Abstract
Introduction. The relevance of this research stems from the increasing pace of modern life, which demands young people develop the ability to anticipate and foresee their future. This determines a meaningful attitude toward themselves, their present and future, their activities, their content and organization, and influences their choice of life goals. In complex, unstable socioeconomic conditions, scientific research into the personal qualities that shape young people's constructive life prospects and the identification of sociocultural characteristics is essential. The relevance and social significance of this research topic have also determined its practical role in psychological services. The article aims to identify the features of the construction of life prospects, and its determination by the components of the psychological capital of the individual in Russian and Kazakhstani students through a comparative analysis. Materials and Methods. The study involved 181 students from Russian universities and 129 students from Kazakhstani universities. The following diagnostic methods were used: the Time Perspective Questionnaire (F. Zimbardo, adapted by A. Syrtsova and O. Mitina); the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PsiCap) (V.G. Maralov, M.A. Kudaka, O.V. Smirnov). For statistical processing of the empirical results, primary statistics, the Fisher angular transformation criterion for group comparisons, and correlation analysis were used to establish the interrelations between the measured variables. Results of the study. The main research hypothesis regarding the relationship between the components of psychological capital and students' perceptions of life prospects, as well as cross-cultural differences between the samples of Russian and Kazakhstani students, was partially confirmed. Similar results were found in both research groups in assessing the past as negative (low level), and in perceiving the present as predetermined or hedonistic (low level). Differences were revealed on inclined to negatively assess past events, effectively using the experience gained. KEYWORDS the scales "Future" (φemp.=2.369; p<0.01) and "Past" (φemp.=2.101; p<0.05), which were assessed more positively in the perceptions of Russian students. Differences in statistically significant relationships between the components of an individual's psychological capital and students' perceptions of life prospects were found. It has been shown that a positive future for Russian students is largely determined by self-efficacy (r1=0.204; p≤0.01), while for Kazakhstani students it is determined by resilience (r2=0.217; p≤0.05). The “resilient” nature of Russian students is based on a positive assessment of past experience (r1=0.154; p≤0.05). Successful planning and goal achievement are correlated with positive expectations for future events in both groups (r1=0.189; p≤0.01); (r2=0.229; p≤0.01). Students who are confident in their ability to succeed in a particular endeavor are not Conclusion. The findings are applicable to optimizing the university's educational environment, enabling students to develop a constructive life perspective based on a positive reconstruction of the past, imbuing it with characteristics of significance, warmth, importance, and pride. They also take into account the characteristics of an individual's psychological capital, particularly self efficacy and resilience, which enable them to withstand social stress.