Psychoendocrine correlates of the stress response of cadets of law enforcement agencies, taking into account the adaptability to the educational and professional process

Introduction. The relevance of studying the features of self-regulation and selfcontrol, protective mechanisms, ways of coping with stressful situations and determining the specifics of the psychoneuroendocrine correlates of the stress response of cadets of law enforcement agencies, taking into account the adaptability to the educational and professional process, is due to the high requirements for the personal and professional qualities of cadets, who are already included in the professional service activities. Methods. The following research methods were used in the study: testing, clinical laboratory, experiment. The diagnostic complex included: The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), the «Comprehensive assessment of stress manifestations» by Yu. V. Shcherbatykh, «Ways of Coping Questionnaire, WCQ» from S. Folkman and R. Lazarus, «The Life Style Index, LSI» questionnaire of R. Plutchik, the Grasmick Scale (Grasmicket al., 1993; adapted by V.G. Bulygina, A.M. Abdrazyakova, 2008), «Self-regulation profile questionnaire – SRPQM» by V. I. Morosanova. Results. The adaptive group is distinguished by the development of all stages of conscious regulation of behavior, which is mediated by adaptive coping strategies. Individual typological characteristics ensure high self-control. The detected significantly higher cortisol level before a stress stimulus that does not go beyond the normative level, and an increase inDehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) after a stress stimulus are associated with a low severity of signs ofstress. The maladaptive group of cadets is distinguished by the predominance of maladaptive copingstrategies, less mature forms of psychological protection that are not mediated by conscious regulatory systems. DHEA, as a key buffer hormone of stress resistance, does not perform a protective function, because its initially high background level significantly decreases after exposure to stressful stimuli.