Psychological Well-Being and Intra-personal Conflicts in Adolescence

Background Adolescence is a period characterized as transitional and as such, it is full of complications and conflicts. Research of Intra-Personal Conflicts in connection with Psycho-Emotional Well-being (PEW) comprising three kinds of indicators: personality, cognitive-evaluative and emotional represents new scientific approach. This approach provides the opportunity to define the role of PEW in Intra-Personal Conflicts: Motivation Value Conflict (MVC) and Self-Estimate Conflict (SEC). Objective Our aim was to study the severity of MVC and SEC, the interrelationship of these types of conflicts, and their connection with various PEW components. Design 237 high school students (ages 15–18; 99 boys, 138 girls) were surveyed. Tests of MVC, the Self-Estimate Scale (SE), and the Level of Aspiration Scale (LA) were applied to measure the conflicts. The Scale of Psychological Well-Being, the Scale of Life Satisfaction, and the Dominant Emotional States Test were employed to measure PEW. Results The study revealed a high prevalence of Intra-Personal Conflicts in the sample. The adolescents all had high levels of Intra-Personal Conflicts; changes were found in all three blocks of PEW. In the group with a high level of MVC, the levels of Environmental Mastery and Self-Acceptance were significantly lower. Having high level of SEC went along with decreases in most indicators of the personal and cognitive-evaluative components of PEW: decreasing of Cheerfulness, Active Attitude to Life Situation and Life Satisfaction; there were changes in emotional blockage, including decreases in Stability and Emotional Tone, and increases in Despondency, Tension, and Anxiety. Conclusion The study found the prevalence of Intra-Personal Conflicts in the adolescents. We showed that the personality and cognitive-evaluative components of PEW played the role of conflict moderators, while the emotional components were manifested as intra-personal conflict.

Self-Estimate Con ict (SEC) is identi ed as a con ict between an adolescent's level of Self-Esteem (SE) and Level of Aspiration (LA). Self-Esteem as a person's general evaluation of his or her value is expressed as either positive or negative Self-Orientation. Scientists point to the special role of Self-Esteem in adolescence, and its connection with Academic Performance and Mental Health (Leavitt, Covarrubias, Perez, & Fryberg, 2015;Tagai, 2017;Minev et al., 2018). It has been shown that inadequate Self-Esteem can act as a predictor of Aggressiveness, Anxiety, Frustration, and decreased Life Satisfaction. (Diener, E. & Diener, M., 1995;Paradise & Michael, 2005;Kuzmina, E. & Kuzmina, Z., 2018;Vodyakha, S. & Vodyakha, Y., 2019).
However, there is far less information on the links between MVC, Personality Development, and Well-Being. Moreover, there are indications of these con icts' negative impact on adolescents' Socialization and Adaptation. (Prikhozhan & Tolstikh, 2016). Some studies suggest that a discrepancy between levels of Self-Esteem and Level of Aspiration in early adolescence can lead to an increase in Anxiety and result in Somatic disorder. (Borozdina & Zaluchenova, 1993;Sidorov, 2007;Pukinska, 2008).
As our analysis showed, the relationship of MVC and SEC with Psychological Well-Being indicators (personality, cognitive-evaluative, and emotional) still remains understudied.

Measurements
e following tests were administered: the Intra-Personal Con icts study (AVR-Availability Value Ratio) (Fantalova, 2001); the Dembo-Rubinstein Self-Assessment and Level of Aspiration Scale (modi ed by Prikhozhan, 1988); and the Psychological Well-Being Scale by C. Ry (adapted by Zhukovskaya & Troshikhina, 2011). e instrument consists of six scales: Autonomy; Environmental Mastery; Personal Growth; Positive Relations with Others; Purpose in Life; and Self-Acceptance. We also used E. Diener's Life Satisfaction Scale (adapted by Osin & Leontiev, 2008), and the Testing Dominant Emotion States (by Kulikov, 1998), which consists of the following scales: Active vs. Passive Attitude toward one's Life Situation; Cheerfulness vs. Despondency; Emotional Tone (high or low); Relaxation vs. Tension; Tranquility vs. Anxiety; Stability vs. Instability of Emotional Tone; and Satisfaction vs. Dissatisfaction with Life. All the methods used in the study were adapted and tested on adolescent samples and had normalized scores.

Participants
e study sample was comprised of 237 high school and gymnasium students, ages 15 to 18 (99 boys, 138 girls). e study was conducted in regular class sessions in 2018. e parents were given an explanation of the purpose of the study, and informed consent was obtained from them.

