A path model of associations between war-related exposure to trauma, nightmares, fear, insomnia, and posttraumatic stress among Ukrainian students during the Russian invasion

Aleksandra M Rogowska; Iuliia Pavlova

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115431

A path model of associations between war-related exposure to trauma, nightmares, fear, insomnia, and posttraumatic stress among Ukrainian students during the Russian invasion

Psychiatry Res. 2023 Oct:328:115431. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115431. Epub 2023 Sep 7.

Authors

Aleksandra M Rogowska¹, Iuliia Pavlova²

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Psychology, University of Opole, Opole 45-052, Poland. Electronic address: arogowska@uni.opole.pl.
² Theory and Methods of Physical Culture Department, Lviv State University of Physical Culture, Lviv, Ukraine.

PMID: 37688837
DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115431

Abstract

The present study examined the associations between war-related exposure, nightmares, fear, insomnia, and PTSD symptoms among university students from Western Ukraine. An online cross-sectional study was performed among 1,072 university students (80% of whom were women) during the war. Eight questions were developed to assess exposure to war, and seven items were designed regarding nightmares of war. War-related PTSD symptoms were assessed using an abbreviated six-item PTSD checklist (PCL-6), insomnia was measured using the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS), and to examine fear of war, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FoCV-19S) was adopted. Positive correlations were found between exposure to war, nightmares of war, fear of war, insomnia, and war-related PTSD. The path model using structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis showed that the chain mediation partially explains the relationship between war exposure and war-related PTSD symptoms via nightmares of war, fear of war, and insomnia among university students during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Women scored significantly higher than men in fear of war and symptoms of insomnia and PTSD, but the path model was invariant across genders. Young adults require treatment focused primarily on nightmares, insomnia, and fear of war to prevent PTSD symptoms.

Keywords: Exposure to war; Fear of war; Insomnia; Mental health; Nightmares of war; The Russian invasion of Ukraine; University students; War-related PTSD.