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

Four years after the onset of large-scale internal migration in Ukraine, the psychological challenges confronting displaced populations have evolved from acute crisis stabilization to the protracted negotiation of biographical continuity. Drawing upon McAdams's life-story model of identity and Habermas and Bluck's taxonomy of global autobiographical coherence, this study examines how long-term internally displaced persons (IDPs) integrate spatial and social loss into their overarching life narratives. A sample of 162 adults (104 women, 58 men; aged 26–59 years) who had resided in host communities for at least 36 months participated in semi-structured Life Story Interviews alongside psychometric assessments using the Centrality of Event Scale (CES), Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scales (PWB), and the Temporal Orientation Scale. Structural-narrative coding across temporal, causal-motivational, and thematic coherence indices revealed three distinct modes of autobiographical reconstruction: "Frozen Nostalgia," characterized by idealization of the pre-displacement past and narrative foreclosure; "Compartmentalized Pragmatism," marked by functional behavioral adaptation alongside affective severance from prior identity anchors; and "Integrative Redemptive Agency," wherein individuals bridged pre- and post-migration chapters through overarching existential values. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that thematic coherence and redemptive sequencing accounted for 44.6% of the variance in environmental mastery and self-acceptance ($p < 0.001$), whereas high event centrality coupled with low causal coherence predicted persistent depressive rumination. The authors outline a narrative-biographical counseling protocol designed to restore temporal continuity among chronically displaced adults.

The proliferation of algorithmically amplified disinformation within hybrid information environments poses critical challenges to cognitive psychology and mass communication research. Grounded in dual-process theories of reasoning (Kahneman; Pennycook & Rand) and Sperber's framework of epistemic vigilance, this experimental investigation explores whether susceptibility to fabricated socio-political headlines is primarily driven by partisan motivated reasoning or by a failure to deploy analytic cognitive reflection. An online and laboratory-verified sample of 384 Ukrainian citizens (aged 18–62) evaluated the perceived accuracy and sharing likelihood of 32 actual and synthetically constructed news stimuli varying in emotional valence and ideological congruence. Participants also completed Frederick's Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT-7), Cacioppo's Need for Cognition Scale (NFC), Budner's Intolerance of Ambiguity Scale, and the Conspiracy Mentality Questionnaire (CMQ). Mixed-effects logistic regression modeling revealed that analytic thinking disposition (CRT and NFC scores) robustly predicted the ability to discern fabricated from authentic news regardless of whether the headline aligned with the respondent's preexisting political attitudes ($\beta = 0.42, p < 0.001$). Conversely, high intolerance of ambiguity and situational anxiety induced by emotionally charged headlines suppressed deliberative system-2 processing, increasing the likelihood of sharing unverified alarmist content by 63%. The findings challenge purely tribalistic accounts of misinformation spread and support inoculation-based cognitive training interventions to cultivate epistemic vigilance among digital media consumers.

The nationwide launch of the "New Ukrainian School" (NUS) legislative and pedagogical reform in 2018 has mandated the rapid expansion of inclusive classrooms for children with special educational needs (SEN) across mainstream primary schools. However, architectural accessibility and regulatory mandates remain insufficient without the internal psychological readiness of frontline educators. This empirical study diagnoses the structural components of psychological readiness—motivational-value, cognitive-operational, and affective-regulatory—among primary school teachers transitioning to inclusive instruction. A stratified sample of 276 primary school educators from Vinnytsia, Cherkasy, and Kyiv regions completed the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practices (TEIP) scale, the Multidimensional Attitudes Toward Inclusive Education Scale (MATIES), Karpov's Reflexivity Diagnostic Inventory, and a clinical burnout screening tool. Factor and cluster analyses indicated that while 74.2% of respondents endorsed declarative humanistic values supporting educational inclusion, only 38.4% demonstrated high behavioral self-efficacy when managing neurodevelopmental disorders (such as autism spectrum conditions and ADHD) within heterogeneous classrooms. Fear of professional incompetence, insufficient interdisciplinary coordination with teaching assistants, and emotional rigidity emerged as the primary psychological barriers generating latent resistance to inclusive reform. The authors propose a modular psychological accompaniment program featuring video-interaction guidance and Balint case-supervision to strengthen teachers' inclusive self-efficacy.