Procedure
Study Objectives: To reveal the severity of MVC and SEC as varieties of Intra-Personal Con icts in adolescence and nd out the relationship of these con ict types with each other and various PEW substructures.
Hypotheses. We proceeded from the following assumptions: 1) Various types of Intra-Personal Con icts, in particular MVC and SEC, can be interrelated; 2) Pronounced Intra-Personal Con icts may have two-way relationships with some levels of PEW; and 3) Di erent substructures of PEW can be interconnected with Intrapersonal Con icts in di erent ways. We assumed that personal and cognitive-evaluative substructures can act as predictors of con icts, either weakening or strengthening them. e emotional substructures of PEW act as consequences of con icts.

Results
e data analysis showed that the sample's general level of Psychological Well-Being (M = 188.83; σ = 20.01) and Life Satisfaction (M = 23.46; σ = 6.66) corresponded to mean values, and in the given sample, re ected a generally favorable picture of Maturation. However, there was a high variability of indicators where the mean values did not re ect its individual characteristics. e comparative analysis of the frequency of con ict manifestations revealed that both types of con ict were prevalent, with high levels of SEC accounting for the greater number of respondents (52%), and that of MVC for 19.3%. e mean value of the total MVC index in the sample was 34.9 points, σ = 15.24, which indicated an insigni cant degree of Dissociation and a gap between the Values and their Availability. Draw your attention to the wide variability of the MVC index (value scores ranged from -5 to 69), which signi cantly exceeded the standard values obtained by the author of the method (Fantalova, 2015). All its indicators were expressed in the structure of MVC (Table 1). e sample mean data indicated that Neutral Zones (65.5%) were expressed in the Internal Con ict framework; these zones are characterized by Values Coincidence and their Availability for Satisfaction. Internal Vacuums which means Redun-dancy of Availability in the Absence of its value prevailed in 15.19% of respondents. More than 19% percent (19.3%) of respondents had a pronounced Internal Con ict due to the Unavailability of Desired Values. Valid di erences in Value/Availability ratio were revealed in 8 out of 12 life spheres (with signi cance level p ranging from .004 to .000). e most signi cant discrepancies between Values and their Availability were identi ed by such indices as Happy Family Life, Love, and Financially Secure Life, whereas a decrease in incentive motivation was noted in Beauty of Nature and Art, Active life, Creativity, and Cognition, which are characteristic of Internal Vacuum. e values of Health, Friends, Freedom, Challenging Work, and Self-Con dence were con ned to the Neutral Zone.
Given the high variability of the indicators, a further analysis was carried out on groups with di erent levels of MVC severity. e group division was based on a Con ict Integral indicator, which is the sum of di erences between a Value and its Availability in various spheres of life. An index equal to or exceeding 50 points meant the unavailability of signi cant values and indicated an individual's Motivation Disintegration, Deep Dissatisfaction, and Blockage of Basic Necessities. e two groups we distinguished were: Group 1, which consisted of adolescents with a low MVC level (144 respondents), and Group 2, which had medium or high MVC levels (94 respondents). Girls outnumbered boys in Group 2 (p = .005). ese groups di ered in their total MVC indices (p = .000) and in con ict structure ( Table 2). Table 2 Di erences in a con ict structure and indicators of psycho-emotional Well-Being in groups with di erent levels of MVC Note. M = Mean. σ = Standard Deviation.
As you see in the table, the MVC for the adolescents in Group 1 was distinguished by 2.7 times fewer Internal Con icts (p = .000), more Neutral Zones (p = .000), and fewer Internal Vacuums (p = .000), while in Group 2, the percentage of Internal Conicts (p = .000) and Internal Vacuums (p = .000) was signi cantly higher, with fewer Neutral Zones (p = .000). ese indicators suggest the Disintegration of Motivation, as a high level of con ict zones coexisted with poorly represented zones with Value-Availability concordance. ere were more zones with a Low Level of Values and High Availability of them. is suggests that these adolescents have what they do not need and miss what is really meaningful to them.
A comparison of the Values/Availability ratio in di erent spheres of life revealed a lower level of divergence of values Active Life (p = .000), Cognition (p = .000), Beauty of Nature and Art (p = .000), and Creativity (p = .000) and their availability in Group 2, along with reduced motivation (Mann-Whitney U-test). At the same time, Friends (p = .000), and Family (p = .000) were the most con icted spheres. us, in the adolescents with pronounced MVC, there was a change in con ict structure and range of represented life spheres. It is also noteworthy that they had SEC in the area of Self-Con dence. e analysis of di erences in PEW indicators between the groups revealed differences in personality indicators: in Group 2, the Level of Environmental Mastery (p = .016) and Self-Acceptance (p = .005) was lower, while the Level of Personal Growth pursuit was higher. e di erences in parameters of dominant emotional states were negligible. e analysis of Self-Esteem and Level of Aspiration levels revealed that the sample t within a framework of the average statistical norm (Self-Esteem, M = 61.8; Level of Aspiration, M = 85.05), with high individual variability (from 0 to 100), and lower values among girls. Partial indicators of Self-Esteem uctuated from 59.6 points to 72.6 points on di erent scales and indicated its mean level. e adolescents rated Intelligence and Character the highest and gave lower scores to their Peers' Authority, Self-Esteem, and Manual Skills. Scores on the Level of Aspiration demonstrated high values (from 75 to 89 points on all scales), which re ected the optimism of both the boys and girls about their capabilities. Like for Self-Esteem, the results showed very large individual variation (min -15 points, max -100 points). e highest Level of Aspiration was in Intelligence and Appearance; all other areas were evenly distributed.
