Psychological Features of Difficult Teenagers and the Complexity of Educational Interaction Generated by Them

The article substantiates the need for psychocorrectional work with a difficult teenager on the basis of a preliminary detailed study of his or her personal characteristics. Based on these considerations, the author has set a goal to conduct a psychological study that would identify the specific personal characteristics of difficult adolescents, which can potentially predetermine the asocial characteristics of their behavior. Cattell’s youth 16 factor questionnaire (Cattell, 1989) and Shmishek’s test for the assessment of character accentuation (Leonhard, 2001) were taken as personal techniques for the study. Identification of the qualities potentially predisposing to deviant behavior was carried out by comparison of average values of indicators on scales of the specified techniques for two groups: a group of ordinary pupils, and a group of difficult pupils. Assessment of the degree of reliability of the mean differences was conducted using appropriate statistical techniques. The results obtained in the experimental study confirmed the existence of significant differences in personal qualities between ordinary and difficult-to-educate adolescents. It is established that such differences are manifested, first of all, in such areas of the psyche: the emotional sphere, intelligence, communication abilities, volitional qualities of the individual, mechanisms of control by the teenager of his or her behavior, the presence of his or her labor qualities. In conclusion, the ways and means of using the obtained information as a tool of psychological and pedagogical influence of the teacher on a difficult teenager are proposed.