Delayed Life Syndrome — Theoretical Interpretation

Abstract

On the threshold of empirical research of the syndrome of deferred life on the example of migration attitudes of residents of remote regions, the hypothesis is put forward and discussed, which suggests that the mechanism of temporal decentration of psychological perception of social time lies at the heart of the studied syndrome. The conditions under which temporal decentration for the future turns from a quite normal phenomenon into a distorted version of social time perception are defined. Social time is presented in its difference from physical time, its qualitative uniqueness and multidimensionality are emphasized, manifested in the unity of cyclic and linear time, its discontinuity and continuity, the connection between everyday life and life events. The realization of migration plans seems to be an event capable of interrupting the established course of everyday life, its cardinal transformation and leads to the underestimation of the present as a temporary transient phenomenon. The ability to live in the present is a condition of psychological health of a person, while the syndrome of deferred life can lead to maladaptation and neurotic reactions to current problems. The sociological interpretation of the variant of social time perception with fixation on the future is concretized (based on the works of V. P. Serkin) as a set of social attitudes characteristic of social groups that live in expectation of an event that changes their territorial identity.