Social cohesion and social identity: interrelations and interactions in the context of the war in Ukraine
Main Article Content
Abstract
Relevance. The phenomenon of social cohesion has become especially significant in wartime conditions, as maintaining stable social bonds is critically important for societal unity. The war in Ukraine has caused social, economic, and psychological challenges that threaten social cohesion. The task of preserving social cohesion is crucial not only during the war but also in the post-war period for building a resilient society. It is essential to examine the relationship between social cohesion and social identity to effectively predict social dynamics and develop programs that will support efficient intergroup interaction.
Objective: To analyze the relationship between social cohesion and social identity in wartime conditions and determine how prolonged traumatic stress and collective challenges affect the formation and manifestation of various types of social identity and the level of social cohesion.
Methodology. This article is a review based on theoretical generalizations, analysis of source materials, and results from public opinion surveys and monitoring.
Results. It was found that social cohesion is dynamic and depends on psychological factors that shift under the influence of war. Social identity can play a constructive role, promoting cohesion through shared identity. However, under prolonged traumatic stress and social upheavals, it undergoes changes that intensify intergroup conflicts and increase intergroup isolation. To maintain social cohesion, mutual understanding between different social groups is essential, along with the development of intergroup communication, flexible identities, and constructive contact, grounded in an understanding of the dynamics of social identity change.
Future research directions include conducting qualitative studies that contextualize social cohesion and establish psychological foundations to support societal cohesion.
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Kukharuk, O. (2024). Social cohesion and social identity: interrelations and interactions in the context of the war in Ukraine. Problems of Political Psychology, 16(30), 208-223. https://doi.org/10.33120/popp-Vol16-Year2024-172
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References
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Dovhan, N. (2024). Sotsialna zhurtovanist suspilstva: teoriia i praktyka [Social cohesion in society: Theory and practice]. Problems of Political Psychology, 15, 30–49. (in Ukrainian)
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Nuttman-Shwartz, O., & Green, O. (2021). Resilience truths: Trauma resilience workers’ points of view toward resilience in continuous traumatic situations. International Journal of Stress Management, 28(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1037/str0000223 (in English)
Ohlott, P. J., Chrobot-Mason, D., & Dalton, M. A. (2004). Collision courses: When social identity leads to conflict. Leadership in Action, 24(3), 8–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/lia.1068 (in English)
Palahniuk, O. (2022). Identychnist yak sutnisne yadro sotsialnoi solidarist [Identity as the core of social solidarity]. Naukovi perspektyvy [Scientific Perspectives], 2(20). (in Ukrainian)
Penic, S., Drury, J., & Bady, Z. (2022). Collective resilience. In The Shadow of Transitional Justice Cross-national Perspectives on the Transformative Potential of Remembrance (pp. 35-48). (in English)
Rubchak, M. V. (2021). Sutnist i typolohiia identychnosti terytorialnoi hromady [Essence and typology of territorial community identity]. Dniprovskii naukovyi chasopys publichnoho upravlinnia, psykholohii, prava [Dnipro Scientific Journal of Public Administration, Psychology, and Law], (3), 71–77. (in Ukrainian)
Schmid, K., Hewstone, M., Tausch, N., Cairns, E., & Hughes, J. (2009). Antecedents and consequences of social identity complexity: intergroup contact, distinctiveness threat, and outgroup attitudes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35(8), 1085–1098. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167209337037 (in English)
