Transformation of well-being values under digital and wartime challenges

Abstract

The Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 has exacerbated the challenge not only of physical survival but also of maintaining mental health and strengthening the psychological resilience of the population. Cyberspace, having become one of the main channels for obtaining information, has simultaneously increased the risks of media trauma and infodemic, necessitating new mechanisms of psychological self-protection. This study aimed to analyse the dynamics of shifts in value orientations regarding well-being in the context of the digitalisation of Ukrainian society during wartime, and to provide a theoretical justification and empirical verification of the “Model of Subjective Regulation of Well-Being” as a response to the challenges of the contemporary Ukrainian cyberspace. The study employed a comprehensive approach involving the analysis of secondary data (World Happiness Report), big data from search queries (Google BigQuery 2022-2025), media headlines (Istio) and empirical methods (K. Riff scale, BASIC Ph, PERMA-Profiler). The study covered approximately 5,000 people, including educators in frontline areas, and was conducted in two stages: a mass survey (N = 4,843) and an in-depth analysis of eudaimonic well-being (N = 300). It was found that university lecturers and school teachers demonstrated high scores for “Environmental Mastery” and “Purpose in Life” – 80%, whilst the overall level of well-being according to the PERMA-Profiler was 7.8/10. It has been shown that traditional models of wellbeing are transformed into an active eudaimonic strategy of life-making. The evolution of the population’s coping strategies has been identified: from shock adaptation to a demand for autonomy and new knowledge. The “Model of Subjective Regulation of Well-Being” was verified, in which the “axiological anchor” (Dignity and Meaning) serves as the basic stabiliser of the psyche. It was established that the professional fulfilment of educators in the frontline zone is a form of subjective resistance. The practical significance lies in the possibility of implementing the Model of Subjective Regulation of Well-Being into systems of preventive psychoeducation and psychological rehabilitation for Ukrainians, particularly educators