(2026) Science and education, 1, 64-73. Odessa.
Olena Chykhantsova,
Doctor of Psychological Sciences, Senior Researcher,
Acting Head of the P.R. Chamata Laboratory of Personality Psychology,
Kostiuk Institute of Psychology of the National Academy of Educational Sciences,
2, Pankivska Str., Kyiv, Ukraine,
ORCID ІD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2661-3265
SYNERGY OF RESILIENCE AND OPTIMISM AS A FACTOR OF PERSONAL WELL-BEING UNDER CONDITIONS OF UNCERTAINTY
SUMMARY:
The article provides a theoretical substantiation and empirical investigation into the synergistic interaction between resilience and optimism as a holistic psychological resource. In the context of contemporary socio-economic transformations and global crises, traditional adaptation mechanisms often lose efficacy, necessitating the search for internal supports to maintain mental health. The author proposes a conceptual model wherein resilience and optimism form an emergent property that prevents the transformation of endurance into passive survival. The empirical study was conducted in 2023 with 422 participants (mean age 39.9 years), including residents of active combat zones, stable regions of Ukraine, and migrants. Data were collected using a mixed-methods approach (online and offline). The research utilized the following instruments: the Nicholson McBride Resilience Questionnaire (NMRQ), the Quality of Life Questionnaire, the Optimism-Activity Scale (AOS), and The Ryff Scales of Psychological Well-Being. Correlation analysis results revealed significant links between resilience, optimism, and activity. It was demonstrated that resilience serves as a foundational construct determining psychological well-being, particularly through the parameters of environmental mastery and purpose in life. The study established that the synergistic effect of these resources facilitates a mechanism of proactive adaptation. A positive correlation was found between resilience and quality of life, underscoring the practical significance of integrating these resources for preventing burnout and stimulating post-traumatic growth. Regression analysis proved that the synergy of resilience and optimism forms a cohesive resource complex, accounting for 31.8% of the variance in psychological well-being. The interaction of these factors serves as the fundamental basis for maintaining mental health under extreme conditions, functioning not as autonomous phenomena but as mutually reinforcing components of a unified adaptive system. The study concludes that the mutual reinforcement of resilience and positive cognitive mindsets constitutes the bedrock of human viability in conditions of chronic uncertainty.
KEYWORDS:
adaptive potential, personal resources, hardiness, psychological resilience, dispositional optimism, psychological well-being, quality of life, mental health, coping strategies, difficult life circumstances
FULL TEXT:
REFERENCES:
2. Kokun, O.M. (2025). Zhyttiestiikist i rezylientnist liudyny v suchasnomu sviti: teoriia, doslidzhennia, praktyka: monohrafiia [Hardiness and human resilience in the modern world: theory, research, practice: monograph]. Kyiv: Instytut psykholohii imeni H. S. Kostiuka NAPN Ukrainy. [in Ukrainian]
3. Myloslaska, O., & Bohdanovskyi, S. (2023). Osoblyvosti samorehuliatsii u viiskovosluzhbovtsiv iz riznym rivnem rezylientnosti [Peculiarities of self-regulation of military personnel with different levels of resilience]. Nauka i osvita, (1), 51–57. https://doi.org/10.24195/2414-4665-2023-1-8 [in Ukrainian]
4. Rudenko, O.V., & Hontar, Yu.V. (2022). Struktura rezyliensu u konteksti rozvytku rezylientnosti osobystosti [Resilience structure in the context of personality resilence development]. Vcheni zapysky TNU imeni V. I. Vernadskoho. Seriia: Psykholohiia, 33(72), 73–78. https://doi.org/10.32838/2709-3093/2022.2/12 [in Ukrainian]
5. Serdiuk, L. Z., Danyliuk, I. V., Chykhantsova, O. A., Turban, V. V., et al. (2024). Psykholohichni tekhnolohii spryiannua pozytyvnomu psykhichnomu zdorov’iu riznykh verstv naselennia Ukrainy v umovakh voiennoho stanu ta pisliavoiennoho vidnovlennia: praktychnyi posibnyk [Psychological technologies for promoting positive mental health of various segments of the population of Ukraine under martial law and post-war recovery: a practical guide]. Ed. L. Z. Serdiuk. Kyiv: Instytut psykholohii imeni H. S. Kostiuka NAPN Ukrainy. Retrieved from https://lib.iitta.gov.ua/id/eprint/742839/ [in Ukrainian]
6. Chykhantsova, O.A. (2023). Rozvytok rezylientnosti osobystosti v sytuatsiiakh nevypravdanosti [Development of personal resilience in situations of uncertainty]. Vcheni zapysky TNU imeni V. I. Vernadskoho. Seriia: Psykholohiia, 34(73), 1, 35–40. https://doi.org/10.32782/2709-3093/2023.1/07 [in Ukrainian]
7. Chykhantsova, O. (2021). Psykholohichni osnovy zhyttiestiikosti osobystosti: monohrafiia [Psychological foundations of personality hardiness: monograph]. Kyiv: Talkom. Retrieved from https://lib.iitta.gov.ua/id/eprint/727629/ [in Ukrainian]
8. Chykhantsova, O.A. (2025). Rol rezylientnosti yak osobystisnoho resursu liudyny v sytuatsiiakh nevyznachenosti [The role of resilience as a personal resource in situations of uncertainty]. Vcheni zapysky Tavriiskoho natsionalnoho universytetu imeni V. I. Vernadskoho. Seriia: Psykholohiia, 36(75), 3, 55–61. https://doi.org/10.32782/2709-3093/2025.3/09 [in Ukrainian]
9. Chykhantsova, O.A. (2020). Yakist zhyttia osobystosti ta osoblyvosti yii vymiriuvannia [A person’s quality of life and features of its measurement]. Insait: psykholohichni vymiry suspilstva, (4), 11–28. https://doi.org/10.32999/2663-970X/2020-4-1
10. Agarwal, N., & Malhotra, M. (2019). Relationship between optimism, resilience and psychological well-being in young adults. International Journal of Social Science and Economic Research, 4(9), 6141–6148.