Shapira, S., Cohen, O., & Aharonson-Daniel, L. (2020). The contribution of personal and place-related attributes to the resilience of conflict-affected communities. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 72, Article 101520. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2020.101520 (in English)
Sivers, Z. (2023). Analiz teoretychnykh doslidzhen sotsialnoi zhurtovanosti v zarubizhnykh naukovykh dzherelakh [Analysis of theoretical studies on social cohesion in foreign scientific sources]. Problems of Political Psychology, 14(28), 36–61. https://doi.org/10.33120/popp-Vol14-Year2023-139 (in Ukrainian)
Sotsialna zhurtovanist v Ukraini: P. 2. Otsiniuvannia horyzontalnykh vidnosyn za dopomohoiu indeksu RESCORE [Social Cohesion in Ukraine: Part 2. Assessing horizontal relations using the RESCORE index] (2024). (in Ukrainian)
Sotsiolohichna hrupa “Reitynh” [Sociological Group “Rating”]. (2023, 1 December). Dvadtsiat piate zahalnonatsionalne opytuvannia: spryiniattia zahroz na zymu 2023-2024 [Twenty-fifth national survey: Perceptions of threats for winter 2023–2024]. Retrieved from https://ratinggroup.ua/research/ukraine/dvadcyat_piyate_zagalnonacionalne_opituvanny_spriynyattazagroz_na_zimu_2023-2024.html (in Ukrainian)
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Ukrainskyi nezalezhnyi tsentr politychnykh doslidzhen [Ukrainian Independent Center for Political Studies]. (2023). Stiikist ta zhurtovanist ukrainskoho suspilstva pid chas viiny. Periodychnyi zvit na osnovi monitorynhovykh materialiv z obranykh rehioniv Ukrainy [Resilience and cohesion of Ukrainian society during the war. Periodic report based on monitoring materials from selected regions of Ukraine]. Is. 5. January – February 2023 roku. Kyiv. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y3hQPE0VcjfpL4PtVuX-djUV_GXEKrdI/view (in Ukrainian)
Vinkov, V. Yu. (2022). Bezpekovyi aspekty rozvytku identychnosti v umovakh viiny [Security aspects of identity development during war]. Problems of Political Psychology, 12(26), 138–150. (in Ukrainian)
Zhurtovanist: psykholohichnyi ta sotsiolohichnyi vymiry interpretatsii: mater. fakhovoi dyskusii 05.06.2023 r. [Cohesion: Psychological and sociological dimensions of interpretation, Proceedings of a professional discussion on 05.06.2023]. (2023) (Ed.V. M. Dukhnevych). Kyiv: ISPP NAPN Ukrainy. Retrieved from http://psy-lpr.at.ua/Materials/2023/2023-fakhova_diskusija-zgurtovanist.pdf. (in Ukrainian)
Zlyvkov, V. L., & Lukomska, S. O. (2023). Sotsialna ta osobystisna militarna identychnist ukraintsiv v umovakh viiny [Social and personal military identity of Ukrainians during the war]. Naukovyi visnyk Khersonskoho derzhavnoho universytetu. Seriia “Psykholohichni nauky” [Scientific Bulletin of Kherson State University. Series: Psychological Sciences], (3), 28–34. (in Ukrainian)
Bozhakivska, M. O. (2023). Sotsialna identychnist yak osnova formuvannia doviry u protsesi mizhospystinisnykh vzaiemyn [Social identity as the foundation for building trust in interpersonal relationships]. (Doctoral dissertation), ZUNU, Ternopil. (in Ukrainian)
Bybyk, D., & Savelchuk, I. (2023). Sotsialna zhurtovanist molodi v Ukraini v umovakh voiennoho stanu [Social cohesion of youth in Ukraine under martial law]. Sotsialna robota i osvita [Social Work and Education], 10(1), 7–16. (in Ukrainian)
Chorna, L. (2020). Mif yak zasib formuvannia kvazinovoi sotsialnoi identychnosti [Myth as a means of forming a quasi-new social identity]. Scientific Studios on Social and Political Psychology, 36–49. https://doi.org/10.33120/ssj.vi45(48).140 (in Ukrainian)
Detsentralizatsiia [Decentralization]. (2022, 13 July). Sotsialna zgurtovanist. Chomu tse vazhlyvo dlia hromady [Social cohesion: Why it is important for the community]. Retrieved from https://decentralization.ua/news/15453 (in Ukrainian)
Diamond, G. M., Lipsitz, J. D., & Hoffman, Y. (2013). Nonpathological response to ongoing traumatic stress. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 19, 100–111. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0032486 (in English)
Dovhan, N. (2024). Sotsialna zhurtovanist suspilstva: teoriia i praktyka [Social cohesion in society: Theory and practice]. Problems of Political Psychology, 15, 30–49. (in Ukrainian)
Drury, J. (2012). Collective resilience in mass emergencies and disasters: A social identity model.
