Bulletin of Vasyl' Stus Donetsk National University.
Series of Psychological Sciences

The sudden imposition of nationwide quarantine restrictions in March–May 2020 in response to the novel SARS-CoV-2 pandemic confronted the population with an unprecedented convergence of epidemiological threat, spatial confinement, and socio-economic disruption. Grounded in Terror Management Theory (Pyszczynski, Solomon, & Greenberg) and Carleton's cognitive model of Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU), this empirical study investigates how mortality salience and epistemic ambiguity shaped affective distress and coping architectures during the initial phase of the Ukrainian lockdown. An online cross-sectional sample of 514 Ukrainian adults (342 females, 172 males; aged 18–69 years) was assessed during weeks three to six of mandatory quarantine using the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS-12), the Short Health Anxiety Inventory (SHAI), Längle's Existential Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), and Folkman's Ways of Coping Questionnaire. Structural equation modeling revealed that prospective and inhibitory intolerance of uncertainty accounted for 51.4% of the variance in acute health anxiety, compulsive pandemic news-monitoring ("doomscrolling"), and psychosomatic sleep disturbances ($p < 0.001$). While problem-focused coping alone proved ineffective when applied to uncontrollable macro-epidemiological parameters, individuals who deployed flexible cognitive reappraisal alongside meaning-focused coping—reframing home confinement as an act of civic solidarity and an opportunity for existential introspection—maintained significantly higher emotional equilibrium. Practical crisis tele-counseling guidelines are proposed.

The abrupt, unscheduled transition of Ukrainian higher education institutions from traditional classroom instruction to fully synchronous videoconferencing formats (via Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet) in Spring 2020 generated a distinct constellation of cognitive and psychophysiological strain termed "videoconferencing fatigue." Drawing upon Tarafdar's transactional model of technostress and Sweller's Cognitive Load Theory, this study examines the psychological mechanisms underlying digital exhaustion among university lecturers and undergraduate students. Survey and daily diary data were collected from 142 university faculty members and 286 undergraduates across four national universities using Ragu-Nathan's Technostress Creators Inventory (techno-overload, techno-invasion, techno-complexity), the Chalder Fatigue Scale (CFQ-11), and NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) ratings. Mixed-effects regression modeling demonstrated that total daily hours spent in synchronous video calls predicted physical and mental exhaustion far more strongly than equivalent hours spent in asynchronous academic work ($\beta = 0.56, p < 0.001$). Four mediating mechanisms were identified: excessive extraneous cognitive load required to decode degraded paralinguistic cues, continuous self-focused attentional monitoring induced by the "mirror effect" of on-screen self-view windows, motor restriction under camera gaze, and the dissolution of spatial boundaries between domestic recovery zones and instructional obligations. Ergonomic and pedagogical recommendations for balancing synchronous and asynchronous university instruction are formulated.

Mandatory quarantine closures of kindergartens and secondary schools forced working parents into an unprecedented role collision, requiring simultaneous remote occupational performance, full-time childcare, and pedagogical supervision within confined residential quarters. Guided by Mikolajczak and Roskam's balance between risks and resources ($BR^2$) theory of parental burnout and Minuchin's structural family systems perspective, this study investigates predictors of parental exhaustion and marital conflict during the Spring 2020 lockdown. Two hundred and thirty-eight cohabiting parents (158 mothers, 80 fathers; raising at least one child aged 4–12) completed the Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA), Olson's FACES-IV, the Work-Family Conflict Scale (WFCS), and the Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Test. Results revealed clinically significant parental burnout—characterized by emotional distancing from children and contrast with one's previous parental self—in 24.8% of mothers and 11.3% of fathers. Path analysis confirmed that cramped residential density and asymmetric gender division of domestic/educational labor indirectly escalated verbal marital hostility via maternal emotional exhaustion ($\beta = 0.49, p < 0.001$). Conversely, families that established explicit temporal zoning, rotated childcare shifts equitably, and relinquished perfectionistic homeschooling standards preserved dyadic cohesion. Systemic family tele-therapy interventions for domestic de-escalation are presented.

