(2026) Science and education, 3, 73-81. Odessa.

Iryna Pospielova,
PhD (Candidate of Psychological Sciences),
Associate Professor of 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/0000-0001-8802-475X

Olha Berezhna,
graduate student of specialty 053 Psychology
of 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/0009-0006-9367-6676

PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS OF SUICIDAL RISK AMONG INTERNALLY DISPLACED WOMEN IN CONDITIONS OF UNCERTAINTY

The article examines the association of state and trait anxiety, neuropsychic instability, and suicidal risk among internally displaced women living in rural communities of Ukraine during the full-scale war. The cross-sectional comparative-correlational study included 50 women aged 18–65: 27 internally displaced women and 23 local residents from the same communities. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Bodrov’s Prognosis questionnaire, and the SR-45 Suicidal Reactions Test were used. Group differences were assessed with parametric and categorical tests, associations with Pearson correlations, and Sr-based subgroups of displaced women with the Kruskal–Wallis test followed by Holm-adjusted pairwise comparisons. Displaced women had higher state anxiety than local residents (M=54.67, SD=11.83 vs. M=46.35, SD=11.07; t=2.552; p=.014; d=.72), whereas the difference in trait anxiety was not significant. Mean suicidal risk and neuropsychic instability did not differ between status groups. Suicidal risk was associated with neuropsychic instability (r=.509), state anxiety (r=.466), and trait anxiety (r=.440; all p<.01). The nonparametric subgroup analysis identified a difference only in neuropsychic instability (H(2)=8.717; p=.013; ε²=.280); after Holm correction, the low- and critical-risk subgroups remained different (U=0; adjusted p=.013). No significant subgroup differences were found for state or trait anxiety. The findings support multidimensional screening that combines suicidal-risk assessment with evaluation of regulatory resources and access to social support. The cross-sectional design, however, does not establish causal effects of displacement status or rural residence.

internally displaced women, suicidal risk, state anxiety, neuropsychic instability, rural communities, war, psychosocial prevention

(2026) Science and education, 3, 64-72. Odessa.

Anzhelika Mishenina,
Postgraduate Student at the Department of Theory and
Methodology 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/0009-0007-6900-0155

PSYCHOLOGICAL OPTIMIZATION OF STYLISTIC MANIFESTATIONS OF FEMALE ATTRACTIVENESS IN PROFESSIONAL INTERACTION

The relevance of the study is determined by the need for psychologically grounded approaches to harmonizing women’s selfpresentation in the professional environment without imposing normative models of attractiveness. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the content of the author’s psychocorrectional program and determine its effectiveness in optimizing the stylistic manifestations of female attractiveness and communicative comfort. The experimental study involved 60 women aged 25–45, divided into experimental and control groups of 30 participants each. The program consisted of 12 group sessions organized into four thematic modules. A modified Female Attractiveness Scale developed by O. Chebykin and A. Klenchu and the author’s questionnaire for assessing communicative comfort were used. Changes were assessed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, while between-group differences were analyzed using the Mann–Whitney U test. During the program, the experimental group demonstrated an increase in the overall attractiveness score (p<0.01) and communicative comfort (p<0.01), as well as increases in soft, bright, formal, and intellectual styles and in comfort during formal and informal interactions with both men and women. Manipulative tendencies did not change. No statistically significant changes in these indicators were found in the control group, confirming the specificity of the effect of the author’s program. Moreover, whereas the groups did not differ significantly before the experiment, significant between-group differences emerged after its completion in the overall indicators of attractiveness and communicative comfort (p<0.01), favoring the experimental group. These findings confirm the potential for expanding the constructive stylistic repertoire, increasing comfort in professional interaction, and aligning self-presentation strategies with the conditions of professional contact through implementation of the proposed program.

female attractiveness, stylistic manifestations, professional self-presentation, communicative comfort, professional interaction, psychocorrectional program, group training

(2026) Science and education, 3, 54-63. Odessa.

