Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology
Resilience of psychology students as a factor in preventing professional burnout during war
Nataliia Schell 1 * , Lada Mazai 2, Artur Adamchuk 3, Olena Shcherbakova 4, Larysa Kondratska 5
More Detail
1 Department of General and Social Psychology, Educational and Scientific Institute of Psychology, Vasyl Stus Donetsk National University, Vinnytsia, Ukraine
2 Department of Crises and Clinical Psychology, Educational and Scientific Institute of Psychology, Vasyl Stus Donetsk National University, Vinnytsia, Ukraine
3 Interregional Academy of Personnel Management, Kyiv, Ukraine
4 State Institution “Institute for Children and Adolescents Health Care at the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine”, Kharkiv, Ukraine
5 Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, Primary Education and Educational Management, Faculty of Psychology and Pedagogy, Municipal Establishment “Kharkiv Humanitarian-Pedagogical Academy” of the Kharkiv Regional Council, Kharkiv, Ukraine
* Corresponding Author
Open Access Full Text (PDF)
ARTICLE INFO

Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology, 2026 - Volume 8 Issue 2, Article No: e42918
https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.202642918

Article Type: Research Article

Published Online: 17 Jun 2026

Views: 111 | Downloads: 39

ABSTRACT
The Ukrainian system of psychological assistance faces the threat of losing an entire generation of specialists because of professional burnout in the active phase of the military conflict. Researchers identified resilience as a key buffer between traumatic stress and professional self-preservation. The aim of the study was to provide a thorough theoretical and empirical justification of psychological resilience as a factor in preventing professional burnout in psychology students. The study involved 320 students of master’s programmes in psychology from different Ukrainian higher education institutions. The study employed standardized psychometric tools: the Resilience Scale, the Burnout Inventory, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, and the Traumatic Exposure Severity Scale. All techniques were adapted and showed satisfactory reliability rates. The study found that resilience was a significant mediator between traumatic exposure and burnout. There was a strong negative correlation between resilience and burnout. The targeted resilience programme yielded statistically significant improvements in the experimental group with a large effect size. The results confirm the key role of resilience as a buffer against burnout in wartime, while revealing its limited protective effectiveness under extremely intense stress. The identification of three resilience profiles and the identification of emotional regulation as the most powerful component justify the need for differentiated educational interventions. Therefore, the integration of targeted resilience development into the training of psychology students is critical for maintaining the human resource potential of the psychological service. The effectiveness of targeted development of psychological resilience, in particular its key component –emotional regulation, is empirically confirmed. It is a critically important factor in preventing professional burnout among psychology students studying in wartime, which helps to preserve the human resource potential of the psychological service.
KEYWORDS
longitudinal study mental health professionals professional burnout protective factors psychological resilience war trauma
In-text citation: (Schell et al., 2026)
Reference: Schell, N., Mazai, L., Adamchuk, A., Shcherbakova, O., & Kondratska, L. (2026). Resilience of psychology students as a factor in preventing professional burnout during war. Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology, 8(2), e42918. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.202642918
In-text citation: (1), (2), (3), etc.
Reference: Schell N, Mazai L, Adamchuk A, Shcherbakova O, Kondratska L. Resilience of psychology students as a factor in preventing professional burnout during war. Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology. 2026;8(2), e42918. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.202642918
In-text citation: (1), (2), (3), etc.
Reference: Schell N, Mazai L, Adamchuk A, Shcherbakova O, Kondratska L. Resilience of psychology students as a factor in preventing professional burnout during war. Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology. 2026;8(2):e42918. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.202642918
In-text citation: (Schell et al., 2026)
Reference: Schell, Nataliia, Lada Mazai, Artur Adamchuk, Olena Shcherbakova, and Larysa Kondratska. "Resilience of psychology students as a factor in preventing professional burnout during war". Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology 2026 8 no. 2 (2026): e42918. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.202642918
In-text citation: (Schell et al., 2026)
Reference: Schell, N., Mazai, L., Adamchuk, A., Shcherbakova, O., and Kondratska, L. (2026). Resilience of psychology students as a factor in preventing professional burnout during war. Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology, 8(2), e42918. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.202642918
In-text citation: (Schell et al., 2026)
Reference: Schell, Nataliia et al. "Resilience of psychology students as a factor in preventing professional burnout during war". Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology, vol. 8, no. 2, 2026, e42918. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.202642918
REFERENCES
  • Akkan, S. N., & Horzum, T. (2024). Illuminating the landscape of mathematical resilience: A systematic review. Journal of Pedagogical Research, 8(1), 312–338. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPR.202420093
  • Archer, R., Lewis, R., Yarker, J., Zernerova, L., & Flaxman, P. E. (2024). Increasing workforce psychological flexibility through organization-wide training: Influence on stress resilience, job burnout, and performance. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 33, 100799. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcbs.2024.100799
