Resilient coping during the Russian-Ukrainian war: Does it buffer the effects of cumulative trauma on ICD-11 posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms?

Background: Individuals with higher resilient coping may manage war-related trauma better than individuals with lower resilient coping. If so, resilient coping may weaken the relationship between war trauma and posttraumatic stress disorders. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the role of re...

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Main Authors: Annett Lotzin, Olha Morozova-Larina, Antje Paetow, Lisa Schratz, Vladyslava Keller, Illia Zarubin, Liudmyla Krupelnytska
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-07-01
Series:Comprehensive Psychiatry
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010440X25000197
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author Annett Lotzin
Olha Morozova-Larina
Antje Paetow
Lisa Schratz
Vladyslava Keller
Illia Zarubin
Liudmyla Krupelnytska
author_facet Annett Lotzin
Olha Morozova-Larina
Antje Paetow
Lisa Schratz
Vladyslava Keller
Illia Zarubin
Liudmyla Krupelnytska
author_sort Annett Lotzin
collection DOAJ
description Background: Individuals with higher resilient coping may manage war-related trauma better than individuals with lower resilient coping. If so, resilient coping may weaken the relationship between war trauma and posttraumatic stress disorders. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the role of resilient coping in moderating the associations between cumulative war trauma exposure and ICD-11 posttraumatic stress disorders during war. Methods: This cross-sectional study included N = 851 Ukrainian students living in the Ukraine between December 2022 and January 2023 during the Russian-Ukrainian war. We tested a model in which resilient coping was specified as a moderator of the effect of war-related cumulative trauma exposure (Harvard Trauma Questionnaire-R) on ICD-11 posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and disturbances in self-organization (DSO) symptom levels (International Trauma Questionnaire-R), respectively. We used Structural Equation Modeling and controlled our analysis for previous trauma exposure, gender, years of study, and level of income. Results: In contrast to our hypothesis, the level of resilient coping did not moderate the effect of cumulative war trauma exposure on PTSD and DSO symptom levels. Instead, we found a strong direct effect of the level of resilient coping on PTSD and DSO symptom levels. Conclusions: Resilient coping may directly affect the level of PTSD and DSO symptoms but may not weaken the association between trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress disorders during war.
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spelling doaj-art-625dae76affc4cfbbceb801407f385142025-08-20T01:50:00ZengElsevierComprehensive Psychiatry0010-440X2025-07-0114015259210.1016/j.comppsych.2025.152592Resilient coping during the Russian-Ukrainian war: Does it buffer the effects of cumulative trauma on ICD-11 posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms?Annett Lotzin0Olha Morozova-Larina1Antje Paetow2Lisa Schratz3Vladyslava Keller4Illia Zarubin5Liudmyla Krupelnytska6Institute for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; Corresponding author at: MSH Medical School Hamburg, Am Kaiserkai 1, 20457 Hamburg, Germany.Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Department of Psychodiagnostics and Clinical Psychology, Kyiv, UkraineInstitute for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, GermanyInstitute for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, GermanyTaras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Department of Psychodiagnostics and Clinical Psychology, Kyiv, UkraineTaras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Department of Psychodiagnostics and Clinical Psychology, Kyiv, UkraineTaras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Department of Psychodiagnostics and Clinical Psychology, Kyiv, UkraineBackground: Individuals with higher resilient coping may manage war-related trauma better than individuals with lower resilient coping. If so, resilient coping may weaken the relationship between war trauma and posttraumatic stress disorders. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the role of resilient coping in moderating the associations between cumulative war trauma exposure and ICD-11 posttraumatic stress disorders during war. Methods: This cross-sectional study included N = 851 Ukrainian students living in the Ukraine between December 2022 and January 2023 during the Russian-Ukrainian war. We tested a model in which resilient coping was specified as a moderator of the effect of war-related cumulative trauma exposure (Harvard Trauma Questionnaire-R) on ICD-11 posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and disturbances in self-organization (DSO) symptom levels (International Trauma Questionnaire-R), respectively. We used Structural Equation Modeling and controlled our analysis for previous trauma exposure, gender, years of study, and level of income. Results: In contrast to our hypothesis, the level of resilient coping did not moderate the effect of cumulative war trauma exposure on PTSD and DSO symptom levels. Instead, we found a strong direct effect of the level of resilient coping on PTSD and DSO symptom levels. Conclusions: Resilient coping may directly affect the level of PTSD and DSO symptoms but may not weaken the association between trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress disorders during war.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010440X25000197Cumulative traumaWar-related stressorsConflictComplex posttraumatic stress disorderMental healthUkraine
spellingShingle Annett Lotzin
Olha Morozova-Larina
Antje Paetow
Lisa Schratz
Vladyslava Keller
Illia Zarubin
Liudmyla Krupelnytska
Resilient coping during the Russian-Ukrainian war: Does it buffer the effects of cumulative trauma on ICD-11 posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms?
Comprehensive Psychiatry
Cumulative trauma
War-related stressors
Conflict
Complex posttraumatic stress disorder
Mental health
Ukraine
title Resilient coping during the Russian-Ukrainian war: Does it buffer the effects of cumulative trauma on ICD-11 posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms?
title_full Resilient coping during the Russian-Ukrainian war: Does it buffer the effects of cumulative trauma on ICD-11 posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms?
title_fullStr Resilient coping during the Russian-Ukrainian war: Does it buffer the effects of cumulative trauma on ICD-11 posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms?
title_full_unstemmed Resilient coping during the Russian-Ukrainian war: Does it buffer the effects of cumulative trauma on ICD-11 posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms?
title_short Resilient coping during the Russian-Ukrainian war: Does it buffer the effects of cumulative trauma on ICD-11 posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms?
title_sort resilient coping during the russian ukrainian war does it buffer the effects of cumulative trauma on icd 11 posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms
topic Cumulative trauma
War-related stressors
Conflict
Complex posttraumatic stress disorder
Mental health
Ukraine
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010440X25000197
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