- Ващенко, О. С. (orcid.org/0009-0009-1769-7258) (2026) Socio-psychological conditions for the settlement of family conflicts caused by war-related events Doctoral thesis, Інститут соціальної та політичної психології.
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Abstract
Vashchenko O.S. Socio-psychological conditions for the settlement of family conflicts caused by war-related events. – Qualifying scientific work with manuscript copyright. Dissertation for the Doctor of Philosophy degree, Field of Study 053 – Psychology. – Institute of Social and Political Psychology, National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, 2026. This dissertation presents a theoretical synthesis and an empirical study of the socio-psychological conditions for resolving family conflicts caused by military events. The relevance of this research stems from the need for a scientific understanding of family conflicts as one of the most common types of social conflicts, which directly impact the psychological well-being of individuals and the stability of society as a whole. The state and functioning of the family, as a fundamental social institution, are important indicators of societal development, which underscores the significance of researching issues related to the disruption of family relationships. In the context of military aggression, the family is subjected to significant destabilizing effects. Hostilities disrupt familiar ways of life, alter social roles, and increase levels of emotional stress. Factors such as forced migration, separation of family members, economic instability, threats to life and health, and the loss of loved ones reduce an individual’s ability to adapt and cause emotional exhaustion, which leads to an escalation of family conflicts. As a result the stability of marital and family relationships declines, indicating the limited effectiveness of existing socio-psychological mechanisms for resolving family conflicts under conditions of prolonged stress. The relevance and social significance of this problem justify the need for an in-depth study of the socio-psychological conditions for resolving family conflicts caused by military events. The topic of this dissertation is closely related to the research agenda of the Department of Communication Psychology at the Institute of Social and Political Psychology of the National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine, as part of the research projects “Socio-Psychological Conditions for Enhancing the Role of the Family as a Voice of Public Opinion in Education Reform” (2022–2024, state registration number: 0122U000819) and “Socio-Psychological Conditions for the Democratization of Education in the Process of Establishing the New Ukrainian School” (2025–2026, state registration number: 0122U000819). The object of the study is family conflict; the subject of the study is the socio-psychological conditions for the settlement of family conflicts related to spouses’ experiences of war-related events. The aim of the study is to identify the socio-psychological conditions for resolving family conflicts caused by the war. Based on the results of the theoretical analysis, the nature of family conflict has been specified as a complex socio-psychological phenomenon that arises within the system of marital relationships due to the incompatibility of partners' needs, values, role expectations, and behavioral strategies. It is substantiated that family conflict is a dynamic process of interpersonal interaction, which encompasses cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components, and is characterized by a staged development and specific patterns of progression. It has been established that war-related events act as a significant contextual factor in the transformation of family relationships. They lead to changes in the usual way of life, increased levels of anxiety, depression, and aggression, as well as a decrease in the spouses' stress resilience and vitality. It has been determined that the impact of the war context on family interaction is ambivalent. On the one hand, it leads to an escalation of conflict, emotional maladjustment, role overload, and communication breakdown, and, on the other hand, it can serve as a factor in mobilizing the family’s internal resources, strengthening cohesion, providing mutual support, and redefining the spouses’ life priorities. A conceptual model for resolving family conflicts caused by war-related events has been developed. The model identifies a system of key socio-psychological conditions for effectively overcoming conflicts. These conditions include stabilizing the individual's psycho-emotional state, enhancing stress resilience and life resilience, developing emotional intelligence, building communicative competence, providing mutual support, understanding coping mechanisms, employing constructive conflict management strategies, and aligning spouses around shared life goals and prospects. The study was conducted on a sample of 246 respondents – volunteer doctors from the Ukrainian-Israeli charitable organization FRIDA, members of the religious community of the Kyiv Church of Christ, and respondents who agreed to participate in the study via the Facebook social network. The study of the socio-psychological conditions for the settlement of family conflicts caused by war-related events was conducted in four stages—preliminary, main, formative, and final—and was carried out over the period 2023–2025. Within the framework of the empirical study using the author's questionnaire “Study of Marital Conflicts during War,” which supplemented a set of relevant methodologies, a system of factors contributing to marital conflicts in wartime was identified. These factors were classified as external (socio-economic, informational, and situational) and internal (emotional-personal, cognitive, and behavioral). Statistically significant correlations were found between the indicators of conflict proneness, anxiety, depression, aggressiveness, perceived stress level, resilience, and emotional intelligence. It was found that elevated levels of anxiety and depression are associated with increased aggressiveness, the use of non-constructive behavioral strategies (avoidance and coercion), and the activation of psychological defense mechanisms. In contrast, high levels of resilience and emotional intelligence positively correlate with the use of constructive interaction strategies – cooperation, compromise, empathy, and effective communication. Using factor analysis, the characteristics of an individual's conflict behavior were identified. They are represented by three main factors: “negative psychological state,” “unproductive behavior of the individual in conflict,” and “productive behavior of the individual in conflict.” In addition, through cluster analysis, three types of respondents were identified – “destructive,” “adaptive,” and “latently conflict-prone” – which differ in terms of their level of emotional competence, stress resilience, and the nature of their conflict-related interactions. A training program for the resolution of family conflicts, aimed at creating socio-psychological conditions for effective spousal interaction, was theoretically substantiated, developed, and piloted. Its effectiveness has been demonstrated. It is evidenced by a statistically significant reduction in the levels of anxiety, depression, aggressiveness, and the severity of psychological defense mechanisms, as well as by an increase in the level of emotional intelligence and the spouses' use of constructive strategies for interpersonal interaction. Scientific novelty of the study. For the first time: - The socio-psychological conditions for the settlement of family conflicts caused by war events have been theoretically and empirically studied. The criteria and indicators for studying the socio-psychological conditions for resolving family conflicts during war have been identified. They encompass personal-conflictological (level of conflict proneness and propensity for conflict interaction), emotional (anxiety, depression, intensity of negative experiences), affective-destructive (level and forms of aggressiveness), behavioral (conflict management strategies, constructiveness of interaction), stress-adaptive (level of perceived stress, stress resilience), and resource-regulatory (resilience, emotional intelligence, and capacity for self-regulation) ones. the specific nature of the transformation of marital relationships under the influence of war-related events has been established; war-related events have been conceptualized as a context-specific factor that mediates the transformation of the emotional, value-related, and communicative dimensions of family interaction and increases the risk of escalation of family conflicts; a conceptual model for resolving family conflicts related to spouses’ experiences of war events has been developed. The key element of the model is the socio-psychological conditions for resolving marital conflicts that facilitate the transition from destructive forms of interaction to constructive resolution of disagreements between spouses. The socio-psychological conditions include stabilizing the individual’s psycho-emotional state, increasing the level of stress resilience and life resilience, developing emotional intelligence, forming communicative competence, gaining awareness of protective mechanisms, using constructive behavioral strategies in conflict, providing mutual support, and orienting the spouses toward shared life goals and prospects; statistically significant correlations were established between the characteristics of an individual’s behavior in family conflicts and indicators of conflict proneness, anxiety level, depression level, resilience level, perceived stress level, aggressiveness level, and emotional intelligence scores; the key factors that reveal the characteristics of an individual's behavior in marital conflicts have been identified. The factors are: "negative psychological state of the individual" (reflecting a high level of emotional stress, psycho-emotional, and psychosomatic reactions of the individual, which indicates their destructive behavior during conflicts), "unproductive behavior of the individual in conflict" (revealing active but ineffective behavior of the individual due to increased conflict proneness and a tendency to use coercive strategies), "productive behavior of the individual in conflict" (indicating the use of adaptive strategies by the individual to overcome family conflicts in order to preserve the marital relationship); thefollowing respondent types were identified: “destructive,” “adaptive,” and “latently conflict-prone” ones, which differ in terms of their level of conflict proneness, emotional competence, stress resilience, and ability to engage in constructive dialogue, indicating specific patterns of individual interaction in conflict; a training program for the settlement of marital conflicts related to spouses’ experiences of war was developed and piloted. It aims at processing the individual’s traumatic experiences, planning for the future, developing psychological resilience, emotional intelligence, and communication skills, as well as helping spouses apply constructive interaction strategies. The dissertation research has improved: – understanding of the essence of the concept of “family conflict” in the context of the contemporary socio-psychological environment, particularly wartime conditions; scientific understanding of the functioning of the modern family by identifying the ambivalent impact of war on the family system, which is manifested by a simultaneous increase in both cohesion and conflict in marital relationships; – scientific knowledge of the structure of socio-psychological factors and conditions for resolving family conflicts during wartime by integrating classical approaches with modern concepts of psychological trauma, collective stress, and socio-psychological maladjustment. The research has contributed to the insights of: – scientific approaches to organizing socio-psychological support for married couples in order to resolve family conflicts caused by war-related events; – socio-psychological methods for optimizing the psycho-emotional state of spouses and improving marital interaction in wartime. The practical significance of this dissertation research lies in the possibility of utilizing its findings in the professional activities of psychologists, social workers, and specialists in child and family services when providing psychological support to married couples in the process of resolving family conflicts. The obtained results can serve as a basis for the development and implementation of psychological counseling programs, psychocorrectional activities, and training initiatives aimed at reducing the level of conflict, enhancing emotional stability, and developing constructive interaction in marital relationships. The proposed approaches to the diagnosis and analysis of family conflicts should be applied in order to improve the practice of psychological assessment of married couples, particularly in situations of heightened stress and trauma caused by war-related events. The research findings can be incorporated into the activities of higher and postgraduate education institutions related to training professionals in the fields of Psychology and Social Work, as well as used within the academic disciplines of Family Psychology, Conflict Psychology, Crisis Psychology, and Psychological Counseling. The materials of the dissertation should be used in the development of methodological recommendations, educational and methodological guides, and professional development programs for specialists working with families in crises.
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