The state of helplessness among preschool children with mental retardation and its correction

The article discusses the problem of helplessness among preschool children with mental retardation (ANW). Currently the studies exploring the phenomenon of "learned helplessness" (Seligman) are widely known in Russian psychological research projects of "personal helplessness" (Ciring et al.). The studies exploring the role and place of helplessness (learned and personal helplessness) among preschool children in general and among those with mental retardation were not conducted. The fundamentals of our research are: the ideas of Vygotsky about the features of child development, holistic personal approach, and the bio-psycho-socio-ethical model of human nature, development, and health by Zalevsky. To check the hypothesis the authors conducted an extensive research of the phenomenon of helplessness, in which 140 children and their families (mothers) participated. 90 children of them were diagnosed with mental retardation and 50 children did not have such a diagnosis. 45 children with mental retardation entered the intervention group; at the second stage of the study these children participated in the psycho-correction program proposed to them by the authors of the research. On the basis of quantitative and qualitative analyses of the results 3 groups of children with various degrees of helplessness were differentiated: without any signs of helplessness; with moderately expressed signs of helplessness, and without expressed signs of helplessness. The results of the second stage of the research after the psycho-correction program was implemented show that it is possible under certain conditions to improve the state of helplessness and to prevent "learned" and "personal" helplessness.

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