Personality traits as determinants of political behavior: Ukrainian electoral and voting tendencies

Now there is a sharp increase of interest in politics, especially among young people. Meanwhile, the psychological mechanisms of the person’s political behavior (its manifesting and regulating), as well as interaction of his cognitive, emotional, motivation and value factors with the political system remain insufficiently studied. The aim of this research is to study the influence of personality traits on political behavior in order to find out the connection between person’s individual-psychological characteristics and the degree of his participation in political life within the territory of Ukraine. The Five-Factor NEO-PI-R (NEO Personality Inventory-Revised) model was used for analyzing the respondents’ tendency to politically significant behavior. The survey was conducted in 2017 in Ukraine (n=1247, age: 15-50 years). A positive correlation of the political participation indicators with the personal indicator Conscientiousness and the negative correlation with the Agreeableness parameter were revealed. We have established that emotionally balanced respondents more often show a desire to run for office and rarely participate in voting. High results for Agreeableness and Neuroticism determine the low level of political ambitions. These findings constitute a new step forward in understanding how personality traits form responses in the people’s political engagement while demonstrating the Ukrainian political tendencies

Features of intellectual functions inhibition among Ukrainian boxers: A sociocultural study

The effects of boxing's extreme aggressive conditions in training and competitive activity in sportsmen’s mental working capacity still remains under-explored. While the neurophysiological effects caused by micro traumas to the brain have been extensively studied, less attention has been paid to the psychological consequences. This article reports on our study of the features of mental operations efficiency in Ukrainian boxers. The study involved athletes (n = 168, gender: men, average age: 25.5 ± 6.2 years), who were engaged in boxing and kickboxing in the Ukraine’s eastern region. A ‘Classification’ method was used: a set of 70 cards with the images of various objects, plants, and living beings was given with instructions to arrange the items into groups in such a way that the objects in each concrete group possess common properties. Athletes were divided into groups, depending on the level of their sport qualification. Adopting the Vygotskian perspective, this study shows correlations between the productivity of boxers’ thinking processes and the level of their sport skills: highly qualified sportsmen have many more well-marked thinking process defects than the sportsmen of the 2nd and 3rd categories. We observed a decrease in the generalization level, reduction in speed, deterioration of neurodynamic characteristics and criticality processes nearly in all participants. Exhaustibility and decrease in mental working capacity, impulsiveness of thinking, and its unproductive transformation were marked more often among the highly skilled boxers. A discussion on the cultural redefinition of this sport and on the necessary rehabilitative treatments is then presented

Application of the transformed-interview method in investigation of sexual crimes in Ukraine

ABSTRACT The crime detection of sexual violence needs to be optimized and improved. This study aims to substantiate, elaborate, and apply in practice the method of a transformed interview (based on mathematical modeling) to obtain information about sexual violence. For the first time the transformed-interview method was used while studying the hidden (latent) victims of sexual violence who do not want to report a crime to law enforcement agencies because they do not want the fact of violence against them to be made public. Participated 2570 Ukrainian women of different social status, 16-35 years old. It was found that the increase of intermediaries during the information transmission reduces reliability of the information about crimes against the person’s sexual inviolability. While investigating such types of crimes the needed information can be obtained with a higher degree of reliability not from the victim, but from her closest surroundings. The transformed-interview method proved to be an effective tool to extract the information related to the behavior of both the offender and his victim. This method shows reliability and makes it possible to reduce the latency of most crimes in the situation of the victim’s refusal to testify at the re-trial investigation

Features of intellectual functions inhibition among Ukrainian boxers: A sociocultural study

The effects of boxing’s extreme aggressive conditions in training and competitive activity in sportsmen’s mental working capacity still remains under-explored. While the neurophysiological effects caused by micro traumas to the brain have been extensively studied, less attention has been paid to the psychological consequences. This article reports on our study of the features of mental operations efficiency in Ukrainian boxers. The study involved athletes (n = 168, gender: men, average age: 25.5 ± 6.2 years), who were engaged in boxing and kickboxing in the Ukraine’s eastern region. A ‘Classification’ method was used: a set of 70 cards with the images of various objects, plants, and living beings was given with instructions to arrange the items into groups in such a way that the objects in each concrete group possess common properties. Athletes were divided into groups, depending on the level of their sport qualification. Adopting the Vygotskian perspective, this study shows correlations between the productivity of boxers’ thinking processes and the level of their sport skills: highly qualified sportsmen have many more well-marked thinking process defects than the sportsmen of the 2nd and 3rd categories. We observed a decrease in the generalization level, reduction in speed, deterioration of neurodynamic characteristics and criticality processes nearly in all participants. Exhaustibility and decrease in mental working capacity, impulsiveness of thinking, and its unproductive transformation were marked more often among the highly skilled boxers. A discussion on the cultural redefinition of this sport and on the necessary rehabilitative treatments is then presented

