Article

Received 05.01.2026

Revised 01.06.2026

Accepted 29.06.2026

Published 13.07.2026

Retrieved from Vol. 16, No. 1, 2026

Pages 45 -52

Yarkho, O. (2026). Coping strategies of journalists in armed conflict: Adaptive and maladaptive models. Psychology and Personality, 16(1), 45-52. https://doi.org/10.33989/2226-4078.2026.1.45

Coping strategies of journalists in armed conflict: Adaptive and maladaptive models

Olga Yarkho*

oyarho@gmail.com

The article provides a theoretical analysis of adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies among journalists working under conditions of armed conflict. The relevance stems from journalists being one of the most psychologically vulnerable professional groups with respect to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and burnout, yet their coping patterns remain understudied compared to other helping professions. The purpose of the study was to systematise existing empirical data on journalist coping strategies and to construct a classification of adaptive and maladaptive models accounting for the specifics of journalistic activity during wartime. The methodology encompassed theoretical analysis and systematisation of scientific sources, and comparative analysis of empirical findings on coping behaviour among media professionals across different countries. The results indicated that avoidant emotional coping constituted one of the principal risk factors for PTSD among journalists, whereas social support operated heterogeneously: recognition of professional contribution from colleagues and managers significantly correlated with post-traumatic growth, while perceived and received support did not show a comparable protective effect on post-traumatic stress symptoms. A journalism-specific maladaptive pattern of ‘professional stoicism’ was identified – the normative suppression of emotional reactions under the pressure of newsroom culture. The role of reflexive coping as an adaptive strategy enabling conscious processing of media-related trauma was substantiated. According to longitudinal data from the Institute of Mass Information, the majority of Ukrainian journalists employed adaptation as their primary strategy, with family remaining the principal coping resource. The practical value lay in establishing a foundation for developing support programmes for media professionals’ psycho-emotional health

professional stoicism; avoidance; social support seeking; reflexive coping; post-traumatic growth; media-related traumа
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https://doi.org/10.33989/2226-4078.2026.1.45