Experiences of mental health and functioning among conflict-affected populations: A qualitative study with military veterans and displaced persons in Ukraine.

Objective: This article reports findings from a qualitative study that sought to identify and describe psychosocial and mental health consequences of conflict among internally displaced persons (IDPs) and military veterans in Ukraine. The study was the first phase of a clinical intervention trial and was designed to understand local experiences of mental health problems and function, inform the selection and adaptation of local measures, and guide the modification, and implementation of a psychotherapy intervention that could support conflict-affected persons. Method: Free-list interviews (FLs), key informant interviews (KIIs), and focus group discussions (FDGs) were conducted with IDPs, military veterans, and providers working with these two groups. A total of 227 respondents were interviewed from two study regions in eastern Ukraine-Zaporizhia and Kharkiv-including 136 IDPs and 91 military veterans. Results: Both IDPs and veterans were described as experiencing high levels of psychological stress symptoms, including depression, isolation, anxiety, and intrusive memories. Although IDPs and veterans were exposed to different traumas, they both identified struggles with social adaptation, including feeling isolated and misunderstood by their communities. Both groups also described relational conflict within and outside the family. Social support mechanisms were considered essential for recovery, and positive social interaction was described as a key example of healthy functioning. Conclusion: Findings suggest a need for community-based programming that facilitates social adaptation, supports social network building, and helps engage conflict-affected people into mental health services. Programs that promote greater awareness, interaction, and understanding among the general public, military veterans, and IDPs are also warranted. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Developing a Culturally Relevant Measure of Resilience for War-Affected Adolescents in Eastern Ukraine.

Psychosocial support in education that is provided during emergencies frequently aims to support children's resilience, but strong, contextual measures of resilience are in short supply in Eastern Europe. In this article, our aim is to describe the development and psychometric properties of the first measure of resilience for war-affected adolescents in Eastern Ukraine. We used qualitative methods to identify the main cultural characteristics of resiliency and then used these constructs to develop the measure. We used exploratory structural equation modeling to extract five factors that showed high internal consistency: family support (ω=0.89), optimism (ω=0.87), persistence (ω=0.87), health (ω=0.86), and social networking (ω=0.87). Confirmatory factor analysis suggested that a concise model of resiliency fit the data almost as well as the exploratory structural equation modeling model. The measure demonstrated good test-retest reliability. In this article, we also discuss the importance of development, validation, and the use of culturally relevant measures of resilience for strengthening psychosocial support programs in schools, particularly in Ukraine.