Under our methodology, an Indicator of Con ict was considered to be a discrepancy between the adolescent's Level of Aspiration (LA) and Self-Esteem (SE) (less than 8 points or more than 22 points) (Prikhozhan, 1988). On this basis the sample was subdivided into three groups: the rst was made up of respondents with no SEC expressed (113 respondents). e second group consisted of respondents with a pronounced SEC (the di erence between AL and SE is more than 22 points -114 respondents). ese two groups were balanced by gender. e third group consisted of young men only, whose SEC indicator was less than 8 points (10 respondents). e representatives of the third group demonstrated a rare con ict between decreased Level of Aspiration and increased Self-Esteem, which re ects a state of Protective Inactivity. To identify di erences between the groups, we applied a one-way analysis of variance. In further analysis, the results of the third group were not analyzed due to its small size and gender homogeneity. e di erences between groups 1 and 2 in SE and AL and all scales of the methodology (p = .000) are presented in Table 3. e analysis of the di erences in PEW indices between the groups showed that they di ered in Life Satisfaction (p = .008), Autonomy and Environmental Mastery (p = .000), and Positive Attitudes and Self-Acceptance (p = .002), as well as in the Total Indicator of Psychological Well-Being (p = .000). All these indicators were signicantly lower in adolescents with a high SEC level. Some di erences were found in dominant emotional states. Group 2 adolescents showed lower Activity (p = .004), lower Cheerfulness (p = .000), decreased Life Satisfaction (p = .005), and increased Tension (p = .002). us, the con ict of Self-Esteem a ected all three constituents of PEW: personality, cognitive-evaluative, and emotional.
In order to con rm the results obtained in the analysis of di erences, we undertook correlation and regression analyses. Correlation analysis was carried out on the groups with a high level of con ict. Among MVC indicators, the Level of Con ict in Freedom was found to be the most interconnected with negative links of PEW indices with Life Satisfaction, Positive Relationships, Self-Acceptance, Total Level of Well-Being, Emotional Stability, and Satisfaction as a sustainable state (six connections at p .001 -.005). e Con ict in Creativity had four negative connections: Environmental Mastery, Self-Acceptance, Total Well-Being, and Tranquility (p = .001). Dissatisfaction with Family was directly related to Environmental Mastery and Total Level of Psychological Well-Being (p = .005). e total indicator of Internal Con ict formed two negative connections, one with Autonomy and one with positive Self-Image. e high value of the parameter Neutral Zones was directly related to positive Self-Image (p = .001); the parameter Internal Vacuums was interconnected with passive Life Attitude (p = .005). erefore, various PEW indices were found to be interrelated with manifestations of MVC. Con icts in Freedom and Creativity tended to be most integrated into the PEW framework. e analysis of SEC relationships revealed 21 negative connections with all PEW indices. Various indicators of SEC tended to be linked with Life Satisfaction, Self-Acceptance (eight connections at p .017 -.001), Environmental Mastery, Autonomy, Total Level of Psychological Well-Being (nine connections at p .022 -.000), and Life Goals (one connection) (p = .002). Relationships with Emotional states (three connections at p .028 -.000) indicated that an increase in SEC was accompanied by a decrease in Vigor, Emotional Stability, and Self-Acceptance. Indicators of Total SEC Index and Self-Con dence Con ict were most involved in the structure of connections with PEW.
Regression analysis was also carried out in the group with a high level of con icts. It is signi cant that in the group with SEC, in addition to the size of the discrepancy between the Level of Aspiration and Self-Esteem, indicators of MVC were found to be dependent variables, and in the group with high indicators of MVC, SEC variables were found. We created four models that re ected the relationship of PEW with various types of con icts: two models showed the relationship of PEW with SEC, and two models, the relationship of MVC with PEW (Table 4). SEC was described by the model as accounting for 31.9% of the variance. Total Level of Psychological Well-Being (β = -.317; p = .025) and Environmental Mastery (β = -.281; p = .045) were the predictors in this model. e Total SEC indicator was included as a dependent variable in the second model (with variance 13.9%), with the independent variables being Life Satisfaction (β = -.296; p = .001) and Autonomy (β = -.317; p = .025). In the third model, Self-Acceptance (β = .217; p = .027), Environmental Mastery (β = .293; p = .005), and Positive Relations with Others (β = -.234; p = .011) predicted 19% of the variance on Neutral Zones. e independent variables of Self-Acceptance (β = -.191; p = .05), Positive Relations with Others (β = .250; p = .008), and Environmental Mastery (β = -.261; p = .013) predicted 16% of the variance for the Total Value Con ict index in the fourth model.
At the next stage of the regression analysis, the dominant emotional states were included as dependent variables, while the indicators of Con icts were the independent factors. Four models were obtained ( Table 5). In the rst model (variance 37%) Internal Con icts of Family Values (β = -.342; p = .005), Cognition (β = -.328; p = .000), Freedom (β = -.253; p = .005), Total MVC index (β = -.172; p = .048) and SEC in Skills (β = .224; p = .000) predicted the dependent variable Cheerfulness vs. Despondency. In the second model, the dependent variable Relaxation vs. Tension (variance 23.6%) was predicted by Internal Con icts in Health (β = -.342; p = .054), Freedom (β = -.384; p = .021), and Family (β = -.441; p = .012). In the third model, the dependent variable Tranquility vs. Anxiety (variance 21.1%) was predicted by Internal Con ict in Beauty of Nature and Art (β = .343; p = .000), Creativity (β = .195; p = .05), and SEC in Self-Con dence (β = -.235; p = .018). In the fourth model, the dependent variable Satisfaction vs. Dissatisfaction with Life (variance 10.3%) was predicted by the levels of Internal Con icts in Freedom (β = .292; p = .002), and Family (β = -.216; p = .021). e results of regression analysis showed that SEC and MVC were a part of all models mentioned above. Correlation analysis revealed 13 connections between these con icts. e con icts most related to total SEC in Financial Satisfaction were SEC in Intelligence, Authority, Con dence, Appearance, and Character indices (six connections, p = .001); SEC in Intelligence and Skills had four negative connections with MVC through such indices as Friends, Family, Love, and Health (p = .005; .001).

