The Bulletin of National Defence University of Ukraine

  • Received 09.10.2025,
  • Revised 22.02.2026,
  • Accepted 30.03.2026
  • Published 16.04.2026
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Vol. 21, No. 2, 2026
  • sexual diversity; associative experiment; gender differences; armed forces; personal autonomy; privacy
  • https://doi.org/10.33099/2617-6858-26-21-2-108-117
  • Pages 108-117

The aim of this empirical study was to identify the socio-psychological attitudes of future Ukrainian officers towards sexual diversity and to determine the latent factors that influence the potential for inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The empirical basis was provided by data from a psycholinguistic associative experiment conducted among 78 senior cadets of a military institute aged 20 to 28, with an average age of 24.6 years. Respondents provided free associations to the stimuli “a person’s private life and the right to be oneself” and “traditional family norms and traditions,” which were then processed using a reflective thematic analysis procedure. The results showed that ideas about privacy and family norms are key conceptual frameworks through which sexual diversity is understood in the Ukrainian military environment. The male group is dominated by an orientation towards discipline, social order and heteronormative family models, combined with an expectation of limited public visibility of LGBT people. This configuration of attitudes corresponds to a model of conditional inclusion, where the right to diversity is recognised mainly in the private sphere. In the women’s group, associations related to acceptance, emotional support, respect for individual choice, and variability of family forms are more frequently recorded, indicating the psychological potential to recognise the right to independence, control, and inviolability of personal choice in the sexual sphere. The study found that the inclusion of LGBT people in the Armed Forces of Ukraine largely depends on the informal cultural perceptions of Ukrainians, and not only on official non-discrimination policies. Tolerance for sexual diversity in the minds of Ukrainian cadets is fragmented and manifests itself mainly at the level of individual rights, but is significantly narrowed in the sphere of socially significant norms. At the same time, the presence of an orientation towards respect, mutual understanding and psychological support indicates resources for the development of an inclusive climate. The practical value of the work lies in the fact that the development of a culture of respect for diversity and inclusion of LGBT people strengthens trust, cohesion and effective interaction in military units

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