COPING STRATEGIES AS A MECHANISM OF PSYCHOLOGICAL ADAPTATION IN OLD AGE

Shagidaeva Aza Batrudinovna

The paper examines the application of coping strategies as a mechanism of psychological adaptation in old age using cross-age, interregional, and institutional comparisons as an example. Psychological adaptation of the elderly is a critical factor in social stability in the context of demographic aging in Russia. The study of coping strategies as mechanisms for coping with stressful influences in various sociocultural contexts is of particular importance. The aim of the study was to identify the specifics of coping strategies as mechanisms of psychological adaptation in older people in comparison with middle-aged people, and to determine the influence of regional and institutional factors on the formation of the coping repertoire. Methods: an adapted version of the questionnaire by R. Lazarus and S. Folkman was used. Sample: 333 respondents (201 elderly people aged 60–88 and 132 middle-aged people aged 30–50) from Moscow and Grozny. Nonparametric Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon tests were used to identify intergroup differences. Results: Significant age differences in coping repertoires were identified: in old age, the use of confrontation and avoidance decreases, but cultural variability remains. Moving to a gerontological center in Grozny disrupts the coping repertoire, while in Moscow, it activates positive reappraisal. Recommendations for the development of differentiated gerontological support programs are proposed. The findings can be applied to the design of gerontological interventions that take into account the regional, sociocultural, and institutional characteristics of adaptation processes in old age.

Keywords:coping strategies, psychological adaptation, old age, gerontological center, psychology of maturity, coping behavior, old age.