The Impact of War: A Study of Depressive Symptoms in the Ukrainian Academic Community

Researchers from Berdyansk State Pedagogical University present the results of a survey on the severity of depressive disorders among teachers of higher education institutions.

The open access article by Natalia Tsybuliak, Uliana Kolomiiets, Hanna Mytsyk, Anastasiia Popova, Hanna Lopatina and Yana Suchikova is published on the Wiley Online Library portal.

An online survey of 429 teachers of Ukrainian universities was conducted using the PHQ-9 scale.

The researchers highlight the following key results of the study.

About a third of teachers reported moderate or severe depressive symptoms that affect their daily life and professional activities: “they find it difficult to perform work tasks or usual activities”.

Gender differences:

• men demonstrate relatively higher levels of depressive symptoms;
• women were more likely to report that these symptoms greatly interfered with their daily activities.

This is explained by the experience of internal pressure, the influence of social expectations, a sense of responsibility, and the combination of academic work with “caring for family, children, or loved ones”.

The researchers also talk about the experience of relocation: “There was a tendency for slightly higher rates of depressive symptoms among teachers who were forced to change their place of residence”.

The results of the study confirm the need to implement “proactive mental health strategies”, with an emphasis on individual and systemic sources of stress.

The researchers provide the following practical recommendations:

• providing structured psychological support;
• reducing administrative burden;
• making flexible workload schedules available;
• promoting inclusive and supportive academic communities.

Yana Suchikova, commenting on the study, emphasizes in her Facebook post: “Universities may lose buildings, laboratories, or equipment. But if the academic community is psychologically exhausted, the entire system becomes vulnerable”.

You can view the article at the link: https://doi.org/10.1155/da/9937337  .

Based on materials from Yana Sychikova’s Facebook page