PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF STRESS RESILIENCE IN ADOLESCENTS DURING WARTIME

Abstract

The article proposes a partial solution to the important task of developing stress resilience in adolescents under wartime conditions. The main psychological challenges of adolescence caused by the normative age-related crisis are analyzed, as well as the key sources of stress in teenagers. It is established that traumatic events related to the full-scale war impose an additional powerful burden on the mental health of young people, which manifests in increased withdrawal and anxiety, apathy, depressive states, psychosomatic issues, and destructive behaviors. The article explores the social and psychological factors influencing the development of adolescents’ stress resilience during wartime. The primary factors identified include support from the social environment and psychological assistance aimed at developing emotional intelligence, self-regulation, communication, and cognitive skills. A hypothesis was formulated suggesting that the level of adolescents’ stress resilience is linked to the development of their emotional intelligence and self-regulation abilities. The results of an empirical study on adolescent stress resilience in wartime conditions are described. The study was conducted to test the hypothesis and was carried out in Ukrainian schools located in potentially dangerous regions. A total of 35 adolescents were surveyed using the Holmes – Rahe Stress Scale (adapted for children), N. Hall’s “Emotional Intelligence Diagnostic Method”, and the “Volitional Self-Regulation Assessment Method” by A. Zverkov and E. Eidman. The results showed that a significant portion of the respondents demonstrated medium to low levels of stress resilience, emotional intelligence, and self-regulation, indicating a need for psychocorrective intervention aimed at their development. Correlation analysis of the collected data using Pearson’s coefficient revealed statistically significant direct correlations between stress resilience and both emotional intelligence and volitional self-regulation, confirming the initial hypothesis. As a direction for further research, the development of a psychocorrective program to enhance stress resilience in adolescents is proposed. This program may be implemented by school psychologists.