Mental health professionals and social workers providing continuous psychosocial support to combat veterans, bereaved families, and displaced civilians face cumulative empathic strain through indirect exposure to traumatic narratives. Utilizing Stamm's Professional Quality of Life framework and Pearlman's constructivist self-development theory of vicarious traumatization, this study investigates the prevalence and intrapersonal predictors of Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) and compassion fatigue among Ukrainian crisis helpers. One hundred and eighty-eight practitioners (112 crisis psychologists, 76 social workers) completed the Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL-5), the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS), Davis's Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), and the Brief COPE inventory. Empirical results revealed high risk profiles for compassion fatigue and subclinical STS symptoms (specifically intrusive imagery and hypervigilance) in 34.6% of the surveyed specialists. Path modeling demonstrated a critical dissociation between two facets of empathy: while cognitive perspective-taking positively predicted compassion satisfaction ($\beta = 0.39, p < 0.001$) and buffered against burnout, unmodulated affective "personal distress" empathy directly precipitated secondary traumatization ($\beta = 0.51, p < 0.001$). Furthermore, specialists with personal unresolved trauma histories or caseloads exceeding 20 trauma-focused hours per week without regular clinical supervision exhibited severe disruptions in world-view schemas regarding safety and interpersonal trust. The article establishes mandatory supervisory benchmarks to preserve the mental health of crisis intervention personnel.

The ascendance of visually driven social networking platforms (such as Instagram) has transformed peer socialization by immersing emerging adults in curated streams of idealized physical appearance. Grounded in Festinger's social comparison theory and Fredrickson and Roberts's objectification theory, this study examines how digital self-presentation behaviors and appearance-focused upward comparisons mediate body image dissatisfaction and disordered eating attitudes among female university students. A sample of 295 female undergraduates (aged 17–22 years) completed the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ-16), the Physical Appearance Comparison Scale-Revised (PACS-R), the Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (OBCS), the Photo Investment and Manipulation Scale, and measures of daily platform engagement. Structural equation modeling indicated that total screen time alone was only weakly associated with body dissatisfaction; rather, psychological investment in digital feedback (quantified as emotional reliance on "likes" and digital photo retouching prior to posting) and habitual upward comparison with fitness and beauty influencers explained 52.7% of the variance in body shame and body surveillance ($p < 0.001$). Self-esteem contingent on external validation moderated this pathway, amplifying body dysmorphic concerns among perfectionistic users. The authors design a cognitive dissonance-based media literacy workshop aimed at deconstructing digital beauty ideals among young women.

Youth entrepreneurship serves as a vital catalyst for regional economic revitalization in post-industrial and transitional territories; yet, macro-economic volatility frequently induces defensive economic paternalism and risk aversion among young graduates. Integrating Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior with economic psychology constructs, this study investigates the personality traits and cognitive appraisals that differentiate aspiring youth entrepreneurs from salaried-career seekers. A sample of 310 senior university students and recent graduates (aged 20–26) from Vinnytsia, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts completed Liñán and Chen's Entrepreneurial Intention Questionnaire (EIQ), Schubert's Financial Risk Tolerance Scale, Bateman and Crant's Proactive Personality Scale, Kornilova's Readiness for Risk (PSK) inventory, and Rotter's Locus of Control Scale. Hierarchical regression and mediation analyses revealed that entrepreneurial self-efficacy and proactive personality traits exerted the strongest direct effects on entrepreneurial intention ($\beta = 0.46, p < 0.001$), whereas tolerance for calculated risk—as distinct from impulsive sensation-seeking—partially mediated the relationship between internal locus of control and startup initiation behavior. Notably, respondents who had experienced family business exposure or participated in university startup incubators framed regional economic instability as an opportunity niche rather than an insurmountable barrier. Practical implications for psychological coaching in youth business incubators are discussed.

The post-deployment reunion period in military families is frequently idealized as an effortless return to domestic equilibrium, yet clinical reality demonstrates that reintegration constitutes a complex systemic crisis involving role renegotiation and emotional recalibration. Guided by Bodenmann's Systemic-Transactional Model (STM) of dyadic coping, this study examines how reciprocal stress communication and joint coping strategies influence marital stability among Ukrainian service members and their spouses during the first year following combat rotation. Ninety-four heterosexual married couples ($N = 188$ individuals) completed the Dyadic Coping Inventory (DCI), Spanier's Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS), Алешина's Marital Satisfaction Questionnaire, and the PCL-5 PTSD checklist. Actor-Partner Interdependence Modeling (APIM) revealed significant partner effects: veterans' emotional numbing and hyperarousal negatively impacted spouses' marital satisfaction, but this deleterious pathway was substantially buffered when couples engaged in supportive and common (joint) dyadic coping ($p < 0.001$). Conversely, "protective buffering"—wherein combat veterans concealed traumatic experiences to shield their wives, while wives suppressed domestic grievances to avoid triggering the veteran—paradoxically escalated relational alienation and psychosomatic tension in both partners. The study validates Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT) adaptations for restoring attachment security in post-deployment military households.

Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS), conceptualized by Aron and Aron as a biologically based temperament trait characterized by deeper cognitive processing of stimuli and heightened emotional reactivity, has gained increasing attention within differential and clinical psychology. This study investigates how SPS interacts with emotion regulation strategies to moderate vulnerability to academic stress and depressive symptomatology among undergraduate medical students. Two hundred and forty-two second- and third-year medical students completed the 27-item Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS), Gross and John's Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), the Medical Student Stressor Questionnaire (MSSQ), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Factor analysis confirmed the three-factor structure of SPS in the Ukrainian sample: Ease of Excitation (EOE), Low Sensory Threshold (LST), and Aesthetic Sensitivity (AES). Moderation analysis using PROCESS macro demonstrated a differential susceptibility effect: while high scores on EOE and LST predicted elevated exam anxiety and sleep disturbances under high academic stress when paired with expressive suppression, students with high AES and proficient cognitive reappraisal exhibited superior clinical empathy and academic performance under supportive mentoring conditions. The findings refute pathologizing views of high sensitivity, framing SPS as an environmental plasticity factor in medical training.

Ontological security—first articulated by Laing and Giddens as the foundational trust in the continuity of self-identity and the constancy of surrounding social and material environments—faces severe erosion during prolonged macro-social crises. This theoretical-empirical study examines how disruptions in ontological security deform the temporal horizon and future time perspective of Ukrainian adults living under chronic socio-economic and geopolitical uncertainty. A sample of 328 respondents (aged 21–64) from five oblasts completed Zimbardo's Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI), Nuttin's Motivational Induction Method (time extension indices), Janoff-Bulman's World Assumptions Scale (WAS), and a newly validated Ontological Security Diagnostic Questionnaire. Structural equation modeling revealed that the undermining of basic beliefs regarding world benevolence and controllability directly contracted the depth of future life-planning to short-term tactical horizons (1–6 months), while inflating Fatalistic Present and Negative Past orientations ($R^2 = 0.48, p < 0.001$). However, latent profile analysis identified a resilient group (29.5% of the sample) who maintained a balanced temporal configuration—combining constructive Future orientation with Hedonistic Present mindfulness—by anchoring ontological security in micro-social relational networks and autonomous professional mastery rather than macro-institutional stability. Methodological principles for existential-temporal psychotherapy are formulated.

With the ubiquitous penetration of smartphones and encrypted messaging groups among pre-adolescents, peer aggression has increasingly migrated into digital spaces where anonymity and asynchronous feedback amplify psychological harm. Drawing upon Bandura's social-cognitive theory of moral agency and Suler's online disinhibition effect, this study investigates the cognitive mechanisms of moral disengagement that facilitate cyberbullying perpetration and passive bystander complicity among early adolescents. Survey data were gathered from 412 middle school students (grades 6–8; aged 11–14 years) across six urban secondary schools using the European Cyberbullying Intervention Project Questionnaire (ECIPQ), Bandura's Moral Disengagement Scale adapted for cyber-contexts, and Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale. Results indicated that 26.7% of respondents reported experiencing cyber-victimization within the preceding semester, while 18.2% admitted to active cyber-aggression, with substantial overlap between bully-victim roles. Path analysis demonstrated that cognitive restructuring mechanisms—specifically euphemistic labeling ("just trolling/joking"), diffusion of responsibility in group chats, and attribution of blame to the victim—robustly predicted cyber-perpetration ($\beta = 0.53, p < 0.001$). Perceived anonymity and lack of immediate visual access to the victim's emotional distress weakened empathic inhibition. The authors present a whole-school anti-cyberbullying curriculum centered on activating defender self-efficacy among peer bystanders.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI),including blast-induced and closed-head concussions, frequently results in persistent post-concussion neurocognitive deficits that impair occupational and daily functioning long after structural neuroimaging findings normalize. This clinical trial evaluates the efficacy of a targeted 8-week computerized and metacognitive neurorehabilitation protocol aimed at restoring sustained attention, processing speed, and visuospatial/verbal working memory in adult patients with subacute mTBI. Sixty-four patients (aged 23–48, assessed 3 to 9 months post-injury) were randomized into either an active Cognitive Remediation Therapy (CRT) group ($n = 32$) receiving dual n-back training combined with Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT) drills and metacognitive strategy coaching, or a standard pharmacological/supportive care control group ($n = 32$). Pre- and post-treatment neuropsychological batteries included the Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS-IV subsets), Schulte-Platonov Tables, the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), and the Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire (RPQ). Repeated-measures ANCOVA revealed that the CRT cohort achieved statistically significant improvements in working memory span ($p < 0.001$), attentional switching velocity, and subjective cognitive fatigue compared to controls, with gains maintained at 3-month follow-up. The findings highlight the role of top-down frontoparietal neuroplasticity when bottom-up drill training is paired with compensatory metacognitive self-monitoring.

