Civic Identity and Mental Health in Russia: The Role of Psychological Coping Strategies During Sanctions and Perceived Threat

We explore the role of Russian civic identity in maintaining mental health in a challenging socioeconomic and political environment. The study was conducted on a sample of Russians in August 2022 after the beginning of the military conflict in Ukraine and the imposition of multiple sanctions on Russia. The sample included 384 respondents from 18 to 54 years old. The questionnaire included methods for assessing Russian civic identity, general psychological health, depression, and the psychological coping strategies in crisis situations. We explored whether Russian civic identity has direct, indirect, and total positive effects on general psychological health. The indirect effect was examined through psychological coping strategies, such as Reframing and Spiritual support. For depression reduction, the role of Russian civic identity was not significant as we did not find a statistically significant direct or total effect. However, we found a statistically significant indirect negative effect of civic identity on depression via a Reframing strategy. Thus, Russian civic identity may increase general psychological health and reduce depression through Reframing. Although the conflict is highly controversial geopolitically, our study findings may have important implications for other settings that may be involved in conflict or be under sanctions.