Traumatic War-Induced Stressors and Health Status: Cumulative Life Stress and Resources of Resilience

Abstract

War is one of the most potent stressors that humanity can be exposed to. Like any armed conflict, the war in Ukraine is likely to result in devastating consequences for the health of our nation, causing long-term physical and psychological harm to adults and children, a reduction in human capital, an increase in the number of children facing orphanhood and family separation, the development of poverty in regions directly affected during the active phase of the conflict, psychological trauma, a lack of adequate nutrition, the erosion of social networks, and so forth. Recent research confirms a significant increase in the level of distress and emotional suffering among Ukrainians. Simultaneously, the results of these studies demonstrate the high resilience that the Ukrainian population exhibits in opposition to the brutal realities of war. When analyzing the impact of war-induced traumatic stressors on human health, it is necessary to consider the stressful experiences an individual had prior to the war, as this prior experience also carries significant weight. However, the cumulative stress experienced by a person over their lifetime is often not taken into account during assessments of the war's impact on the individual health of Ukrainians. This article focuses on the theoretical and practical significance of studying the consequences of the impact of accumulated lifetime stressful experience in combination with the traumatic stressors of war, which will contribute to the development of comprehensive metrics for stress and its impact on human health. Research into the cumulative effects of stress should be complemented by an analysis of the role of protective factors, which will provide a more exhaustive explanation of the relationship between stress and human health. In the process of studying the impact of wartime traumatic events on the health of Ukrainians, it is also important to emphasize the combination of cumulative lifetime stress and an individual's stress resilience resources.