Psychoemotional States of Men and Women in Separation from Their Families

Due to the ghting, forced separation from family has become an urgent problem for many Ukrainians. e purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the impact of separation from family members on the psychoemotional state of men and women in war conditions. 332 respondents were interviewed using the following methods: the Cohen Perceived Stress Scale, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and the positive and negative aect questionnaire by A. Klimanska, I. Haletska, the “List of traumatic events” questionnaire.Statistical analysis included a comparison of groups identied by thecriterion of separation from relatives: 1)separated from a spouse or romanticpartner, 2) separated from children, 3) separated from parents, 4)separatedfrom many family members at once; 5) members of the control group hadno changes in family composition. e results showed that the eects offamily separation depend on gender. e absence of a male partner did notsubstantially aect the indicators of the psychoemotional state of Ukrainianwomen in the rst weeks of the war. During the separation from bloodrelatives, negative changes were expressed in the actualisation of fears andvulnerability to possible dangers, and in the loss of a sense of joy (duringseparation from children); inattention, and confusion (during separationfrom parents). Compensatory mobilisation processes, increased vigilance, andconcentration were identied in women who are globally separated fromtheir families. Men were substantially less aected by separation from theirrelatives and showed an increase in the reaction of indignation. erewith,the male and female subsamples did not substantially dier in the level ofstress tolerance, resiliency, manifestations of depression and anxiety; butthey diered in the perception of stress, the severity of positive and negativeemotions. Women were more acutely aware of the uncertainty and tension ofthe life situation, their emotional reactions were dominated by depression,frustration, and anxiety. In turn, men in a war situation expressed more active reactions (concentration, determination, etc.), which prevailed over passive-negative ones. It is concluded that separation from the family threatens thepsychological well-being and social adaptation of people who were forced toleave their homes due to the war. e obtained data help to better understandboth the sources of psychotrauma and the resources for overcoming negativepsychoemotional states in a situation of separation and suggest appropriateways of psychological and social assistance