Psychological Readiness for Unified State Exam in High School Students: Typology, Conscious and Unconscious Resources

The Unified State Exam is a powerful stressor that negatively impacts the psychosomatic health of high school students. However, assessment approaches usually rely solely on self-report data, which are often distorted by psychological defense mechanisms. This study bridges this methodological gap by employing an integrated analysis of both conscious (M. Yu. Chibisova’s Questionnaire of Psychological Readiness for State Exams) and unconscious (A. M. Etkind’s Color Relationship Test) components of psychological readiness. The typological profiles of readiness for the Unified State Exam were identified through cluster analysis, followed by resource provision evaluation. The sample included 232 high school students from Moscow. The research verified a threefactor questionnaire structure, explaining 67.3% of total variance: Anxiety Management Skills (45.3%), Perceived Importance of Success (13.1%), and Exam Procedure Knowledge (8.9%). The cluster analysis revealed four distinct profiles: balanced readiness (30.2%); highly motivated readiness with emotional regulation deficits (21.6%); readiness with overestimated resource capacity (34.1%); readiness with underestimated resource capacity (14.1%). Critically, significant discrepancies between self-reports and projective data emerged in 35.7% cases. Projective diagnostics revealed a pervasive emotional rejection of the Unified State Exam (69.8%), confirming high stress impact. Students with distorted self-assessment demonstrated instrumental resource deficits. Family support was crucial for the group with adaptive readiness profile. Traditional diagnostics should be supplemented with projective methods to develop targeted psychological support programs. Validation of this typology across regional populations represents a promising research direction.

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