Abstract
The article aims to empirically verify a generalized model of personality adaptation to traumatic experience. The study is aimed at identifying the structure of relationships between the severity of post-traumatic symptoms, personality accentuations, incongruence of the self-structure and the level of perceived social support in different social cohorts. Methodology. The study involved 2441 respondents, grouped into five cohorts according to the criterion of social status and the level of risk of exposure to traumatic events. Standardized psychodiagnostics tools were used: PCL-5 to assess PTSD symptoms, MMPI clinical scales (Ma, Pd, Si), Eysenck questionnaire (E, N, P, L), resilience and resilience scales, Q-sort technique to measure incongruence. Pearson correlation coefficients, partial correlations, and comparison of cohort relationship matrices. Results. Correlation analyses revealed strong positive associations between the intensity of post-traumatic symptoms and the scales of behavioural maladjustment and social introversion. The highest coefficients were recorded between PTSD scores and self-structure incongruence. Adaptive resources show inverse associations with clinical outcomes in all study groups. In cohorts with chronic social stress, the strength of correlations was higher compared to other groups. Social support and interpersonal inclusion are associated with a decrease in the severity of symptoms. Practical significance. The results obtained clarify psychological risk profiles for different social groups and create an empirical basis for differentiated psychosocial support programs. The identified patterns can be applied in the development of interventions focused on reducing incongruence and strengthening adaptive resources. Scientific novelty. The study integrates clinical, personal, and sociocultural variables into a single statistically verified model of adaptation. The cohort variability of structural relationships has been empirically confirmed. The incongruence of the self-structure is substantiated as an integral marker of maladaptation, which has not previously appeared in models of this type.
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