Socio-psychological adaptation - what mechanisms does the process include?

Is it easy for you to fit into a new team? Do you calmly get used to new living conditions or do you feel anxious? Are you afraid of change? If you answered “yes” to these questions, then you have weak adaptive abilities. This article is devoted to the socio-psychological adaptation of the individual; this information will be useful to you if changes terrify you.

In this article:

The concept of socio-psychological adaptationForms of psychological adaptationFeatures of the course of socio-psychological adaptationThe concept of personality maladjustmentTypes of maladjustment

Concept and tasks

A person is involved in social interaction from birth. At first, he is surrounded only by family members, who form the newborn’s primary understanding of the norms and methods of communication, and role models. Subjective experience becomes part of the personality. By the time the child comes out and actively interacts with society, he already has established skills and behavioral scenarios. When faced with society, a child adopts accepted values ​​and norms of behavior, but introduces his own attitudes, transforming the existing way of life.

The process of mutual exchange and formation of attitudes between a person and society lasts a lifetime. With successful adaptation, the individual becomes a self-sufficient social unit.

Technology and types of social adaptation

The technology of social adaptation involves the use of special methods that form in a person the legal basis of consciousness, activity, resistance to stress, sociability, responsibility, independence, self-organization and self-control skills.

Additional Information. According to famous teachers, the most effective methods of forming social adaptation are the positive example of adults, methods of labor education, persuasion, explanation, and analysis of the behavior of literary characters. Parents can facilitate this process by allowing the child to clean his room independently and perform feasible chores around the house.

Complete social adaptation consists of the following types of this process:

• Managerial adaptation is the ability to create a comfortable environment at home and in the workplace. This type of transformation of the surrounding reality helps a person to better understand and master a wide range of social roles, learn to enjoy work and benefit society.

Enjoys life and work

• Economic adaptation is the assimilation of the laws of functioning of the economy and society, the formation of the foundations of a person’s financial literacy, the ability to plan their income and expenses. The economic block is extremely important for developing a person’s ability to earn money and provide themselves with a comfortable life.
• Pedagogical adaptation is the child’s getting used to the principles of organizing a continuous educational process, during which a value block is formed in the personality structure. Indicators of the formation of this block of adaptation are developed cognitive interest, love of reading, thirst for activity, constant self-development, successful self-realization in one type of activity or another, and creative activities.
• Psychological adaptation is the development of adequate reactions from the nervous system to the influence of external stimuli. Socially adapted, from the perspective of this block, can be considered balanced people who know how to find a common language with different communication partners, who are able to maintain self-control and not show their bad mood to others.

Social adaptation is associated with conscious global changes in ideas, attitudes and patterns of human behavior. Living conditions in society are dynamic, so it is necessary to train stress resistance and flexibility in order to successfully adapt to society.

Successful adaptation to society

History of discovery and study

Socio-psychological adaptation is a process that everyone goes through, regardless of where they live. It acts as a means of protecting the individual, reducing internal psychological stress that arises during contacts with other people. The development of defense mechanisms, as a rule, occurs after a traumatic encounter with society. A defensive reaction is formed in childhood; as one grows up, the types of defense improve and change.

If a person has fully mastered defense techniques and learned to choose the optimal style of behavior in a difficult situation, his adaptive potential increases. This leads to successful socio-psychological interaction.

If defense mechanisms are primitive, a person uses them unconsciously, and his ability to adapt is reduced. Primitive behavioral strategies relieve the feeling of discomfort, but make it impossible to assess the situation adequately. A person cannot take a place in a group and feels like an outsider.

Representatives of different schools studied the psychological phenomenon of adaptation and defense mechanisms. The structure of psychological defense was developed by psychoanalysts. By defense mechanism, Freud meant a set of techniques that protect the psyche from trauma that is inevitable when confronted with reality. He included these methods:

• negation;
• crowding out;
• substitution;
• isolation;
• projection;
• rationalization;
• inversion;
• regression.

Representatives of Gestalt psychology and humanistic psychology have created alternative classifications of defense methods. They differed in names, but described the same sets of mental functions.

