Optimistic assumptions about the future - spontaneous self-help and self-regulation in times of war
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Abstract
Introduction: The relevance of this research is determined by the ongoing full-scale military aggression in Ukraine, which has placed a majority of its citizens in difficult life situations and in need of psychological support. Building a life perspective in crisis conditions is considered an important functional component and cognitive foundation for activities aimed at overcoming difficulties.
The aim of this scientific research is to analyze the direction of life prospects of Ukrainians in the context of experiencing stress and resources for overcoming it during a full-scale military invasion.
Methodology: in the period from May to June 2022, 358 respondents aged 15-70 years were surveyed, among whom 67.9% were residents of temporarily occupied territories. The collected data included information on stress experiences and coping resources (using Cohen's Perceived Stress Scale, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Klimanska and Haletska's Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, and a check-list for studying traumatic experiences). Based on an open-ended question about the vision of their own life after the war, the sample was divided into five clusters according to the presence or absence of the respondents' future outlooks, as well as their positive, neutral, or negative orientations. Psychological and socio-demographic characteristics of the identified groups were compared.
Results showed the prevalence of optimistic future perspectives among Ukrainians in the first six months of the full-scale war. The leading themes of these outlooks were described, along with their close connection to resilience indicators, symptoms of anxiety and depression, and emotional states of the respondents. It was substantiated that future perspectives are influenced not by external conditions but by psychological dispositions.
In the conclusions, psychological differences inherent in individuals with positive, negative, or neutral life perspectives, or those fundamentally unable to construct future outlooks in a crisis situation, are summarized. The obtained results are valuable for understanding public sentiment at the beginning of a full-scale invasion and tracking its dynamics.
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