THE PRESENCE OF JOY AS A LIFE-AFFIRMING COMPONENT OF PERSONALITY IN CONDITIONS OF UNCERTAINTY

Abstract

The article discusses the manifestation of joy as one of the basic components of personality that reflects its mental health in coping with uncertainty, which is characteristic of the period of martial law in Ukraine. The results of the study on the current functioning of respondents are presented, encompassing psychological, physical, somatic, and informational components. The article examines the manifestations of emotional states, the population's attitude toward information, their need for joy, and sources of getting it. A comparison of the results is made among three groups of respondents living at different distances from active combat zones, namely: forcibly displaced persons (Group I), residents of the front-line zone (Group II), and individuals living in the central region of Ukraine (Group III). It was found that a prevailing general psycho-emotional state with a tendency towards negativity was observed in all three groups, but Group I showed an increased tendency towards a positive state. A clinically significant level of anxiety had similar indicators in all three groups, at 26% each. Signs of depression at a high clinical level were more prevalent among residents of the central region, namely at 29%. Respondents from all groups had an equally high need for joy, but there were differences in the sources of joy. A reverse correlation was found between the feeling of joy and depression (r = -0.568, p < 0.01), as well as an indirect correlation with anxiety (r = -0.373, p < 0.01). A direct correlation was established between the feeling of joy and the overall emotional state (r = 0.475, p < 0.01). The location of residents did not significantly affect their psycho-emotional state, as people did not feel safe anywhere. However, respondents courageously accepted the challenges of fate and tried to cope with them independently.