Creativity as a criterion for resilience of modern youth

Abstract

Psychological resilience among modern youth remains a subject of ongoing relevance in psychological science and practice. Psychological resilience has been found to have numerous connections to related psychological phenomena, including those within the educational system (A. V. Makhnach, E. A. Rylskaya, A. A. Nesterova, N. M. Saraeva, A. I. Laktionova, S. V. Kotovskaya, Yu. V. Postyliakova, L. N. Zakharova). Determining the key criteria for a resilient personality during adolescence within an educational organization has become a crucial task (I. A. Baeva, Yu. V. Postyliakova, E. A. Shereshkova). We posit that one such criterion is creativity. However, the significance of creativity is typically discussed within the context of hardiness (S. A. Vodyakha, Yu. E. Vodyakha, A. A. Oshchepkov, A. O. Repin, et al.), rather than resilience. Nevertheless, research by N. V. Ugryumova indicates that an emotionally creative subject effectively resists stress and is capable of transforming their emotional state positively (J. Averill). The article presents an analysis of empirical data obtained from a sample of 64 vocational school students (aged 18–21). The study employed the Adult’s Resilience questionnaire by A. Makhnach, the Implicit Theories of Creativity (ITC) tool by E. M. Pavlova, and the J. Averill’s Emotional Creativity Inventory adapted by M. А. Shestova. It was found that only 18.7% of respondents have a high level of emotional creativity, while one-third demonstrated a low level, which, according to O. I. Vlasova, characterizes their capacity for authentic and effective emotional experience. Moreover, emotional creativity varies among students with different levels of resilience: respondents with low resilience have lower emotional creativity scores compared to students with medium and high resilience. The study of students’ perceptions of creativity showed that respondents were less likely to associate creativity with a striving for novelty and an acceptance of uncertain situations. It is shown that emotional creativity is more closely related to respondents’ resilience than their beliefs about creativity, suggesting students’ unwillingness to rely on their own conceptions when solving life problems. The conducted research confirms that creativity is a significant criterion for the resilience of youth during their professional training. This supports theoretical propositions about the personal distinctiveness of individuals with varying levels of resilience.