Students from families of participants in the Special Military Operation: assessment of needs for psychological help and barriers to receiving it (experience of the Sverdlovsk region)
The article presents the results of a sociological study conducted at the Sverdlovsk Regional Medical College in October-November 2024 (n=191, sampling error – 4.24%). The objective is to study the level of appeal of students from families of participants in the Special Military Operation for psychological help, to identify gender characteristics and to establish relationships in the perception of the need for help between age and course of study. A low rate of seeking help was found, despite a fairly high prevalence of psychological problems, especially among men and adults, which is associated with difficulties in finding a suitable specialist, a lack of accessible information, fears of condemnation and stigmatization, as well as one’s own psychological isolation. A significant portion of respondents deny the need for specialist intervention even in the presence of mental health problems, despite having previously sought professional help. This indicates the presence of distorted ideas and insufficient knowledge of the symptoms and signs of psychological problems, as well as a low probability of seeking help from specialists in the future, which threatens the risks of developing chronic conditions and diseases and a deterioration in the quality of life in general. It is necessary to expand opportunities for receiving professional assistance, develop online psychological support services, organise training sessions on stress prevention and how to increase stress resistance, and improve the level of psychological knowledge among teaching staff. This will create conditions for anonymous requests for help and foster a favourable atmosphere of 'perceived support' within student groups.
Kuzmin, K. V., Naboychenko, E. S., Petrova, L. Е. (2025), “Students from families of participants in the Special Military Operation: assessment of needs for psychological help and barriers to receiving it (experience of the Sverdlovsk region)”, Research Result. Sociology and management, 11 (3), 299-315. DOI: 10.18413/2408-9338-2025-11-3-1-7.
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Статья поступила в редакцию 07 марта 2025 г. Поступила после доработки 03 августа
2025 г. Принята к печати 05 сентября 2025 г.
Received 07 March 2025. Revised 03 August 2025. Accepted 05 September 2025.