  • Bonanno, G. A. (2004). Loss, trauma, and human resilience: Have we underestimated the human capacity to thrive after extremely aversive events? American Psychologist, 59(1), 20–28. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.59.1.20
  • Bride, B. E., Robinson, M. R., Yegidis, B., & Figley, C. R. (2004). Development and validation of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale. Research on Social Work Practice, 14, 27-35.
  • Brites, R., Brandão, T., Hipólito, J., Ros, A., & Nunes, O. (2024). Emotion regulation, resilience, and mental health: A mediation study with university students in the pandemic context. Psychology in the Schools, 61(1), 304–328. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.23055
  • Burlaka, V., Shyrokonis, Y. A., Burlaka, J., Syvodied, I., Serdiuk, O., & Javanbakht, A. (2025). Adverse childhood experiences and posttraumatic stress disorder among Ukrainian college students: Mediating role of intimate partner violence and lifetime trauma experience. Current Psychology, 44(11), 10795–10806. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-025-07859-z
  • Chen, Z., Sun, Y., & Jia, Z. (2022). A study of student-teachers' emotional experiences and their development of professional identities. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 810146. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.810146
  • Connor, K. M., & Davidson, J. R. (2003). Development of a new resilience scale: The Connor–Davidson resilience scale (CD-RISC). Depression and Anxiety, 18(2), 76–82. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.10113 7
  • Çelik, E., Süler, M., Söylemez, A., & Koçak, L. (2023). The mediating role of time attitude in the relationship between self-esteem and resilience in high school students. Journal of Pedagogical Research, 7(1), 82–102. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPR.202317971
  • Emerson, D. J., Hair, J. F., & Smith, K. J. (2023). Psychological distress, burnout, and business student turnover: The role of resilience as a coping mechanism. Research in Higher Education, 64(2), 228–259. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-022-09704-9
  • Eren, E., Ergüleç, F., & Kara, A. (2025). The mediating role of resilience between positive personality traits and hopes of emerging adults: A structural equation modeling analysis. Journal of Pedagogical Research, 9(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPR.202430585
  • Gross, J. J., & John, O. P. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: Implications for affect, relationships, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(2), 348–362. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.2.348
  • Hamka, H. (2023). The role of principals on teacher performance improvement in a suburban school. Qalamuna, 15(1), 371–380. https://doi.org/10.37680/qalamuna.v15i1.2409
  • Huang, Y., Luan, S., Wu, B., Li, Y., Wu, J., Chen, W., et al. (2024). Impulsivity is a stable, measurable, and predictive psychological trait. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 121(24), e2321758121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2321758121
  • İlya, A. (2023). Factors affecting Turkish EFL teachers’ level of burnout: A quantitative study. Journal of Pedagogical Research, 7(1), 142–153. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPR.202317925
  • Jianping, G., Roslan, S., Soh, K. G., & Zaremohzzabieh, Z. (2024). Effects of positive education intervention on growth mindset and resilience among boarding middle school adolescents in China: A randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1446260. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1446260
  • Kałwak, W., & Weihgold, V. (2022). The relationality of ecological emotions: An interdisciplinary critique of individual resilience as psychology's response to the climate crisis. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 823620. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.823620
  • Kayalar, A., & Hiçdurmaz, D. (2024). Effects of metacognitions, self-compassion, and difficulties in emotion regulation on psychological resilience in oncology nurses. European Journal of Oncology Nursing, 70, 102568. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejon.2024.102568
  • Kim, K., Lee, J., & Yoon, J. (2023). Effects of emotional regulation, resilience, and distress disclosure on post-traumatic growth in nursing students. International journal of environmental research and public health, 20(4), 2782. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20042782
  • Kline, R. B. (2016). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (4th ed.). Guilford Press. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2015-56948-000
  • Korniiko, Y., Bajbouj, M., Jonas, K. J., Mueller, J., & Kemna, S. (2024). Mental health assessment during the full-scale invasion within the general Ukrainian population: State, beliefs and behaviors, query to change (cross-sectional study). European Psychiatry, 67(S1), S332–S333. https://doi.org/10.1192/j.eurpsy.2024.688
  • Kucuksuleymanoglu, R. (2025). Resilience in lifelong learning for individuals. In H. Özen & G. Polat (Eds.), Resilience, adaptability, and cultural awareness within the educational landscape (pp. 69–96). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-6040-8.ch003
  • Lawlor, C., Vitoratou, S., Hepworth, C., & Jolley, S. (2021). Self-reported emotion regulation difficulties in psychosis: Psychometric properties of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-16). Journal of Clinical Psychology, 77(10), 2323–2340. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.23164
  • Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1987). Transactional theory and research on emotions and coping. European Journal of Personality, 1(3), 141–169. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.2410010304
  • Leshem, B., Zasiekina, L., Guterman, N. B., & Pat‐Horenczyk, R. (2025). Shared traumatic reality during the continuous war in Ukraine and the protective role of transgenerational transfer: Voices of mental health professionals. Journal of Community Psychology, 53(1), e23161. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.23161
