Social and psychological manifestations of personal helplessness at various ages

Personal helplessness is one of the factors, which interrupt the formation of innovative behaviour, while self-dependence boosts this process. Personal helplessness is an individual's system quality associated with a complex of symptoms of specific personal characteristics. Such characteristics develop as a result of the interaction of internal environment with outer environment (a system of family interrelations, experience of uncontrollable traumatic incidents) which in their turn result in the low level of subjectness - the poor ability of a person to modify the reality, to manage the events in his/her own life and achieve his/her goals by overcoming difficulties. Personal helplessness reveals itself in the person's activity causing its low success. Communication is one of the types of activity in which personal helplessness manifests itself. Personal helplessness is located on one of the poles of the continuum, with the opposite pole being such a system quality of a person as self-dependence. Personal helplessness as a complex system characteristic specifically manifests itself in the sphere of person's relations including his/her relations with other persons of the same age. The results of the study prove the presence of several specific features in the system of relations of an individual with personal helplessness when a child, an adolescent and a juvenile. These specific features have been revealed by several indicators of the 16PF questionnaire by Cattell (factors A, F, H, E, Q2, G, N, L), Rosenzweig test, Q Methodology by William Stephenson and sociometric investigation. Personal helplessness manifests itself in the sphere of interpersonal relationships at all the studied age stages: an individual with personal helplessness does not only perceive the process of communication as less attractive, but also has fewer abilities for realization of his/her communication needs. Such person exhibits restraint in interpersonal contacts, has difficulties in direct and social communication and is introverted. "Helpless" individuals have less ability to develop good relationships with other people of the same age; they are less adapted to social environment; more often have a negative 222sociometric status; are less satisfied with relationships and exhibit more dependency on a group. On the one hand, all these factors are found to be social and psychological manifestations of personal helplessness, while, on the other hand, they support the complex of symptoms of personal helplessness

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