Discussion
e results of our PEW analysis revealed an overall positive picture of the respondents' maturation over high individual variability, which was consistent with the data obtained from other samples (Pavlova & Benkova, 2016;Golovey & Danilova, 2019). Our study of the most common con icts in adolescence revealed a widespread prevalence of MVC and SEC. e variability of the MVC data, which signi cantly exceeded the results of a 2001 normative sample (Fantalova, 2001), might indicate an increase in Financial Family Strati cation, which was re ected in an increase in MVC, which indicates the initial stages of Value Disintegration. e importance of Financial Satisfaction was also con rmed by the presence of a large number of correlations between this indicator and manifestations of both Total MVC level and SEC level. e respondents with high levels of MVC were characterized by a change in MVC structure. In the framework of con ict, an increase in con ict zones was combined with a decrease in Neutral Zones and an increase in internal vacuum zones.
is indicated Unavailability of signi cant values, an increase in Value /Availability concordance, and a decrease in a number of zones of Motivation Level of Development such as Creativity, Beauty of Nature and Art, Cognition, and Active Life. e respondents with a high level of SEC showed a decrease in the Total and in all indicators of this con ict. e analysis of di erences in PEW indicators revealed that in the groups with a high level of MVC, Environmental Mastery and Self-Acceptance were signi cantly lower, but Desire for Personal Growth was higher, which may indicate a motivating role of MVC and is consistent with the results  for adolescents. e group with a high level of SEC was characterized by a decrease in all indicators of Personality and Cognitive-Evaluative PEW indices, coupled with a decrease in Vigor, Activity, Life Satisfaction, and an increase in Tension, i.e., all MVC indices are involved in a SEC con ict. Correlation analysis con rmed that an increase in the severity of Internal Conicts was correlated with an increase in the indicators of Personality and Cognitive-Evaluative PEW indices, and was also accompanied by the changes in the emotional part of PEW. ese changes in the emotional component were manifested by a decrease in Emotional Stability, Activity, and an increase in Depression, Tension, and Anxiety, which correlates with the "Anxiety Triad" described in SEC (Borozdina & Zaluchenova, 1993;Sidorov, 2007;Pukinska, 2008). In our study, similar changes were observed in both con icts.
We used two strategies to conduct the regression analysis, In the rst strategy, the Personality indicators and Cognitive-Evaluative components of PEW were taken as independent variables, whereas indicators of con icts were taken as dependent vari-ables. e results of this strategy application showed that MVC and SEC predictors were low indicators of Life Satisfaction, Autonomy, Environmental Mastery, and a decrease in Overall Assessment of Psychological Well-Being. In MVC con ict, Self-Acceptance, Environmental Mastery, Positive Attitudes were the factors that contributed to an increase in a number of Neutral Zones, thus reducing Con ict Tensions. In the second strategy, the independent variables were indicators of Con icts, while the dependent ones were dominant Emotional States. It can be seen from the regression models that Family Dissatisfaction, Cognition, Beauty of Nature and Art, Freedom, and Health in MVC and SEC were linked to an increase in Con dence, while a decrease in Motivation worked as a predictor of Despondency, Tension, Anxiety, and Dissatisfaction. erefore, the results showed the role of di erent PEW indices in the Intra-Personal Con icts of adolescence. Personality and cognitive-evaluative components played the part of predictors and possible moderators of con icts. is view is consistent with the understanding of PEW personality parameters as sustainable personality traits which re ect its psychological maturity as a result of ontogenesis, and act as moderators in di cult life situations (Zhuravlev & Sergienko (Eds.), 2007;Golovey (Ed.), 2014;Manukyan & Troshikhina, 2016;. Cognitive-evaluative indicators, especially Life Satisfaction, are considered as a sustainable property with a high contribution of the genetic factor (Diener et al., 2018). Emotional components, re ecting everyday dominant emotional states, are manifestations of the e ects of intra-personal crises and con icts. Earlier, such results were obtained in a study of SEC, which revealed the "Risk Triad, " that is, the Discrepancy between high levels of SE and LA, Increased Anxiety, and Somatic Diseases (Sidorov, 2007;Pukinska, 2008).
From our study we concluded that negative changes a ected not only Anxiety, but also other emotional states; they were observed in both SEC and MVC. e internal relationship between the two above-mentioned Intra-Personal Con icts was most clearly manifested in the connection between the severity of SEC in Intelligence, Authority, Con dence, Appearance, and the Total SEC index with MVC in Financial Well-Being, Friends, Family, and Love, which indicates the most signi cant modern adolescence values. e interrelationship of con icts suggested that there were common predictors of Intra-Personal Con icts, possibly accounting for personality and cognitive-evaluative PEW indices.

