The Bulletin of National Defence University of Ukraine

  • Received 10.04.2023,
  • Revised 01.05.2023,
  • Accepted 23.05.2023
Download article Download article
Vol. 18, No. 3, 2023
  • identity; integrative model; identity crisis; coping strategies; mental health; pseudo-identity; resilience
  • https://doi.org/10.33099/2617-6858-2023-73-3-73-82
  • Pages 73-82

The article, based on the available research, analyzes the psychological problems faced by Ukrainians forcibly displaced as a result of Russian aggression and the factors of their resilience. Theoretical research methods are applied: analysis, generalization, modeling. It was established that refugees and forced migrants (compared to people of permanent residence in the absence of hostilities nearby) have the following trends: increasing the value of security; self-doubt; orientation to the past; lack of internal satisfaction from the performance of professional duties; decrease in physical health indicators, difficulties in building plans for the future; often experience an identity crisis, which under unfavorable conditions leads to the acquisition of pseudo-identity. An attempt was made to find optimal ways and means of psychological support for the mentioned persons and their families, taking into account their characteristics as subjects and recipients of the influence of the environment during the migration period and in the post-migration period. The leading importance is given to the spiritual and existential dimensions of a person (not ignoring others, but also not reducing a person to them). An integrative model of psychological support for persons forcibly displaced as a result of Russian aggression is proposed, which relies on the possibilities of different versions of psychodynamic, behavioral, cognitive, humanistic and existentially oriented approaches, is aimed at mobilizing personal resources, achieving existential fulfillment, as well as – at mastering health-preserving psychotechniques and forming resistance to the destructive effects of the environment

