DOI: 10.31038/PSYJ.2024612

Abstract

In this contribution we propose a critical reflection on young Italians’ discourses on the war in Ukraine and the possibilities of peace in the future. The study is part of the research proposal launched by Alistair Ross concerning the investigation about young people’s socio-political understanding and values. Through the method of deliberative discussion, several focus groups were conducted with secondary school students from central and northern Italy. The conversations were collected in autumn 2022. Deliberative discussion was used as a pedagogical practice [1-3] to promote critical reflection among young people on the issue. Without giving predetermined opinions, however, we assumed that this topic was particularly present in discourse among young people. The high exposure to communications from the media, social networks, and the opportunity to follow social debates in school and family could be considered two important premises for understanding what young people think about the specific center of interest. In general, the introduction of the debate follows the problems affecting our societies today and reveals a differentiated centrality of the arguments on war and peace in Ukraine. Young people are experiencing the war in a very involved way by linking it to other countries in the world that are in conflict, they are not absent but fully participating. The causes of war are defined and possible guidelines for peace are outlined. The two geographical areas show interesting characterisations linked to the higher presence in the North of young people from families with a migratory past and Ukrainians newly arrived from war zones. The gender variable affects the analysis of the situation. Overall, the deliberative discussion shows the strong sense of reality in the young people with accentuated polarities between hope and pessimism.

Keywords

War and peace; Deliberative discussion; Secondary school; Education; Italy 2022

Introduction

The war in Ukraine raised many questions about how adolescents were processing the experience of the conflict and possible responses of restoring peace. The thinking that has matured about the war comes from direct and indirect knowledge of what is being experienced in Ukraine. The young people who have come to Italy have had direct experience of the war and talk about it with concrete examples, trying to examine their own emotions and make interpretations about the continuation of the conflict.

Young people from direct experience are fully involved in the fate of their country. A specific case concerns young people with families from a migratory background mainly from Romania. These young people participate in the conflict with their own considerations constructed considering their own migration background and the experience of being part of the invasion. Some recent surveys on young people’s interest in the war say that young Italian adolescents inform themselves and try to understand what is going on.

They read up on national news and also on major social issues. They are attracted to international news that affects them most closely. They are interested in the war in Ukraine and international political balances because of the effects on their lives of study and work. Young Italians have an indirect experience of the war, and their discourses reflect the situation experienced through information circulating on smartphones, social, and the Internet. Highly followed are Instagram and Facebook. Scarce is the use of newspapers and television [4].

The Harms of Conflict on Adolescents

Several studies document the psychological and mental damage in the personality development of adolescents at a crucial stage of their growth.

During war, adolescents are exposed to atrocities, organized violence, disintegration of social networks, and resettlement during crucial phases of their physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development. These experiences could cause serious risks to their physical and psychological well-being and development [5].

Maftei A, Dănilă O and Măirean C [6] emphasize the role of the media in producing the perception of threat in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The feeling of threat particularly affects adolescents who are poorly protected from even false messages. European Parliament reports record the damage to education.

At the same time, education has been disrupted for more than 5.7 million children in Ukraine, as schools shut down at the start of the war. National online education platforms have been built to help children to follow their schooling programmes, yet the situation remains difficult. Security concerns accompanied by a lack of access to electricity and internet make access to education services a challenge. Some schools have reopened by means of distance-learning programmes. In addition, Ukraine’s neighbouring countries and EU Member States are supporting the integration of Ukrainian children into their national education systems [7,8].

There are teenagers who experience the war from within and teenagers who witness the war. For both categories, the war event creates a sense of uncertainty and there is a growing distrust in governments and in the political capacities to face the problem. It follows that two ways of intervening to support young people emerge: the treatment of trauma and the search for credible solutions that go in the direction of actions of humanitarian solidarity.

Research Methodology

The exploratory research of a qualitative nature that we present in preliminary form is still in progress. The final results will be fully available with input from other countries that have joined the initiative launched and coordinated by Alistair Ross. This initial consideration does not compromise the course of subsequent processing of the results collected in the deliberative discussions. The survey concerns the recording of speeches by young Italians and non-Italians present in Italy on the topic of war and possible peace solutions.

Through deliberative discussion as a pedagogical practice we sought to understand the thoughts of a sample of 18 students of secondary school gathered in three focus groups with six students each in October 2022. Two focus groups were conducted in a secondary school in central Italy from a small town with a population of 11,899 (2021), and the third focus group was conducted in a secondary school in northern Italy in a mountain town with a population of 12,319 (2017).

In both cases, the social location of the local population is predominantly working and middle class. There are five students in the three focus groups with family migration experience from Albania, Romania, and Ukraine. The conversation took place in one hour for each group consisting of ten males and eight females between 15 and 19 years of age. Students are referred to by pseudonym while keeping the gender of the original name.

Sample of Schools

Descriptive data of the sample of schools are disclosed by the schools’ websites and the Ministry of Education, National Assessment System. Social Reporting 2019/2022. The Central Italy School Institute is a Catholic private school, is committed to building an educational community of supportive people with very strong ties. The Institute has been operating for 150 years it is a non-profit Social Cooperative Society, accommodates around 300 pupils from various parts of the Castelli area of Rome, mostly middle-class families. The boys and girls who enroll at the Institute have experiences of school dropouts and learning difficulties, and the school offers a specific service to encourage study and school careers.

