Psychological stability of indigenous students of the Russian Arctic zone

Results of an assessment study on coping strategies and psychological state of indigenous students (Chukchi) of the Chukotsky Multidisciplinary College in the city of Anadyr under the COVID-19 pandemic conditions were presented in the paper. Methods. Psychological testing was performed with the following standardized methods: the coping test of R. Lazarus and S. Folkman (Ways of Coping Questionnaire, WCQ), the Toronto Alexithymic Scale (TAS-26), The Level of Social Frustration (adolescent version of LSF), and Neuro Psychic Adaptation (NPA) by I.N. Gurvich. Results. Overall, male students’ preferred coping strategies were "escape-avoidance", "self-control", and "problem solving planning". Female students chose "escape-avoidance" and "positive reassessment". A pronounced preference for the non-adaptive "escape-avoidance" strategy was observed in 56% of boys and 75% of girls. Both male and female students’ least used strategy was "taking responsibility". More than 40% of the examined students tended to have signs of neuroticism and stress. Girls were mainly characterized by neuro psychic instability. On average, both male and female students proved to be at risk based on their level of alexithymia. Alexithymic traits were characteristic of 69% of boys and 86% of girls. Social frustration about any fields was uncertain. However, 20-27% of students expressed dissatisfaction about their mental health and more than a third (33-40%) felt unhappy with their health in general. Conclusion. A big number of students, both males and females, exhibited low neuro psychic stability and highly intensed copings which, along with alexithymia and under prolonged exposure to unfavorable factors, can cause increased vulnerability to stressful situations, lowered overall psychological stability, disturbed reactions of adaptation, and depleted functional adaptive potential.