THE MEDIATING ROLE OF HAPPINESS IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LIFE SATISFACTION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL RESILIENCE AMONG VETERAN VOLUNTEERS

The article presents the results of a theoretical and empirical study examining the relationships among happiness, life satisfaction, and psychological resilience in veteran volunteers. The relevance of the study is determined by the need to investigate psychological resources that contribute to maintaining the mental health and psychological well-being of veteran volunteers under conditions of prolonged exposure to war-related stress. Particular attention is paid to the role of happiness as a potential psychological mechanism mediating the relationship between life satisfaction and psychological resilience. The paper analyzes the conceptualization of psychological resilience and proposes its definition as a multidimensional and multilevel psychological phenomenon encompassing cognitive, emotional, and conative components, representing a nonlinear process of adaptation and recovery following exposure to adverse life events. A structural model of psychological resilience is proposed, comprising the following interrelated components: engagement in life and activities, openness to new experiences and learning, an internal locus of control, the ability to set realistic goals and achieve them consistently, readiness to take well-reasoned risks, resourcefulness, behavioral and cognitive flexibility, optimism, cognitive complexity, and an altruistic orientation of the individual. The empirical study was conducted between 2023 and 2026 and involved 324 male veteran volunteers who had directly participated in combat during the Russian–Ukrainian war. The following instruments were employed: the Psychological Resilience Assessment Scale (S. Kravchuk), the Life Attitudes Questionnaire (S. Kravchuk), and Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being Scale (Ukrainian adaptation by S. Karskanova). Statistical analysis included the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, Spearman’s rank correlation analysis, and mediation analysis. The findings revealed statistically significant positive associations between psychological resilience and indicators of subjective well-being, including happiness, positive emotional well-being, life satisfaction, interpersonal relationships, family life satisfaction, and a sense of life purpose. Happiness was found to play a mediating role in the relationship between life satisfaction and psychological resilience among veteran volunteers.