SECONDARY TRAUMATIZATION OF JOURNALISTS UNDER ARMED CONFLICT: MECHANISMS AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS

Abstract

The article provides a theoretical analysis of secondary traumatization mechanisms among journalists working under armed conflict conditions and systematizes the protective factors that counteract its development. The relevance of the problem is driven by the fact that media professionals constitute one of the most psychologically vulnerable occupational groups, yet the specific pathways through which indirect trauma exposure transforms into clinically significant distress remain insufficiently differentiated. The methodology rests on systematic analysis and synthesis of peer-reviewed sources from Scopus and Web of Science databases. The study established that secondary traumatic stress in media workers develops through three interrelated pathways: cumulative exposure to traumatic content, processing of eyewitness media on the digital frontline, and interaction between personal trauma history and professional exposure. The key protective factors identified include social support (particularly institutional recognition), organizational psychological assistance, trauma literacy, and reflexive processing of media-related trauma. The Ukrainian wartime context adds a unique dimension: journalists simultaneously function as professional chroniclers and citizens of a defending nation, which intensifies secondary traumatization through an additional layer of personal involvement. IMI longitudinal data (2022–2025) confirm escalating psychological exhaustion alongside emerging adaptive mechanisms. The dual-continuum model of mental health provides the theoretical framework for understanding how secondary traumatic stress and professional fulfilment may coexist. Practical value lies in substantiating the need for differentiated intervention programmes targeting distinct STS pathways in journalist populations, particularly within the Ukrainian wartime context where no systematic psychodiagnostic research on media workers has been conducted to date.