THE EFFECTS OF ARMED CONFLICT CONDITIONS ON PERSONALITY ADAPTATION MECHANISMS: A REGRESSION ANALYSIS
Keywords:
armed conflict, continuous traumatic stress, personality adaptation, defense mechanisms, coping strategies, mediation analysis, civilian populationAbstract
This article examines the influence of the psychological conditions of prolonged armed conflict on personality adaptation mechanisms among civilians under direct and indirect conflict exposure. The relevance of the study is determined by the insufficient understanding of adaptation among individuals for whom the threat has not ended, as well as by the limitations of PTSD-oriented models in describing conditions of ongoing traumatization. The theoretical framework of the study is the concept of continuous traumatic stress (CTS), within which armed conflict is considered as a prolonged context of civilian life that includes both conditions of continuing threat and specific responses to them. The aim of the study is to identify how conflict-related conditions influence defense mechanisms and coping strategies through internal personality factors in groups exposed to the conflict directly and indirectly. The empirical part of the study was conducted within a quasi-experimental comparative design with two naturally formed groups. The model was tested using mediation regression analysis in PROCESS v4.2 for SPSS; dominant states and world assumptions were examined as mediators. The results showed that the influence of conflict-related conditions on adaptive mechanisms is predominantly mediated and is more often realized through specific indirect pathways. In the direct exposure group, stronger associations were found with CTS factors and dominant states, reflecting the burden on mental state and the depletion of resources. In the indirect exposure group, protective factors and world assumptions became more important, especially assumptions about the benevolence and justice of the world. The findings support the theoretical model of a unified protective-regulatory system of personality adaptation under CTS and demonstrate differences in adaptation profiles under direct and indirect armed conflict exposure.
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