References

  1. Zavhorodnia, O.V. (2018). Development of the principles of integrative-existential interpretation. Theoretical studies in psychology: Collection of articles, Vol. IV. In V.O. Miedintsev (Ed.). Kharkiv: Monograph. Pp. 136–151. (in Ukrainian)
  2. Zlyvkov, V.L., Lukomska, S.O., & Fedan, O.V. (2016). Psychodiagnostics of personality in life crisis situations. Kyiv: Pedahohichna dumka. 219 p. (in Ukrainian)
  3. Kraieva, O.A. (2022). Psychological features of the identity of persons displaced from the occupied territory of Ukraine. Visnyk Natsionalnoho Universytetu Oborony Ukrainy, No. 6 (70). Retrieved from http://visnyk.nuou.org.ua/article/view/265746/264597
  4.  (in Ukrainian)
  5. Atari-Khan, R., Covington, A.H., Gerstein, L.H., al Herz, H., Varner, B.R., Brasfield, C., Shurigar, B., Hinnenkamp, S.F., Devia, M., Barrera, S., et al. (2021). Concepts of resilience among trauma-exposed Syrian refugees. Counseling Psychology, 49, 233–268.
  6. Beiser, M., & Hou, F. (2017). Predictors of positive mental health among refugees: Results from Canada’s General Social Survey. Transcultural Psychiatry, 54(5-6), 675–695. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363461517724985
  7. Bouchard, J.-P., Stiegler, N., Padmanabhanunni, A., & Pretorius, T.B. (2022). Psychotraumatology of the war in Ukraine: The question of the psychological care of victims who are refugees or who remain in Ukraine. Annales Medico-Psychologiques. In press.
  8. Chow, M., Hashim, A.H., & Guan, N.C. (2021). Resilience in adolescent refugees living in Malaysia: The association with religiosity and religious coping. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 67, 376–385.
  9. Fazel, M., Wheeler, J., & Danesh, J. (2005). Prevalence of serious mental disorder in 7000 refugees resettled in western countries: A systematic review. Lancet, 365, 1309–1314.
  10. Fino, E., Mema, D., & Russo, P.M. (2020). War trauma-exposed refugees and posttraumatic stress disorder: The moderating role of trait resilience. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 129, 109905.
  11. Hodes, M. (2022). Thinking about young refugees' mental health following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 28, 3–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/13591045221125639
  12. Vogel, J.M., & Pfefferbaum, B. (2014). Family resilience after disasters and terrorism: Examining the concept. In R. Pat-Horenczyk, D. Brom, & J. Vogel (Eds.), Helping children cope with trauma: Individual, family and community perspectives (pp. 81–100). New York, NY: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
  13. Jannesari, S., Hatch, S., Prina, M., & Oram, S. (2020). Post-migration social-environmental factors associated with mental health problems among asylum seekers: A systematic review. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 22, 1055–1064.
  14. Kien, C., Sommer, I., Faustmann, A., Gibson, L., Schneider, M., Krczal, E., Jank, R., Klerings, I., Szelag, M., Kerschner, B., et al. (2019). Prevalence of mental disorders in young refugees and asylum seekers in European countries: A systematic review. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 28, 1295–1310.
  15. Kokun, O. (2022). The Ukrainian population’s war losses and their psychological and physical health. Journal of Loss and Trauma. https://doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2022.2136613
  16. Mesa-Vieira, C., Haas, A.D., Buitrago-Garcia, D., Roa-Diaz, Z.M., Minder, B., Gamba, M., Salvador, D. Jr., Gomez, D., Lewis, M., Gonzalez-Jaramillo, W.C., Pahud de Mortanges, A., Buttia, C., Muka, T., Trujillo, N., & Franco, O.H. (2022). Mental health of migrants with pre-migration exposure to armed conflict: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Public Health, 7(5), e469–e481. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(22)00061-5
  17. Muruthi, B.A., Young, S.S., Chou, J., & Janes, E. (2022). “We pray as a family”: The role of religion for resettled Karen refugees. Journal of Family Issues, 41, 1723–1741.
  18. Oviedo, Ll., Seryczynska, B., Torralba, J., Roszak, P., Del Angel, J., Vyshynska, O., Muzychuk, I., & Churpita, S. (2022). Coping and resilience strategies among Ukraine war refugees. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19, 13094. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013094
  19. Posselt, M., Eaton, H., Ferguson, M., Keegan, D., & Procter, N. (2018). Enablers of psychological well-being for refugees and asylum seekers living in transitional countries: A systematic review. Health & Social Care in the Community, 27, 808–823. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.12680
  20. Renkens, J., Rommes, E., & van den Muijsenbergh, M. (2022). Refugees’ agency: On resistance, resilience, and resources. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19, 806.
  21. Rizzi, D., Ciuffo, G., Sandoli, G., Mangiagalli, M., de Angelis, P., Scavuzzo, G., Nych, M., Landoni, M., & Ionio, C. (2022). Running away from the war in Ukraine: The impact on mental health of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees in transit in Poland. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19, 16439. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192416439
  22. Schlechter, P., Rodriguez, I.M., Morina, N., Knausenberger, J., Wilkinson, P.O., & Hellmann, J.H. (2021). Psychological distress in refugees: The role of traumatic events, resilience, social support, and support by religious faith. Psychiatry Research, 304, 114121.
  23. Sijbrandij, M. (2018). Expanding the evidence: Key priorities for research on mental health interventions for refugees in high-income countries. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 27(2), 105–108. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2045796017000713
  24. Sleijpen, M., Mooren, T., Kleber, R.J., & Boeije, H.R. (2017). Lives on hold: A qualitative study of young refugees’ resilience strategies. Childhood, 24, 348–365.
  25. Schwalm, F.D., Zandavalli, R.B., de Castro Filho, E.D., & Lucchetti, G. (2022). Is there a relationship between spirituality/religiosity and resilience? A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Journal of Health Psychology, 27, 1218–1232.
  26. Seryczynska, B., Oviedo, L., Roszak, P., Saarelainen, S.-M.K., Inkilд, H., & Torralba, J. (2021). Religious capital as a central factor in coping with the COVID-19: Clues from an international survey. European Journal of Science and Theology, 17, 67–81.
  27. Spatrisano, J., Robinson, R.V., Eldridge, G.D., & Rosich, R.M. (2020). Conceptualizing refugee resilience across multiple contexts. In D. Gьngцr & D. Strohmeier (Eds.), Contextualizing immigrant and refugee resilience (Advances in Immigrant Family Research). Cham, Switzerland: Springer.
  28. Steel, Z., Chey, T., Silove, D., Marnane, C., Bryant, R.A., & Van Ommeren, M. (2009). Association of torture and other potentially traumatic events with mental health outcomes among populations exposed to mass conflict and displacement

Submission

 
Flag Counter