Ukraine's rapidly expanding Information Technology (IT) outsourcing and product sector experiences chronic human capital volatility, characterized by intense global talent competition and elevated voluntary turnover rates among software engineers. Applying Meyer and Allen's three-component model of organizational commitment alongside Bakker and Demerouti's Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory, this study investigates the non-pecuniary psychological drivers of employee retention in IT organizations. Empirical data were collected from 248 software developers, QA engineers, and project managers across seven IT companies in Kyiv, Lviv, and Vinnytsia. Diagnostic instruments included the Organizational Commitment Scale (OCS), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9), Hackman and Oldham's Job Diagnostic Survey, and Mobley's Turnover Intention Scale. Structural regression analyses demonstrated that compensation satisfaction primarily influenced continuance commitment, which failed to prevent turnover when external headhunting offers arose. In contrast, affective organizational commitment—the strongest negative predictor of turnover intention ($\beta = -0.58, p < 0.001$)—was driven by task autonomy, perceived architectural impact of one's code, opportunities for mastery of emerging technologies, and horizontal psychological safety within Agile/Scrum teams. Micromanagement and monotonous legacy maintenance tasks accelerated professional cynicism and exit behaviors regardless of financial bonuses.

Intensified labor and educational emigration of young Ukrainian adults to European Union countries has created a widespread demographic phenomenon wherein aging parents remain behind in "transnational empty nests." This gerontopsychological study differentiates between situational social isolation and existential loneliness among older adults whose adult children and grandchildren reside permanently or semi-permanently abroad. A sample of 175 older adults (aged 58–76 years; 118 females, 57 males) completed Korchagina's Loneliness Typology Questionnaire, the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3), Lee and Robbins's Social Connectedness Scale, and Neugarten's Life Satisfaction Index-A (LSI-A). Comparative analysis between parents of transnational migrants ($n = 95$) and parents with locally residing offspring ($n = 80$) revealed that frequency of audiovisual digital communication (via Skype/Viber) mitigated acute cognitive-informational deprivation but did not alleviate tactile-emotional and existential loneliness among widowed or retired respondents whose personal identity was exclusively fused with the maternal/paternal role. Conversely, older adults who cultivated autonomous horizontal peer networks, civic volunteering, or "Third Age University" educational activities demonstrated high ego-integrity and subjective well-being despite geographical separation from progeny. Psychological guidelines for community gerontological centers are proposed.

Comorbidity between Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) presents persistent diagnostic and therapeutic challenges in outpatient psychotherapy. Integrating Beck's cognitive content-specificity hypothesis with Jeffrey Young's Schema Therapy framework, this clinical study investigates the differential architecture of Early Maladaptive Schemas (EMS), schema modes, and surface-level cognitive distortions across pure GAD, pure MDD, and comorbid outpatient cohorts. One hundred and thirty-six clinical outpatients (diagnosed via ICD-10 criteria) completed the Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form 3 (YSQ-S3), the Schema Mode Inventory (SMI), the Cognitive Distortions Questionnaire (CD-Quest), the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ). Discriminant analysis revealed that while both clinical groups shared elevated "Vulnerable Child" and "Punitive Parent" modes, GAD outpatients were uniquely distinguished by the "Vulnerability to Harm or Illness" and "Unrelenting Standards" schemas alongside fortune-telling and catastrophic magnification distortions. Conversely, MDD outpatients exhibited dominant "Defectiveness/Shame," "Social Isolation," and "Failure" schemas mediated by the "Detached Protector" coping mode and dichotomous overgeneralization. Comorbid patients displayed an entrenched feedback loop wherein chronic anxious hypervigilance exhausted executive resources, triggering depressive helplessness. Differential schema-focused intervention targets are delineated.

Despite the widespread clinical and research interest in psychological resilience across Ukrainian behavioral sciences, practitioners have long lacked rigorously standardized, psychometrically validated Ukrainian-language instruments with established population norms. This methodological study presents the linguistic adaptation, factor validation, and standardization of the Ukrainian version of the 25-item Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-25). Following international forward-backward translation protocols and expert committee review, psychometric testing was conducted on a heterogeneous normative sample of 845 Ukrainian adults (512 females, 333 males; aged 18–68 years), including a clinical subsample of 140 crisis-affected individuals. Internal consistency reliability was excellent (Cronbach's $\alpha = 0.91$; McDonald's $\omega = 0.92$), with 4-week test-retest stability reaching $r = 0.86$. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses (CFA) utilizing maximum likelihood estimation indicated that rather than the original five-factor American model—which included a culturally specific spirituality factor—a modified four-factor oblique model (Personal Competence and Tenacity; Tolerance of Negative Affect and Cognitive Flexibility; Secure Relationships and Social Support; Meaningful Self-Control) yielded superior fit indices in the Ukrainian population ($\text{CFI} = 0.946, \text{TLI} = 0.938, \text{RMSEA} = 0.047, \text{SRMR} = 0.041$). Convergent, discriminant, and criterion validity were confirmed against Maddi's Hardiness Survey, PSS-10, and HADS. Gender- and age-stratified stanine norms are provided for clinical and research deployment.