The paper presents the results of an empirical study of high school students’ assessment of the qualitative characteristics of political information and its relationship with the emergence of emotional (affective) and cognitive-behavioral reactions. Teenagers and young people are especially sensitive to media influence. Having a clear understanding of the nature of politics, its goals, objectives, means and other subtleties at this age is rare. This makes young people vulnerable to suggestion and manipulation. Violation of the principles of information and psychological security can lead to General neurotization, the formation of depressive States, increased anxiety, distortion of the picture of the world, the manifestation of other negative effects in the younger generation.
In 2016-2018, an empirical study was conducted, which tested hypotheses about the relationship between the assessment of high school students (senior pupils) of the qualitative characteristics of political information, the level of their media competence and self-assessment of their own mental states of recipients caused by the impact of political information. As the object of study were selected high school students (10-11 grade) from St. Petersburg and Mirny, Republic Sakha, Yakutia, a total of 115 people (75 girls and 40 boys), aged 15 to 18 years (average age 16). Data was collected using questionnaires. Analysis of the results of the study showed that the most important sources of political information for high school students are the Internet, the mass media and the family, the least important sources are religious associations. Assessing the political information, high school students especially noted such qualities as clarity, discrediting and disintegrating character, low level of disorganization. In the process of interaction with political information, high school students actualized concealment as a mechanism of psychological protection (delay or rejection of reactions, concealment of information about yourself). In general, the study identified and described the main mental areas of potential psychological and political effects in the interaction with political information. Specific psychological characteristics that can be subject to potential transformations, as well as factors of "motivation for political participation" and political "conformism-nonconformism" are highlighted. The quality of political information contributes to the emergence of conditionally "positive" psychological effects (in terms of the stability of the political system), like "the effect of involvement" and the development of political conformism. The qualities of falsifying, misinforming and disorienting political information contribute to the emergence of "negative" affective (hatred, antipathy, criticality) and cognitive-behavioral effects (rivalry, radicalism).