Psychological Peculiarities of Styles of Professional Activity and the Level of Stress among Members of Election Commissions in Parliamentary Elections in Ukraine

The results of the empirical study among the members of election commissions (N=112, age: 25−68 years) for Ukrainian parliamentary elections 2019 to study the styles of their professional activity and the level of stress are presented. The most pronounced style of professional activity is “Professional-perfectionist”, which contributes to the high productivity of members of election commissions. The work tasks at a polling station are best fulfilled by the person with a more pronounced style of professional activity “Formalist-bureaucrat”. It is undesirable to involve working at the polling station persons with high rates in the style of the professional activity of “Nihilist”. It has been found that the major psychological difficulties of working in election commissions are due to excessive psycho-emotional and psychophysical overload, to which some members of the commissions are not ready. This overload can cause them to experience certain mental stress, different levels of stress, their manifestation, and consequences. Although the majority of participants demonstrated a high degree of adaptability to stressful workloads, members of commissions should perform their duties at a highly professional level in extremely difficult circumstances, including at night and in a state of intense emotional stress. The results of the research should be taken into account during the organization of the election process and the holding of elections to central and local authorities. To improve it, it is advisable to organize and conduct early training and skills upgrading of members of election commissions. To do this, it is necessary to develop and implement training programs for the development of style peculiarities of professional activity, which will contribute to effective work in the election commission and overcoming psychological difficulties.</em

Study of the relationship between psycho-emotional wellbeing and personal qualities in Ukrainian youth: Ways of overcoming

Objectives. There is enough information about personal state and characteristics of the students from different countries, but about Ukrainian Senior school pupils and university students is completely missing. For the first time, the issue of stressful psychosomatic consequences for Ukrainian youth health is raised in world research. Methods. To assess wellbeing, anxiety, value orientations and behavior types in 216 youth (school/university participants) four standardized Instruments were used. Additionally, with other young/adult participants (n = 307), the method of conversation was used in order to establish their reaction to the ongoing Russian military aggression in Ukraine, and to find out the ways for prevention-rehabilitation the psycho-emotional state of all participants. Results and Conclusion. The greater anxiety, the more often competitive behavior. Wellbeing is negatively associated with competition behavior; anxiety is positively linked with adaptation. The youngest participants showed the worst state of health, higher anxiety and cooperative behavior. During the war unleashed by Russia, Ukrainians, on the one hand, were strongly motivated, aimed at the speedy cessation of hostilities which strengthened, encouraged them psycho-emotionally, on the other hand, needed special psychological support and help. High value orientations are combined with high conflict resolution. Special preventive-recovery activities were carried out with different categories of the population: refugees, people left in the war zone and their families, militaries, rescuers, medical personnel. Limitations. Findings on the anxiety and wellbeing interconnected with value orientations require clarification. Correctional-rehabilitation work efficiency provided to the participants suffered because of the hostilities need experimental-statistical confirmation

What Motivates Ukrainian Women to Choose a Military Service in Warfare?

Despite the fact that large-scale active hostilities have been ongoing in Ukraine since 2014, in recent years there has been a tendency to increase the number of women who want to connect their lives with the military profession.Objectives: to identify the characteristics of the professional motivation of female military personnel (N = 477) of the National Guard of Ukraine with different professional status.Methodology: the survey method using three questionnaires: “Questionnaire for determining the effectiveness of the service and combat missions by female military personnel”, “Questionnaire for studying the motivation for the professional choice of a law enforcement profession”, “Questionnaire for the study of the socio-psychological characteristics of women in military service”.Results. The survey revealed the types of motivation that ensure the adaptation and self-realization of women in the military sphere: among female contract service members the pragmatic type prevails, and by female cadets – institutional type. For female cadets who had just begun to study the military profession, the main motives for choosing were self-realization in professional activity, achieving success in a military career and usefulness to society. Female contract service members with experience of military service consider professional self-realization and material support as the main motives when choosing a profession. Currently, these motives contribute to the high-quality performance of official duties by Ukrainian women military personnel and ensure the high efficiency of their service in ordinary and extreme conditions.</em

