Abstract
Background. Internally displaced persons (IDPs) are among the population groups most affected by the chronically resource-depleting environment created by the full-scale war in Ukraine, and identifying the personal resources that support their adaptation is a priority for psychological research and practice.
Objective. To examine psychological self-mobilization – the meta-regulatory capacity to activate and coordinate personal resources – as a personal resource of the socio-psychological adaptation of IDPs.
Methods. 166 adult IDPs residing in hosting communities across Ukraine (92.2% women; age M = 48.9, SD = 13.2) completed the Psychological Self-Mobilization Scale (PSMS) together with measures of resilience (CD-RISC-10), self-efficacy (GSE), coping (Brief-COPE), perceived social support (MSPSS), continuous traumatic stress (CTSR), PTSD risk, subjective well-being (BBC-SWB), sociocultural adaptation (SCAS-R), community-integration indicators, and a displacement and loss questionnaire.
Results. Despite a severe cumulative loss profile, the mean PSMS score did not differ from the pooled validation benchmark. Self-mobilization correlated with lower continuous traumatic stress (r = −.50) and PTSD risk (r = −.49) and with higher subjective well-being (r = .69), sociocultural adaptation (r = .69), and community integration (r = .24). In hierarchical regressions, it predicted mental-state stabilization, social functioning, and well-being over and above resilience, self-efficacy, and social support (ΔR² = .07–.09; β = .44–.51), while perceived support retained an independent contribution. The provisional PSMS interpretive bands clearly differentiated adaptation levels, and repeated displacement was associated with lower self-mobilization (r = −.22).
Conclusions. Psychological self-mobilization acts as an integrative personal resource of IDP adaptation with incremental value beyond its stand-alone component resources; the PSMS can serve as a practical screening tool in psychosocial support programs for displaced populations.
Keywords: psychological self-mobilization; personal resources; internally displaced persons; socio-psychological adaptation; resilience; self-efficacy; social support; wartime Ukraine.
Date of manuscript submission: 21.06.2026
Date of recommendation for publication: 20.08.2026
Date of publication: 30.08.2026
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