As part of a study on subjective well-being, psychologists at Tomsk State University have compared the indicators of schoolchildren from villages in Tomsk Oblast and those from Arctic regions. They have found that schoolchildren from rural settlements and small towns in the Arctic region feel happier than their peers from the Tomsk region.
Schoolchildren from the Arctic regions have higher indicators of subjective well-being (sense of safety, clear vision of the future, positive assessment of the current situation and self-efficacy in learning) and lower indicators of deviant behavior (suicidal experiences, addictions, hostility and others), indicators of markers of anxiety and depression (negative self-esteem, lack of joy and pleasure).
Recently, the relevance of such studies has been increasing due to low rotation between schools in rural areas, high levels of social censure and limited social contacts caused by outmigration and a closed environment.
The data obtained from the study will help professionals to build effective adaptation strategies and programmes to reduce deviant behavior.
Subjective well-being is a generalized assessment of one’s life as a whole, which includes both emotional and relatively rational components and is the operational analogue of the philosophical concept of happiness, as well as the concept of quality of life associated with it.
Source: www.tsu.ru
Photo: yakutiakmns.org