In J. Jetten, C. Haslam, & S. Haslam (Eds.), The social cure: Identity, health, and well-being (pp. 195–215). Hove: Psychology Press. (in English)
Drury, J., Cocking, C., & Reicher, S. (2009). The Nature of Collective Resilience: Survivor Reactions to the 2005 London Bombings. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 27, 66–95. (in English)
Goral, A., Feder-Bubis, P., Lahad, M., Galea, S., O’Rourke, N., & Aharonson-Daniel, L. (2021). Development and validation of the Continuous Traumatic Stress Response scale (CTSR) among adults exposed to ongoing security threats. PLoS ONE, 16(5), e0251724. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0251724 (in English)
Guidance on Recovery and Resilience Plans in the context of REPowerEU. (2022). Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/info/business-economy-euro/recovery-coronavirus/recovery-and-resilience-facility_en (in English)
Hogg, M. A., Abrams, D., & Brewer, M. B. (2017). Social identity: The role of self in group processes and intergroup relations. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 20(5), 570–581. (in English)
Kochubeinyk, O. M. (2023). Sotsialna zhurtovanist i dovira: perevirka na mitsnist v umovakh viiny [Social cohesion and trust: A test of strength in wartime]. In Natsionalno-vyzvolnyi format tsinnisnoi transformatsii: Zbirnyk materialiv konferentsii [National-Liberation Format of Value Transformation, Conference Proceedings] (pp. 67–70). Lviv: Natsionalnyi universytet “Lvivska politekhnika”. (in Ukrainian)
Miller, K., Brewer, M., & Arbuckle, N. (2009). Social identity complexity: its correlates and antecedents. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 12(1), 79–94. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368430208098778 (in English)
Mizhnarodnyi fond “Vidrodzhennia” [International Renaissance Foundation]. (2024, 9 September). Sotsialna zhurtovanist – nash imunitet do zahrozy: u Kyievi predstavleno doslidzhennia zghurtovanosti v ukrainskykh hromadakh [Social cohesion – our immunity to threats: A study on cohesion in Ukrainian communities presented in Kyiv]. Retrieved from https://www.irf.ua/soczialna-zgurtovanist-nash-imunitet-do-zagrozy-u-kyyevi-predstavyly-doslidzhennya-zgurtovanosti-v-ukrayinskyh-gromadah/(in Ukrainian)
Murshed, M. (2011). A Model of Sectarian Violence. In R. Caruso (Ed.), Ethnic Conflict, Civil War and Cost of Conflict (pp. 51–68). https://doi.org/10.1108/S1572-8323(2011)0000017007 (in English)
Nuttman-Shwartz, O., & Green, O. (2021). Resilience truths: Trauma resilience workers’ points of view toward resilience in continuous traumatic situations. International Journal of Stress Management, 28(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1037/str0000223 (in English)
Ohlott, P. J., Chrobot-Mason, D., & Dalton, M. A. (2004). Collision courses: When social identity leads to conflict. Leadership in Action, 24(3), 8–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/lia.1068 (in English)
Palahniuk, O. (2022). Identychnist yak sutnisne yadro sotsialnoi solidarist [Identity as the core of social solidarity]. Naukovi perspektyvy [Scientific Perspectives], 2(20). (in Ukrainian)
Penic, S., Drury, J., & Bady, Z. (2022). Collective resilience. In The Shadow of Transitional Justice Cross-national Perspectives on the Transformative Potential of Remembrance (pp. 35-48). (in English)
