Dependence of the level of hardiness on personal age and gender

Abstract

The study is dedicated to studying the relationship between the level of hardiness and various factors such as age and gender. Hardiness is considered as a system of beliefs that help overcome stress and perform activities in difficult conditions. 147 people participated in the study, who were divided by age: the younger group (from 18 to 40 years) – 107, the older group (from 41 to 70 years) – 40. These periods are designated as «Adulthood» and «Late adulthood», respectively to the concept of H. Kraig. To assess the level of hardiness, S. Muddy’s hardiness test (adapted by
D. O. Leontiev and E. I. Rasskazova) was used, which measures three components of sustainability: involvement, control, risk acceptance, and a general indicator of hardiness.
With the help of cluster analysis, the sample was divided into three groups according to the severity of hardiness: a group with high vitality, medium vitality and low vitality.
The results of the study showed that the level of hardiness has significant differences depending on the age group and gender of the participants. The distribution of the subjects according to gender differences in the groups is quite similar. The largest number of men and women is in the group with an average level of hardiness, the smallest – in the group with low hardiness. 
The subjects are not evenly distributed by age. Researched age from 18 to 40 years, most of them are in the group with average hardiness. From 41 to 70 years, it is also the most in the group with average hardiness. Subjects aged 18 to 40 generally have higher hardiness by group than subjects aged 41 to 70.
The hardiness rate of men in groups is higher than that of women. Subjects aged 18 to 40 years have higher indicators on almost all components of vitality and vitality itself than subjects aged 41 to 70 years.
In general, the results of the study can be useful for the development of programs to improve the hardiness and prevention of age-related changes in the hardiness of the individual. Further research in this area may help to more precisely define the factors that most influence hardiness in different age groups.