Infectious disease physicians, intensive care nurses, and epidemiological teams mobilized during the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic encountered acute biosecurity hazards, resource bottlenecks in personal protective equipment (PPE), and social stigma associated with potential viral transmission to their own households. This clinical-psychological study examines the interplay between moral distress, nosocomial infection anxiety, and psychological resilience among Ukrainian frontline medical staff. A sample of 178 healthcare professionals working in designated COVID-19 infectious hospitals and triage units completed Corley's Moral Distress Scale-Revised (MDS-R), the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), Maddi's Hardiness Survey, and the Perceived Organizational Support Scale. Empirical findings indicated moderate-to-severe insomnia in 53.9% and clinical anxiety in 38.2% of frontline staff, with nursing personnel exhibiting significantly higher somatic distress than physicians ($p < 0.01$). Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that fear of infecting elderly family members and moral distress arising from triage constraints were the primary drivers of acute stress reactions ($\beta = 0.52, p < 0.001$). However, transparent institutional communication, authentic peer camaraderie within medical brigades, and dispositional hardiness ("commitment" and "control") buffered against depressive decompensation. A rapid hospital-based psychological debriefing and sensory decompression protocol is outlined.

Large-scale epidemiological crises historically trigger a surge in conspiratorial narratives that attribute biological threats to clandestine geopolitical or corporate machinations, undermining public compliance with preventative health behaviors. Integrating Douglas's motivational taxonomy of conspiracy beliefs (epistemic, existential, and social motives) with Brehm's Theory of Psychological Reactance, this study investigates the psychological profile of individuals endorsing pandemic-related conspiracy theories in Ukraine. Three hundred and sixty-two adult respondents completed Bruder's Conspiracy Mentality Questionnaire (CMQ), Hong's Psychological Reactance Scale, Levenson's Multidimensional Locus of Control Inventory (Internality, Powerful Others, Chance), a measure of institutional trust, and a behavioral self-report of mask-wearing and physical distancing adherence. Structural equation modeling revealed that conspiracy endorsement was strongly predicted by a combination of socio-political alienation, high attribution of life events to "Powerful Others," and trait psychological reactance ($\text{CFI} = 0.952, \text{RMSEA} = 0.044$). Paradoxically, individuals who felt a profound lack of personal control over socio-economic conditions compensated by embracing totalizing conspiratorial explanations, which provided an illusory sense of epistemic superiority ("possessing hidden truth") while justifying defiant non-compliance with sanitary mandates ($\beta = -0.47, p < 0.001$). Implications for non-coercive, autonomy-supportive public health communication are discussed.

The quarantine restrictions of 2020 compelled practicing psychotherapists across diverse modalities (psychodynamic, Gestalt, cognitive-behavioral, and client-centered) to migrate ongoing clinical caseloads into synchronous video-mediated environments. Grounded in Bordin's pan-theoretical model of the Working Alliance (agreement on goals, assignment of tasks, and affective bond), this empirical study compares client and therapist perceptions of therapeutic alliance quality and empathic attunement across in-person vs. video-mediated psychotherapy sessions. Data were gathered from 64 licensed psychotherapists and 128 adult outpatient clients who transitioned from face-to-face therapy to online video sessions for at least eight consecutive weeks. Instruments included the Working Alliance Inventory-Short Revised (WAI-SR), the Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory (BLRI), and the Telepresence in Videoconference Scale. Paired comparisons and multilevel modeling indicated that while cognitive agreement on therapeutic goals and tasks remained statistically invariant across modalities, therapists initially rated the affective bond and nonverbal somatic attunement significantly lower in online sessions ($p < 0.01$) than did their clients. Clients with avoidant attachment styles actually reported heightened psychological safety and deeper self-disclosure when participating from their own domestic environments. Compensatory verbalization of micro-affective states and deliberate vocal prosody modulation emerged as critical therapist competencies for sustaining tele-therapeutic intersubjectivity.