The territorial scope School Institute sampled in Northern Italy is that of the Mountain Community Valtellina of Morbegno (496 square kilometers). It also includes the school population of the districts in the province of Sondrio, Chiavenna, Lecco and Como. The socio-economic context is the alpine valley where a rapid transformation has taken place from a largely agricultural-mountain economy (still 41 percent in 1951) to a mixed economy, based on a significant industrial consistency, challenged by the current crisis, with a large presence of artisan companies and a growing development of the tertiary sector.

The cultural reality, slower to undergo transformation, still suffers from the past social structure, typical of an Alpine agricultural economy, and the partial geographical and political isolation of the area. The following are being improved: communication routes, the spread of transportation, access to media, university study. Integration with the Lombard, national and European sociocultural reality is being sought. The limited availability of economic resources persists, the uncertainty of being able to use them permanently and the distance from institutional and university centers prevent medium-to long-term planning on innovation and staff training. In the school population are indicated youth distress, addictions, situations of socioeconomic, cultural disadvantage, increased entry of pupils with migration experience.

Descriptive Aspects

The conversations were held in a way that started from the survey from the major interests of young people on national and international social reality. COVID-19 remains a strong topic of discussion from the perspective of the consequences generated by isolation with difficulties in resuming the daily rhythm. The topic of the war in Ukraine immediately emerges as a source of concern, fear, uncertainty and sometimes as an argument not to talk about for political reasons.

As directed by the research team, the conversation could develop on the interest the students showed in the war, their assessment of the events, consideration of possible upcoming actions both at war sites and elsewhere, emotional involvement, and a sense of participation in the ongoing debate. We encouraged the expression of different positions and invited them to try to put themselves in the shoes of those who are experiencing the conflict firsthand.

We can collect the first reconnaissance on the recordings into five thematic areas:

I-the general view of the war;

II-the consequences of the war;

III-the causes of the war;

IV-the conditions for peace;

V-the personalization of war.

In the first two subject areas we collect ideas on the meaning of war in human affairs and examine the implications on one’s present and future existence. In the third area we collect thoughts on the reasons for war, reasons near and far, experienced indirectly and directly. In the fourth area we extrapolate discourses on the possibilities for peace in political, social, cultural, and strategic terms. In the fifth area we find what emerged in front of the stimulus suggestion “if you were in that war what would you do?”. We talk about personalization as a cultural anthropological attitude of putting yourself in the shoes of others and trying to feel in a time and place different from that of one’s daily life.

The General View of the War and Controversial Positions

The students’ discussion rescales the war in Ukraine by relating it to conflicts that are in different places on Earth such as in Asia, Africa, and Europe. The difference is that it is not talked about with the same frequency and the fallout for Italy is different in proportion to military and political involvement. The phrase “wars have always been there” meets with general approval as if to mitigate the trauma of the conflict in Ukraine. However, according to Antonio, conflicts could have been predicted and avoided. In the world scenario now, conflicts can no longer be avoided because they are due to events that have occurred over time and even if there were agreements “they would just be pieces of paper, each nation does what it wants, what is most favorable economically, it is ugly to say, however, at this moment it is like that for every state” (Marino).

Agreements are not assigned trust because they are not respected, and Russia and NATO are mentioned as examples. A portion of the students agree that Russia is not to blame for the war “…Russia is not to blame for today’s war. Italy sells weapons now, but the war was already there for years.” (Leopoldo). Responsibility for the war is a controversial issue with respect to the two contenders.

Russia defies the other powers and takes advantage thinking that the other nations cannot do more regardless of the consequences…it is a wrong thing…the blame is not only on Russia but also on other States such as America that did not do certain things that Putin wanted, so it came to this time of war. (Franco)

Gianni sentences:

Mainly it is a kind of American invasion. Biden established military bases along the territory and thus triggered the reactions of Russia, which is now trying to regain Ukrainian land that has declared itself independent in a completely illegitimate way, not to mention what they are doing in the Donbas where they are massacring the urban population without anyone talking about it.

For several of the girls, one of the most unacceptable aspects of the conflict in Ukraine is the presence of the boys who are conscripted and at high risk of their lives due to inexperience and lack of preparation.

Martina observes

Kids our age are risking their lives every day when there should be people suited for that field, if I am in the military, it is because I am suited for what I am doing. I can’t put a weapon in a kid’s hand and expect him to try to save someone.

Judgment about war is made with a high sense of empathy, and thinking about boys their own age going into combat generates feelings of contrariness felt especially by girls. For boys, the position is clear about the legitimacy of defending one’s home. The nuclear call is felt as a real threat that subjects all States to the power of the most powerful weapons.

Probably this war of Putin’s could be a show of force in the sense that threats about nuclear and bombing could overthrow a nation in minutes with the weapons and technologies that the State possesses today; I think it’s a hasty war, done unreasonably, it’s more of a show of force and it makes people realize that today a State can start a war in a very short time without any particular reason. I don’t think making an alliance against Russia and getting in Russia’s crosshairs is the smartest move to make because it can be scary to go against a country with nuclear power. (Antonio)

The Consequences of War

Three clear positions emerge in this thematic area:

(a) the assessment of the negative material consequences of war;

(b) the global involvement in the consequences with a strong emphasis on the interdependence of all countries in the world;

(c) the empathetic assessment of war.

There is a unanimous opinion that war makes people live badly: taxes rise, there is no peace of mind, there is fear of it coming our way, and the risk is scary. The damage and disruptive effects are cited for increased pollution, the downfall of the economy, the aggravation of the environmental issue, and the fallout on incoming migration. Conversely, there is the strengthening of Russia’s economy as it seeks alliances with other countries.

