The Bulletin of National Defence University of Ukraine

The relevance of this study is determined by the need to examine opportunities for reducing the negative impact of war on the civilian population of Ukraine, their health, and well-being. The aim of the research was to identify directions for the psychological prevention of the negative influence of wartime threats on young people and their attitudes towards health. The empirical research methods included an author-designed questionnaire, methods of mathematical statistics and data analysis using the Jamovi programme, and the Kruskal-Wallis test to identify relationships with the socio-demographic characteristics of students. Based on changes in students’ attitudes towards health and the resources available to them, three groups were identified: the resource-stabilisation group (43.8%), the resource-accumulation group (34.9%), and the resource-depletion group (21.3%). The threats that students considered significant in the context of their attitudes towards health included the risk of shelling, danger to loved ones, lack of conditions for rest and work, loss, injury, or death of relatives and close persons, environmental and epidemic risks, relationship breakdowns, forced displacement, and the threat of mobilisation. Among the methods of health restoration, students most frequently chose passive and active forms of rest, communication with loved ones, humour and entertainment, hobbies and creative activities, self-regulation practices, and assistance from doctors and psychologists. Individuals who were in long-term relationships or marriage perceived the threat of shelling more acutely and experienced a stronger fear of relationship breakdown. Prevention of the impact of wartime threats on young people’s attitudes towards health relied on non-institutional recovery resources (sleep, rest, communication, search for meaning, hobbies), and the combined effect of these practices enhanced their effectiveness. Effective preventive measures included encouraging the regularity of basic recovery methods, fostering an internal permission to rest and function imperfectly, and integrating recovery practices into daily study and work routines. For the resource-stabilisation group, greater support for horizontal connections within networks of mutual assistance and joint activities was recommended. For the resource-accumulation group, the development of communicative competence skills and the prevention of relationship breakdowns were recommended. For the resource-depletion group, it was considered desirable to develop group-based formats for discussing wartime experiences, which reduce the sense of uniqueness of such experiences and prevent isolation. The practical value of the study lies in the development of targeted configurations of preventive measures according to available resources, their use, and changes in attitudes towards health

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