Mechanisms of socio-psychological adaptation, based on defense mechanisms, lead the individual to a state of emotional comfort. The person feels calm, openly expresses his feelings, and is optimistic. If defense mechanisms are chosen incorrectly, their use causes psychological discomfort. A person experiences anxiety, fear, worry, depression. This condition disrupts normal activity, making it difficult to adequately respond to the surrounding reality.

Psychological adaptation

Inna Zakasovskaya

Psychological adaptation

Psychological adaptation

The concepts of “ psychological adaptation ”

and
“
socio-psychological adaptation ” are identified by some authors and separated by others.
They also talk separately about “social
adaptation .” The confusion is very simple to explain: it is difficult to separate
the psychological from the social where we are talking about the clash of the individual psychological with the social .
We will consider where these concepts are identified. Psychological adaptation is the adaptation of a person as an individual to existence in the society of other people in accordance with the requirements of this society and with personal needs, motives, and interests.

Those periods when an individual’s adaptation to the conditions of the social environment occurs most actively are called socio-psychological adaptation .

Socio-psychological adaptation of a person is the active and purposeful assimilation of norms, rules, values ​​of both society as a whole and the specific immediate social environment of a person:

Over the past decade, the social situation in the country has changed dramatically, the geography of the country has changed, which has led to the emergence of interethnic conflicts and wars.

Currently, the situation has not only not stabilized, but, on the contrary, has worsened. Fascist organizations promoting the laws of force and destruction are gaining strength. Such organizations, along with criminal structures, willingly recruit teenagers into their ranks.

Against the backdrop of a “lack of positive interaction with teenagers among adults”
(D.I. Feldshtein),
this phenomenon is gaining frightening momentum.

Propaganda of violence and sexual liberation aggravates the teenage crisis. “There has been an intensive primitivization of children’s consciousness. There is an increase in cynicism, rudeness, cruelty, and aggressiveness. And behind these external manifestations lie the internal, deep experiences of growing people - anxiety, fear, uncertainty, loneliness. Currently, this deepening feeling of loneliness is refracted in the special position of children in relation to adults. The adult world has come closer (now a child can watch the same films as an adult)

. Boys can pump up their muscles, and girls can take care of their sex appeal. Almost everything previously forbidden has become accessible and permitted, but at the same time the adult world has moved away, since adults not only began to engage with children less, but also do not appear before them in a clear position of their attitude and their demands. The consequence of this is that growing people lose a sense of responsibility, infantilism, selfishness, spiritual emptiness, that is, those modern acquisitions of childhood that are a heavy loss for him.” All of the above can be attributed to a fairly broad description of the negative impact of the socio-economic situation on the development of a teenager’s personality. But it would be a big mistake to consider the social situation of development only from this side. At the moment, there are undeniable positive aspects for the development of a teenager’s personality. This is greater access to educational information, a reform of the education system, in which there has been a tendency to perceive the student not as a passive object of pedagogical influence, but as an active subject of the educational process.

In many schools today, a teenager moving to senior level has the opportunity to choose the direction of study that suits his cognitive interests and intellectual capabilities - specialized education.

A modern teenager has the opportunity to try himself in various types of social activities - school government, youth parliament, etc. Participation in various youth communities makes it possible not only to satisfy the basic social needs of age, but also to expand the behavioral repertoire, which contributes to successful adaptation in society .

One of the most important tasks of a modern school, along with educational tasks, is to create conditions for successful socio-psychological adaptation of the student .

Adolescence is one of the difficult age stages of personality development; this age is an important stage in the process of personality formation, in which an internal readiness to accept adult norms of life appears, and a desire to take an active social position in the space of interpersonal communication. The teenager’s activities are aimed at mastering the norms of relationships and expanding social connections.

The current development situation exacerbates the problem of social adaptation of adolescents during school. The tension of adaptation mechanisms is required by the situation of transition from one level of education to another (from middle school to high school). Psychological adaptation is one of the leading mechanisms that ensure the socialization of the individual and its holistic formation.

By psychological adaptation we understand the process of active interaction between the individual and the social environment, as a result of which positive changes occur in the individual, his attitudes and behavioral stereotypes, the final result of this process is a state of adaptation .

