The relationship between psychological safety and the experience of terrorist threat among students: an interregional study

The relevance of the study is explained by the significant increase in terrorist activity in the Russian Federation. Modern terrorism, which carries traumatic consequences, is increasingly becoming indirect, acting indirectly through informational influence. Special attention in the article is paid to psychological safety as an internal resource of a personality, which, along with other resources, ensures its stability and safety, and resists the negative effects of the terrorist threat. One of the less protected categories, due to personal immaturity, is students. The purpose of the study is to identify the features of the relationship between the psychological safety of an individual and the experience of a terrorist threat among students from different regions. The subject of the research is the peculiarities of the relationship between the psychological safety of the individual and the experience of the terrorist threat among college students. Methods of diagnosing the experience of a terrorist threat, psychological safety of the individual, emotional safety of the educational environment, the quality of interpersonal relationships, vitality, and vitality were applied. Mathematical and statistical methods were used: descriptive statistics, r-Spearman correlation analysis. The study involved college students (349 people) studying in different regions: Belgorod, Moscow and other regions of the Russian Federation. It has been revealed that in a region with a high level of objective terrorist threat (Belgorod), students who are characterized by determination, well-being at home, using constructive coping methods, with developed adaptive abilities and positive interpersonal relationships are the least susceptible to experiencing the threat of a terrorist attack. In a region with an indirect terrorist threat (Moscow), a decrease in the intensity of anxiety is observed among students with a high level of stress tolerance, who are able to quickly and effectively adapt to environmental variability, apply constructive strategies, and experience well-being in a creative environment. In calm (other) regions with a low level of objective terrorist threat, reducing the vulnerability of students to this threat is associated with their determination, exam well-being, and constructive ways of coping with stress. It has been established that the correlations between the psychological safety of students and their experience of the terrorist threat vary depending on the region of residence and the specifics of the impact of the threat of terrorism (real / indirect). The results obtained can contribute to the development of programs aimed at developing personal stability and the formation of psychological safety of students, taking into account the specifics of the impact of external threats.