Abstract
Background. Adolescents in Ukraine face elevated anxiety, emotional dysregulation, and reduced motivation as a result of the full-scale war. Extracurricular activities (ECA) show protective potential, but existing school-based interventions rarely use a structured incentive mechanism to bridge external participation and internalized, autonomous motivation, and no validated token-currency instrument for this purpose has been described in the Ukrainian wartime educational context.
Objective. To describe the theoretical basis, design, and preliminary evaluation of a school token-currency system an extrinsic-incentive mechanism embedded within a broader psychological support program intended to encourage voluntary extracurricular participation and support the transition from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation among adolescents aged 10-16 years.
Methods. Students were offered to earn digital school currency “E-coins” for organizing or participating in extracurricular activities done by other students. Students later could exchange their E-coins for various rewards. Before and after the integration, two surveys were conducted with the time difference of 6 months using the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS). 120 students took part in the first survey and 125 in the second. Analyses focused on internal and external motivation subscales and MSPSS scores in 5-9 classes.
Results. Pre–post comparisons in the token-system group showed students from the 5th classes reported the highest scores for internal and external motivation, while older students reported the lowest (p<.01), 5th classes got the highest scores in MSPSS, 7th the lowest (p<.05).
At post-test, using Welch’s t-test, the token-system group showed significant increase in both internal motivation stimulation (p=.12) and identified regulation (p=.005), support from a significant other increased significantly among 6th class (p=.036) and 8th-9th class students (p=.034). However, perceived support from friends declined significantly among students from 5th classes (p=.030).
Conclusions. The token-currency system is a feasible, theoretically grounded incentive mechanism for encouraging extracurricular participation among Ukrainian adolescents during wartime; preliminary results are mixed, and controlled longitudinal research is required before the system can be recommended as an effective motivational bridge.
Keywords: token economy; school currency, motivation, extracurricular activities, perceived social support, adolescents, self-determination theory.
Date received: 23.06.2026
Date accepted: 21.07.2026
Date published: 30.08.2026
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