There is a state of anguish for students who view war as wrong but inevitable. The war serves no purpose, young people anticipate paying the consequences, and some reflect “the elders say this war is not as bad as World War II” (Giovanni).

Lia talks about the need for compromise because

Nuclear possession indicates inequality. You can’t make an agreement because now the situation has degenerated, the whole world is involved a little bit…even other countries can’t influence this war however there are consequences, for example, on primary goods and so it’s not just about the war, this is a problem that ultimately affects everyone.

Of the same opinion is Filippo

War calls for war, there are people who direct entire populations even quite important not only politically but also economically, there are people in power who try to maneuver to bring everything to themselves, without thinking that there are millions of people at stake; unfortunately, power is something that brings war.

Franco states the consequences are all negative…buildings destroyed…the integration of the Ukrainian people…Russia also spent a lot of money, lost a lot of men, at the end of it all there will be a negative balance sheet. And also, for other countries the balance sheet will not be positive because in some way we will also lose out.

According to Alberto, it is a matter of choosing an appropriate technical strategy considering the many political, economic, social contradictions that show division rather than union and show how each country eventually closes in on itself despite the fact that the European Union tries to work for the integration of peoples.

I simply think there is a need to change the methodology, because yes we have put sanctions on Russia, but at the same time we have not stopped buying from Russia; in fact in the last six months we have given enough supply, enough money from the European Union to cover a whole year from the time the sanctions started; so yes we have given sanctions but at the same time also enough money to Russia, so it is counterproductive; and also the fact of relying on the United States, yes we are buying from the United States but at the same time however the United States is thinking about itself; there was a few months ago where Italy asked for help from France but France is thinking about itself, it refused cooperation so it is a difficult situation.

The lessons learned from the behavior of politicians lead the young people themselves to take positions of self-protective closure that save determined support for welcoming and humanitarian aid, while condemning the sending of arms.

Antonio states:

I think our concerns should be more about ourselves, our Italian State. You can’t think about waging war when there is a State that is completely at a loss. Alberto spoke earlier about workers: this is one of the many flaws in the Italian system that before we think about external factors that, for now, would not have affected us directly if we had not gone to sell weapons in Ukraine. Rather than thinking about external factors that do not directly affect us we should think about fixing our country. Always hoping that with the current government soon to be in office, we will try to fix the country Italy before thinking about Ukraine, always welcoming those in need and lending a hand, however certainly not to the war industry.

On the level of empathy Sara says.

I think that also on the cultural level there are many problems. In Ukraine many people have lost their loved ones, they have been forced to leave their country not by their own choice and so they are in a situation of pain.

The debate develops around the issue of big and small war with articulated positions. “For me war serves no purpose, I have seen that there are some wars that are ultimately necessary…by making a small war, like now, you avoid one that could involve so many countries” (Gianni).

Sara assesses the group’s opinion not distancing herself from it but looking with concern at the people victimized by war, she is caught in an existential rethinking that generates a contradiction between agreeing to rank wars and taking note of the consequences of war:

In my opinion it is right what my comrades said, however, there cannot be a war either small or big; even if they are few people, they are people who have always suffered, they are survivors, small children who have experienced trauma…, in my opinion it is not really right.

The Causes of War

The major causes of war indicated by the students are economic, military, political, ethnic, assertion of power and force, and media.

According to Alfredo

This emergency situation is due to both poor contracts between Nations for gas supply and the senseless use of the resources a country has; for example, Italy has resources in the Adriatic Sea that it could use precisely for its own or Italian use; instead it wants to make contracts with Russia, after those with the U.S. have expired; I think the Italian State is not in this great crisis with the objective reserves of gas, but just makes its citizens pay for it. Certainly, in every war there is always an economic interest; I think economics is one of the fundamental reasons for war. Those who start the war almost always seek economic advantage and also put all other countries in the world in trouble not only the attacking country. In this situation Russia is economically stronger than the attacking country, Ukraine. The other countries in Europe and America suffer economically from the war; in fact, gas and food prices rise, you cannot buy more of the same kind of products.

Alberto from Romania has a broad view of the causes of the war:

I think the causes of this war are more complex. Since before 2014 there have been tensions going back to medieval times, not only political but also ethnicity. We are talking about Russian imperialism, now we are talking more about propaganda, a part of the Russian population thought they had the right to take parts of what had been the Russian empire, or the Soviet bloc. The Soviet bloc was not a completely united entity, it was simply multiple countries cooperating Ukraine, Crimea. We experienced it too, to make a connection with Romania, with Moldova where there are clashes with Transnistria, they want to keep it as a puppet state. Fortunately, since the president is no longer pro-Russia, the union vote with Romania has gone up from 20 percent to more than 50 percent, so hopefully in the next few years we can take back our brothers; therefore, get back what was taken from us long ago.

Gianni says the causes of the war are military because “America tried to regain advantage with military bases and Russia reacted by attacking Ukraine” and also media because of the persuasive force of the mass media.

The Conditions for Peace

The conditions for peace appear rather impractical. “As long as the two sides are at odds, nothing can change” (Matilde). Compromise, negotiation is not currently possible. Everyone remains with their own ideas. Fear of nuclear power, inequality between the parties has led to the degeneration of relations. An agreement could be made with Russia. About the mediation of other countries, it is believed that Italy occupies a secondary position in the international framework.