Psychological Aspects of Captivity in the War in the East of Ukraine

The study aimed to determine the psychological aspects of captivity in the War in the East of Ukraine: the purposes and motives of the capture of Ukrainian Forces (UF); the types of captivity and their specifics; the stages and phases of captivity. The measures included a questionnaire and interview method. 694 former prisoners of war (POWs) (servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and soldiers of volunteer battalions) participated in the study. The research results revealed the purposes of capturing UF: to stop UF advance; obtaining intelligence; demoralization of UF; demonstration of military superiority; capturing prisoners for exchange; unwillingness to kill; receiving a ransom. The UF invaders were military units, professional mercenaries’ units, and gang formation units. The stages of captivity (capture and transportation to a place of permanent detention; first interrogation; being held captive; exchange of POWs and homecoming) were characterized by intimidation, aggression, physical, psychological and sexual violence against POWs, the purposeful creation of an environment of mass psychosis among POWs. Captivity kept the POWs in constant tension and fear. The altered mental status of POWs took place in successive phases: life reactions, shock, psychological demobilization, denouement, recovery, and conflict phase

Is there a “victim syndrome” among forced displaced persons in Ukraine?

This study revealed the negative health effects of forced displaced persons who were resettled to the other region inside Ukraine due to a military conflict in the east of the country. To study both pre-migration traumatic influence and the negative consequences of relocation, three instruments were used: A. Bass and A. Darki technique for diagnosing indicators and forms of aggression, E. Wagner projective hand test and A. M. Etkind’s Relationship Color Test. The results of a sample of Ukrainian forced displaced persons (n=3500) indicate that they have fear, confusion, lack of feeling safety in the near future and dissatisfaction with one of the basic needs – security need. It was established that 7-8% of forced displaced persons have recorded “victim syndrome”, which develops in a situation when a person has lost hope of returning home in the near future and is in a state of constant heightened anxiety. It has been revealed that the “victim syndrome” among forced displaced persons is simultaneously characterized by increased aggressiveness towards others (primarily state structures), as well as the presence of «learned helplessness» and a general negative attitude towards everything that happens in the environment and in life of the refugee. The results of this study will permit to strengthen the potential of the social system in the host community and invest in the planning of health services and the social integration of displaced persons which were resettled not only within the territory of their native country, but also for those who migrated to other national societies

Ukrainian rescuers in local armed conflict conditions: how does it affect the psyche?

BACKGROUND: Currently, armed conflicts around the world are not decreasing. For the first time, the mental state and behavioral changes of rescuers who were involved not during natural/man-made disasters but directly in the area of armed actions for fulfilling their professional tasks were investigated. METHODS: The study involved males (N.=331), aged 24-59, Ukrainian rescuers of pyrotechnic and emergency rescue units. A specially designed questionnaire (37 items), and an interview method were used. RESULTS: Types of stressogenic situations, characteristics of rescuers’ threats and fears, impact of experienced traumatic events on their mental health, signs indicating negative changes in behavior, attitudes of the relatives and local residents to the rescuers’ activities in the battle area have been revealed. There were identified three groups of stressful situations in which rescuers fell: professional, situational-psychogenic and personal. The most harmful fears were falling under shelling-attacks (45.9%), threat to own life/health (79.5%), threat of captivity (37%), wounding/death of colleagues-rescuers (24.9%), wounding/injuries/doom of civilians (64.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Main changes in rescuers’ behavior were observed in emotional, value-semantic, cognitive and communicative spheres. Duration of staying in battle area had a direct influence on the rescuers which caused great growth of post-traumatic symptoms and their exacerbation: 15% of rescuers showed signs of behavioral regression. Traumatic stress emerged in rescuers was associated with the sudden reprogramming of human reserves for survival in extreme situations. A number of preventive measures was recommended for unlocking the adaptive resource potential that acted as an internal defense mechanism against stress and overload