Psychological well-being of boys high school students with different variants of development of male identity

Abstract

Introduction. This article is devoted to the problem of psychological well-being of the individual in the context of the formation of male identity, which has a socio-cultural character and is derived from the canons of masculinity adopted by the subject. The initial setting of the authors is the idea of multi-variant development of the male identity and consequently the availability of different types of this phenomenon. Some of the existing typologies of masculinity and masculine identity are considered. The arguments exposing the traditional standards of masculinity and the corresponding male identity are given. On the basis of the analysis of scientific primary sources the fragmentary nature of the study of certain aspects of psychological well-being of representatives of traditional variants of development of male identity is shown and the relevance of the study of this phenomenon in subjects with other variants of male identity is substantiated.Materials and Methods. In the logic of the typology of male identity N.K.Radina and A.A.Nikitina and from the standpoint of the concept of psychological well-being K.Riff in line with the emic-approach studied the specificity of the manifestation of the General level and the main components of psychological well-being in representatives of different options for the development of male identity in relation to early adolescence. A comparative analysis of the types of male identity in high school boys from full and incomplete (maternal) families is also carried out.Results. The data confirmed the validity of the assumption that the majority of young men from incomplete (maternal) families are characterized by Patriarchal and hybrid types of male identity, while their peers from full families, along with Patriarchal and hybrid order of magnitude more common alternative options for the development of male identity. It is stated that there are statistically significant differences in the majority of components of psychological well-being in young men with different types of male identity, most of which are recorded in favor of the subjects with alternative and less – Patriarchal options for the development of male identity. In addition, it was found that the highest rates of overall psychological well-being observed in young men – representatives of alternative types of male identity.Discussion and Conclusions. According to the results of the study, it is concluded that it is necessary to soften the traditional norms of masculinity and to give a legitimate status to alternative standards and models of male behavior.