THE ROLE OF A SENSE OF COHERENCE IN FORMING STRESS RESISTANCE OF SPECIALISTS

Abstract

The article presents the results of an empirical study of the psychological characteristics of the sense of coherence as a salutogenic factor capable of positively influencing the process of overcoming stress by a person. The analysis was conducted in several directions: by gender, type of educational institution, level of stress resistance, mental stress and locus of control. An average level of manifestation of the general sense of coherence and its components: awareness, expediency and significance was revealed. Actually, the internal connection and a certain order between all three components are a prerequisite for the development of the general sense of coherence. A high indicator for all three components means that a person has a strong sense of interconnectedness, i.e. coherence. A significantly higher level of the general sense of coherence, awareness, expediency and significance was established in students of higher educational institutions than in students of secondary and vocational educational institutions. Students with a high level of sense of coherence and its components are characterized by an internal locus of control, while an external locus of control is characteristic of students with a low level of sense of coherence. A negative relationship was found between coherence and the level of mental stress, as well as a positive one with the stress resistance of the individual. It was shown that such indicators as coherence, expediency and awareness can be used as psychological criteria for predicting the professional stress resistance of specialists. Therefore, based on the analysis, it can be stated that a general sense of coherence can act as a powerful personal resource that influences the formation of stress resistance of the individual.