Comparative Analysis of the Manifestations of Societal Infantilization in Russian and Chinese Student Societies in the XXI Century

This paper seeks to answer the question of how infantilisation of society in Russia and China as exemplified by Russian and Chinese students is manifesting itself in the XXI century. To answer this question the study presents two categories of infantilism: psychological (emotional) and behavioural (practical). This study examines behavioural infantilism (which can be defined as the retention in an adult of a limited number of practical skills that may be associated with maturity, such as managing the household, hygiene and self-care, fulfilling one's social responsibilities, etc.) due to the fact that the results of the study of emotional infantilism are particularly difficult to interpret. To find an answer to the question stated, the study utilises mix-study method and implements both quantitative and qualitative methods: there were 6 in-depth interviews (3 with Russian students and 3 with Chinese students) and 2 questionnaires with a total of 141 students (70 Russian students and 71 Chinese students) conducted as parts of the research. According to the results of the study, it was found that despite the fact that the lives of Russian and Chinese students are similar in many respects, Сhinese students due to the high competition and pressure that forces students to spend most of their time studying, have less opportunities to acquire practical skills that correlate with mature behaviour.