Personal characteristics of troubled adolescents in residential care

Background Personal characteristics of troubled adolescents are affected by psychological deprivation, which contributes to the manifestation of deviant and delinquent behavior in individuals. Aim This study comprehensively examines structural units of self-consciousness, higher mental functions, and the emotional sphere of troubled adolescents (girls and boys) in residential care as well as develops a program for their psychological support. Methods and Results The results of the biographical method, observation, and psychological testing with the VI.ZI.ES Alpha test produced generalized psychological profiles of the adolescents. The methodology "Phenomenology of a Person's Development and Being" underpinned development of their higher mental functions and structural units of self-consciousness. The obtained data formed the basis for a psychological support program for the personal development of troubled adolescents, with both traditional (discussions, trainings) and innovative (initiation, reflection) methods included. Conclusion The psychological support program allows educational psychologists to correct adolescents' deviant and delinquent behavior.