Current mental states of children of internally displaced persons in war conditions as a resource for their post-traumatic growth
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17721/1728-2217.2024.60.39-46Keywords:
socio-psychological maladjustment, PTSD, psychological resources, stress, psychophysiological sphere, cognitive sphere, emotional sphere, communicative sphere, behavioural sphereAbstract
B a c k g r o u n d . The peculiarities of children's condition during the period of hostilities are characterised by the intensification of not only the symptoms of psychological maladjustment. There is also a reverse trend – the search for resources, both personal and social, starting with reliance on group values – support from family, community of friends, understanding oneself as part of the learning community and ending with reliance on deep inner values. The purpose is to evaluate and analyse the state of adolescents in war conditions, taking into account gender and the degree of exposure to extreme events related to hostilities.
M e t h o d s . Surveys, methods of mathematical statistics. The questionnaire is designed to assess the current state of a child and contains items that assess: manifestations of socio-psychological and mental maladjustment, individual symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in various spheres of life, psychological resources for coping with stress, and self-assessment of well-being. The results were analysed using IBM SPSS 27.0.
R e s u l t s . The data analysis revealed the main features of the current state of students in the context of war: some adolescents have severe disadvantages in the psychophysiological, cognitive, emotional, communicative and behavioural spheres, and marked differences between boys and girls in assessing the manifestations of maladjustment and signs of PTSD. Pupils experience the consequences of hostilities, which lead to disruption of adaptation in vital areas for the individual. The results on the prevalence and severity of signs of socio-psychological maladjustment, as well as manifestations that can be attributed to PTSD signs, subjective well-being and psychological resources of students in overcoming stress are obtained. Statistically significant differences between students by gender were found.
C o n c l u s i o n s . The results of the study showed that some adolescents living in combat zones or who have had experiences related to combat are currently experiencing symptoms of maladjustment and severe disadvantage in the psychophysiological, cognitive, emotional, communicative and behavioural spheres. Such minors are at risk and need further diagnosis and targeted psychological assistance.
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