Problem of classifying difficult life situations of adult personality

The article presents the main approaches to classifying difficult life situations of a person. At the beginning of the article, the specific features of difficult life situations of a person considered. They act as certain stimuli that activate the stress resistance system. The degree of stress intensity always depends on its subjective assessment by a personality. A difficult significant situation can lead to a crisis and internal personality changes. A difficult significant life situation can influence the personality's world image. A difficult life situation may cause a revision of the individual’s existing attitudes, values, and goals. The following criteria for classifying difficult life situations have been distinguished: by degree of intensity; by duration of exposure; by source of occurrence; by nature of occurrence; by degree of manageability; by emotional colouring. The specifics of the stressful situation of each type is explained. The criteria mentioned above can be supplemented by other ways of classification: by age; by spheres of activity; by permission resources; by the nature of adaptation, etc. The possibility of building up a universal classification of difficult life situations will bring us closer to a more complete understanding of the individual specifics of a person's behaviour under stress.