HYPOTHETICAL MODEL OF COPING STRATEGIES FOR ADAPTATION TO WAR-RELATED LOSS AMONG FAMILY MEMBERS OF FALLEN MILITARY SERVICEMEN

Abstract

The article is devoted to the theoretical substantiation and development of a hypothetical model of coping strategies for adaptation to war-related loss among family members of fallen military servicemen. The relevance of the study is determined by the growing number of war-related losses caused by the full-scale armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and the need to deepen scientific understanding of the psychological mechanisms underlying adaptation to the loss of a loved one in the context of an ongoing war. It has been established that contemporary research primarily focuses on specific aspects of coping with loss, including meaning-making, post-traumatic growth, emotional regulation, psychological well-being, and social support, whereas the systematization of coping strategies used in adaptation to war-related loss remains insufficiently developed.

As a result of the analysis of theoretical and empirical data, seven coping strategies for adaptation to war-related loss were identified: meaning-making, refusal to search for meaning, continuing bonds, maintenance of social roles, avoidance, functional survival, and reliance on the memory of the deceased. Based on their synthesis, a hypothetical model was proposed that conceptualizes adaptation to war-related loss as the outcome of the interaction of three functionally interconnected domains: cognitive-meaning, emotional-resource, and behavioral-adaptive. It is demonstrated that the adaptation process is dynamic in nature and is implemented through the continuous interaction of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral mechanisms of coping with loss.

The study substantiates that the proposed model may serve as a theoretical foundation for further empirical investigations of war-related grief and for the development of psychological support programs for family members of fallen military servicemen.