Mental health and adaptation of international students to studying under martial law in Ukraine

Abstract

Introduction. War affects much more than just infrastructure, it profoundly impacts the mental well-being of people, especially students who face displacement and uncertainty. Many students who travelled continue their studies in Ukraine despite the ongoing war. Purpose of the study. Assessment of mental health and adaptation of foreign students continuing their studies in Ukraine under martial law Material and methods. A cross-sectional survey was conducted by Google Forms. The questionnaire was based on standardized complaints of mental health, difficulty concentrating, feeling unsafe, and the impact of war on education. Responses were collected anonymously. 38 students (19 boys and 19 girls) of BSMU participated in the online survey. A Likert scale with score ranges of: never (4), sometimes (3), often (2), and regularly (1) was used to measure each psychological complaint. The total score from 10 to 40 for all 10 items was classified into four levels. Descriptive statistics methods were used. Results. According to the results of the survey on the impact of war on foreign medical students, 76.3% of respondents felt in danger, 65.8% of the respondents avoided thinking or talking about the war, while 57.9% did not experience difficulties in concentrating on their studies. On the Likert scale, the presence of psychological health problems (mood swings, stress, depression) lowered the mental health score and was 3.13±0.76 (4- excellent). The lowest mean scores (3.08±0.80 each) were obtained for the questions "Do you often tend to worry?" and "Do you often feel tense or stressed?" For more than 2/3 of the total number of respondents, this was relevant. Overall, psychological complaints, including feelings of loneliness or isolation, anxiety, suffering from panic attacks, and annoying noise and crowds, affected the level of mental health, which was on average rated as good (32.1; 80.1%): in girls 30.1; 75.26% (good), and in boys 34.1; 85.13% (excellent). Only in 10.5% of respondents did the manifestations increase during the war, the same proportion of respondents answered that they did not change. 68.4% of men and 89.5% of women reported that they had developed stronger coping skills, demonstrating extraordinary resilience. For 50% of respondents the war did not affect the ability to engage in everyday activities (e.g., shopping, playing sports, cooking). Almost 50% were sure that the quality of education did not deteriorate. 31.6% were very comfortable discussing mental health issues with their professors or university administration, while 57.9% were neutral about such conversations. Conclusions. Most students demonstrated high adaptability. Overall mental health was at a good level. Both vulnerability and resilience were observed among medical students studying in a country under martial law.