(2025) Science and education, 3, 39-46. Odessa.

Svitlana Symonenko,
Doctor of Psychological Sciences, Professor,
Professor at the Department of Theory and Methods of Practical Psychology,
The state institution "South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University named after K. D. Ushynsky",
26, Staroportofrankivska, Str., Odesa, Ukraine,
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5491-6637

Olena Onyshchenko,
Postgraduate Student at the Department of Theory and Methods of Practical Psychology,
The state institution "South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University named after K. D. Ushynsky",
26, Staroportofrankivska, Str., Odesa, Ukraine,
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8505-2999

TRANSFORMATION OF YOUTH VALUE ORIENTATIONS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE EXISTENTIAL CRISIS OF THE UKRAINIAN WAR

The article describes the impact of the existential crisis on the transformation of the value-semantic sphere of youth under the conditions of martial law in Ukraine. It is shown that value orientations act as a leading mechanism for adapting youth to rethink life priorities, maintain internal integrity and be prepared for uncertain life conditions. The existential crisis, in the context of martial law, is a catalyst for reassessment of goals, goods, ideals and life aspirations, stimulating self-development, reflection, family values, social support, and the urgent need for vital needs for human life. The study included students from various specialties and universities, and it was found that young people with a constructive (high) level of experiencing an existential crisis actively integrate values, priorities, meanings, and their own lived experience into further life practice, forming internal resources that provide psychological stability, support, and the ability to effectively adapt to external changes. Young people at this level demonstrate a high level of meaning-making activity, the ability to transform traumatic experience into a resource for their own growth, effectively maintaining a balance between individual needs and social requirements of modern Ukraine. Transitional (average) level adaptive potential increases with support from external resources – family, social, and institutional mechanisms. At the transitional level, there is a gradual synthesis of new value-semantic guidelines that form the basis for psychological homeostasis and an increase in the ability to overcome life difficulties. The destructive (low) level of living an existential crisis is characterized by the defragmentation of value orientations, the decrease in meaning-making activity, the loss of internal supports, which causes internal anxiety, uncertainty and difficulty in making decisions. Youth of this level need targeted psychological support, support aimed at restoring value-meaning structures, integrating life values   and forming resources for adaptation in uncertain crisis conditions of life. The article emphasizes that the existential crisis during martial law, despite its potential traumatic effect, can serve as a resource for the personal development of modern student youth, the formation of new life strategies, in accordance with the strict requirements of modernity, and can become the basis for psychological and pedagogical programs to support youth.

value-meaning orientations, crisis, existential crisis, youth, martial law, adaptation, resources

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