Dynamics of regulatory and personality features in junior schoolchildren with decreased psychological well-being (longitudinal data)

Abstract

The article presents the results of longitudinal analysis of dynamics of regulatory, personal, motivational characteristics and academic success in students with decline of psychological well-being during the transition from grade 5 to 6. A group of 6th graders whose psychological well-being significantly decreased in comparison with the 5th grade (N = 26) was identified. We compared of indicators of conscious self-regulation (V. I. Morosanova), personal properties (Big 5), attitude to learning (A. M. Prihozhan) and academic motivation (T. O. Gordeeva) with a time difference of one year. The results show the maintenance of the level of academic performance against the sharp decline in almost all regulatory, personal, motivational and emotional indicators. We identified two indicators which serve as a resource for maintaining the academic success of the respondents: Neuroticism and regulatory process of Modelling. In contrast to traditional concept of its negative impact it was shown that Neuroticism was almost the only factor supporting academic performance at that age. A particularly significant result is the discovery of a «sensitive» age for the development of the regulatory process of Modelling, which is responsible for the ability to set and perform complex tasks, not to be afraid of new non-standard situations, and find solutions in «hopeless» stressful situations.