Early evidence on the mental health of Ukrainian civilian and professional combatants during the Russian invasion

Abstract

Background The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine has led many Ukrainians to fight for their country, either in the regular army or as civilian members of voluntary territorial defense forces. There is, however, a dearth of knowledge on the mental health of combatants in this conflict. Prior research on the mental health of combatants is unlikely to translate to the situation at hand because such research is focused on combatants fighting abroad and neglects civilian combatants. Methods This study provides the first attempt to investigate the mental health of Ukrainian combatants in the regular army and voluntary territorial defense forces by analyzing the prevalence rates of common mental health issues, as well as their demographic and socioeconomic predictors. Results Between March 19 and 31, 2022, the initial period of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a sample of 178 Ukrainian combatants (104 in the regular army and 74 civilian combatants) participated in a survey on symptoms of anxiety (GAD-2), depression (PHQ-2), and insomnia (ISI). Conclusions A sizable portion of Ukrainian combatants reached cut-off levels for clinical symptoms of anxiety (44·4%), depression (43·3%), and insomnia (12·4%). Importantly, the mental health of Ukrainian combatants varied between professional soldiers and civilian combatants, as well as by gender, marital status, by whether or not they were located in Russian-occupied/active-combat areas, and dependent on whether they were personally involved in combat. This study provides early evidence on the mental health of Ukrainian combatants, pointing to their urgent need for mental health assistance in the ongoing war.

Anxiety, depressive symptoms, and distress over the course of the war in Ukraine in three federal states in Germany

“…The adaption is described elsewhere ( 12 ). In brief, the instrument has five items for emotional (e.g., “I feel helpless,” “I feel frustrated and angry about not being able to do more”) and four items for physical distress (e.g., “I have trouble concentrating,” “I have physical reactions like sweating, shaking, and my heart pounding”) each measured on 5-point Likert scale from not at all (0) to extremely true ( 4 ) scale. The Cronbach alpha for the emotional distress subscale is 0.85 and 0.79 for the physical distress subscale.…”

“…A war has been shown to lead to higher prevalence of anxiety, mood disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the general population of the affected country during and for years post-war ( 2 , 3 ). The ongoing war in Ukraine has already been shown to have detrimental impacts on the mental health of Ukrainian military and civilian combatants ( 4 ) and the Ukrainian general population ( 5 ) with nearly half of the participants in both studies displaying clinically relevant symptoms of depression and anxiety. Persons who are internally displaced due to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine are at an especially high risk for mental health sequelae ( 6 , 7 ).…”

Science in times of crisis: How does the war affect the efficiency of Ukrainian scientists?

“…Ukrainians, regardless of their professional affiliation, suffer from a sharp change in the usual run of things, situation breakdown, and worsening in all life-activity spheres due to the full-scale war that Russia unleashed on the territory of Ukraine. Any war is always a traumatic and borderline experience because it unexpectedly damages people's life and career plans or prospects and leads to unanswered obstacles and trials (Stone, 2022b;Danylyshyn, 2022) Such a crisis in any person's life causes uncertainty (Pavlova et al, 2022;Suchikova, 2023). People who are constantly under fire are beginning to get used to this new reality, to understand the sounds of incoming shelling, and to look for rules and regularities when they are under fire.…”

Mental Health and well-being During the COVID-19 Pandemic and After the Russian Invasion of Ukraine

“…In particular, people exposed to armed conflict on the first front lines of war are at risk of increasing psychological problems [ 8 ]. Pavlova et al [ 9 ] demonstrated that many Ukrainian combatants showed symptoms of anxiety, depression, and insomnia. However, mental health differed depending on closeness to the war area or direct involvement.…”