11. Baldwin, D.R., Jackson, D., Okon, L., & Cannon, R.L. (2011). Resilience and optimism: An African American senior citizen’s perspective. The Journal of Black Psychology, 37(1), 24–41. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095798410364394
12. Bonanno, G.A., Galea, S., Bucciarelli, A., & Vlahov, D. (2007). What predicts psychological resilience after disaster? The role of demographics, resources, and life stress. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 75(5), 671–682. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.75.5.671
13. Carver, C.S., & Scheier, M.F. (2014). Dispositional optimism. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 18(6), 293–299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2014.02.003
15. Chykhantsova, O., & Denchyk, A. (2024). Specific features of Ukrainian military personnel resilience and its relationship with Actual Capacities. The Global Psychotherapist, 4(2), 37–48. https://doi.org/10.52982/lkj231
16. Klohnen, E.C. (1996). Conceptual analysis and measurement of the construct of ego-resiliency. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70(5), 1067–1079. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.70.5.1067
17. Kokun, O. (2025). The stability of mental health during war: Survey data from Ukraine. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 30(2), 242–263. https://doi.org/10.1080/15325024.2024.2328649
18. Martin-Krumm, C. (2024). Optimism, a conceptual complexity but a health resource? In J. Burke, I. Boniwell, B. Frates, L. Lianov, & O. Boyle (Eds.), The International Routledge Handbook of Positive Health. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003378426
19. Masten, A.S., & Wright, M. (2010). Resilience over the lifespan: Developmental perspectives on resistance, recovery. In J. W. Reich, A. J. Zautra, & J. S. Hall (Eds.), Handbook of adult resilience (pp. 213–237). The Guilford Press.
20. Meevissen, Y., Peters, M. L., & Alberts, H.J. (2011). Become more optimistic by imagining a best possible self: Effects of a two week intervention. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 42(3), 371–378. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2011.02.012
21. Harum, A., Latif, S., & Al-Usrah, M. (2025). Exploration of the relationship between optimism, resilience and psychological well-being in guidance and counseling students. Edu Consil: Jurnal Bimbingan dan Konseling Pendidikan Islam, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.19105/ec.v6i1.18081
22. Pathak, R., & Lata, S. (2018). Optimism in relation to resilience and perceived stress. Journal of Psychosocial Research, 13(2), 359–367. https://doi.org/10.32381/JPR.2018.13.02.10
23. Ryff, C.D., & Singer, B. (2003). Flourishing under fire: Resilience as a prototype of challenged thriving. In C. L. M. Keyes & J. Haidt (Eds.), Positive psychology and the life well-lived (pp. 15–36). American Psychological Association. 24. Sabouripour, F., & Roslan, S. (2015). Resilience, optimism and social support among international students. Asian Social Science, 11(15), 159–170. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ass.v11n15p159
25. Scheier, M. F., & Carver, C. S. (1992). Effects of optimism on psychological and physical well-being: Theoretical overview and empirical update. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 16(2), 201–228. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01173489
26. Seligman, M. E. P. (1991). Learned optimism. Knopf.
27. Souri, H., & Hasanirad, T. (2011). Relationship between resilience, optimism and psychological well-being in students of medicine. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 30, 1541–1544. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.10.299
28. Thompson, K.A., Bulls, H.W., Sibille, K.T., Bartley, E.J., Glover, T.L., Terry, E.L., ... & Fillingim, R.B. (2018). Optimism and psychological resilience are beneficially associated with measures of clinical and experimental pain in adults with or at risk for knee osteoarthritis. The Clinical Journal of Pain, 34(12), 1164–1172. https://doi.org/10.1097/AJP.0000000000000642
29. Utsey, S.O., Hook, J.N., Fischer, N., & Belvet, B. (2008). Cultural orientation, ego resilience, and optimism as predictors of subjective well-being in African Americans. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 3(3), 202–210. https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760802035351
30. Wrosch, C., & Scheier, M. F. (2003). Personality and quality of life: The importance of optimism and goal adjustment. Quality of Life Research, 12(1), 59–72. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023529606137
31. Youssef, C.M., & Luthans, F. (2007). Positive organizational behaviour in the workplace: The impact of hope, optimism, and resilience. Journal of Management, 33(5), 774–800. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206307305562