Psychological adaptation is the current level of intrapersonal adaptation , which is represented by the behavioral aspect, personality characteristics and emotional balance.

One of the indicators of the successful development of a teenage student is his successful adaptation to educational activities and an educational institution - school.

From the point of view of the socio-psychological approach, violation of school adaptation and school maladjustment are considered as a consequence of the poor development of communication skills necessary for educational activities, since school adaptation is inseparable from socio-psychological adaptation .

E.V. Rudensky, considering the phenomenon of school maladaptation , notes that, despite the presence of signs characterizing a completely independent phenomenon, school maladjustment is “more correct”

be considered as a more particular phenomenon in relation to general
socio-psychological adaptation , in the structure of which school maladjustment can act both as a consequence and as a cause.
Thus, when considering the problem of psychological adaptation of schoolchildren , we must take into account that its structure includes school adaptation . On the one hand, the concept of “ psychological adaptation ”

“school
adaptation ” is broader and school
adaptation is part of socio-psychological adaptation . On the other hand, without psychological adaptation there cannot be full school adaptation .
Thus, these concepts are interrelated. Creating conditions for successful socio-psychological adaptation of schoolchildren is possible through the creation of a school socio-psychological service

Psychological and pedagogical diagnostics of social adaptation . Identification of maladjustment .

Human nature is genetically endowed with a great ability to adapt . Practice, as well as scientific research, show that a person has significant adaptive abilities in the conditions of the natural and social environment, changing even within critical limits. And as V.I. Garbuzov writes, a person’s fate is largely determined by the level of his adaptability - the innate and acquired ability to adapt , that is, to adapt to the entire diversity of life under any conditions. The most general indicator of a successful adaptation can be considered mutual satisfaction between a person and the social environment. The state of the individual that allows one to achieve such relationships with society is called socio-psychological adaptability . At the same time, a person, without long-term internal and external conflicts, chooses a life path and makes decisions, carries out his activities productively, while satisfying basic sociogenic needs, fully complies with the role expectations of the reference group, self-realizes and reveals his creative potential. Adolescence is the most difficult and complex of ages, representing a special, crisis period of personality development. Being a certain period of life between childhood and adulthood, adolescence is usually characterized as a turning point, critical. It is accompanied by a number of specific features, cardinal transformations in the sphere of consciousness, activity and system of relationships. “The basis for the formation of new psychological and personal qualities is communication in the course of various types of activities - educational, industrial, creative activities. Senior adolescence is a period of accepting responsibility for one’s destiny and loved ones, the beginning of a truly adult life, complex both internally and externally, adaptation to life , including the acceptance of many conventions, social norms, roles and forms of behavior that do not always correspond to current internal attitudes person at a given moment in time. The search for a life partner and like-minded people becomes relevant, the need for cooperation with people increases, connections with one’s social group are strengthened, and a feeling of intimacy with certain people appears. The range of social roles that people try on is expanding. Psychological difficulties of growing up, inconsistency and instability of self-image appear

That is why communication between adolescents and peers and adults must be considered the most important psychological condition for their personal development. Failures in communication lead to internal discomfort, which cannot be compensated for by any objective high indicators in other areas of their lives and activities. Communication is subjectively perceived by adolescents as something personally very important: this is evidenced by their sensitive attention to the form of communication, its tone, trust, attempt comprehend and analyze your relationships with peers and adults.

If a child at school cannot find a system of satisfying communication, he “leaves”

from school, more often
psychologically , although not so rarely literally. This is a manifestation of socio-psychological maladjustment , the signs of which are considered to be increased anxiety and self-doubt, aggressiveness and a feeling of low value, excessive passion for smoking, computers, long-term intrapersonal and interpersonal conflicts experienced without searching for possible solutions.
A diagnostic examination is not an end in itself, but, as a rule, serves to solve some practical or research problems. Therefore, it is first necessary to answer the question: why is the diagnosis carried out, what will the data obtained be used for? This may be collecting information for consulting, monitoring adaptation , making a forecast, as well as for research purposes. The goals set determine the subject of diagnosis

Most often, the subject of diagnosis is:

– level of adaptation at the current moment in time,

– adaptation ,

– individual adaptation ,

– features of the adaptation ,

– adaptive potential of a particular individual.

