A Comparative Analysis of Hardiness Among Different Generations in Contemporary Russia
Abstract
Introduction. Studying the characteristics of hardiness among different generations merits special attention. The comparative analysis of the levels of hardiness and its individual components among representatives of Soviet, post-Soviet, and transitional generations has not been reported before.
Methods. The study of hardiness among different generations employed the Hardiness Test by D. A. Leontiev and E. I. Rasskazova and involved 540 individual participants (234 men and 306 women) aged from 16 to 84 years.
Results. The variance analysis was applied to reveal differences in hardiness and its structural components among the three generational groups. The levels of hardiness and its components differed significantly in the groups of respondents of the Soviet and transitional generations. Compared to the transitional generation group, the levels of control (p ≤ 0.0001), risk taking (p ≤ 0.0001), and hardiness (p ≤ 0.0001) were higher among representatives of the post-Soviet generation; the lowest levels of these variables were observed in the group of representatives of the Soviet generation. Compared to female respondents of the transitional and Soviet generations, males had higher levels of control (p ≤ 0.0001), risk taking (p ≤ 0.05) and hardiness (p ≤ 0.05).
Discussion. The level of hardiness differs among generational and gender groups. The findings of the study suggest that the characteristics of hardiness should be investigated in late adulthood. This study has great potential for practical application for developing psychological programs for improving personal potential of vulnerable generations.
Keywords
- generation
- psychology of generations
- hardiness
- involvement
- control
- risk taking
- Soviet generation
- transitional generation
- post-Soviet generation
- generational differences