PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF MILITARY CHAPLAINS IN WARTIME CONDITIONS: RESULTS OF A PILOT STUDY

Abstract

The article presents the results of a pilot study on the psychological well-being of military chaplains conducted during the second year of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The study aimed to identify key psychological factors influencing the preservation or decline of psychological well-being among chaplains who perform their ministry under conditions of chronic stress, life-threatening danger, and sustained emotional strain. To assess psychological wellbeing, resilience, professional burnout, symptoms of traumatic stress states, anxiety, and depression, standardized psychodiagnostic instruments were used: Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being Scales (PWB), Connor – Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. The relationships between the integral indicator of psychological well-being and resilience, professional burnout, anxiety, depression, and symptoms of traumatic stress states were examined. The findings indicate that professional burnout, particularly its component of emotional exhaustion, represents the most significant destructive factor affecting the psychological well-being of military chaplains. At the same time, age and resilience function as stable positive predictors of psychological well-being, highlighting the importance of life experience and internal psychological strength in wartime conditions. The results also demonstrate the absence of a direct linear relationship between the integral indicator of psychological well-being and the level of symptoms of traumatic stress states, anxiety, and depression, suggesting the presence of complex, non-linear adaptive mechanisms within this professional group. An analysis of the subscales of psychological well-being allowed for clarification of specific pathways through which burnout and resilience influence autonomy, positive relations with others, and life purpose among chaplains. The pilot study findings served as a foundation for refining the psychodiagnostic toolkit and developing the design of the main study, particularly through the inclusion of measures assessing religious coping (Brief RCOPE), resource-based stress-coping strategies (BASIC Ph), and professional quality of life (Professional Quality of Life Scale, ProQOL). This approach will enable a more in-depth examination of the mechanisms underlying the provision and preservation of psychological well-being among military chaplains in wartime conditions.