The article is dedicated to the problem of the unemployed elderly people’s adaptation to the changing conditions of their vital activities in connection with the pension reform adoption. The research has been aimed at detecting differences in the contents of the social representations shared by the unemployed about coping with job loss situation in the periods before (spring 2018) and after (spring 2019) pension reform adoption. The basic technique used is the questionnaire which includes 36 assertions about the means of coping with job loss situation, structured like 5-score Likert scale. The respondents sample comprised the unemployed aged 46-55-60 years (196 persons). It has been demonstrated, that perception of the pension reform by the elderly unemployed as a traumatic event has influenced the altering contents of social representation on coping with job loss situation in the direction of amplifying its affective component, driving down significance of the previously known ways of solving problems (registration in the labor registry office and cutting the expenses). In the spring of 2019, social representations of the unemployed have facilitated the group’s attention switch, directing it on the search for new ways of solving the difficult life situation. The obtained results may be considered as a contribution to the development of macro-social approach to analyzing the mechanisms of mental familiarization with social phenomena causing anxiety and disturbance for large social groups representatives.

The article deals with the problem of professional identity formation in future medical workers. The analysis of the concepts of “professional identity”, “psychological support” is given. Three periods of the process of professional identity formation by G. Tejfel are revealed. The features of psychological support in the process of professional identity formation in future medical workers are revealed. A model of psychological support for the development of professional identity in future mid-level medical workers has been developed. The structural components of professional identity in future mid-level medical workers are revealed, such as: cognitive, emotive, motivational-volitional, communicative and creative-reflective components. The criteria for the level of professional identity formation of future mid-level medical workers are determined. The degree of psychological support influence on the dynamics of professional identity formation in future mid-level medical workers has been established.

The article deals with the peculiarities of psychological and physical health components as the life quality indicators in correlation with the subjective age at the late ontogenesis stage (58-93 years) in groups of people having different lifestyles: elderly non-working people in home-based social services; elderly non-working people, leading an active lifestyle. It has been established that the life quality is at a rather low level and decreases with age. An active lifestyle, as well as cohabitation contributes to keeping higher life quality. Assessing the subjective age is characterized by a positive illusion. The subjective age is not correlated with the chronological age, as well as with single or cohabiting. An active lifestyle allows you to evaluate your “Do-age” and “Look-age” younger than you are. The life quality is correlated with the subjective age: most connections are from the biological subjective age and the physical component of health.

The article discusses the results of the study of the peculiarities of students’ ideas about the ideal of their own body. An authorial scheme has been developed for representing students’ ideas about the image of the body-“I”, which includes: an ideal and real image of their own bodies and is the basis for the development of the modern ideal of men and women. The study was conducted using techniques (MIS) by V.V. Stolin, S.R. Panteleev and the study of self-relation to the image of the physical self (by A.G. Cherkashin). This made it possible to study the attitude and self-attitude to the image of one’s own body-“I” of students aged 18-25 according to three characteristics: anatomical, functional and social, aimed at identifying a subjective attitude to the image of the physical “I” and comparing significant indicators in evaluating other attitudes to their body-”I”. The performed research shows that the idea of the image of one’s body-“I” has different meanings for girls and boys and differs in the level of dissatisfaction with its image I.

The article presents the results of an empirical study of self-esteem of adolescents with mental retardation. Adolescence is a sensitive period for the development of self-concept and its components: behavioral, cognitive, evaluative. Students-adolescents’ self-esteem depends on how it is perceived by the others. One of the main age tasks becomes the search of one’s own place in the world. At this age adolescents restructure their relationships, the communication with peers and classmates getting the first importance. Children with developmental disabilities, in particular with mental retardation, tend to disharmonious development of components of the Self-concept, in particular self-esteem. Deviations in self-esteem development leave an imprint on the severity of adolescents’ self-centeredness, leading to inadequate assessment of others, themselves and the difficulties of socialization and integration into society. The article deals with the relationship and interdependence of the level of self-esteem and manifestations of self-centeredness in adolescents with mental retardation. The study makes it possible to develop a program in the future that will prevent the development of egocentrism in adolescents with mental retardation, create favorable conditions for adaptation, and further socialization of such children.

The article reflects the results of research into the problems of family adaptation of adopted children with disabilities. The study, conducted with the participation of more than 50 substitute families, includes the socio-psychological and emotional status of parents, some features of parent-child communication in various types of family systems. The targets for psychological assistance to families raising a child with special needs in his development are identified. The features of psychological adaptation of healthy children in substitute families who have adopted a child with disabilities are studied. On the basis of the obtained empirical data, the technology of training communicator specialists for work with a substitute family raising a child with disabilities is presented.

The purpose of the article is to study the formation of students’ emotional resilience to the negative influence of the information environment. The authors analyzed foreign and Russian psychological and pedagogical studies, which makes it possible to identify the main risks and threats of harmful information for mental health, psychological well-being and emotional resilience of a person. The article presents the results of an empirical study of the level of development of future teachers’ emotional resilience to the negative impact of the modern information environment. The study involved 63 students enrolled in the direction of “Pedagogical Education”, aged 18 to 22 years. The study showed that a significant portion of students demonstrate resilience to the negative impact of the information environment, however, it was found that the presentation of negatively colored information is the reason for the development of a feeling of insecurity in the world, fear for themselves and their beloved ones among a large number of respondents.

The present article examines the conditions for professional pedagogical practice, starting with the question of what professionalization in children’s day care means and how the term is discussed, especially in Germany. This enquiry into professionalization focuses on how it can improve pedagogical quality, and what factors this can be attributed to. The analysis begins with selected perspectives from the discourse on professionalization in early education research.

The optimization of the system of personal and professional diagnostics is represented by the shift of the reference point of evaluation of candidates for work from personal and professional suitability to personal and professional predisposition (LPR) that will allow to consider the dynamic component of the candidate’s personality. The article provides a theoretical and methodological overview of the study LPR in the dissertation researches. Substantial analysis of this concept in the works of G. Allport, V. stern, A. F. Lazursky is presented. The definition of LPR and its structure are described. Substantive aspects of researching LPR are designated. The study conducted on a sample of 98 people at a statistically significant level confirms the existence of differences between groups of specialties in the study of the constitutive properties of the individual, which makes it possible to confirm the hypothesis of differences in the predictors of LPPR. This work allows to improve the quality of professional selection and optimize the process.