When diagnosing adaptation , parameters such as

deviant behavior, level of tension, frustration, experience of stress, indicators of the cost of adaptation . If the subject of diagnosis is the individual characteristics of adaptation , then adaptation , preferences for certain adaptation strategies , etc. . d.

adaptation process are studied through tracking the changes occurring during the adaptation : the dynamics of a person’s general emotional state, the degree of his awareness of the situation and the nature of the activity aimed at transforming it are recorded. Possible violations of the adaptation (such as skipping a stage, fixation at a certain stage of the process, etc.).

The adaptive potential of an individual is determined through an assessment of productivity

strategies used and diagnostics of the severity of such personal characteristics that are necessary for the successful passage of various stages of the adaptation and contribute to the construction of productive interaction with the environment (for example, flexibility, tolerance, sociability, etc.)

.

Adaptation criteria (description of A. A. Rean’s model)

When studying adaptation , two main adaptation : external and internal.

The external criterion is closely related to the concept of “adaptation”

.
The result of adaptation is understood as the achievement of the desired behavior in the environment and is described in terms of efficiency, competence, success, and external well-being.
An external criterion usually determines good fitness and compliance with environmental requirements. The internal criterion reflects the general mental state , feeling

satisfaction, comfort, social well-being. The internal criterion is associated with the ability to satisfy individual needs, self-expression, preservation of internal energy resources, and the absence of tension and anxiety.

Adaptation according to external criteria is characterized by high success, formal achievement of well-being, but is accompanied by pronounced dissatisfaction and psycho-emotional stress . Adaptation according to external criteria is associated with the so-called “ adaptation ”

.
The cost of adaptation is the amount of internal psychological resources spent on adapting to the environment. The cost of adaptation increases when the adaptation is dominated by an orientation towards external criteria and the internal needs of the individual are ignored.
Signs of adaptation according to internal criteria are low success, sometimes even deviant behavior, but against the backdrop of a positive tone of individual mood.

Complete disadaptation is stated when a person experiences dissatisfaction, shows a high degree of psycho-emotional stress, and at the same time does not reach even the average level of standards of success and well-being accepted in the social environment around him.

Systemic adaptation presupposes high success, which is accompanied by a subjective feeling of satisfaction. Systemic adaptation is closely related to the concept of self-realization. It is the finding of a socially approved, productive and socially useful way of actualizing and expressing the internal potential of the individual that determines the possibilities of self-realization and, accordingly, the highest form of adaptation .

Adaptation processes occur as age develops. L. I. Bozhovich notes that mental characteristics and qualities arise through the child’s adaptation to the demands of the environment. But, having arisen in this way, they then acquire independent significance and, in the order of reverse influence, begin to determine subsequent development. Social and pedagogical adaptation of schoolchildren is determined by both the class of primary, individual-typical (gender, age, constitutional and other properties)

and secondary
(
psychodynamic , psychomotor ) individual properties, as well as
mental states , properties and characteristics of the individual, level of intelligence, and performance efficiency. Adaptation forecast , as a rule, is carried out on the basis of the study of individual aspects, components of the holistic structure of a person’s personality.
Socio-pedagogical adaptation is an emotional and sensory adaptation psyche when he is included in new social conditions.

Adaptation is seen as both a process and a result. When considering adaptation as a process, its time characteristics, stages of adaptation , and their length is considered.

adaptation process is denoted by the term adaptation , the state of the body as a result of the successful implementation of this process is adaptation , and the differences in the state of the body before and after the completion of the adaptation process are adaptive effect .

The degree of adaptation of a teenager is determined by the nature of his emotional well-being. As a result, two levels of adaptation : adaptation and maladaptation .

Adaptation potential determines the nature of existing abilities, their practical use in the practice of social functioning and determines the level of realized capabilities of a teenager

Classification

In the process of socialization, a person uses one of two types of adaptation: progressive or regressive. In the first case, the individual successfully takes a place in the team, in the second, adaptation becomes formal and incomplete.

If integration into society follows a regressive path, the individual does not accept social norms and requirements of society. An individual can perform them, but he does it forcedly. The contradiction that inevitably arises in such a situation causes great tension. If an individual does not have the opportunity to change the demands of society, tension provokes the development of psychological disorders. This leads to the inability to realize one's potential.

