The impact of patriotic street art works on the psychological well-being of Ukrainian students during the war

Abstract

Introduction. The Russian-Ukrainian war, which is an extremely powerful traumatic factor, necessitates the search for psychological methods and means to help traumatised people. Art therapy, in particular street art, is one of the effective trauma recovery tools. The aim of the study was to clarify the impact of patriotic street art works on the psychological well-being of Ukrainian students in wartime conditions. Methods: a theoretical analysis of scientific literature on the effects of street art works on the psychological well-being of an individual, in particular in war conditions; focus-group interviews (empirical method); analysis and interpretation of empirical data (content analysis). Results. Street art, which is a relatively new type of visual communication that has been intensively researched by both foreign and Ukrainian psychologists, is believed to have great effects on human mentality. Street artists use their works (murals, light installations, etc.) as a prompt psychological aid. The authors describe the online-focus-group method for studying the impact of patriotic murals on students in war conditions giving details about the procedure and program of group interviews to reveal students' perception of modern mural street art. The respondents' responses about the effects of patriotic murals on their psychological well-being are analyzed. Conclusions. Patriotic street art works can be helpful in promoting Ukrainians' psychological well-being in their pursuit of democracy and a dignified life.