Socio-psychological factors in the psychological well-being of Chinese adolescents
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33910/2686-9527-2022-4-2-145-153Keywords:
psychological well-being, Chinese adolescents, academic giftedness, number of children in the family, boarding schoolAbstract
Introduction. The article presents an empirical study that compares the psychological well-being of academically gifted Chinese adolescents with the psychological well-being of their normal peers and examines the socio-psychological factors of psychological well-being of Chinese adolescents. The problematic of psychological well-being as an important resource for the optimal functioning of all the mental structures of the individual necessary for life has always attracted the attention of scholars. The empirical study relies on the existing comparative studies of psychological characteristics of academically gifted and normal adolescents.
Materials and methods. The study involved 315 Chinese adolescents aged 13–15 years, including 122 adolescents with signs of academic giftedness and 193 adolescents with normal development level. “The Ryff Scales of Psychological Well-Being” in Chinese adaptation was used to study the psychological well-being level of the respondents.
Results of the study. We studied the influence of such socio-psychological factorsas the presence or absenc e of academic giftedness and the presence or absence of siblings on the psychological well-being of adolescents. It was found that academic giftedness influences only the “personal growth” component of psychological well-being–specifically, the indicators of “personal growth” are higher among academically gifted adolescents. The presence/absence of siblings influences the “purpose in life” psychological well-being component and the overall psychological well-being: psychological well-being is higher among those Chinese adolescents who are the only children in the family regardless of the level of developmentof their abilities. Based on our findings, we note the relevance of developing Chinese adolescents’ academic ability and maintaining a harmonious family environment, especially for adolescents who have siblings.
Conclusion. The findings can be used to design and implement programmes aimed at strengthening the psychological well-being of Chinese adolescents.
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