LEVELS AND FEATURES OF THE MANIFESTATION OF ANXIETY AND ANXIETY OF HIGHER EDUCATION STUDENTS IN THE CONDITIONS OF MILITARY ACTIONS IN UKRAINE

Abstract

This article is devoted to an empirical analysis of the levels and characteristics of anxiety and personal anxiety, as well as generalised anxiety disorder, among higher education students of various ages under martial law.

It has been established that the overwhelming majority (83.12%) of respondents exhibit varying levels of anxiety – ranging from mild to severe. The largest group consists of those with mild anxiety, which indicates the presence of adaptive mechanisms for coping with stressful situations, as well as the respondents’ ability to function under conditions of moderate stress. At the same time, the significant (43.72%) combined rate of moderate and severe anxiety may substantially affect the quality of life, social functioning, professional activity and interpersonal relationships of the study participants.

A comparative analysis of the indicators of state anxiety and trait anxiety shows that a high level of state anxiety (67.97 per cent) is associated with a high level of trait anxiety (58.01 per cent), meaning that a significant proportion of the participants not only have a persistent tendency towards anxious reactions but also experience heightened levels of anxiety caused by current life circumstances. Furthermore, a rather heterogeneous and polarised distribution of respondents according to anxiety levels is observed. Two largest groups have been identified: the group with low anxiety levels (29 per cent) and the group with high anxiety levels (32.03 per cent), which together account for over 60 per cent of the sample, and may indicate the presence of two distinct subgroups within the study population – those who demonstrate adaptive psychological defence mechanisms and effective stress-coping strategies, and those who experience significant difficulties with emotional self-regulation.

These results confirm the need for psychological intervention for the majority of respondents with the aim of reducing anxiety symptoms, which will be the focus of our future research.