DYNAMICS OF THE INFORMATIONAL STRESS INFLUENCE ON HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENTS

Abstract

The article provides a theoretical justification of the approach to the study of informational stress and an empirical study of informational stress impact dynamics in the process of studying at a higher education institution. Based on the theory of A. Restian, a general concept of the phenomenon “information stress” was provided. The typology of informational stress was defined. The criteria for the development of informational stress during education at higher education institutions were singled out. Empirical assessment of the development of informational stress in HE students was carried out according to indicators on the depression scale, which is its indicator and is caused by the processes of non-pragmatic adaptation to information. It was determined that during the academic year the impact of informational stress becomes more noticeable: according to the results of the questionnaire “Beck’s Depression Scale” it was established that more than a third of respondents in the middle of the academic year and only 10 % at the end did not show symptoms of a depressive state; 10 % of respondents had an average level of severity of depressive disorder at the beginning of the study and 15 % – at the end; at the second stage of the survey, a severe manifestation of the depressive syndrome appeared in 5 % of respondents. It was found that in the middle of the year about 35 % of the students had a high level of personal anxiety, while at the end of the year this figure increased to 50 %. Indicators of situational anxiety had a greater difference in time: a doubling was found – from 30 % to 60 % of the share of its “high level”. A comparison of the results on three scales of the “Feeling of well-being”, “Activity”, “Mood” determined that during the education of the 4th year students the indicators of all scales undergo significant negative changes. A comparison of the levels of neuropsychological stress at the beginning and at the end of the academic year using the “Neuropsychological Tension Questionnaire” showed an increase in the proportion of its “high level” group from 20 % to 45 %. The analysis of changes in data according to the bank of methods made it possible to conclude that during the period of study in HE institutions students experience an increase in the level of stress of an informational nature and to specify its negative impact on their psyche.