Conclusion
is study highlighted the prevalence of Intra-Personal Con icts in an adolescent sample. e respondents with high levels of intra-personal con icts showed changes in all PEW indicators: personality, emotional, and cognitive-evaluative. Decreasing of personal indicators of PEW such as Environmental Mastery and Self-Acceptance is in correspondence with high level of MVC. A high level of SEC is characterized by decreasing of the most of PEW indicators: personal -decreasing of Cheerfulness and Active Attitude to Life Situation; cognitive-evaluative -decreasing of Life Satisfaction; emotional -decreasing of Stability, Emotional Tone, increasing of Despondency, Tension, Anxiety. e study showed that personality and cognitive-evaluative components of PEW played the part of con ict moderators, while emotional ones were manifested as e ects of Intra-Personal Con icts. A decline in Environmental Mastery and Self-Acceptance was accompanied by a high level of MVC. A high level of SEC was characterized by a decrease in the majority of PEW indicators. Adolescents with MVC were motivated by a desire for Personal Growth, whereas those manifesting SEC showed an absence of con icts in Family, Friends, Freedom, Creativity, and Self-Con dence, which created the basis for the reliance on these spheres of life.

Limitations
e study's major limitation was the imbalance of the sample by gender with a predominance of girls and by having groups with a high level of Intra-Personal Con icts.
is can be partly explained by the literature on the greater severity of con icts in adolescent girls (Fantalova, 2015;Golovey & Gruzdeva, 2017;Golovey at al., 2020). However, further gender-sensitive research is required.

Ethics Statement
e design of the study did not require the approval of the Ethics Committee. Written informed consent to participate in this study was provided by the participants' legal guardian/next of kin.

Author Contributions
Golovey and Gruzdeva conceived of the idea and developed a theory. Danilova performed the computations. Rykman performed visualization. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the nal manuscript.

Con ict of Interest
e authors declare no con ict of interest.