The world powers with sanctions have to decide. In some cases, it is thought that peace depends on the will of people. According to Sara

Citizens should have an open revolt against the people with the most power, only if they have all this power, it’s because the citizens gave it to them; so as much as they can do, they can’t have a say, it would be kind of going against what they themselves decided.

Some help could come from psychological support, caring for social relationships. According to Concetta:

From the psychological point of view Ukrainians could be supported by people who could help to overcome the traumas that this war has left; for example, people who have seen their loved ones die in front of their eyes; therefore, help them through a psychologist to overcome certain situations, to move on and avoid remembering, stand by people.

Karen lives in Italy and has relatives in Ukraine and thinks it is necessary to give war aid and social aid to her country.

Alberto states:

A near peace I think is not a very feasible request also because given the current conditions I don’t think Ukraine will leave the land annexed by force by Russia, especially with the EU and NATO supplying it with armaments; at the same time Russia after taking this beating that they didn’t expect such support from NATO towards Ukraine, nor the fact that more troops were needed, I think will continue to conquer Ukraine in full, will continue this expansion. A few months ago, there were secretly sent videos where one of Russia’s generals was pointing out on a global map the smaller countries to be annexed, such as Moldova and Transnistria, in order to have more control over the Black Sea. I think it will become a war of attrition. If Russia wins it will be even worse economically than what happened after the fall of communism also from a social point of view compared to all the other countries. In case Ukraine wins, the outcome will be about the same, but with more dead civilians and a greater need for reconstruction; in any case it will not end well for either side.

The Personalization of War

The stimulus question for the conversation was “If you were in Ukraine what would you do?” The answers fell into three broad categories of those who would never leave the country; those who do not want to be further involved in the events of the war; and those who suspend judgment in the face of an experience too far removed from their everyday lives. Franco says, “In my opinion there is little to do or help the country and fight to defend all ideals or emigrate and find refuge in a country that can take me in.”

Opinions of drastic political change come from Gianni

If I were in such a situation and given the ability, I would start a popular uprising to remove Zelensky from power because he is the cause of the war, he keeps rejecting Russia’s peace proposals, he rejects treaties also because of his enslavement to ‘America; therefore, he is more of a problem for Ukraine than a sticking point.

Concetta argues the relevance of the war debate among young people to form their own ideas with the difficulty of discriminating between news that might be altered by the mass media

It is talked about a lot; in the news it is a very frequent topic. By talking about it we become aware of what is happening in the world, we can create our own idea. We are not there, everything is reported to us, we are not there so we don’t even know the truth, we may get news that is not true.

Overall, the student population is split on the choice to stay, especially by males, and to emigrate especially by females. Family protection conditions and perceptions of the continuation of war without peace solution also impact.

It was asked what they would do if they could have a billion at their disposal and the unanimous answer was to provide social facilities, hospitals, schools, roads, no funding they would give to wars and the powerful of the Earth. The word “genocide” emerges to describe the situation in Ukraine.

The future is uncertain and dense with fears, with a low level of hope, there is a need to run for cover to ensure the supplies that are lacking.

Conclusions

Young people express a sense of helplessness and concern for the future; the war challenges the values of justice and solidarity. Young people feel the negative repercussions on Italy with a split between those who feel the Ukrainians are a burden, those who speak of plausible reasons from Russia, and those who feel they cannot say anything.

On military spending, there are those who complain that Italy is only now noticing the war in Ukraine while it has been there for years. “Italy sells weapons now but the war was already there for years” (Concetta) and for Alfredo.

Italy found itself in a situation in which it had to sell arms to Ukraine and therefore have an economic incentive and I find it an injustice that they are only talking about it now, just as I find it an injustice that they do not talk about other conflicts. Probably Putin’s war could be a show of strength in the sense that the threats he makes on nuclear and bombing can overthrow a nation in minutes with the weapons and technologies that the state possesses today; I think it’s a hasty war, done in an unreasonable way, it’s more of a demonstration of strength and it makes us aware that today a State can start a war in a very short time without particular reasons.

Karen and Dina agree that their families in Ukraine are a constant cause of concern for them, which is why they are in favor of any kind of help.

The strong sense of relativization of war “war is everywhere” balances Italy’s sense of reality of impotence and the action of delegating the problem to the greats of the Earth. War awareness is high in all students. Young people from Eastern Europe experience the war as the age-old history of their family, while for other young people the international scenario has a decisive influence on the evolution of the conflict. In terms of European values, we note a low relevance of Europe as a custodian of a culture of peace and guarantor of human rights.

References

1. Jerome L, Algarra B (2005) Debating Debating: A reflection on the place of debate within secondary schools. The Curriculum Journal 16: 493-508.
2. Mycock, Tonge J (Eds.) (2012) The party politics of youth citizenship and democratic engagement. Parliamentary Affairs 65: 138-161.
3. Ross A (2019) Finding Political Identities. Young People in a Changing Europe. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
4. Tucci M (2023) Certo che ci informiamo! A modo nostro. Il Dossier. Come si informano gli adolescenti. Laboratorio Adolescenza Magazine 4: 16.
5. Osokina O. et al. (2023) Impact of the Russian Invasion on Mental Health of Adolescents in Ukraine. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 62: 335-343. [crossref]
6. Maftei A, Dănilă O, Măirean C (2022) The war next-door—A pilot study on Romanian adolescents’ psychological reactions to potentially traumatic experiences generated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Frontiers in Psychology.
7. Del Monte M, Mentzelopoulou MM (2022) Russia’s war on Ukraine The situation of children in and outside Ukraine. Research Service. Bruxelles: European Union.
8. Mycock A, Tonge J (Eds.) (2014) Beyond the youth citizenship commission: young people and politics. London: Political Studies Association.

