SITUATIONAL FACTORS OF ALTRUISTIC SOCIAL ACTIVITY OF THE YOUTH

Altruistic social activity is regulated both by inner convictions of a personality and situational factors. This research is aimed at identifying situational factors of altruistic activity of the youth. The study involved 193 participants aged 17±1,8 years, 46,6% of males.

We understand altruistic social activity of the youth as a behavior aimed at various kinds of social contacts with people around them whose main purpose is to help people free of charge, for example, volunteering, donorship, mentoring, donations, etc.

The research participants were asked to evaluate the markers of the situations where such behavior occurs more often on a 5-point scale. These markers were the result of the theoretical analysis of the investigations which were based on the situational approach. Then the markers were verified by highly qualified expert psychologists. They included definiteness, formality, comprehensibility for subsequent behavior, stability, organized manner, level of influence by people around, positiveness.

The following situational markers received the highest evaluation of situations where the youth is active altruistically: level of influence by people around (М=3.66), formality (М=3.38), stability (М=3.29). The participants evaluated their own altruistic activity relatively low М=2.25, Ϭ=0.99.

The indexes of correlation obtained between the evaluation of one’s own altruistic activity and evaluation of the situations in which such activity occurs more often show that all the situational markers affect positively the raise of the youth altruistic activity. The most encouraging (р<0.001) markers in this respect are as follows: organized nature (r= 0.29) and formality (r=0.29). Additionally, this situation should also be positive (r=0.28) and stable (r=0.27).

Thus, the situational factors of raising altruistic activity of the youth are connected with a somewhat formal participation of the young in the events, good organization of such events, and also with stability and predictability of an altruistic activity situation and a positive attitude to the event.

Ackowledgements:
The study was funded by the grant of the Russian Scientific Fund (project № 18-18-00298).