A person can achieve full socialization only with a progressive adaptation option. A person accepts the norms of the group, agrees with them and realizes himself in learning, work, creativity and other areas.

Signs of social maladjustment

Attention! Despite the complex work of socialization institutions, social adaptation is not always a natural result of the process of growing up. Sometimes a child, having become an adult, from a pedagogical point of view, remains socially unadapted.

Social maladjustment in psychology

Signs of unsuccessful completion of the socialization and adaptation program are:

• A person has poor knowledge of the laws of functioning of the market and the socio-economic sphere;
• An individual cannot decide on the choice of profession, remaining unemployed for a long time, despite having a professional education;
• A person takes an illegal path, acts as a person organizing crimes, and serves time in prison.

Attention! Disabled and elderly people cannot be considered socially maladapted. At one time they were successful in the social environment. Disabled people cannot perform certain functions, but this does not mean that they cannot undergo rehabilitation.

Methods

If a person is diagnosed with problems with adaptation, you can try to compensate for them. Methods for improving social and psychological skills can be used at any age and with different abilities.

For children

At primary school age, children have problems adjusting to a new lifestyle. First-graders exhibit typical symptoms of maladjustment: sleep disorders, digestion disorders, and hysterical behavior. Parents should help their child cope with the assimilation of new norms of behavior. They should initiate the child’s rapprochement with peers and help establish relationships.

If a child is embarrassed by embarrassment, it is necessary to select activities for him that require teamwork. Outdoor games, in which each child will have his own role, will help him accept the need for interaction. In adolescence, extracurricular activities will help you adapt to society. Participation in clubs and sections will increase a teenager’s self-confidence, and he will feel freer in a team.

For adults

For people over 25 years of age, the problem of maladjustment is more acute. Without the opportunity to form normal relationships with the work team, a person is deprived of the opportunity to build a career. The main way to correct the problem is psychotherapeutic influence. To master interaction skills, a consultation with a psychologist is necessary. Together with a specialist, the individual will be able to study and apply scenarios for positive interaction with others.

Therapy is aimed at reducing anxiety and increasing self-esteem. The doctor’s task is to show the possibilities of normal self-actualization.

Disabled

The presence of a disability in an individual becomes a serious obstacle to establishing contacts with others. Even if a disabled person himself is interested in joining society, his environment may not have suitable conditions for this. In this case, you will need the help of others who can create these conditions.

It is better to begin entering society in the company of people with similar health problems. Once in a comfortable environment, a person becomes liberated and feels free. Receiving moral and psychological support, he learns to build complex types of group relationships. He will be able to successfully apply these scripts when interacting with people without disabilities.

Factors ensuring social adaptation

At the psychological level, the factors ensuring the development of adaptation are understood as the external conditions in which a person lives.

Factors of social adaptation are usually divided into external and internal. Internal factors include all personal characteristics of a person:

• Floor;
• Age;
• Nationality;

Different nationalities

• Temperament type;
• Family composition;
• The system of value orientations of the individual;
• Character.

External factors of adaptation include all types of human activity and his belonging to certain social groups.

It is also known that the factors of social adaptation are divided into:

• Pedagogical (the child’s assimilation of the norms and rules of behavior in society, knowledge of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and other legal documents regulating certain aspects of public life);
• Psychological (intellectual abilities, properties of the nervous system, character traits, socio-psychological status of the individual in the team, system of life guidelines and values);
• Social (gender, age, nationality).

Attention! If a psychologist receives a request to solve problems related to adaptation to modern society, the specialist begins work by analyzing the prerequisites for the occurrence of problems, that is, by identifying unfavorable factors.

Pathology and norm

The main task of socialization is to reveal personal potential. Its success and breadth depend on the level of personal development. The older an individual is, the easier adaptation is. Normal personality development occurs only in favorable conditions.

