification of the specific vandal act. Practical significance. The research materials and the results obtained can be used to improve and optimise the technologies for management youth vandal activity in megapolises, for prevention and sublimation of destructive forms of youth behaviour in an urban environment.Введение. Графический вандализм стал обычным явлением в современном городе. Традиционно он оценивался как негативное воздействие на среду обитания, которое приводит к различным материальным, визуальным и социальным деструкциям городского общественного пространства. Однако в последнее время наметился дискурс о позитивности и авантажности некоторых вандальных форм в виде граффити, изображений в стиле стрит-арта и пр. Вместе с тем серьезного обсуждения роли, значимости и последствий подобного вандализма для общественной и частной жизни учеными практически не ведется, хотя, как и любой социокультурный и социально-психологический феномен, вандализм имеет почву и несет определенные смысловые посылы. Цель представленной в статье работы – выявление и описание функций графического вандализма с социокультурной и психологической точек зрения. Методы и методики. Эмпирическое исследование проводилось в пространстве мегаполиса (г. Екатеринбург, Россия) посредством фотофиксации результатов вандальных актов (в общей сложности было сделано более 6000 снимков) с последующими трейс-оценкой и контент-анализом изображений. Результаты и научная новизна. Выстроена и охарактеризована структура функционала вандализма, представленная на социально-средовом и индивидуально-субъектном уровнях. К первому уровню отнесены сигнализирующая и конструирующая функции, подготовка социальных изменений и управление общественными настроениями. На втором (индивидуально-субъектном) уровне выделены демонстративно-протестная функция, функции отреагирования, возмещения и самовыражения. Каждая из функций проиллюстрирована примерами визуальных репрезентаций. Сконструирована двумерная модель функций вандализма, в которой они распределены в простран ствах «конструирование / реконструирование», «эмоциональная регуляция /моральная регуляция». Показано, что любая функция вандальной активности на индивидуальном уровне становится своеобразным маркером «точек напряженности» на социально-средовом уровне. Функциональное разнообразие вандализма становится причиной неоднозначного его восприятия и различных, иногда прямо противоположных оценок. Авторы приходят к выводу о том, что с позиций социума вандализм часто выглядит эволюционным инструментом управления общественным развитием, способным ослабить непроницаемость устоявшихся границ нормативности и традиционности, обеспечивающим пластичность культурной и материальной среды в условиях инновационных и мобилизационных изменений общества. С позиций личности это выход индивидуального поведения за официально предписанные границы активности рядового члена общества. Таким образом, вандализм как явление общественной жизни выступает одновременно и нормой, и девиацией, оценка которым дается в зависимости от функционального значения и субъектной принадлежности отдельного конкретного вандального акта. Практическая значимость работы заключается в потенциальных возможностях использования полученных данных для совершенствования и оптимизации технологий управления вандальной активностью молодежи в пространстве мегаполиса, организации профилактики и сублимации деструктивных форм поведения молодых людей в городской среде