Psycho-Emotional State of Ukrainian Soldiers Before Going to the Frontline

Abstract

The aim of the study is to investigate the psychological state of the soldiers before they go to the battle space. The article shows the Assessment of people’s behavior, their psycho-emotional characteristics, and the degree of their adaptability in extreme conditions. This interest has increased even further due to the intensification of hostilities in Ukraine since February 2022 after the invasion of Russian forces on its territory. Extreme situations, including military conflicts, largely affect people’s ability to withstand stress, and their willingness to survive these events safely and develop a sufficient degree of adaptability in themselves. Researchers examine the psycho-emotional state of an individual from the standpoint of different theoretical positions. Conclusions. This study has shown that the current psycho-emotional state of Ukrainian military personnel who are preparing to go to the front line is characterized by a low degree of anxiety, increased aggressiveness, and the ability to adapt to environmental conditions easily, set goals and achieve them. At the same time, the military of Ukraine also show symptoms of stress, and some signs of neuropsychic instability, psychopathy, hysteria, paranoia, and psychasthenia. These personality traits may be directly related to the nature of their professional activities and an increased sense of awareness of their own significance and importance in combat conditions. In general, the listed features of the psycho-emotional state are evidence of the readiness of Ukrainian service members to participate in the war and their ability to perform their duties effectively.

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“…Risk factors for PTSD in individuals who have had traumatic war experiences are considered by researchers in terms of the following aspects: sociodemographic factors (Catani, 2018;Kurapov et al, 2022a;Rizkalla & Segal, 2018), psychological conditions (Rybinska et al, 2022), mental disorders present (Rizkalla & Segal, 2018;Kakaje et al, 2021), place of residence (Tekeli-Yesil et al, 2018), and psychological flexibility (Meyer et al, 2018). In particular, sociodemographic factors that may increase the risk of PTSD include variables such as gender, age, language, marital status, education level, and income (Catani, 2018;Kurapov et al, 2022a;Rizkalla & Segal, 2018).…”

“…In turn, younger people are most affected by adverse effects on their mental health (Catani, 2018). In addition, a low degree of frustration may increase mental vulnerability and the risk of PTSD (Rybinska et al, 2022), while psychological flexibility, on the contrary, may reduce vulnerability (Meyer et al, 2018).…”

“…The existing research literature addresses aspects of PTG during and after military conflicts in less detail. However, there is a body of research that focuses on the predictors of PTG (Abraham et al, 2018;Cárdenas Castro et al, 2016;Cengiz et al, 2019;Kurapov et al, 2022a;Mark et al, 2018;Ochu et al, 2018;Rybinska et al, 2022;Vogt et al, 2020). In particular, according to a study by Mark et al (2018), the PTG of military personnel who served in Afghanistan or Iraq was driven by high levels of social support and spirituality.…”

“…In particular, populations that faced the military dictatorship in Chile in 1973 and used a reframing strategy coped with PTSD more quickly (Cárdenas Castro et al, 2016). In turn, according to Rybinska et al (2022) and Ochu et al (2018), another factor driving PTG may be purposefulness. These researchers noted that a high level of frustration and the ability to give meaning to life and set goals allow individuals who have faced military experience to achieve PTG.…”