FEATURES OF HEALTH LOCUS OF CONTROL AND STRESS RESILIENCE AMONG EMPLOYEES OF HUMANITARIAN ORGANIZATIONS

Abstract

The relevance of the study. The article addresses a pressing issue, namely the search for effective ways of providing psychological support to the staff of humanitarian organizations working under conditions of pronounced social tension. The authors emphasize that the impact of the war on contemporary Ukrainian society is manifested particularly acutely at the psychological rather than the physical level. The specific nature of humanitarian work lies in the fact that these professionals operate in crisis situations or in areas affected by natural disasters and armed conflicts, where they are engaged in rescuing other people. Such work requires a high degree of psychological resilience, the ability to make decisions quickly, impartiality, and adherence to ethical principles. Essential professional qualities include the capacity for self-control, stress resilience, and the ability to respond promptly to changing circumstances and make decisions, which necessitated the present study.

The aim of the article is to review existing research, clarify the essence of the key concepts, and examine the specific features of health locus of control and stress resilience among employees of humanitarian organizations under conditions of pronounced social tension.

Methods and results. Locus of control was assessed using the Level of Subjective Control (LSC) Questionnaire (J. Rotter’s scale as adapted by E. Bazhin, E. A. Golynkina, and A. M. Etkind), and professional burnout was assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). The analysis showed that the higher the general internality, the lower the level of depersonalization. A well-developed internal locus of control acts as a protective factor that inhibits the development of professional cynicism and interpersonal detachment. A statistically significant inverse (negative) relationship was established between general internality (GI) and the “tension” component of the burnout syndrome, confirming that a higher level of an individual’s subjective control acts as a buffer against the development of primary psycho-emotional tension. A statistically significant inverse relationship was also found between GI and the “exhaustion” phase, which in turn confirms that a decrease in internal locus of control and a tendency toward externality are accompanied by deepening psycho-emotional exhaustion, psychosomatic disorders, and emotional deficit. A moderate correlation was found between internality in the area of health and illness (IH) and the emotional burnout syndrome, indicating that individuals who consider themselves solely responsible for their health exhibit higher levels of emotional burnout. This may be explained by the fact that excessive preoccupation with controlling one’s own condition and well-being under stress depletes the individual’s internal resources.

Conclusions. The analysis of the obtained results leads us to conclude that there is a relationship between the locus of subjective control and the level of emotional burnout: the higher the internality scores, the lower the level of emotional burnout. Locus of control is one of the predictors of hardiness, a determining factor in health status, and a basic human psychological need that makes it possible to cope with uncertainty, structure one’s life, and achieve one’s goals.