Forced displacement as a factor in students’ anxiety manifestation and neuroticization during the war

Abstract

Abstract.Background. The question of the impact of anxiety on different aspects of personality life in modern psychological research has gained wide interest and has become the subject of constant study. It is clear that military conflicts have a significant impact on the mental health of the population, the neuroticization of a young person who is in the period of active personality formation and self-identification. Changes in the internal condition and traumatic events during hostilities can cause exacerbation of stress, anxiety disorders, increased anxiety among young people, which can be a barrier to their adaptation to new conditions and social integration. That is why the study of this issue is relevant, because it is necessary to assess the state of anxiety in youth in time, to predict probable anxiety disorders, as well as to develop possible corrective and therapeutic measures. The purpose is to study students’ anxiety as a mechanism of maladaptation during forced displacement in war. The main objectives are conducting a set of diagnostic procedures to study the general and specific features of anxiety in students during the war; comparing the main characteristics of anxiety in displaced and non-displaced students during a full-scale invasion. Materials and methods. The anxiety study included several stages and took place in March-May 2023. A sample group of 129 people was formed and divided into two subgroups. Тhe first subgroup (47 %) includes internally (within the country) displaced people (IDP) and externally (outside the country) displaced people (EDP), and the second subgroup (53 %) consists of non-displaced people. The following research methods were used: 1) surveys — to collect socio-demographic data of participants (gender, age, and, in case of IDP/EDP, country or region of residence); 2) psychological testing — for screening anxiety and depression (the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), to characterize state and trait anxiety (the Spielberger-Khanin Scale, the State and Trait Anxiety Inventory). Results. The study shows that displaced young students, as well as those who were not displaced during the war, have fairly high and very high levels of both types of anxiety — state and trait. The leading indicator for non-displaced people is the level of anxiety and nervousness due to possible events and difficulties, threats to life in general, and the state of insecurity caused by air raid warnings, the likelihood of being shelled or rocketed, or injured. As for the displaced people, the leading indicators of their condition are that they almost never feel peace of mind, are in a state of tension and irritability, experience troubles very hard and cannot forget about them for a long time and worry about any trifles during martial law. In addition, we have observed a pattern that state anxiety dominates in non-displaced people, and personal anxiety dominates in IDP/EDP. Conclusions. Based on the results, a consistent system of studying practically oriented disciplines was developed and implemented, which allowed students to use knowledge of methodological and theoretical problems of extreme psychology, explanation and psychological correction of their own destructive psycho-emotional states and the formation of ability to analyze and distinguish behavioral features of acute reactions to stress and signs of mental trauma, to determine factors that increase or decrease the level of state and trait anxiety during military operations.