Research indicates that university and college students are at higher risk of experiencing mental health problems than other populations. This study aims to examine the relationship between Physical Activity (PA) and the mental health of Ukrainian university students during the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic lockdown. The conventional sample consisted of 1512 students from 11 Ukrainian universities, with a mean age of 20 years (M = 20.06, SD = 3.05) and 69% of whom were female. The cross-sectional online survey was disseminated through the most popular social media channels in Ukraine (i.e., Facebook, Viber, Telegram) and included the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale to measure anxiety and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to assess depression. Data were collected from 14 May to 4 June 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in Ukraine. Among university students, 43% were engaged in PA ≥ 150 min weekly, 24% met the criteria of GAD, and 32% met the criteria of depression. More students were involved in PA before the COVID-19 outbreak than during the national lockdown. Students with anxiety and depression were almost two times less likely to engage in PA than their counterparts without mental health disorders. The inactive group had higher scores of anxiety and depression than the physically active group. The relationship of PA with anxiety and depression was statistically significant but weak during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Context: The Russian attack on Ukraine has been ongoing since February 24, 2022. Nevertheless, no research has documented the mental health of Ukrainians during the biggest land war in Europe after the Second World War, or how Ukrainians cope with the impact of the war. Objectives: To provide the prevalence rates of symptoms of psychological distress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia; and to link them with Ukrainians’ productive coping strategies during the war. Design, setting, and participants: Online survey conducted in Ukraine during the initial period of the Russian invasion (March 19–31, 2022), using a quota sampling method, of 1,400 Ukrainians aged 18 years or older, with a total of 801 valid responses for a response rate of 57.2%. Main outcome measures: Psychological distress assessed by the Kessler Psychological Distress scale (K6); anxiety assessed by Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 (GAD-2) scale; depression assessed by Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2); insomnia assessed by Insomnia Severity Index-4 (ISI-4); modes of coping assessed by Brief COPE. Results: Of 801 Ukrainian adults, 52.7% had symptoms of psychological distress (mean = 13.3 [ SD = 4.9]); 54.1% of them reported symptoms of anxiety (mean = 2.9 [ SD = 1.7]); 46.8% reported symptoms of depression (mean = 2.6 [ SD = 1.6]). Symptom criteria for insomnia were met by 97 respondents (12.1%) (mean = 10.4 [ SD = 4.2]). Demographic variables (including gender, living in an urban area, having children or elderly persons in the household, living in an area occupied by Russian forces) were associated with symptoms of distress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia. The productive coping strategies of using instrumental support, behavioral disengagement, self-distraction, and planning were significantly associated with mental health symptoms. Conclusions: Prevalence rates of symptoms of psychological distress, anxiety, depression, and insomnia were high. These findings underscore the need for healthcare and productive coping strategies for Ukrainians during the war.

Background The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine has led many Ukrainians to fight for their country, either in the regular army or as civilian members of voluntary territorial defense forces. There is, however, a dearth of knowledge on the mental health of combatants in this conflict. Prior research on the mental health of combatants is unlikely to translate to the situation at hand because such research is focused on combatants fighting abroad and neglects civilian combatants. Methods This study provides the first attempt to investigate the mental health of Ukrainian combatants in the regular army and voluntary territorial defense forces by analyzing the prevalence rates of common mental health issues, as well as their demographic and socioeconomic predictors. Results Between March 19 and 31, 2022, the initial period of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a sample of 178 Ukrainian combatants (104 in the regular army and 74 civilian combatants) participated in a survey on symptoms of anxiety (GAD-2), depression (PHQ-2), and insomnia (ISI). Conclusions A sizable portion of Ukrainian combatants reached cut-off levels for clinical symptoms of anxiety (44·4%), depression (43·3%), and insomnia (12·4%). Importantly, the mental health of Ukrainian combatants varied between professional soldiers and civilian combatants, as well as by gender, marital status, by whether or not they were located in Russian-occupied/active-combat areas, and dependent on whether they were personally involved in combat. This study provides early evidence on the mental health of Ukrainian combatants, pointing to their urgent need for mental health assistance in the ongoing war.

The competence in physical education (PE) is an assessment of a person's ability to lead a physically active lifestyle. The lack of an integrated approach to assessing the success of student’s training in PE does not allow a systematic, transparent and effective monitoring of the dynamics of the development of the personality of a competitive specialist, establishing the causes of problems and developing forecasts for the future. The goal of study was to develop and justify a system for assessing the competence of PE of students studying at universities and colleges. A survey of experts (N=82) was conducted to find out the importance of each of the structural elements of competence. The validity of proposed approaches was investigated. Three domains (“Movement Activity and Attitude to It,” “Physical Health and Fitness,” “Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities”) were distinguished in the structure of competence in PE, each of which was divided into 2–4 components. Designed assessment method covers all structural parts of the competence in PE, the goals of student learning, takes into account the list of necessary knowledge and skills in accordance with the requirements of the program, provides the formation of motivation for an active lifestyle, and maintains a level of physical activity sufficient for health. Developed method allows to determine the overall assessment of the formation of competence in PE, as well as a separate component, it gives an opportunity to calculate “critical” components, take into account interests and needs of students, teachers, and university / college administration.

Introduction: This study was conducted to test the hypothesis that different subgroups of students, based on a combination of their intrinsic and controlled motivation, are associated with differences in various indicators of physical, mental, and social health and quality of life. In this study types of motivational profiles, and motivational profile differences related to health-related quality of life indicators analysed. Methods: Future physical education and sports instructors (males, n=281, age=26.5 ± 3.10 years) were involved in the study. The survey involved collecting socio-demographic data and assessing participants' academic competence (Academic Motivation Scale), anxiety (State-Trait Inventory), and quality of life (SF-36 Health Status Survey) of responders. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was executed to obtain the optimal number of motivation profiles via R software. Results: Two different profiles of academic motivation to study physical education and sports were obtained, in particular the autonomous motivation profile and the external/amotivation profile. Participants from the autonomous motivation profile had higher indices of intrinsic motivation, integrated regulation, and identified regulation, and higher life quality, indices of introjected regulation, amotivation, and anxiety were lower. The second profile is characterized by a predominance of controlled motives, and unsatisfactory mental health indicators.