MENTAL HEALTH OF ADOLESCENTS IN CONDITIONS OF CONTINUOUS TRAUMATIC STRESS

Abstract

The article highlights the critical stage of adolescence (10–19 years, according to the WHO) as a period of rapid physical, cognitive, and psychosocial growth, during which behavioural patterns (including nutrition, activity, substance use, and sexual activity) are formed that can significantly impact well-being throughout life. Adolescence is a period of great promise, but also a stage of increased risk. For healthy development, adolescents need information (including comprehensive sexuality education), life skills, accessible health services, and a safe, supportive environment. Adolescence is also a stage of vulnerability to mental health problems (depression, anxiety, loneliness), as an increase in life events contributes to stress, and young people may lack the skills to cope with it. In Ukraine, the draft law “On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine Regarding the Realisation of Adolescents’ Rights in the Field of Health Care” (2019) proposed defining adolescence as ages 10–18. The key objective of the draft law is to give adolescents aged 14 and older the right to independently access health information and consent to medical intervention. The draft law (No. 4586-IX) was included in the agenda of the Verkhovna Rada, but was not adopted as law. In the context of war, research into the psychological state of adolescents has intensified, especially in 2022 and 2024, with an emphasis on studying the effects of continuoustraumatic stress (СTS). Two concepts are discussed: CTS as exposure, i.e., the very fact of living in conditions of chronic, continuous threat; this approach emphasises the need to change the social context for the symptoms to disappear; CTS as a reaction, i.e., the manifestation of behavioural, cognitive, and emotional symptoms that can be studied using quantitative indicators. Available empirical studies confirm that depression, anxiety, and PTSD are significant predictors of CTS in adolescents, indicating the predominance of emotional-affective disorders. The need to distinguish between CTS and PTSD in the diagnosis and planning of specialised psychological interventions is emphasised, given the specificity of prolonged danger. Research prospects include empirical study of the response to CTS, development of specialised interventions, and conducting a longitudinal study of the dynamics of the response.