Self-regulation and resilience as psychological factors supporting physical activity-based psychosocial rehabilitation in war-displaced individuals

Problem Statement: The full-scale war in Ukraine has resulted in mass displacement of populations experiencing chronic stress, psychological distress, and disrupted social connections. While physical activity interventions show promise for psychosocial rehabilitation, the psychological prerequisites for successful program engagement remain poorly understood. Approach: This cross-sectional study examined self-regulation, emotional regulation, and resilience as potential facilitators of physical activity-based rehabilitation readiness. Purpose: To determine relationships between psychological resources (self-regulation, emotional regulation, resilience) and socio-psychological adaptation in war-displaced individuals, with implications for designing adapted physical activity programs. Materials and Methods: A comprehensive psychodiagnostic assessment was conducted with 132 working-age individuals (86 women, 65.2%; 46 men, 34.8%) aged 23–59 years who had been forcibly displaced for ≥6 months. Instruments included: Perceived Stress Scale, Resilience Questionnaire, Self-Regulation of Behavior Assessment, Emotional Regulation Strategies Questionnaire, Socio-Psychological Adaptation Scale, and International Physical Activity Questionnaire-Short Form. Statistical analysis employed descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations (α = 0.01, 0.001), and hierarchical regression. Results: Moderate-to-high stress levels characterized 77% of participants (68% moderate, 9% high; M = 24.3, SD = 6.8). Strong positive correlations emerged between self-regulation and adaptation (r = 0.655, p ≤ 0.001), and between resilience and adaptation (r = 0.369–0.541, p ≤ 0.01–0.001). Self-regulation component analysis revealed critical deficits in modeling (37% low; M = 5.4, SD = 2.1) and programming (23% low; M = 5.1, SD = 1.9) capacities, while results evaluation was strongest (49% high; M = 7.6, SD = 1.7). Emotional dysregulation featured high rumination (32%; M = 28.6, SD = 8.4) and mentalization difficulties (47%; M = 31.2, SD = 7.6), both negatively correlating with adaptation (r = –0.68 and r = –0.72 respectively, p ≤ 0.001). Physical activity readiness correlated positively with self-regulation (r = 0.58, p ≤ 0.001) and resilience (r = 0.47, p ≤ 0.001). Hierarchical regression revealed self-regulation explained 42.9% of adaptation variance, with emotional regulation adding 18.3% (total R² = 0.612, p ≤ 0.001). Conclusions: Self-regulation, emotional regulation, and resilience constitute key psychological resources for physical activity program engagement. Findings indicate need for: (1) structured, clearly demonstrated exercise protocols to address modeling/programming deficits; (2) mindfulness-based approaches to counter rumination; (3) differentiated programming based on resilience profiles; (4) pre-program psychological screening; (5) integrated self-regulation and resilience training within adapted physical activity interventions. These results provide evidence-based framework for optimizing physical activity-based psychosocial rehabilitation in war-affected populations.