PanARMENIAN.Net - Professor Sofya Nartova-Bochaver of the Higher School of economics and colleagues from universities in Armenia and China conducted a comparative analysis of the psychological boundaries of individuals living in different countries. The results indicate that age and sex play a greater role in the formation of those boundaries than culture does, EurekAlert reports.
Every day, people must defend their boundaries in relation to their own body, home, personal belongings, friends, tastes, and values. People whose boundaries are well defined in each of these areas are considered 'sovereign individuals,' while those with poorly defined boundaries are referred to as 'deprived.'
A person's environment influences and helps form their personal sovereignty. Family members can either violate or strengthen personal boundaries. If a child is raised in a friendly family atmosphere and his wishes are respected and fulfilled, he does not require additional protection and his personal boundaries remain intact. Thus, the level of personal sovereignty reflects the extent to which a family is ready to respect the growing child's needs.
Earlier empirical studies have shown that personal sovereignty helps youth and adolescents to adapt. In particular, it has a positive effect on a person's self-esteem, gives them greater confidence, and reduces anxiety.
Researchers have also found that personal sovereignty is more developed among men than women and is stronger among adolescents than youth. At the same time, young people's inherent desire to defend their personal boundaries decreases as they grow older. Researchers attribute this to adults' readiness to start a family and to share their personal space with others.
In order to understand how the culture of a particular society affects the formation of personal sovereignty, the HSE School of Psychology professor worked with colleagues from the State University of Yerevan and Xiamen University of China to conduct cross-cultural comparative research. In all, 780 people were surveyed: 361 men and 419 women, of whom 223 were from Armenia, 277 from China, and 280 from Russia. The respondents also belonged to two age groups: adolescents averaging 13 years of age and youth aged 21.
The study focused on Armenia, China, and Russia because the countries share a history of socialism and collectivism. At the same time, each country prioritizes a different set of values. Armenia places greater emphasis on such traditional values as religion and family, whereas Chinese and Russian societies share a more secular and rational outlook.
All respondents were asked to complete a questionnaire designed in 2010 specifically to determine the level of personal sovereignty. Participants either agreed or disagreed with 67 statements related to the six parameters of personal sovereignty. Each statement described a situation that the respondents might find unpleasant or provocative. For example: 'Even as a child I was sure nobody touched my toys when I was absent,' or 'I often felt offended when adults punished me with slapping a...
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