Аннотация:In the article special attention is paid to consideration of psychological ad- aptation of fi rst-year students in a situation of stress caused by the transition from school to College, a change in lifestyle, working conditions and recreation, and describes active and pas- sive ways of coping with stress. A comparison of the behavior manifestations of psychological protection and coping mechanisms. The study revealed that in situations of confl ict the most commonly used projection, rationalization, compensation, and regression, as well as passive and antisocial coping strategies. As a result of the conducted research it is noted that the rela- tionship of personality traits and psychological protection and coping strategies is a complex, multifaceted structure