PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MILITARY PERSONNEL WITH LIMB AMPUTATIONS: FINDINGS FROM AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

Abstract

The article presents a comprehensive empirical study of the psychological characteristics of military personnel who have undergone limb amputation. The findings reveal systematic, multidimensional, and statistically significant differences between the study groups.

An optimal battery of psychodiagnostic instruments was developed for assessing military personnel with limb amputation during the hospital stage of rehabilitation: 1) the Combat Stress Response Questionnaire (K. Voznitsyna, T. Sirenko, M. Hrudii, modified by K. Kravchenko); 2) the Hardiness Test by S. Maddi (adapted by D. Osin and E. Rasskazova); 3) the Purpose-in-Life Orientations Test (D. Leontiev); 4) the Subjective Control Level Questionnaire (J. Rotter); and 5) the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (R. Lazarus). The selected psychodiagnostic instruments provide a comprehensive assessment of the psychological state of military personnel with limb amputation, enable the identification of risks of maladjustment and retraumatization, facilitate the development of individualized psychological support plans, and substantiate recommendations for further rehabilitation interventions.

The findings indicate that limb amputation during the hospital stage of recovery constitutes a powerful determining factor that exerts a complex influence on the individual's system of life meanings, the structure of subjective control, psychological hardiness, and dominant coping strategies.

The results of the study may be applied to improve the quality of psychological support provided to military personnel with limb amputation during the hospital stage of rehabilitation.