PECULIARITIES OF GEORGIA’S STUDENT YOUTH’S SELF-PRESERVATIVE BEHAVIOR

Abstract

This paper is based on the sociological research — “Self-preservative behavior among students” — conducted directly by the authors with the participation of the students. Using random selection, we have interviewed 1200 students ranging between ages 1824 from various universities of Tbilisi, inasmuch as 70 % of the higher educational institutions are located in the said city. The interview was conducted by the questionnaire method. The questionnaire included open and closed questions, and they were filled out with the help of trained interviewers. One of the significant factors of state national security and economic stability is population’s health. It determines the demographic potential of a country on a macro level. Therefore, it is important to study the self-preservative behavior of the population. Our research is the first sociological study of Georgian students in the new century. It has enabled us to study the student youths’ values, motives, attitudes, norms of behavior in terms of their health and to identify risk factors affecting the same. The research has confirmed that in terms of health, there exist masculine and feminine models of behavior among the student youth. Women are prone to value their health less, care for it more and tend to have a higher life expectancy disposition than men, whose model of behavior is sharply opposite than that of the women. As for the men, they value their-health more and care for it less than the women. Furthermore, there emerged mistakes made during the upbringing of youth in terms of establishment of the culture of self-preservative behavior. Those students who developed habits of caring for their health in childhood stand out when evaluating their health, have a highly developed understanding of the importance of health, excel at caring for their health and avoid bad habits. Respondents from both sexes understand well that a constant care for health has a positive impact on life expectancy, however for the majority of students healthcare has a medical character rather than a prophylactic one. A certain portion of them visit a doctor after their condition becomes worse or start self-medication. A person’s attitude toward life expectancy is viewed as an individual’s long-term necessity which entails a desire for a long life and appropriate self-preservative behavior. The research has confirmed a direct correlation between self-appraisal of one’s health and the parameter of an estimated life expectancy. The respondents reckon that the lower the self-appraisal of their health the less the estimated life expectancy. In addition, caring for health has a big impact on the presumption of life expectancy. The indicator of an ideal, desired and estimated life expectancy is high among those respondents who always care for their health.

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