Contemporary adolescence unfolds within a dual socialization matrix wherein virtual peer communities, anonymous imageboards, and short-form video platforms co-construct normative beliefs regarding interpersonal aggression and emotional expression. Drawing upon Dodge's Social Information Processing (SIP) model and Gratz and Roemer's multidimensional conceptualization of emotion dysregulation, this study examines how distinct trajectories of adolescent cyber-socialization shape reactive and proactive aggression. A sample of 315 secondary school students (aged 13–16 years) completed the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ), the Reactive-Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPQ), and a typological inventory of online activity and virtual role identification. Cluster analysis delineated four cyber-socialization profiles: "Communicative-Integrative," "Creative-Constructive," "Escapist-Consumer," and "Provocative-Transgressive" (trolling anddestructive meme subcultures). MANOVA results demonstrated that adolescents in the Provocative-Transgressive cluster exhibited pronounced hostile attribution bias, emotional non-acceptance, and impulse control deficits, scoring significantly higher on both online cyber-aggression and offline instrumental hostility ($F = 38.9, p < 0.001$). Conversely, Creative-Constructive digital engagement fostered self-efficacy and affective modulation. The authors outline a media-psychological corrective program targeting hostile social-cognitive schemas in adolescents.

First-time pregnancy (primigravidity) represents a profound developmental transition involving the formation of maternal identity and prenatal attachment; however, gestation during the 2020 epidemiological crisis exposed expectant mothers to disrupted antenatal care, restrictions on partner-accompanied childbirth, and fear of vertical viral transmission. Grounded in Dobryakov's concept of the "Psychological Component of the Gestational Dominant" (PCGD) and Condon's theory of maternal-fetal attachment, this study investigates the predictors of perinatal anxiety and psychological readiness for motherhood in primigravid women. One hundred and thirty-two primigravid women in their second and third trimesters (aged 21–37 years) were assessed using Dobryakov's PCGD Test, the Pregnancy-Related Anxiety Questionnaire-Revised (PRAQ-R2), Cranley's Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale (MFAS), and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS, antenatal validation). Empirical analysis revealed a marked shift away from the optimal gestational dominant toward the "anxious" and "hypogestognosic" variants in 46.2% of respondents. Fear of giving birth in isolation without spousal support and anxiety regarding neonatal health strongly predicted elevated antenatal depressive symptoms ($\beta = 0.48, p < 0.001$). However, high dyadic emotional support from the partner and participation in interactive online antenatal preparation courses buffered maternal-fetal bonding against epidemiological stressors.

By autumn 2020, the psychological trajectory of the Ukrainian population had shifted from the acute mobilization of the spring lockdown to a chronic state of "pandemic fatigue"—defined by the World Health Organization as demotivation, emotional numbness, and behavioral exhaustion resulting from prolonged, unresolved crisis conditions. Integrating Seligman's learned helplessness paradigm with Holman and Silver's theory of temporal disintegration under trauma, this longitudinal study examines how temporal disorientation and reward deprivation drive depressive symptomatology during prolonged adaptive quarantine. A panel of 348 adult respondents (initially surveyed in April 2020 and re-evaluated in November 2020) completed the Pandemic Fatigue Scale (PFS), the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI), the Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS) for anhedonia, and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Longitudinal latent growth modeling demonstrated a significant decline in acute panic alongside a 34.5% surge in subclinical and clinical depressive symptoms, apathy, and fatalistic present orientation ($p < 0.001$). Respondents reported subjective "temporal blurring" (the loss of weekly and seasonal autobiographical landmarks due to monotonous teleworking and canceled social rituals), which directly mediated hedonic deficits and motivational depletion. Behavioural activation techniques focused on micro-ritualization of daily time and sensory novelty are proposed to counteract pandemic anhedonia.

