Communication activity of schoolchildren of adolescence and its development

Context and relevance. The study is based on the theory of integral individuality, considering activity as a factor that allows the subject to go beyond the specified conditions. In adolescence, communication with peers and adults plays a key role in personality formation, but the impact of communication activity on the holistic personality of schoolchildren remains understudied. Purpose. The study is aimed at studying the psychological structure of communication activity of adolescents, establishing a connection between the level of this activity and the characteristics of their individuality, as well as determining the effect of increasing communication activity on the structure of integral individuality and identifying individual communication styles. Hypothesis. Communication activity is the resulting natural (biological) and social factors. The individual style of communication activity acts as a mediating link in determining the relationships of properties of various hierarchical levels of individuality. Methods and materials. Sample: 88 schoolchildren of older adolescence (14-15 years) from two comprehensive schools in Izhevsk. Design: A comparative analysis of groups with different levels of activity, as well as a formative experiment (16 people in the experimental group, 7 in the control group) lasting 7 months. Methods for assessing communication activity: questionnaire and observation program (Bodalev) for operational-dynamic components; methodology for the study of communicative attitudes of personality (Ivashov) for the level of interpersonal interaction. Methods for diagnosing individuality: motor technique (strength of the nervous system), D-OST Rusalov questionnaire (temperament), Kettell's 14PF (personality properties), T. Leary's technique and sociometric technique (socio-psychological characteristics). Statistical analysis: SPSS program package, Spearman correlation coefficient, Student t-test, factor and cluster analyses. Results. Three groups of adolescents were identified by the level of communication activity: low, medium and high. It has been found that highly active adolescents are more open, emotional, decisive and less frustrated compared to low-active ones. It was found that in the group with low activity, the connections between natural, personal and socio-psychological properties are more rigid, which restrains activity in communication. The formative experiment (training and counseling) led to a statistically significant increase in the indicators of initiative, ease of contact and parameters of interpersonal interaction in the experimental group, as well as to a change in the structure of connections between the properties of individuality. In the group with a high level of activity, three individual styles are distinguished: "hard-superficial" (energy, dominance, unstable contacts), "soft-trusting" (openness, desire for deep relationships, high educational status) and "selectively stable" (emotional maturity, conservatism, stable deep contacts with a narrow circle of persons). Conclusion. Communication activity of adolescents is a complex education, including interpersonal and operational-dynamic levels. It acts as a system-forming link that determines the structure of integral individuality and promotes adaptation to the social environment. Increased activity in communication is possible through self-knowledge and the development of initiative in specially organized conditions.