Specifics of social adaptation and predisposition to deviant behavior among adolescents in a digitized environment

The article analyses deviant behavior, which is often a consequence of digitalization, as well as a factor impairing the social adaptation of modern adolescents. An analysis of ideas about adolescents’ social adaptation in the context of digitalization in domestic and foreign psychology is given. The research involved 1093 adolescents playing computer games of different genres, which mainly differ in the number of players, as well as in the features of a game design, tasks and actions that are set before a user. The following methods were used: express questionnaire «Tolerance Index» (G. Soldatova et al.); methodology of risk readiness diagnosis (A. Schubert); methodology of success motivation and failure motivation diagnosis (A. Rean); methodology of sense-life orientations (D. Leontiev); methodology for diagnosing personality motivation to success and to avoid failures (T. Ehlers); «Psychological Safety of the School Environment» questionnaire (I. Baeva); method of subjective assessment of situational and personal anxiety (C. Spielberger); diagnostic technique for social competence of students (A. Prikhozhan); Tomsk rigidity questionnaire (G. Zalewski); diagnostic technique for inclination to deviant behavior (A. Orel). The influence of factors of the Internet environment on the psychological characteristics of adolescents is discussed. The correlations of psychological features of adolescents who prefer such genres of computer games as MMO, MOBA are analyzed. Differences between the parameters of social adaptation and predisposition to deviant behavior in adolescents who prefer different computer game genres were revealed. Adolescents preferring MOBA computer games were characterized by high levels of motivation, readiness for risk and general rigidity. Voluntary control of emotional reactions was significantly lower in this group as opposed to the group of adolescents preferring the MMO genre.