  • Liu, Y., Pan, H., Yang, R., Wang, X., Rao, J., Zhang, X., et al. (2021). The relationship between test anxiety and emotion regulation: The mediating effect of psychological resilience. Annals of General Psychiatry, 20(1), 40. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12991-021-00360-4
  • Ma, X., Yang, N., Huang, M., Zhan, S., Cao, H., & Jiang, S. (2024). Relationships between gross motor skills, psychological resilience, executive function, and emotional regulation among Chinese rural preschoolers: A moderated mediation model. Heliyon, 10(18), e38039. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e38039
  • Masten, A. S. (2001). Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in development. American Psychologist, 56(3), 227–238. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.227
  • Mastrokoukou, S., Lin, S., Longobardi, C., Berchiatti, M., & Bozzato, P. (2024). Resilience and psychological distress in the transition to university: The mediating role of emotion regulation. Current Psychology, 43(28), 23675–23685. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-024-06138-7
  • Michael, K., Schujovitzky, D., & Karnieli-Miller, O. (2024). The associations between resilience, self-care, and burnout among medical students. PLOS ONE, 19(9), e0309994. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309994
  • Mulska, O., Vasyltsiv, T., Shushkova, Y., Kloba, L., & Parfenyuk, Y. (2022). Assessment of the population's social resilience environment (the case of the Carpathian region of Ukraine). Problems and Perspectives in Management, 20(1), 407–421. https://doi.org/10.21511/ppm.20(1).2022.33
  • Nakhostin-Khayyat, M., Borjali, M., Zeinali, M., Fardi, D., & Montazeri, A. (2024). The relationship between self-regulation, cognitive flexibility, and resilience among students: A structural equation modeling. BMC Psychology, 12(1), 337. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-01843-1
  • Panourgia, C., Wezyk, A., Ventouris, A., Comoretto, A., Taylor, Z., & Yankouskaya, A. (2022). Individual factors in the relationship between stress and resilience in mental health psychology practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Health Psychology, 27(11), 2613–2631. https://doi.org/10.1177/13591053211059393
  • Poon, J. A., Katz, B. W., Benjamin, I., Russell, R., & Feinstein, B. A. (2025). Affirmative psychotherapy for trauma-exposed sexual and gender minority youth. In Evidence-Based Treatments for Trauma-Related Disorders in Children and Adolescents (pp. 555–581). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-77215-3_21
  • Popovych, I., Halian, I., Pavliuk, M., Kononenko, A., Hrys, A., & Tkachuk, T. (2022). Emotional quotient in the structure of mental burnout of athletes. Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 22(2), 337–345. https://doi.org/10.7752/jpes.2022.02043
  • Rao, G. P., Koneru, A., Nebhineni, N., & Mishra, K. K. (2024). Developing resilience and harnessing emotional intelligence. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 66(S2), S255–S261. https://doi.org/10.4103/indianjpsychiatry.indianjpsychiatry_601_23
  • Razak, H. A., MacLeod, C., Rudaizky, D., & Notebaert, L. (2025). The role of emotion regulation in distinct measures of emotional resilience. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 49, 748–768. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-025-10581-6
  • Sancak Aydın, G., & Nalbant, A. (2026). Teacher-perpetrated emotional violence in the classroom: A study based on pre-service teachers’ perceptions. Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology, 8(1), e42066. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.202642066
  • Sarraf-Yazdi, S., Teo, Y. N., How, A. E. H., et al. (2021). A scoping review of professional identity formation in undergraduate medical education. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 36(11), 3511–3521. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-021-07024-9
  • Sarzhanova, G., & Nurgabdeshov, A. (2025). Mapping psychological well-being in education: A systematic review of key dimensions and an integrative conceptual framework. Journal of Pedagogical Research, 9(3), 327–349. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPR.202534832
  • Smout, M. F., Simpson, S. G., Stacey, F., & Reid, C. (2022). The influence of maladaptive coping modes, resilience, and job demands on emotional exhaustion in psychologists. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 29(1), 260–273. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.2631
  • Snoubar, Y., Piontkivska, O., & Stulnikova, L. (2025). Mental health and psychosocial well-being of Ukrainian social work students affected by Russia’s full-scale invasion. The British Journal of Social Work, 55(8), 2894–2916. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcaf079
  • Tóth, E., & Jagodics, B. (2025). Examining university student burnout in relation to demands, resources and perfectionism: The mediating role of emotional regulation. Journal of Pedagogical Research, 9(3), 212–229. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPR.202534349
  • Troy, A. S., Willroth, E. C., Shallcross, A. J., Giuliani, N. R., Gross, J. J., & Mauss, I. B. (2023). Psychological resilience: An affect-regulation framework. Annual Review of Psychology, 74(1), 547–576. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-020122-041854
  • Warlick, C. A., Van Gorp, A., Farmer, N. M., Patterson, T., & Armstrong, A. (2021). Comparing burnout between graduate-level and professional clinicians. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 15(2), 150–158. https://doi.org/10.1037/tep0000328
  • Wiedermann, C. J., Barbieri, V., Plagg, B., Marino, P., Piccoliori, G., & Engl, A. (2023). Fortifying the foundations: A comprehensive approach to enhancing mental health support in educational policies amidst crises. Healthcare, 11(10), 1423. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11101423
  • Yavuz, G., & Dogan, N. (2014). Maslach Burnout Inventory–Student Survey (MBI-SS): A validity study. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 116, 2453–2457. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.590
LICENSE
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.