(2016) Science and education, 2-3, 174-178. Odessa.

Svitlana Fedorenko,
PhD (Candidate of Historical Sciences), associate professor,
Department of Psychology, Pedagogy and Philosophy ,
Anna Kovalenko,
5-th year student, Faculty of Psychology,
Kremenchuk Mykhailo Ostrohradskyi National University,
20, Pershotravneva Str., Kremenchuk, Ukraine 

FEATURES OF PSYCHOSOCIAL READINESS OF RECRUITS FOR MILITARY SERVICE 

 Due to the military conflict in the East of Ukraine one of the most important issues of the modern Ukrainian society is the country’s defense capacity. Therefore, the issue of creating a capable army is one of the priorities in state policy today. An important component of this process is the increasing of the level of recruits’ professional and psychosocial readiness for military service, which can be forced or volunteer. The review of foreign researches has helped to reveal that the level of psychosocial readiness among the young men accepted for volunteer (contract) military service is much higher than that of those enrolled for forced military service. Psychological motivation of the men who volunteered for military service differs fundamentally from the motivation of recruits who execute military duty forcibly. An important component of the successful and psychosocial readiness of today’s youth for serving in the armed forces is a rigorous study of age-related characteristics of this category. In order to study the readiness of young people aged 16 to 25 for military service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine on a volunteer basis an empirical study has been carried out. The following methods have been used in the research: the questionnaire “Adaptivity 200” providing the study of the level of social development and psychological qualities which are basic for adaptive personal processes; individual interviews and special questionnaires, aiming at determining the desire of young men to do military service. The research results have not revealed clear attitude (neither positive nor negative) towards the volunteer military service of the surveyed. It has been determined that the young people are easily influenced by other people’s opinion and especially mass media and propaganda. Besides they are now fully aware in the specificity of the volunteer military service and are not psychologically ready for military service.

 psychological readiness for activity, social and psychological readiness of a recruit for volunteer military service, forced military service, professional psychological selection.

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