Psychological features of the Ukrainians traumatic experience during the war

Abstract

The main task of the study, which was conducted to mark the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion of the country, was to identify the predictors that currently cause anxiety, depressive symptoms and post-traumatic stress symptoms in different segments of the country’s civilian population. The issue of finding and implementing updated and effective forms of psychological assistance to the population, which is relevant today, cannot be resolved without understanding the specifics of the trauma process. A theoretical analysis of the specifics of the Ukrainian traumatic experience has been carried out and its features – dynamic, chronic and national character – have been identified, as well as the levels ( individual and collective) at which this trauma has been occurring over the past two years. The attention has been paid to the destructive impact of underdosed consumption of media resources, which intensifies the process of traumatization. An empirical study has been conducted with the participation of 672 Ukrainians, who have been divided into groups and the predictors of anxiety, depressive symptoms and signs of post-traumatic stress symptoms as reactions to traumatic experience have been investigated and identified. The fact that participation in volunteer activities and the use of a sense of national identity as a resource are among the predictors of the studied conditions deserves special attention, as these are the predictors that determine the specifics of Ukrainian traumatization. Whereas the rest of the predictors (loss of a family member as a result of hostilities, full or partial loss of housing, experience of living under occupation) are more expected in the context of the events taking place in the country. The importance of conscious consumption of media resources and controlling the time spent using gadgets remains relevant in the context of information hygiene education and the avoidance of further or additional trauma.