Examination of student resilience as a way of coping with gelotophobia

Introduction. The relevance of the research is determined by the presence of mockery in student educational environment. It can be a psychotraumatic factor, lead to reduction of inner resources and sense of security, contribute to anxious states being estimatedby other people. The fear of mockery leads to communication difficulties, social alienation, isolation and personality disharmony. Research methods. In order to establish the correlation between the mentioned phobia and students’ resilience, the methods of diagnosing the level of gelotophobia, assessing the ability to distinguish between situations of friendly joking and aggressive mocking, studying stress traits and coping behaviour strategies were used. The research sample consisted of higher institutions students (N=202) aged 18-26 years. The results of the research reveal that students demonstrate moderate wariness and anxiety in situations involving humour and laughter, the possibility of being estimated by others, as well as adequate distinction between situations of joking and mocking. The authors identified that young men more often enjoy and are surprised by situations of mockery, while girls react with sadness and shame. Average indicators prevail in the resilience scales, reflecting a moderately pronounced ability to cope with difficulties and stress. The obtained data confirm that gelotophobia and resilience are opposite characteristics: the stronger is the fear of being mocked, the lower is a person's resilience and the stronger is the expression of stress symptoms.