Impact of occupation and war losses on mental health and the subjective well-being of civilians: on the example of residents of Kharkiv and Kharkiv region under the conditions of full-scale invasion of Russia in Ukraine

The article is devoted to the study of the impact of traumatic experience, in particular, related to being in the occupation, and losses in the war, on the mental health of the civilians who live near the hostilities or their epicenter (using the example of residents of the city of Kharkiv and the Kharkiv region). Conceptualized concepts of traumatic situation, traumatic experience, characterization of war losses (human, property, financial, material losses; loss of work; loss of physical and / or psychological health and loss of peace, etc.). The results of an empirical study of the mental state of civilians of Kharkiv and the Kharkiv region are presented (n = 730). In particular, according to the results of the correlation analysis, it was proven that respondents with occupation experience have more problems with sleep, in the cognitive and emotional spheres. They are more likely to believe that they have experienced a serious trauma, more often note the desire to drink alcohol before feeling intoxicated. Among them, there are more often those who are haunted by memories of recent negative events, in which paranoid moods are more common. It is noted that despite the significant losses suffered by representatives of the civilian population of Kharkiv region during the period of the full-scale invasion of Russia, they do not lose their positive attitude and self-belief, have certain achievements and value them highly, are goal-oriented, and are satisfied with family and personal relationships. However, losses still affect mental health and subjective well-being, in particular, significant losses (of loved ones, friends, one’s own home, etc.) can cause more pronounced physical and mental discomfort.