Anatolii Massanov,
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/0000-0002-1002-4941

SELF-CONFIDENCE AS A FACTOR OF PERSONAL ATTRACTIVENESS IN OVERCOMING SOCIAL BARRIERS

The relevance of the study is determined by the need to deepen scientific understanding of the psychological mechanisms underlying the reduction and overcoming of social barriers and the role of self-confidence and personal attractiveness in this process. Despite the considerable body of research on self-confidence, self-efficacy, interpersonal attraction, self-presentation, and difficulties in social interaction, the interrelationships among these phenomena in the context of overcoming social barriers remain insufficiently theoretically integrated. The aim of the study is to theoretically substantiate the role of self-confidence as a personal factor contributing to attractiveness and to reveal the psychological mechanisms through which attractiveness associated with self-confidence may facilitate the overcoming of social barriers in interpersonal interaction. The research methods included analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalisation and systematisation of scientific approaches, structural-functional analysis, theoretical modelling, and interpretation of previous research findings. The theoretical analysis substantiated the role of self-confidence as a personal factor in the formation of attractiveness, whose potential influence is realised through social-communicative manifestations of self-confidence and their perception by an interaction partner. Two interrelated mechanisms through which self-confidence may contribute to the reduction and overcoming of social barriers were distinguished: an intrapersonal mechanism, associated with reducing internal uncertainty and social anxiety and supporting an individual’s readiness for social activity; and an interpersonal mechanism, involving social-communicative manifestations of self-confidence, their perception and evaluation by an interaction partner, and the possible formation of attractiveness as an intermediate link. A structural-functional model integrating both pathways was developed. The model also incorporates a feedback mechanism whereby a favourable response from an interaction partner and positive experiences of social interaction may support an individual’s self-confidence and readiness for further social contact. The proposed model provides a theoretical basis for the empirical examination of the relationships among self-confidence, its social-communicative manifestations, attractiveness, and social barriers, including the hypothesised mediating role of attractiveness.

self-confidence, personal attractiveness, social barriers, interpersonal interaction, social-communicative behaviour, self-presentation, social anxiety, interpersonal perception, psychological distance

(2026) Science and education, 3, 45-53. Odessa.

Olena Kosyanova,
Candidate of Psychological Sciences,
Associate 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/0000-0001-9532-9981

Stella Lysenko,
Master’s Degree Applicant in Psychology,
The State Institution «South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University named after K. D. Ushynsky»,
26, Staroportofrankivska Str., Odesa, Ukraine,
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-6435-224X

SELF-DECEPTION WITHIN THE SYSTEM OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DEFENSES UNDER POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS

The relevance of the study is determined by the high prevalence of post-traumatic symptoms under conditions of prolonged war-related traumatization and by the insufficiently defined role of self-deception in psychological adaptation. Self-deception may help maintain a positive self-image, a subjective sense of control, and emotional stability; however, under certain conditions, it may become closely associated with avoidance and interfere with the processing of traumatic experience. The aim of the study was to determine the characteristics of the relationship between the tendency toward self-deception, the severity of post-traumatic symptoms, and psychological defense mechanisms. The study involved 53 respondents exposed to war-related traumatic experiences, including military personnel undergoing psychological rehabilitation, internally displaced persons, and family members of military personnel. The psychodiagnostic assessment included the Self-Deception Questionnaire (SDQ), the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), the Life Events Checklist for DSM-5 (LEC-5), and the Life Style Index (LSI). Descriptive statistics, the Shapiro–Wilk test, Spearman’s rank correlation, the Kruskal–Wallis test, and the Mann–Whitney U test were applied. In 92.5% of respondents, PCL-5 scores exceeded the screening cut-off of 33 points. No direct relationship was found between the overall self-deception index and the severity of post-traumatic symptoms (ρ = 0.092; p = 0.515). At the same time, self-deception was negatively associated with denial (ρ = –0.279; p = 0.043), while the severity of post-traumatic symptoms was negatively associated with the overall intensity of defense styles (ρ = –0.275; p = 0.047). Groups with different levels of self-deception differed significantly in denial, intellectualization, and compensation. The findings indicate that the role of self-deception under traumatic stress should not be assessed as unequivocally adaptive or maladaptive; rather, it should be considered in relation to the configuration of specific psychological defenses. The practical implication is the need for differentiated psychological support aimed at reducing categorical denial and developing more conscious forms of cognitive processing of traumatic experience.

self-deception, post-traumatic symptoms, psychological defense, denial, intellectualization, compensation, positive illusions