Keywords
identity transformation
psychological well-being
military personnel
reintegration
self-concept
post-traumatic growth
purpose in life
psychological resources
adaptation
How to Cite
Abstract
The article is devoted to a comprehensive theoretical and empirical study of resilience as a key psychological resource that ensures the successful transformation of military personnel identity during their reintegration into civilian life. In the context of the full-scale war in Ukraine, the process of returning military personnel to a peaceful environment is considered a complex multidimensional transformation involving changes in social roles, value-meaning orientations, and the structure of the self-concept. It is theoretically substantiated that resilience acts as an integrative capacity of the individual to effectively process traumatic experience, maintain psycho-emotional balance, and preserve the integrity of identity under conditions of extreme impact.
The empirical study was conducted on a sample of Ukrainian military personnel (n = 64) mobilized after February 2022. Valid psychodiagnostic instruments were used, including the Nicholson–McBride Resilience Questionnaire (NMRQ) and Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being Scale. Data processing was carried out using correlation and regression analysis (SPSS 22.0).
The results demonstrated a statistically significant positive relationship between resilience and psychological well-being (r = 0.417; p < 0.01), confirming its role as a predictor of successful integration of combat experience into the personality structure. It was found that the most significant components associated with resilience are purpose in life (r = 0.502), environmental mastery (r = 0.489), and self-acceptance (r = 0.432), which form the semantic and regulatory basis of identity transformation. Regression analysis confirmed that resilience explains 17.4% of the variance in psychological well-being, indicating its significant predictive potential.
It is shown that in the absence of prior combat experience among a significant proportion of military personnel, additional resources such as national identity and value-based motivation play a key role in the formation of resilience. It is concluded that resilience functions as an internal stabilizer that prevents the disintegration of the self-concept and promotes the formation of an integrated, adaptive identity. The practical significance of the study lies in the possibility of applying the obtained results to develop targeted psychological support programs for veterans aimed at strengthening personal resources and optimizing reintegration processes.
Date of receipt of the article: October 21, 2025
Date of recommendation for publication: December 21, 2025
Date of publication: January 30, 2026
References
Bonanno, G. A. (2004). Loss, trauma, and human resilience: Have we underestimated the human capacity to thrive after extremely aversive events? American Psychologist, 59(1), 20–28.
Bonanno, G. A. (2021). The resilience paradox. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 12(1), Article 1942642.
Britt, T. W., Shen, M. J., Sinclair, R. R., Grossman, M. R., & Klieger, D. M. (2016). How typical are typical trajectories of resilience? Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 21(2), 209–221.
Chorna, V. V., Serebrennikova, O. A., Kolomiiets, V. V., et al. (2023). Posttravmatychnyi stresovyi rozlad pid chas povnomasshtabnoi viiny u viiskovosluzhbovtsiv [Post-traumatic stress disorder during the full-scale war among military personnel]. https://dspace.vnmu.edu.ua/123456789/6413
Chykhantsova, O. (2024). Hardiness among Ukrainians: Challenges and opportunities. Social Science and Humanities Journal, 8(2), 34484–34492. https://doi.org/10.18535/sshj.v8i02.928
Chykhantsova, O. A. (2023). Rozvytok rezylientnosti osobystosti v sytuatsiiakh nevyznachenosti [Development of personal resilience in situations of uncertainty]. Vcheni zapysky TNU imeni V. I. Vernadskoho. Seriia: Psykholohiia, 34(73), 35–40. https://doi.org/10.32782/2709-3093/2023.1/07
Clarke, J., & Nicholson, J. (2010). Resilience: Bounce back from whatever life throws at you. Crimson Publishing.
Connor, K. M., & Davidson, J. R. (2003). Development of a new resilience scale: The Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Depression and Anxiety, 18(2), 76–82.
Heshmat, S. (2020). The 8 key elements of resilience. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/science-choice/202005/the-8-key-elements-resilience
Hobfoll, S. E. (2011). Conservation of resources theory: Its implication for stress, health, and resilience. In S. Tipping (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of stress, health, and psychology (pp. 127–147). Oxford University Press.
Klymkiv, R., Kulmatytskyi, A., & Bilobryn, M. (2015). Posttravmatychnyi stresovyi rozlad u veteraniv: Innovatsiini metody terapii ta profilaktyky [Post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans: Innovative methods of therapy and prevention]. Psykhiatriia, nevrolohiia ta medychna psykholohiia, 12(1(27)), 37–47. https://doi.org/10.26565/2312-5675-2025-27-03
Kokun, O. (2023). Incidence of occupational hardiness under the influence of extreme war factors. Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health. https://doi.org/10.1080/15555240.2023.2251681
Kokun, O. M. (2025). Zhyttiestiikist i rezylientnist liudyny v suchasnomu sviti: Teoriia, doslidzhennia, praktyka [Hardiness and resilience of a person in the modern world: Theory, research, practice]. Instytut psykholohii im. H. S. Kostiuka NAPN Ukrainy. https://lib.iitta.gov.ua/id/eprint/744751/
Kokun, O. M., & Melnychuk, T. I. (2023). Rezyliens-dovidnyk [Resilience handbook]. Instytut psykholohii im. H. S. Kostiuka NAPN Ukrainy.
Kokun, O., Agayev, N., Pishko, I., & Stasiuk, V. (2020). Characteristic impacts of combat stressors on posttraumatic stress disorder in Ukrainian military personnel who participated in the armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine. International Journal of Psychology & Psychological Therapy, 20(3), 315–326. https://www.ijpsy.com/volumen20/num3/554.html
Low, R., King, S., & Foster-Boucher, C. (2019). Learning to bounce back: A scoping review about resiliency education. Journal of Nursing Education, 58, 321–329. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20190521-02
Popper, M., & Mayseless, O. (2003). Back to basics: Applying a parenting perspective to transformational leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 14(1), 41–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1048-9843(02)00183-2
Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. H. (2008). Know thyself and become what you are: A eudaimonic approach to psychological well-being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9, 13–39. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-006-9019-0
Serdiuk, L. Z. (Ed.). (2021). Samodeterminatsiia psykholohichnoho blahopoluchchia osobystosti [Self-determination of psychological well-being of personality]. Viktoriia Kundelska. https://lib.iitta.gov.ua/729023/
Serdiuk, L. Z. (Ed.). (2024). Psykholohichni tekhnolohii spryiannia pozytyvnomu psykhichnomu zdoroviu riznykh verstv naselennia Ukrainy v umovakh voiennoho stanu ta pisliavoiennoho vidnovlennia [Psychological technologies for promoting positive mental health of different population groups under martial law and post-war recovery]. Instytut psykholohii im. H. S. Kostiuka NAPN Ukrainy. https://lib.iitta.gov.ua/id/eprint/742839/
Southwick, S. M., & Charney, D. S. (2012). Resilience: The science of mastering life’s greatest challenges. Cambridge University Press.
Vogt, D., Smith, B. N., King, L. A., King, D. W., & Knight, J. (2013). Deployment Risk and Resilience Inventory-2 (DRRI-2): An updated set of measures of post-deployment psychological health. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 26(6), 710–718.
Zlyvkov, V., Zavhorodnia, O., Kopylov, S., et al. (2025). Formuvannia militarnoi identychnosti uchniv Ukrainy v umovakh voiennoho chasu [Formation of military identity of students in Ukraine under wartime conditions]. Instytut psykholohii im. H. S. Kostiuka. https://lib.iitta.gov.ua/id/eprint/747593/
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 Olena Chykhantsova