Features of self-attitude and attitude to the future in adolescents with disabilities

Introduction . The study of self-attitude and attitude to the future among adolescents with disabilities is relevant and can be useful for organizing psychological assistance. Positive self-esteem is the basis of self-respect, positive self-awareness of everyone, including people with disabilities. Adolescents with disabilities often exhibit clearly expressed and consistently reduced self-esteem and self-respect, negative self-awareness, which weakens the individual’s ability to actively adapt in life and realize personal potential, as well as forecast future plans. The novelty of the research lies in identifying the features of self-attitude and future orientation among adolescents with disabilities studying in a general education school. Objective. To study the features of self-attitude and attitude to the future among adolescents with disabilities. Materials and Methods . The study involved 60 adolescents aged 12 to 15 years with various types of health impairments and without impairments, studying in a general education school. To assess self-attitude, the self-attitude test questionnaire was used (V.V. Stolin, S.R. Pantileev), the methodology for studying the features of the self-concept and self-attitude (E. Pierce, D. Harris, A.M. Prikhozhan). To measure the attitude towards the future, the Dispositional Optimism Test (DOT) was used (T.O. Gordeeva, O.A. Sychev, E.N. Osin). Results . Indicators on the scales of expected attitude from others, attitude of others, and self-interest are significantly higher among adolescents with disabilities compared to typically developing adolescents. Adolescents with disabilities show more pronounced indicators of anxiety, positive perception of the school situation, and satisfaction with the family situation. Adolescents from both groups express more negative expectations, focusing on the anticipation that bad events are more likely to happen in the future than good ones, accompanied by certain difficulties and trials. Discussion . The data obtained in the study can be used in the psychological support of adolescents with disabilities studying in a general education school, particularly in group correction aimed at forming adequate positive self-esteem and level of aspirations, as well as optimal socio-psychological adaptation.