PSYCHOLOGICAL READINESS OF JOURNALISTS TO WORK IN ARMED CONFLICT: STRUCTURE AND COMPONENTS

Abstract

The article provides a theoretical substantiation of the structure and components of a journalist’s psychological readiness for professional activity under conditions of armed conflict. The relevance of the problem is determined by the fact that media professionals constitute one of the most psychologically vulnerable occupational groups: according to international research, the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder among war correspondents reaches levels comparable to combat veterans, while Ukrainian longitudinal data document a large-scale deterioration in the psychoemotional state of the journalistic community throughout all years of the full-scale war. At the same time, the majority of journalists begin working in conflict zones without specialized psychological preparation, relying exclusively on editorial experience and intuition. The purpose of the study is to identify the structural components of a journalist’s psychological readiness for work in armed conflict conditions based on the integration of general psychological readiness models, empirical data on journalist trauma, and the specifics of the Ukrainian wartime experience. The methodology rests on theoretical analysis and systematization of scholarly sources, comparative analysis of psychological readiness models, and conceptual modelling. The results indicate that the psychological readiness of a journalist has a four-component structure: the cognitive component (psychoeducation regarding trauma and its manifestations), the emotional-regulatory component (the capacity to manage one’s own emotional reactions to traumatic material), the reflexive component (the ability to consciously process media-related trauma), and the resource component (the availability of individual and social resources for sustaining functioning). Each component is verified against IMI longitudinal survey data and international research findings. The practical value lies in creating a theoretical foundation for developing preparation programmes for journalists working in special conditions.