Growing clinical evidence in late 2020 indicates that a substantial proportion of patients recovering from mild-to-moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection experience persistent neurocognitive impairments—colloquially termed "COVID brain fog"—extending months beyond virological clearance. This clinical neuropsychological study characterizes the profile of cognitive deficits and their relationship with post-viral asthenia and affective distress in post-acute COVID-19 outpatients. Seventy-six adult patients (aged 25–58 years; evaluated 6 to 16 weeks post-recovery) who reported subjective cognitive complaints were compared against 70 healthy seronegative controls matched for age and educational attainment. The comprehensive neuropsychological battery included the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), the Trail Making Test (TMT-A and TMT-B), the Stroop Color-Word Interference Test, Luria's 10-Word Memory Retention Test, semantic and phonemic verbal fluency tasks, the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI-20), and HADS. Between-group MANCOVA controlling for anxiety and depression scores revealed that post-COVID patients exhibited statistically significant impairments in cognitive processing speed (TMT-A), divided attention and set-shifting (TMT-B), phonemic verbal retrieval, and delayed verbal recall ($p < 0.001$), whereas primary visuospatial gnosis remained intact. Neurocognitive slowing correlated strongly with physical asthenia and systemic inflammatory markers during acute illness rather than premorbid neuroticism, pointing toward fronto-subcortical network hypometabolism. Paced cognitive rehabilitation guidelines are presented.

The large-scale corporate transition to distributed remote work in 2020 rendered traditional proximity-based managerial supervision obsolete, exposing a critical competency gap in virtual leadership ("e-leadership"). Grounded in Luthans's theory of Positive Psychological Capital (PsyCap: hope, self-efficacy, resilience, and optimism) and Avolio's e-leadership framework, this organizational psychology study investigates how team leaders' communicative behaviors and personal PsyCap influence subordinate work engagement and psychological safety in fully remote teams. Multi-source data were collected from 42 remote project leaders and 264 team members across Ukrainian financial, telecommunications, and consulting enterprises. Psychometric instruments included the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ-24), Hoch and Kozlowski's E-Leadership Scale, Edmondson's Team Psychological Safety Scale, and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9). Multilevel structural equation modeling demonstrated that leaders' PsyCap positively trickled down to subordinates' work engagement via empathetic digital communication and outcome-oriented autonomy support ($\gamma = 0.45, p < 0.001$). Conversely, managers who responded to remote ambiguity by implementing invasive digital surveillance software (keystroke logging, webcam snapshots) severely eroded team psychological safety, triggering defensive impression management and quiet disengagement. Practical e-leadership training modules are proposed.

As Ukrainian universities entered their second consecutive semester of distance learning in Autumn 2020, the removal of external institutional scaffolding (fixed campus schedules, in-person peer accountability, and direct instructor monitoring) precipitated a surge in chronic academic procrastination. Integrating Steel's Temporal Motivation Theory with Zimmerman's cyclical model of Self-Regulated Learning (SRL), this study examines the motivational and volitional predictors of academic procrastination in remote learning environments. Three hundred andforty-four undergraduate students (years 1–4) completed Tuckman's Procrastination Scale, the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS-C 28), Pintrich's MSLQ (metacognitive self-regulation and time/study environment management subscales), and Kuhl's Action Control Scale (ACS-90). Structural path analysis revealed that a "state orientation" (hesitation and preoccupation with past failures) combined with external/introjected academic motivation accounted for 54.8% of the variance in online task delay ($p < 0.001$). In the absence of physical classroom structure, students with weak environmental structuring habits succumbed to immediate digital distractors (smartphone multitasking during lectures) to regulate aversive boredom and task anxiety. Conversely, intrinsic epistemic motivation and proactive volitional action control buffered against procrastination. A digital self-regulation coaching intervention utilizing implementation intentions ("if-then" planning) and Pomodoro peer-study rooms is validated.

