PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY AS A FACTOR OF PERSONALITY HARDINESS

Abstract

The article presents the results of an empirical study of the influence of professional identity on the level of personality hardiness. The study tests the assumption that the level of professional identity formation affects hardiness in unfavorable living conditions. A total of 100 working people aged 18 to 60, 49 men and 51 women, were surveyed. The theoretical basis of the study is the notion that the concretization of the "self-image" contributes to better adaptability and the ability to withstand stress. In order to find the correlation between the indicators of professional identity status and resilience, the study used S. Muddy's "Human Hardiness ", L. Schneider's methodology for studying professional identity, and R. Liuhtanen and J. Crocker's test of collective self-esteem of a professional group. The analysis of the obtained data showed that there are positive correlations between the general indicator of resilience and the status of professional identity. The study found that a high level of resilience at a statistically significant level is positively associated with such professional identity statuses as moratorium and achieved positive identity, while the lowest level of hardiness is associated with premature professional identity. It has been found that individuals with an achieved positive identity have the highest rates of the hardiness components "involvement" and "risk taking". At the same time, the lowest indicators of all components of resilience, without exception, are observed in subjects with premature professional identity. It is concluded that professional identity, acquired and "suffered" through life self-determination, personal search, and not formally assigned through external attributes of professional affiliation, gives a person a sense of fullness, meaningfulness, inner fulfillment of life and allows maintaining psychological balance. Therefore, the search for effective ways and means of developing professional identity will help to increase the hardiness of the individual and his or her ability not only to survive but also to grow in adverse conditions.