Strategies for conditionally constructive and conditionally non-constructive anger management: Assessment of the severity of affective and cognitive components of anger among students in the educational environment of the university

Introduction. The main research problem addressed in this article is related to the substantiation of the phenomenological and structural features of anger manifestation and coping with it among students in the educational environment of universities. The purpose of the study is to identify and substantiate strategies for conditionally constructive and conditionally non-constructive anger management among students in the educational environment of the university. Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional quantitative psychological study was conducted as part of a survey on the platform of the All-Russian student competition “Your Move” as part of a survey by the Expert Center of the Your Move project “Stress under a magnifying glass” in the period from 01/27/2025 to 02/27/2025. The survey structure of the Expert Center “Stress under a Magnifying Glass” used questions from a modified version of the Multidimensional School Anger Inventory (MSAI). Among the 4,740 respondents in our study “Stress under a Magnifying glass” (2024-2025) at the universities of Central (27 %); Volga Region (21 %); Siberian (11 %); Southern (11 %); Northwestern (9 %); Ural (8 %); North Caucasus (7 %); the Far Eastern (6 %) federal districts of the Russian Federation. These figures correspond to 0.001 of the total population of the study, the social group “university students of the Russian Federation” (4.33 million). Results. A psychometric check of the Multidimensional School Anger Inventory (MSAI) was carried out in a modification for students in the Russian Federation (in the context of the development of new methods of psychological assessment), as well as the assessment of the severity of affective and cognitive components of anger in the context of the educational environment of Russian universities, as well as conditionally constructive and conditionally non-constructive coping strategies. This research has revealed the degree of severity of affective and cognitive components of anger among students in the educational environment of universities in the Russian Federation. We have identified the following features of the severity of the affective and cognitive components of anger, as well as the use of conditionally constructive and conditionally non-constructive coping strategies. Moreover, men and women are more likely to use conditionally constructive strategies for coping with anger (positive coping). Conditionally non-constructive anger management strategies are less common among Russian students. The affective component (anger expression) and the cognitive component (negative attitudes towards the educational process) in male students are expressed at an average level. Among female students, anger is also expressed at an average level, but high and average indicators of the severity of negative attitudes towards the educational process at the university are more common. The reliability and validity of the modified MSAI methodology in the context of the university’s educational environment has been confirmed. Strategic conditions for anger prevention in the educational environment of universities have been identified: 1) physical safety, protection from violence and insults, a stable psychological climate necessary for adaptation and self-expression; 2) student participation in the development of university educational rules; 3) creation of psychological assistance services for students, psychological training in methods and techniques for coping with stress in a university setting. Conclusions. Based on the conducted research, it is concluded that when implementing the model of the higher education system, emphasis should be placed on the formation of activities and the implementation of students’ own experience in organizing psychological assistance services, psychological training on the principle of “peer-to-peer” (psychology students teach these techniques to students of other fields of study); the educational policy of the university should be implemented taking into account the principle “for us, nothing without us” (students should play a key role in shaping the rules of educational activities of the university).