In conditions of totalitarianism, a person chooses destructive methods of socio-psychological adaptation:

1. Masochism is the desire to transfer responsibility for one’s life to another person. A person prone to masochism is afraid of making decisions and being alone. Other people are a source of security for him.
2. Sadism is the desire to subjugate people to your will, to use them as a resource. Sadists intimidate others and love to enjoy people's dependence on them.
3. Destruction is the desire to socialize through the destruction of the existing social system. People prone to destruction feel powerless in front of existing institutions of power. They try to get rid of this by eliminating the external pressure of power, but at the same time they often have no idea what kind of social system they would like to create.
4. Conformism is realization through dissolution in the crowd. A conformist person is afraid of being an outsider and strives to meet society's expectations. He does not notice manipulations and is prone to conservatism and thoughtless consumption.

The type of entry into society depends not only on the social system, but also on the immediate environment. If the family model is opposed to society, then the child will have difficulty finding his place. He risks becoming an outsider and not finding opportunities for implementation.

Diagnostics

Parents may notice problems with adaptation in a child at an early age. Children are normally interested in interacting with adults. Their level of mental development does not yet allow them to perceive themselves and other people as separate, equal individuals. The need for regular interaction is dictated by the fact that babies cannot survive without the help of adults. Children aged 5-6 months can manipulate their parents by crying.

If the problem was not diagnosed at an early age, it will manifest itself even more acutely when the child enters the children's group. Children with adaptation problems do not communicate with others. They play by themselves and do not respond to attempts to involve them in a common game. The reaction to the environment in children with maladjustment is manifested either by fear of society, or by aggression and negativism. The older the child gets, the more severe the symptoms become. At the age of 10–12 years, a child who is unable to interact with a group may become completely withdrawn into himself.

In adults, problems of maladaptation are manifested by the same symptoms: fear of people and general negativism. To protect the psyche from the destructive awareness of reality, an individual can unconsciously oppose himself to society. At the same time, he behaves as if it was he himself who refused to join society, and not the demands of the collective that turned out to be impossible for him to fulfill.

Issues

The inability to fit into the standards of society and become part of it deprives a person of a normal life. This pathological condition has different causes:

1. Dysfunctional family scenario. If the family has a negative attitude towards society and its norms, the child will perceive this behavior strategy as the only correct one. At the same time, he will not have the opportunity to instill his values ​​in society.
2. Marginal environment. The family scenario may be prosperous, but the environment puts more pressure on the individual than the immediate circle of friends. If a person acts according to the family scenario, he automatically loses the chance to enter society.
3. Physiological features. Disturbances in the functioning of the central nervous system, chronic diseases and other characteristics do not allow a person to be part of a group. Being forced into isolation, he does not have the opportunity to master behavioral scenarios in society.
4. Psychological reasons. An obstacle to normal socialization is often the psychological characteristics of the individual. For example, autism spectrum disorders, which prevent a person from correctly reading the emotional reactions of other people and responding to them appropriately.
5. Uncontrollable external causes. These include wars, natural disasters and other global causes, the destructive effects of which a person cannot control or cancel.

If the cause of socio-psychological maladjustment is identified in childhood, a person still has a chance to overcome the obstacle and compensate for it. In adults, therapy will take longer and require significant effort.

The concept of personality maladjustment

Sometimes it happens that a person, due to some obstacles, was unable to adapt to new conditions. The process of personality disadaptation is the opposite of the process of adaptation. Disadaptation is a destructive and disruptive process.

You have maladaptation if the problem situation associated with new conditions is not resolved, but on the contrary, it worsens, the difficulties increase, and you feel a persistent experience of unpleasant experiences and feelings.

Disadaptation can be pathological and non-pathological. Non-pathological adaptation is characterized by deviations in the behavior and experiences of the subject associated with insufficient socialization, socially unacceptable personality attitudes, a sharp change in living conditions, and a break in significant interpersonal relationships. In a pathological case, maladaptive states and conflicts can become the source of risky and auto-aggressive behavior of a person.

Be careful, if you feel that maladjustment is happening to you, contact a psychologist, or get out of this situation. It’s worth considering if you have the following signs:

• Changing behavior in the social sphere;
• Inconsistency between behavior and social functions;
• Mental changes;
• A state of psychological impasse that arises as a result of a person being in conflict for a long time (external or internal) and the absence of the necessary adaptive mechanisms to get out of this state.