A large-scale military conflict in Ukraine has caused serious deterioration in the state of mental health of students, especially the most vulnerable among them. The paper aims at analyzing the connection between adaptive resource level, psychological well-being, and measures of psychological distress among students and proves the importance of crisis counseling within an inclusive learning environment. Secondary analysis was carried out using the results of “Mental Health Screening in Ukraine: December 2024” dataset. The research sample included 56 students (under the age of 25, bachelor’s and master’s degrees). The variables were scaled by the ordinal method. To determine the relationships, Spearman’s correlation analysis was conducted with the use of IBM SPSS Statistics 27 and R programming software. Significant negative correlations between adaptive resources and measures of distress scores (\(r = -0.38 \text{ to } -0.61; ~p<0.01\)) were found, which demonstrates the protective role of resilient and positive characteristics. On the basis of data received, an integrated model of crisis counseling for vulnerable group students in an inclusive educational context was elaborated. The model comprises the following four main components: (1) Stabilization, (2) Resource Activation, (3) Social Inclusion, and (4) Continuous Monitoring. The suggested model is designed to quickly reduce severe distress while building up resilience and psychological well-being. As shown by the findings, crisis counseling can be considered an important transition stage between psychological distress and adaptive behavior. Systemic application of crisis counseling in Ukrainian higher educational establishments could improve quality of mental assistance considerably and promote successful inclusion of students in wartime environment.
A large-scale military conflict in Ukraine has caused serious deterioration in the state of mental health of students, especially the most vulnerable among them. The paper aims at analyzing the connection between adaptive resource level, psychological well-being, and measures of psychological distress among students and proves the importance of crisis counseling within an inclusive learning environment. Secondary analysis was carried out using the results of “Mental Health Screening in Ukraine: December 2024” dataset. The research sample included 56 students (under the age of 25, bachelor’s and master’s degrees). The variables were scaled by the ordinal method. To determine the relationships, Spearman’s correlation analysis was conducted with the use of IBM SPSS Statistics 27 and R programming software. Significant negative correlations between adaptive resources and measures of distress scores (\(r = -0.38 \text{ to } -0.61; ~p<0.01\)) were found, which demonstrates the protective role of resilient and positive characteristics. On the basis of data received, an integrated model of crisis counseling for vulnerable group students in an inclusive educational context was elaborated. The model comprises the following four main components: (1) Stabilization, (2) Resource Activation, (3) Social Inclusion, and (4) Continuous Monitoring. The suggested model is designed to quickly reduce severe distress while building up resilience and psychological well-being. As shown by the findings, crisis counseling can be considered an important transition stage between psychological distress and adaptive behavior. Systemic application of crisis counseling in Ukrainian higher educational establishments could improve quality of mental assistance considerably and promote successful inclusion of students in wartime environment.
