Study of the cognitive aspects of subjective well-being and Mental Health stability among internally displaced schoolchildren
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1
LESYA UKRAINKA VOLYN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, LUTSK, UKRAINE
2
TERNOPIL VOLODYMYR HNATIUK NATIONAL PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY, TERNOPIL, UKRAINE
3
I. HORBACHEVSKY TERNOPIL NATIONAL MEDICAL UNIVERSITY, TERNOPIL, UKRAINE
Publication date: 2026-09-30
Wiadomości Lekarskie 2026;(9):2164-2172
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Aim: A study of cognitive indicators of subjective well-being and mental health stability among internally displaced children in general secondary education
institutions, including those with hearing-related disabilities.
Materials and Methods: To measure the cognitive aspects of subjective well-being in internally displaced children, the “Cognitive Features of Subjective
Well-Being (CFSWB-3)” technique (O. Kalyuk, O. Savchenko) was used as a diagnostic tool. To assess mental health levels, the Mental Health Continuum – Short
Form questionnaire (C.L.M. Keyes, adapted by E. Nosenko and A. Chetveryk-Burchak) was applied. Statistical processing and data analysis were conducted using
the R programming environment, version 4.4.3 (2025-02-28 UCRT), in the RStudio IDE 2026.05.1 (Posit Software, PBC). Data processing and visualization were
performed using the tidyverse, ggplot2, tibble, gt, and other packages.
Results: The relevance of studying the cognitive aspects of subjective well-being and mental health stability in internally displaced children is driven by the fact
that under wartime conditions, they constantly experience emergencies that impact psychological health and increase vulnerability. Their traumatic experience
has a significant long-term negative impact on their subjective well-being. The total sample comprised 30 individuals aged 15–16 years. Group 1 included 16
pupils from general secondary education institutions who held internally displaced status (9 male and 7 female respondents). Group 2 consisted of 14 pupils
from a special school (6 male and 8 female respondents) who, alongside the vulnerability factor of internal displacement, also had hearing-related disabilities.
The study results revealed a predominance of low and average levels of overall life satisfaction in both groups. Overall life satisfaction scores in Group 2 were
found to be significantly lower (p=0.0195). A significant difference was identified between the groups across hedonic, psychological, and social well-being
indicators (ranging from r=0.5502 to r=0.7629). The “languishing” (depression) level was absent in both groups. A distinctive feature of Group 2 was that all
children exhibited a moderate level of mental health stability. In Group 1, a “flourishing” level was observed in 62% of respondents, with 38% demonstrating a
moderate level. Several correlations were identified between the CFSWB-3 and MHC-SF indicators: 1) Between satisfaction with relationships with others and
psychological well-being (r=0.41, p<0.05); 2) Between the overall CFSWB-3 scale and psychological well-being (MHCSF) (r=0.49, p<0.01); 3) Group-level
correlations: a negative (inverse) correlation in Group 2 between satisfaction with one’s own life and social well-being (r=-0.59, p<0.01).
Conclusions: Regarding subjective well-being indicators, both groups demonstrated a predominance of low satisfaction with one’s own life and relationships
with others, a complete absence of high satisfaction levels, and low overall life satisfaction in more than half of the respondents. The absence of “languishing”
indicators was also established. Children in Group 2 exhibited lower overall life satisfaction, moderate mental health stability, and lower mental health stability
scores across general characteristics as well as their hedonic, psychological, and social components. The absence of stable and systemic correlations between
the cognitive aspects of children’s subjective well-being and their mental health stability level may indicate the autonomy of various aspects of mental health,
manifested more vividly by a specific dissociation between the cognitive component of well-being and the emotional, social, and functional aspects of mental
health under stress factors.