DOI: 10.31038/PSYJ.2024611

Although they were less likely to fall ill, the pandemic exacerbated difficulties for many young people across the world in terms of mental health, connection with others and widening gaps between the privileged and disadvantaged. Many governments were keen for students to ‘catch up’ on curriculum targets but others advocated for social and emotional issues to be addressed as a priority. Negative emotions inhibit cognitive pathways and learning is more accessible with higher levels of wellbeing. Referring to six principles of positive education, summarised by the acronym ASPIRE, this invited paper explored what happened to high school students worldwide in lockdown and what they need in education in a post-COVID world.

ASPIRE is an acronym for Agency, Safety, Positivity, Inclusion, Respect and Equity. These principles, when threaded through everything that happens in a school, can enhance both wellbeing and learning. They are based in the positive psychology literature [1-3] and also aligned with healthy child development.

Agency

This can be defined as having a voice and choice about what concerns you, the opposite of having actions and decisions made by others. Self-determination is now accepted as a pillar of wellbeing [4] and comprises autonomy, relatedness and competence. What happened in the pandemic was out of the control of young people and for some this had a negative impact on their wellbeing. Others however found a role in having a greater say in family life, such as supporting younger siblings. What is promising is that in many countries young people are taking a lead in post-COVID recovery with several initiatives highlighted in the article. Schools with a strong commitment to the pupil voice have reported positive outcomes, including more pro-social behaviour, stronger relationships and improved attainment and attendance [5].

Safety

Safety embraces physical, emotional and psychological safety. Although measures were taken to protect physical wellness for everyone in the pandemic, safety was compromised in many other ways with less access to avenues of support. This included increases in family violence, child abuse, on-line bullying and models of misogynistic behaviours. Going back to school was positive for some young people at risk but constant failure in an academic milieu undermines emotional safety and many students did not return to school after lockdown. When the pillars of ‘learning to be’ and ‘learning to live together’ are on offer in schools there is more opportunity for achievement. Social and emotional learning with an appropriately safe and solution-focused pedagogy also has the potential to address issues that undermine safety, such as bullying, addictions, social media use, toxic masculinity, and racism.

Positivity

Young people are increasingly unhappy across the world and since the pandemic are even more at risk of poor mental health [6]. It therefore makes sense to focus on helping young people feel better about themselves, other people and the world around them. Although important to acknowledge negative emotions there is also a wealth of interventions that promote optimism, hope, gratitude, resilience and coping skills. The quality of relationships, especially language makes the most difference. Strengths based conversations focus on what is going well and the qualities that students bring to learning and life.

Inclusion

Many young people experienced a sense of loneliness during the pandemic as they did not have their peer group around to help them explore and develop their sense of identity. Social media use increased and although that enabled positive connections for some it also had a negative impact in teenagers comparing themselves negatively to others and perhaps getting involved in closed groups who promoted conspiracy theories or right-wing ideology. Having a sense of belonging is critical to wellbeing and resilience but this needs to be inclusive of all, not exclusive. A sense of belonging at school means being accepted, being supported and making progress in learning. Prilleltensky [7] writes about ‘mattering‘ which he defines as being valued but also being able to contribute value. As students lost social confidence in the pandemic they need opportunities talk with their peers about things that concern them and regain friendship skills. In Circle Solutions, students are regularly mixed up out of their usual social groups to talk with those they don’t know. This has far reaching impacts for promoting class cohesion, supportive networks and resilience [8-10].

Respect

Respect is for individuals, their ideas, their rights and their culture. It is encapsulated in the Golden Rule-treating others as you would wish to be treated. In some contexts, respect was enhanced in the pandemic as the role of health and key-workers was acknowledged and parents trying to teach their own children at home developed a new respect for teachers. In schools respect is demonstrated in courteous communications, in acknowledging context, in not jumping to judgement and listening well. It means treating everyone with dignity, regardless of their background or position. It also means respecting diversity and the different needs and abilities that students have. When we have a ‘one-size’ fits all education system with homogenous expectations we may lose respect for those that do not ‘fit’. This is having negative repercussions across society and requires a rethinking of what education is for.

Equity

The pandemic exacerbated inequality across the world, not only for those in poverty, but also related to gender and geography. Access to on-line learning was restricted to those who could afford good technology, had space to use this and were living in areas with reliable internet. Girls often found themselves looking after others rather than maintaining their education. Equity is not the same as equality-it refers to fairness and flexibility-being able to offer students the resources and support that give them the same opportunities as others. That is clearly not happening in many countries. The barriers to equity include a lack of investment in state education, a competitive ethos and the inflexibility of the curriculum, focused predominantly on academic knowledge rather than the skills and understanding that facilitate a life lived well. Equity therefore needs to address issues of citizenship, ensuring that everyone is aware of issues of power and influence and what is needed to build a fairer, more cohesive society where everyone has the opportunity to thrive and be valued for what they contribute.

Conclusion

A report for UNESCO notes that the pandemic has not only revealed vulnerabilities across the world, but also human resourcefulness and potential. They ask that world leaders commit to strengthen education as a common good. In education, as in health, we are safe when everybody is safe; we flourish when everybody flourishes. The ASPIRE principles show how education might lead the way.

