The relationship between self-determination and personal choice of participation in extreme volunteerism

Context and Relevance. The article is devoted to the study of the problem of personal choice of participation in extreme volunteerism. The methodological basis of the study was made up of axiological, self-determinative and subject-participatory approaches. Objective. To establish the relationship between the characteristics of the complementary model of self-determination of personality and predictors of personal choice of participation in extreme volunteerism. Hypothesis. The personal choice of participation in extreme volunteerism is determined by the system of meaning formation of personality, which is based on the type of self-determination, awareness of the freedom of such choice, leading value, motivational and moral characteristics of a person. Methods and materials. The sample is represented by 67 male respondents participating in a special military operation. The following methods were used: psychological testing (“Scale of conscious choice and self-awareness” by K. Sheldon, questionnaire “Types of self-determination of personality” by S.N. Kostromina et al., V.E. Petrov's questionnaire on personal choice of participation in extreme volunteerism), expert assessment, methods of mathematical and statistical data processing (descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, assessment of differences in groups). Results. It has been established that the personal choice of participating in volunteerism is determined by the type of self-determination, awareness of the freedom of such choice, as well as the degree of expression of such characteristics as “idealism” and “activity in extreme conditions” in an individual. The orientation of the choice of participation in the diagnosed continuum “ideality — materiality” depends on the formation of functional and semantic self-determination as components of a complementary model, self-awareness, ideality, prosocial value orientation, motivation, propensity and activity in extreme activities, critical thinking. Conclusions. For volunteers with semantic self-determination, the ideological orientation of the choice of participation is characteristic, for people with functional self-determination — the material one. The research is aimed at improving psychological support for the activities of extreme volunteers and law enforcement personnel performing tasks in special conditions.

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