Features of Psychic Regulation of Students’ Emotional States Under the Influence of War-Related Stressors

This study explores the problematic aspects of organizing the interaction between conscious and unconscious levels of emotional state regulation among students under stressogenic influences. The aim of the research is to identify the features of the relationship between the conscious level of emotional regulation represented by components of emotional intelligence and the unconscious level manifested through psychological defense mechanisms in conditions of prolonged exposure to war-related stressors. The sample consisted of 84 university students (age: Me = 20; min = 18; max = 25). The empirical study employed the following methods: Hall’s Emotional Intelligence Test (to assess conscious regulation components), the Life Style Index (to diagnose automatic psychological defenses), the PSM-25 Psychological Stress Scale (to determine stress-induced psychic tension), and the Freiburg Personality Inventory, Form B (to identify maladaptive mental states). Results. A statistically significant inverse correlation was found between psychic tension and the students’ ability to manage their own emotions (Rs = -.375; p = .000), as well as with the overall index of emotional intelligence (Rs = -.232; p = .034). In most cases, components of emotional intelligence negatively correlated with the intensity of psychological defenses. Psychic tension was positively correlated with the overall level of psychological defenses (Rs = .498; p = .000), as well as with specific defenses such as regression (Rs = .593; p = .000), displacement (Rs = .497; p = .000), compensation (Rs = .249; p = .022), and overcompensation (Rs = .367; p = .001). The intensity of psychic tension and psychological defenses was also positively associated with the manifestation of maladaptive mental states. Conclusions. Under the stressogenic impact of warfare, the activation of conscious and unconscious mechanisms of emotional regulation in students tends to diverge. It is proven that effective conscious self-regulation of emotional states occurs when psychic tension is low and the student possesses at least a moderate level of stress resistance. The significant activation of psychological defenses at moderate stress levels is linked to an increased presence of maladaptive emotional states and personality traits characteristic of distress.