References

1. Roffey S (2012) Positive Relationships: Evidence based practice across the world. Springer.
2. Roffey S (2020) Circle Solutions for Student Wellbeing. Relationships, resilience, responsibility. Sage.
3. Kern P, Weymeher M (eds) (2021) The Palgrave Handbook of Positive Education. Palgrave
4. Deci EL, Ryan RM (2017) Self-Determination Theory: Basic Psychological Needs in Motivation, Development and Wellness. The Guilford. Press: New York, NY, USA, 2017.
5. Mentally Heathy Schools: Pupil Voice (2023).
6. The World Happiness Report 2023.
7. Prilleltensky I (2020) Mattering at the intersection of psychology, philosophy and politics. J. Community Psychol 65: 16-34.
8. Dobia B, Parada R, Roffey S, Smith M (2019) Social and Emotional Learning: From Individual Skills to Group Cohesion. Educational and Child Psychology 36: 79-90.
9. Martinsone B, Stokenberga I, Damberga I, Supe I, Simões C, et al. (2022) Adolescent social emotional skills, resilience and behavioral problems during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study in three European countries. Psychiatry.1: 942692. [crossref]
10. UNESCO (2023) International Commission on the Futures of Education.

DOI: 10.31038/PSYJ.2023583

Purpose and meaning in life are now vibrant topics in multiple domains of science and practice. We recently published a collection of articles on purpose and meaning in life to showcase the rich content of this emergent work [1]. Contributors brought differing samples, measures, and contexts to the collective inquiry. Most visible in prior studies have been those linking purpose in life to specific aspects of health, such as risk for various disease outcomes and length of life (mortality). Here the special issue carved new territory. Links between purpose in life and waist circumference, an indicator of abdominal obesity, was shown to be mediated by healthy eating [2]. Activist purpose, defined as commitment to engage in social activism, was associated with good health behaviors [3]. Links between religiousness/spirituality and mortality were mediated by purpose in life and social support [4]. Purpose in life moderated relationships between self-rated health and mortality [5]. And low levels of purpose, personal growth, and social connection were linked with increased risk for deaths of despair (due to suicide, addiction, and alcoholism) compared to risk of death due to heart disease [6].

Importantly, other contributors to the special issue probed what precedes these later life outcomes-that is, what early life influences contribute to the emergence of meaning and purpose. Childhood relationships with significant others were examined. Supportive and loving parents in early childhood development had strong impact on the sense of meaning for those in university, with effects mediated by experiences of loneliness [7]. Early influences that shape beliefs such as rigid interpersonal schemas were seen to compromise adult meaning and purpose, however clinical intervention can help with restructuring such schemas to foster improved mental health in adults [8]. Other early-life inquiries focused on educational interventions to promote multiple aspects of eudaimonic well-being in elementary and high school students. Findings showed that preexisting levels of depressive symptoms and anxiety can be obstacles to the development of well-being [9]. Another study examined at-risk adolescents who participated in a sailing experience designed to nurture meaning, identity, commitment, social well-being, and self-acceptance [10]. Together, these contributions offered new insights about child and adolescent experiences that nurture or undermine meaning and purpose.

Another section examined the psychosocial correlates of meaning and purpose. Longitudinal analyses showed how aspects of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being were linked with depressive symptoms, with findings showing reciprocal relationships across time [11]. The connections between meaning in life and character strengths were examined showing that hope, spirituality, zest, curiosity, and gratitude were the strongest predictors [12]. A separate study linked meaning and purpose with sociodemographic factors (age, educational status, work status) as well as with stress, spirituality, optimism, depressive symptoms, social support, and quality of life [13]. Together, these new findings continue mapping of the nomological network of meaning and purpose.

A section on distinct contexts such as work, major public stressors, and the natural environment were considered for understanding what nurtures or undermines meaning in life. The double edge of meaningful work was examined-which can both enhance motivation and performance in organizations, while eroding well-being and increasing the chances of burnout for individuals-with calls to elevate decency as a critical antecedent of meaningful work [14]. A further context pertained to how meaning in life mediates or moderates negative emotion in the face of social unrest and the pandemic [15]. The natural environment was examined as another context wherein nature may play important roles in helping humans find coherence, significance, and purpose [16].

Two final contributions focused on translational science and community action. One called for a stronger reciprocal relationship between research and application with primary emphasis on justice, equity and a commitment to influence public policy [17]. A final article laid out a transdisciplinary approach to meaning-making by describing a set of community-based, context-sensitive and socially responsible interventions designed to be applicable to everyday life including discourse in the public square, intergenerational life stories, and the use of literature, art, and museums to educate for meaning [18].

The special issue concluded with advocacy on two fronts. The first called for new thinking that weaves topics of purpose and meaning together with concern about human virtues and ethics. So doing is necessary to address some of the world’s gravest woes, such as widening inequality, systemic racism, and climate change. A second call is for greater collaboration between researchers and practitioners, so that scientific advances are not sequestered in scholarly journals but are rapidly applied and refined in the real world. Together, we believe that a moral foundation to meaning and purpose research combined with greater collaboration with practitioners will set the stage for the pursuit of meaning and purpose in directions that strive to create a more just, fair, and sustainable world.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

