FEATURES OF THE RELATIONSHIP OF PSYCHOLOGICAL PROTECTION MECHANISMS AND COPING MECHANISMS WITHIN A SINGLE SYSTEM AMONG TEACHERS OF BOARDING SCHOOLS FOR CHILDREN WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES

Abstract

The article reflects the results of a theoretical and empirical study of the problem of defensive-coping behavior as a single personality construct among teachers of boarding schools for children with intellectual disabilities.

The рurpose of the work is to identify the characteristics of the relationship of psychological defense mechanisms and coping mechanisms within a single system in this pedagogical environment.

Methods. Among the research methods applied: theoretical (analysis, synthesis, comparison, systematization, generalization of the theoretical and methodological foundations of the problem under study); empirical (in the diagnostic complex were included: methods of diagnostics of the life style index (R. Plutchik, H. Kelierman, H.R. Conte, in adaptation of L.I. Vasserman, O.F. Yeryshev and etc.), questionnaire “Coping strategies” (R.S. Lazarus, S. Folkman, in adaptation of T.L. Kriukova, O.V. Kuftiak and etc.), questionnaire “Losses and acquisitions of personal resources” (N. Vodopianova, M. Shtein), questionnaire for assessing the level of psycho-physiological disadaptation (O.M. Rodina, in adaptation of M.A. Dmytriieva) and methods of mathematical statistics (correlation analysis, statistical test of Fisher).

Results and conclusions. As a result of the correlation analysis of the links between the indicators of protective mechanisms, coping strategies and coping resources among teachers of boarding schools for children with intellectual disabilities, it was found that the predominance in the personality structure of such defensive mechanisms for this pedagogical environment as “regression”, “compensation” and “rationalization” when confronted with professional stressors in conditions of an imbalance between losses and the accumulation of internal resources leads to the emergence of aggressive and hostile behavior among teachers of the experimental group. “Regression” and “compensation” also stipulate resorting to the opposite form of coping with stress – “distancing”, besides, the “regression” is directly proportional to “escape-avoidance”. In turn, the use of disadaptive coping strategies in the context of a deficit of adaptive energy does not contribute to the successful solution of problems and leads to the increase in the pressure of the corresponding protection mechanisms. Using a comparative analysis of the correlations between the components of the protective-coping behavior in the studied groups, a significant amount of differences was revealed, which indicates that its content is determined by the intra-professional features of the teaching activity: there was stated an imbalance in the system of protective-coping behavior of teachers of boarding schools for children with intellectual disabilities to a greater extent than other categories of teachers and the points of their stress vulnerability are defined. The prospects for further research in this direction have been determined.