Epidemiological containment protocols implemented in 2020—including strict bans on hospital intensive care visitation, truncated or closed-casket burial regulations, and restrictions on traditional collective mourning gatherings—profoundly disrupted culturally universal rites of passage surrounding death. Drawing upon Boss's theory of Ambiguous Loss, Neimeyer's meaning-reconstruction model of bereavement, and Stroebe and Schut's Dual Process Model of Coping with Bereavement, this clinical study investigates risk factors for Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) among Ukrainian adults bereaved during the pandemic. Ninety-two adults who lost a first-degree relative between March and October 2020 (both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 mortalities) completed the Inventory of Complicated Grief-Revised (ICG-R), the Integration of Stressful Life Experiences Scale (ISLES), and the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL-5) at 4 to 7 months post-loss. Regression analyses demonstrated that the inability to bid farewell in person prior to death and the deprivation of traditional communal funeral rituals were stronger predictors of complicated grief severity, disbelief, and traumatic survivor guilt ($\beta = 0.55, p < 0.001$) than the medical cause of death itself. Deprived of sensory and collective confirmation of the loss, mourners experienced "frozen" grief and acute social isolation. Therapeutic protocols utilizing symbolic farewell rituals and narrative letter-writing are delineated.

Global and national law enforcement statistics in 2020 documented an alarming "shadow pandemic" of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), as quarantine movement restrictions trapped victims in continuous spatial proximity with abusive partners while severing access to informal social support networks. Grounded in Stark's coercive control framework and Walker's cycle of violence theory, this forensic and crisis psychology study examines the situational triggers of IPV escalation and the psychological barriers inhibiting help-seeking during lockdown. Structured clinical interviews and psychometric evaluations were conducted with 84 female survivors of domestic violence who contacted mobile psychosocial assistance brigades or crisis shelters across three oblasts, alongside an analysis of 210 helpline call logs. Assessment instruments included the Composite Abuse Scale (CAS), the Domestic Violence-Related Stigma Scale, and the Brief Resilient Coping Scale. Findings revealed that perpetrators systematically weaponized epidemiological restrictions to intensify coercive control—monitoring victims' digital communications, restricting access to financial resources following job loss, and exploiting fears of viral infection at shelters to prevent escape. Internalized shame, economic dependency, and traumatic bonding accounted for 48.6% of delayed help-seeking variance. The authors propose discreet digital crisis-signaling protocols and trauma-informed police intervention algorithms.

The rapid emergence of pandemic-specific phobic and somatic anxiety reactions necessitated the urgent cross-cultural validation of brief, psychometrically robust screening instruments for Ukrainian clinical and epidemiological research. This methodological study presents the linguistic adaptation, Classical Test Theory (CTT) and Item Response Theory (IRT) evaluation, and normative standardization of the Ukrainian versions of Ahorsu et al.'s 7-item Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) and Lee's 5-item Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS). Following international double-blind forward-backward translation procedures, data were collected from a nationwide sample of 920 Ukrainian adults (580 females, 340 males; aged 18–74 years). Both scales demonstrated high internal consistency (FCV-19S: Cronbach's $\alpha = 0.88$, McDonald's $\omega = 0.89$; CAS: $\alpha = 0.86, \omega = 0.87$). Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) using diagonally weighted least squares (DWLS) estimation indicated that while the CAS conformed strictly to a unidimensional physiological arousal factor ($\text{CFI} = 0.991, \text{RMSEA} = 0.034$), the Ukrainian FCV-19S was best represented by a bifactor model comprising a general coronavirus fear factor alongside two specific group factors: Cognitive-Emotional Worry and Somatic Fear Reactions ($\text{CFI} = 0.984, \text{TLI} = 0.972, \text{RMSEA} = 0.045, \text{SRMR} = 0.028$). Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis established optimal clinical cut-off scores for identifying dysfunctional coronaphobia.