1. Ryff CD, Soren A (2023) Introduction to this Special Issue on New Thinking on Psychological Health: Find Purpose and Meaning in Life Int J Environ Res Public Health 20:7168
2. Berkowitz L, Mateo C, Salazar C, Samith B, Sara D, et al. (2023) Healthy Eating as Potential Mediator of Inverse Association Between Purpose in Life and Waist Circumference: Emerging Evidence from US and Chilean cohorts. Int J Environ Res Public Health 20: 7099.
3. Hill PL, Rule PD, Wilson ME (2023) Does Activism Mean Being Active? Considering the Health Correlates of Activist Purpose. Soc Sci 12: 425.
4. Boylan J, Biggane C, Shaffer J, Wilson C, Vagnini K, et al. (2023) Do Purpose in Life and Social Support Mediate the Association between Religiousness/Spirituality and Mortality? Evidence from the MIDUS National Sample. Int J Environ Res Public Health 20: 6112.
5. Friedman E, Teas E (2023) Self-Rated Health and Mortality: Moderation by Purpose in Life. Int J Environ Res Public Health 20: 6171.
6. Song J, Kang S, Ryff C (2023) Unpacking Psychological Vulnerabilities in Deaths of Despair. Int J Environ Res Public Health 20: 6480.
7. Dameron E, Goeke-Morey M (2023) The Relationship between Meaning in Life and the Childhood Family Environment among Emerging Adults. Int J Environ Res Public Health 20: 5945.
8. André N, Baumeister R (2023) Dysfunctional Schemas from Preadolescence as One Major Avenue by Which Meaning Has Impact on Mental Health. Int J Environ Res Public Health 20: 6225.
9. Ruini C, Albieri E, Ottolini F, Vescovelli F (2023) Improving Purpose in Life in School Settings. Int J Environ Res Public Health 20: 6772.
10. Dyrdal G, Løvoll H (2023) Windjammer: Finding Purpose and Meaning on a Tall Ship Adventure. Soc Sci 12: 459.
11. Joshanloo M, Blasco-Belled A (2023) Reciprocal Associations between Depressive Symptoms, Life Satisfaction, and Eudaimonic Well-Being in Older Adults over a 16-Year. Int J Environ Res Public Health 20: 2374.
12. Russo-Netzer P, Tarrasch R, Niemiec RA (2023) Meaningful Synergy: The Integration of Character Strengths and the Three Types of Meaning in Life. Soc Sci 12: 494.
13. Coelho A, Lopes M, Barata M, Sousa S, Goes M et al. (2023) Biopsychosocial Factors That Influence the Purpose in Life among Working Adults and Retirees. Int J Environ Res Public Health 20: 5456.
14. Soren A, Ryff C (2023) Meaningful Work, Well-Being, and Health: Enacting a Eudaimonic Vision. Int J Environ Res Public Health 20: 6570.
15. Sun R, Lau E, Cheung S, Chan C (2023) Meaning in Life, Social Axioms, and Emotional Outcomes during the First Outbreak of COVID-19 in Hong Kong. Int J Environ Res Public Health 20: 6224.
16. Passmore H, Krause A (2023) The Beyond-Human Natural World: Providing Meaning and Making Meaning. Int J Environ Res Public Health 20: 6170.
17. Burrow A (2023) Beyond Finding Purpose: Motivating a Translational Science of Purpose Acquisition. Int J Environ Res Public Health 20, 6091.
18. Russo-Netzer P (2023) Building Bridges, Forging New Frontiers: Meaning-Making in Action. Soc Sci 12: 574.

DOI: 10.31038/PSYJ.2023582

Abstract

The results of performing the intelligence test were compared with the successfulness of solving Russian folk riddles. Significant correlations between the level of intellectual ability and the number of riddles solved have been discovered. Linear regression relationships between the number of riddles solved and the successfulness of performing the intelligence test have been built. An assumption that riddles may serve as a cognitive model for the investigation of human intelligence was made.

Keywords

Riddle, Intelligence, Metaphor, Language game

Introduction

In the classical psychology of ability, intelligence is understood as the ability to solve well-defined problems, which, as a rule, have a single solution. The limitations of this interpretation have long been the subject of criticism by both domestic and foreign psychologists J. Guilford, E. Torrance and others). In this situation, a number of leading researchers of the problem of cognitive abilities criticize the academicism of the modern psychology of intelligence. For example, R. Sternberg calls the system of diagnosing intelligence a “vicious circle of testing”, in the process of which one test is compared with another [1]. The need to rely on common sense in the study of intellectual phenomena is also emphasized by representatives of the so-called “contextual interactionism.” Referring to IQ as “the kingdom of hobbits,” M. Andersen criticizes the mechanism of the psychometric approach to intelligence [2]. For example, a large number of studies within the framework of cross-cultural psychology are devoted to the so-called “everyday cognition”. In particular, A. D. Schliemann and D. W. Karracher “… call into question cognitive analysis, which is based solely on laboratory research” [3].

Basic Assumptions

Metaphorical ability-the ability to create metaphors-was spoken of as a creative ability by Aristotle [4]. As you know, metaphorization is based on the vagueness, inaccuracy and ambiguity of everyday concepts that a person operates. The assumption that the understanding and construction of metaphor is closely related to the intellectual abilities of a person is expressed by a number of Russian and foreign scientists (E. Cassirer, D. Lakoff, P. Ricoeur, M. A. and others). In particular, J. Ortega y Gasset points out that “… metaphor serves not only to change but also to think”, and that it “… lengthens the arm of the intellect” [5].

In our study, the criterion of metaphor was the level of success in solving Russian folk riddles. The simplest and most succinct definition of the riddle is given by Aristotel, who understood the latter as “a well-constructed metaphor”. I. I. Revzin, assuming the importance of riddles as an integral element of folk pedagogy, defined a riddle as “… a minimal coherent text that stimulates direct activity (finding a denotation)” [6]. Y. I. Levin, interpreting riddles as “… intentionally transformed description of reality”, emphasized the fundamental difficulties of algorithmization and formalization of the semantic procedure for solving a riddle [7].

