Abstract:

The current conditions of ‘liquid modernity’ make it necessary to explore the abilities and resources of a person to face the challenges of the future. Preadaptation considered as readiness to handle uncertainty is the most promising perspective for modern education. It shifts the emphasis to the resource component in the personal development of teachers and students, and answers the question: what can prepare a person in the present for the unknown future. It determines the ability of young people to effectively adapt to new situations and create a positive variability of the future uncertainty.

In this context, the indicators of subjective and psychological well-being are seen as a coherent set of preadaptive characteristics that define personal behaviour in a rapidly changing reality.

The article presents the survey results with 109 students aged 19-21 majoring in Pedagogical Education at Tyumen State University, Tyumen, Russia.
The study aims to identify significant indicators of subjective and psychological well-being of university students as predictors of their preadaptation in the Covid-19 environment.

To evaluate the components of well-being, the survey used the Subjective Well-being Scale (N.P. Fetiskin, V.V. Kozlov, G.M. Manuilov) and the Scale of Psychological Well-being (C. Ryff). Statistical data analysis and presentation of the results were carried out using the SPSS software package.

Measurements were carried out before the Covid-19 pandemic – in May 2019, and during the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic – in May 2020. The comparative analysis revealed the dynamics in the indicators of students’ well-being.

The isolation in the Covid-19 environment has caused transforming the structure of subjective and psychological well-being of students. The indicators of self-acceptance, positive attitude, and significance of social environment have deteriorated. At the same time, students have become more independent, less stressed and less sensitive to stress, seeking to restructure their social environment and find new goals in life. Increased personal growth, reduced moodiness and negative psycho-emotional symptoms have become statistically proven for students during the Covid-19 pandemic.

That means, having found themselves in a situation of forced isolation and distancing, students began to think more about their personal development, be less exposed to mood swings and have a more stable feeling of well-being.

This makes it possible to consider the extent of various aspects of subjective and psychological well-being of the younger generation as an important potential for their preadaptability in a rapidly changing world.
The results obtained require further study and reflection.

Keywords:

Preadaptation, subjective well-being, psychological well-being, students, pandemic.