{
  "abstract": "Background: Children living in conflict zones experience high levels of psychological distress. Schools can provide an accessible setting for support, yet evidence on the effectiveness of school-based interventions in active war contexts remains limited. Objectives: To evaluate children’s well-being and internal coping resources during the war in Ukraine and to examine the feasibility of a school-based program designed to enhance psychological well-being in preadolescents. Participants and setting: The study involved 81 children aged 10–12 years from schools in Lviv, Ukraine. Methods: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, quality of life, self-compassion, and mindfulness traits were assessed using standard questionnaires and validated psychometric scales. The intervention program, delivered at school, focused on mindfulness, self-compassion, social connection, sense of purpose, and trauma processing. Acceptability and perceived impact were explored post-intervention among children, families, and school staff. Results: 42% of children reported four or more ACEs. 39.5% of children exceeded the clinical cutoff for probable PTSD on the Children’s Revised Impact of Event Scale CRIES-8, with differences observed between boys and girls. Higher levels of self-compassion and mindfulness were associated with lower PTSD symptoms. Children, families, and school staff reported improvements in children’s well-being, emotion regulation, and social functioning after the intervention. Conclusions: Our work provides preliminary evidence of the feasibility and acceptability of a school-based intervention designed to promote children’s psychological well-being and mental health during ongoing war, with positive perceived impacts reported by children, families, and school staff. Interventions incorporating mindfulness and self-compassion training may represent promising approaches for reducing trauma-related symptoms in children exposed to adversity. Larger controlled studies using standardized measures are needed to assess effectiveness before broader dissemination can be considered.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 9,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Oleksandr Avramchuk"
    },
    {
      "name": "Olha Germanovych"
    },
    {
      "name": "Olha Ivanenko"
    },
    {
      "name": "Olga Uralova"
    },
    {
      "name": "Marina Lisenberg"
    },
    {
      "name": "Olena Mukha"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yuliya Stadnytska"
    },
    {
      "name": "Richard Davidson"
    },
    {
      "name": "Perla Kaliman"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/djc9sywdc78b2.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.31234/osf.io/q38hg_v3",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "djc9sywdc78b2",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/q38hg_v3/",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "bepress",
      "Clinical Child Psychology"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Clinical Psychology"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Social and Behavioral Sciences"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Social and Personality Psychology"
    ],
    [
      "bepress",
      "Violence and Aggression"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2306|Ukraine: War, Education, Health"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221081704",
  "pdf_url": "https://osf.io/q38hg/download",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-09",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/djc9sywdc78b2.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:21:18Z",
      "native_id": "q38hg",
      "source": "osf",
      "url": "https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/q38hg_v3/"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "bepress:Clinical Psychology",
      "subfield": "psychiatry"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Mental health of preadolescents in western Ukraine: feasibility and acceptability of a school-based psychosocial intervention during war",
  "title_text": "Mental health of preadolescents in western Ukraine: feasibility and acceptability of a school-based psychosocial intervention during war",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:21:18Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/djc9sywdc78b2",
  "venue": "PsyArXiv",
  "versions": []
}