The important role of riddles as an integral attribute of archaic cultures is noted by J. Huizinga. Calling the riddle a “sacred game” that is on the verge of “serious and non-serious,” this philosopher emphasizes the fundamental role of the play principle in the structure of social consciousness [8]. L. Wittgenstein, illustrating the understanding of the “language game”, along with such classical examples of intellectual activity as the formulation and testing of hypotheses, the solution of arithmetic problems, also cites the solution of riddles as an example [9]. Although the experimental psychology of thought and intellect has a history of more than a century, only a few studies have been devoted to riddles. Such tasks are considered to be the prerogative of developmental psychology, and the object of study is most often children. It should be noted that the riddles are included in the set of test tasks of the popular in the United States test of intellectual achievements by A. S. Kaufman-Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (KABCsampler.pdf) [10]. When planning the experiment, we proceeded from the hypothesis that the success of solving riddles, which are an example of problem situations used by people for the “spontaneous diagnosis” of ingenuity and ingenuity, is somehow related to the level of psychometric intelligence of adult subjects.

Research Methodology

In the experiments conducted with 2nd year students of the Faculty of Romance and Germanic Philology of the Bashkortostan State University, three selections of Russian folk riddles taken from an academic collection prepared by V. V. Mitrofanova [11] were used. Each experimental series consisted of thematically homogeneous riddles: in the first series (12 tasks) the subjects solved riddles dedicated to natural phenomena (rain, snow, snowdrift, etc.), in the second (10 tasks) riddles related to a person and parts of his body (teeth, tongue, mouth, etc.), and in the last series (10 tasks) students were offered riddles from the animal world. The experiment involved 130 people, 122 girls and 8 boys, aged 17 to 20 years. The experiments were carried out with training groups during laboratory classes on psychology, and no more than 30 minutes were given to solve each cycle. A separate lesson was devoted to the diagnosis of intelligence according to the test of R. Amthauer modified by V. N. Druzhinin [12].

Results of the Study

Describing the results obtained, it should be noted that a number of tasks turned out to be quite difficult for this contingent of subjects. For example, such riddles as “The little horse drank the whole lake”, or “The mother-in-law stands on the current and threatens the daughter-in-law” in general, no one has solved. Although the experimental tasks were organized into thematically homogeneous cycles, only one subject suggested that the riddles were thematic. The average success rate of solving the riddles of the first series was 1.2, the second-3.3, and the third-0. 6 riddles. The results of R. Amthauer’s test are much more stable: the average indices of success in solving the verbal, arithmetic, and geometric subtests of this method are 4.8, 4.1, and 5.8, respectively. A comparison of the success of solving riddles with indices with indicators of intellectual competence according to R. Amthauer using Kendall’s nonparametric correlation coefficient revealed a large number of significant relationships (p<0.05), highlighted in bold in Table 1.

Table 1: Intercorrelation matrix of intellectual competence according to R. Amthauer with the success of solving riddles.

The normality of the distribution of the total results of R. Amthauer test, checked with the help of the Chi-square test, made it possible to apply the apparatus of linear regression analysis, in which the predictor was the number of solved riddles and the regressor is the success of the R. Amthauer test.

In general, the linear relationship between the overall success of solving riddles (X) and the number of correctly solved tasks according to the R. Amthauer test (Y) is described by the following equation (p<0.01):

In the process of analyzing the answers of the subjects, it turned out that for a number of tasks the students managed to find answers that did not literally coincide with the correct ones, but in general were no less successful. For example, the answer to the riddle “A black cat licks the window” is “night.” The answer “wipers on the car window” was assessed as no less successful and was counted as a solution. This circumstance, already described in the literature (Levin, 1973), increased the variability of the subjects’ answers and made it possible to compare the “conditional success” of solving individual riddles with the psychometric intelligence.

With the help of step-by-step regression analysis, it was possible to obtain a linear dependence between the total success of solving individual riddles (X) and intelligence (Y) for only seven experimental tasks: (p<0.01):

Conclusions and Prospects of the Study

1. A comparison of the productivity of R. Amthauer test with the success of students in solving Russian folk riddles revealed a close relationship between R. Amthauer intellectual competence and the number of correctly solved riddles.
2. The analysis of the success of solving individual riddles made it possible to construct a number of reliable linear regression dependencies between the total success of individual puzzle selections and the indices of intellectual competence according to R. Amthauer.
3. As a result of the experiments, it can be concluded that the riddle is a prototype of an intellectual test that was part of the system of folk psychology and pedagogy. The intellectual abilities of students, revealed with the help of riddles, are comparable to the indicators of the classical test of cognitive abilities, and riddles can be used as one of the methods of “non-classical” diagnosis of intelligence.
4. We believe that on the basis of the results obtained, it is possible to make an assumption about the fundamental importance of a comprehensive psychological and linguistic study of such forms of spontaneous intellectual activity as riddles, proverbs, humor, etc., for understanding such a complex phenomenon as human intelligence. Following L. Wittgenstein (Wittgenstein, 2003), the above phenomena can be considered as a kind of “transcendental normative language games” that play an important role in the process of socialization of the individual. In this regard, such a complex and ambiguous phenomenon as a riddle can be considered as a kind of complex lingvo-psychological model for the study of human intelligence.

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