Rubchak, M. V. (2021). Sutnist i typolohiia identychnosti terytorialnoi hromady [Essence and typology of territorial community identity]. Dniprovskii naukovyi chasopys publichnoho upravlinnia, psykholohii, prava [Dnipro Scientific Journal of Public Administration, Psychology, and Law], (3), 71–77. (in Ukrainian)
Schmid, K., Hewstone, M., Tausch, N., Cairns, E., & Hughes, J. (2009). Antecedents and consequences of social identity complexity: intergroup contact, distinctiveness threat, and outgroup attitudes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35(8), 1085–1098. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167209337037 (in English)
Shapira, S., Cohen, O., & Aharonson-Daniel, L. (2020). The contribution of personal and place-related attributes to the resilience of conflict-affected communities. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 72, Article 101520. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2020.101520 (in English)
Sivers, Z. (2023). Analiz teoretychnykh doslidzhen sotsialnoi zhurtovanosti v zarubizhnykh naukovykh dzherelakh [Analysis of theoretical studies on social cohesion in foreign scientific sources]. Problems of Political Psychology, 14(28), 36–61. https://doi.org/10.33120/popp-Vol14-Year2023-139 (in Ukrainian)
Sotsialna zhurtovanist v Ukraini: P. 2. Otsiniuvannia horyzontalnykh vidnosyn za dopomohoiu indeksu RESCORE [Social Cohesion in Ukraine: Part 2. Assessing horizontal relations using the RESCORE index] (2024). (in Ukrainian)
Sotsiolohichna hrupa “Reitynh” [Sociological Group “Rating”]. (2023, 1 December). Dvadtsiat piate zahalnonatsionalne opytuvannia: spryiniattia zahroz na zymu 2023-2024 [Twenty-fifth national survey: Perceptions of threats for winter 2023–2024]. Retrieved from https://ratinggroup.ua/research/ukraine/dvadcyat_piyate_zagalnonacionalne_opituvanny_spriynyattazagroz_na_zimu_2023-2024.html (in Ukrainian)
Turner, J. C. et al. (1987). Rediscovering the Social Group: A Self-Categorization Theory. Oxford & New York: Blackwell. (in English)
Ukrainskyi nezalezhnyi tsentr politychnykh doslidzhen [Ukrainian Independent Center for Political Studies]. (2023). Stiikist ta zhurtovanist ukrainskoho suspilstva pid chas viiny. Periodychnyi zvit na osnovi monitorynhovykh materialiv z obranykh rehioniv Ukrainy [Resilience and cohesion of Ukrainian society during the war. Periodic report based on monitoring materials from selected regions of Ukraine]. Is. 5. January – February 2023 roku. Kyiv. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y3hQPE0VcjfpL4PtVuX-djUV_GXEKrdI/view (in Ukrainian)
Vinkov, V. Yu. (2022). Bezpekovyi aspekty rozvytku identychnosti v umovakh viiny [Security aspects of identity development during war]. Problems of Political Psychology, 12(26), 138–150. (in Ukrainian)
Zhurtovanist: psykholohichnyi ta sotsiolohichnyi vymiry interpretatsii: mater. fakhovoi dyskusii 05.06.2023 r. [Cohesion: Psychological and sociological dimensions of interpretation, Proceedings of a professional discussion on 05.06.2023]. (2023) (Ed.V. M. Dukhnevych). Kyiv: ISPP NAPN Ukrainy. Retrieved from http://psy-lpr.at.ua/Materials/2023/2023-fakhova_diskusija-zgurtovanist.pdf. (in Ukrainian)
Zlyvkov, V. L., & Lukomska, S. O. (2023). Sotsialna ta osobystisna militarna identychnist ukraintsiv v umovakh viiny [Social and personal military identity of Ukrainians during the war]. Naukovyi visnyk Khersonskoho derzhavnoho universytetu. Seriia “Psykholohichni nauky” [Scientific Bulletin of Kherson State University. Series: Psychological Sciences], (3), 28–34. (in Ukrainian)