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Methodology. The development of self-regulation in preschoolers is determined by the features of a cultural situation, which consists of a set of invariable normative rules. To abide by the cultural rules means that a child develops his/her “cultural congruence” (Bayanova). This process reflects the child’s evolution as an agent of a culture. The cognitive aspect of self-regulation was studied in the framework of the model of “executive functions” (Miyake). This model includes three related and simultaneously independent factors, such as Working Memory, Flexibility and Inhibitory Control.

The aim of the research is to explore how the assimilation of cultural rules of a “normative situation” (Veraksa) may influence the development of executive functions in preschoolers of different genders.

Method and structure of the research. 113 children aged 5-6 (58 boys and 55 girls) and 113 mothers (aged 24-44) took part in the research. All of the children attended kindergartens of Tatarstan. The assessment of cultural congruence was carried out using a questionnaire for parents, which included invariable rules for children 5-6 years old and allowed for assessing the extent to which children follow these rules. Diagnostics of executive functions was implemented with a set of techniques, which included the subtests of the test battery NEPSY-II (Korkman et al., 2007) and the DCCS (Zelazo, 2006).

Results. It was revealed that boys with a “higher” level of cultural congruence better develop verbal memory, whereas boys with a “low” level of congruence better switch from one task to another and better memorize visual images. The features of the development of executive functions in the group of girls on the whole do not depend on the level of their cultural congruence,

Conclusions. The data obtained indicate the gender specificity of the influence of cultural congruence on executive functions in preschoolers, which substantially clarifies the results obtained in other studies.

Background. Contemporary Russian society is experiencing significant changes in family structure: divorce rates are rising, the proportion of single-parent families is increasing, and perceptions of marriage and parenthood are transforming. Under these conditions, parents’ attitudes — their values, outlook on the future, and perception of threats — directly influence the development of preschool children and the stability of the family as a social institution. Research into these characteristics, particularly among divorced mothers, is essential for developing family support measures and improving the quality of preschool education.

Objectives. To identify the features of the influence of socio-demographic and socio-stratification factors on various components of the “life position” of parents of preschool children.

Sample. A total of 42 865 parents of preschool children aged 2 to 7 participated in an anonymous questionnaire survey using a specially developed author’s questionnaire. For the purpose of the main hypothesis, subsamples of fathers (1 313 respondents), married mothers (34 199), and officially divorced mothers (2 535) were specifically identified.

Methods. Survey data were processed using the SPSS 21 and StatSoft Statistica 7.0 statistical software packages. All differences in respondents’ responses discussed in the article are statistically significant at a p≤0.05 level. To study the interrelations of the components of «life position», the method of factor analy­sis was used (the method of extracting Principal Components with Varimaks axes rotation with Kaiser normalization).

Results. Four substantive factors were identified that determine the characteristics of the «life position» of parents of preschool-aged children: F1 «doubt in professional success — parenting (focus on the child)»; F2 «personal success — marriage»; F3 «focus on physical well-being — life pessimism» and F4 «Value of social life». The results showed that the life position of a divorced mother is significantly distorted: compared to the traditional maternal position, both parental and marital orientations are altered.

Conclusions. The data obtained show fundamentally different attitudes of fathers and mothers towards the importance of implementing the parental function in raising a preschool child. The breakdown of a family («divorce») in the presence of a preschool-age child causes the mother to develop a negative attitude towards marriage as a traditional value.

Background. Time spent with family is a significant factor influencing the child’s successful development, including gender socialization. Mothers and fathers probably prefer different activities when spending time together with children of different genders. Considering that different types of activities have a heterogeneous effect on a child’s personality, the choice of different joint activities can play a significant role in their development. But in modern psychology, family leisure activities in the aspect of parent-child relationships have been little studied by domestic authors.

Objectives. The study aims to identify gender characteristics of joint leisure time of parents with their preschool children.

Sample. The study involved 42 864 parents of preschool-age children aged 18 to 56 years: 41 551 women and 1 313 men from different regions of the Russian Federation.

Methods. The study was conducted on the basis of the author’s questionnaire aimed at studying the parents’ perception of various aspects of preschool children’s lives. Data processing was carried out using frequency and factor analysis.

Results. Study results showed differences in leisure activities of fathers and mothers with their boys and girls. Two key bipolar factors of parents’ preferences for types of joint leisure were identified: “Practically oriented forms of activity — Playful forms of activity” and “Artistic, aesthetic activity — “Cognitive” activity”.

Conclusions. The obtained data allow us to record the features of family leisure with children. Firstly, modern parents strive to spend time with their children, choosing traditional types of family pastime. Secondly, the features of family leisure activities are gender-specific: mothers are focused on practical benefits, while fathers prefer play. In addition, parents with girls and boys choose different directions of activities. Thirdly, important contribution to full-fledged leisure activities with a preschooler is made by family completeness: in single-parent families, the frequency of play forms of child-parent interaction decreases.

Relevance. This article is devoted to the problem of comparative analysis of preschoolers’ drawings on the theme “My family”, brought up in a full or incomplete family. This topic is extremely relevant not only because of the increase in divorces in Russia and the related difficulties of raising and developing young children, but also from the point of view of the data collection method. Typically, surveys of parents and other caring adults are used in such studies, while the “voice of a child” remains unaccounted for. The purpose of this work is to explore the possibilities of using children’s drawings to diagnose the peculiarity of the social situation of development in a modern family and the emotional well–being of a child in the family.

Research methodology and progress. The projective technique “Family Drawing” as modified by the authors was used in the work. The study involved 44 children from 4 years 9 months to 7 years, average age 5 years 10 months; 18 boys and 26 girls (41% and 59%).

The result of the study made it possible to confirm the invariance of the significance of various parameters of the children’s drawing on the theme “My family” over the past 25 years. Three key bipolar factors were identified for evaluating children’s family drawings: “Structured relationships in the family – Adult dominance”, “Inclusion in the family structure – Detachment from the family” and “Loneliness – Positive emotional connection with the father”.

Conclusions. These factors make it possible to record the peculiarities of the emotional well-being of modern boys and girls raised in full and incomplete families. Firstly, the girls’ drawings clearly show positive emotional well-being, identification with the mother and orientation towards traditional gender-role relationships in the family, while the boys’ drawings are distinguished by the dominance of the parental position of adults and the child’s identification with the family as a special social group. Secondly, the emotional well-being of children from single-parent families is clearly worse than that of children from full families, and boys from single-parent families find themselves in the most difficult social situation of development.