The image of the future of student youth confronted with new challenges: Implementation of basic values, optimism and life satisfaction

The purpose of the study is to examine the image of Russia's future in relation to indicators of dispositional optimism, life satisfaction, and value orientations of modern university students. The research sample consisted of 535 university students from Tomsk, with an average age of 20.1 ± 3.6 years. Research methods included the semantic differential technique to assess the characteristics of the image of Future Russia, the Dispositional Optimism Test (DOT-II) by M. Scheier, C. Carver, and M. Bridges (adaptation by T.O. Gordeeva, O.A. Sycheva, E.N. Osin), the questionnaire "Subjective Assessment of Feasibility of Basic Values" (SAFBV) by S.A. Bogomaz, the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) by E. Diener (adaptation by E.N. Osin and D.A. Leontiev), and a custom-designed questionnaire aimed at determining the images of the Future Citizen, Future Russia, and Future World. Exploratory factor analysis of the semantic differential scales characterizing the image of Future Russia revealed two factors: Self-Development of Russia (36.9% of variance) and Security of Russia (36.8% of variance). Both factors showed significant positive correlations (p<0.001) with meta-values of existential and public self-realization, as well as life satisfaction indicator (p<0.001). Cluster analysis identified four clusters within the overall respondent group, with representatives differing significantly in the mean values of the explored variables at a statistically significant level. For the majority of respondents (66.7% of the total group), a pronounced positive modality of perceiving the image of Future Russia was characteristic, along with relatively high scores on the measured psychological variables. The obtained results lead to the following conclusions: a) the majority of young people form positive images of Russia's future, which are important life guides, determining their successful selfdevelopment; b) key psychological factors associated with the formation of a positive image of the future for young people may include characteristics of the feasibility of basic values and life satisfaction; c) there is a need to develop psycho-pedagogical technologies aimed at fostering positive life attitudes and developing futures literacy among target groups of youth who demonstrate negative or ambivalent evaluations of the future image.