Impact of legal guarantees on the mental health of law enforcement officers of Ukraine in the conditions of conducting military (combat) actions.
Aim: To conduct a comprehensive analysis of the legal guarantees for Ukrainian law enforcement officers performing their official duties in areas of military (combat) operations, and their impact on the preservation of mental and physical health. The research also aims to identify the relationship between the level of implementation of these guarantees, psycho-emotional state, occupational stress, and the risks of burnout among this category of personnel.
Materials and Methods: The study was designed as an interdisciplinary empirical legal study combining legal, medico-social, and statistical methods. It included comparative legal analysis, an anonymous survey, and statistical processing of the data. The study involved 48 law enforcement officers with experience of service in combat zones or other high-risk conditions. The main research instrument was an adapted questionnaire assessing psychological competencies and the perception of legal guarantees.
Results: The respondents highly rated the importance of psychological competencies for professional communication, while self-assessment of communicative skills was moderately high. At the same time, indicators of stress prevention, perception of legal guarantees, legal certainty, maladaptive behaviour risks, and mental health remained at an average level. The lowest scores were related to access to psychological assistance and access to rest and rotation. Correlation analysis showed that stronger legal guarantees were associated with lower occupational stress, while greater legal certainty was linked to better self-assessed mental health. Insufficient legal guarantees were significantly associated with emotional burnout.
Conclusions: Legal guarantees for law enforcement personnel in combat conditions should be regarded not only as a formal element of service status, but also as a practical mechanism for preserving mental and physical health. Strengthening legal certainty, improving access to psychological and medical support, and ensuring effective rest and rotation mechanisms are essential for reducing stress and burnout and for enhancing professional resilience.
Materials and Methods: The study was designed as an interdisciplinary empirical legal study combining legal, medico-social, and statistical methods. It included comparative legal analysis, an anonymous survey, and statistical processing of the data. The study involved 48 law enforcement officers with experience of service in combat zones or other high-risk conditions. The main research instrument was an adapted questionnaire assessing psychological competencies and the perception of legal guarantees.
Results: The respondents highly rated the importance of psychological competencies for professional communication, while self-assessment of communicative skills was moderately high. At the same time, indicators of stress prevention, perception of legal guarantees, legal certainty, maladaptive behaviour risks, and mental health remained at an average level. The lowest scores were related to access to psychological assistance and access to rest and rotation. Correlation analysis showed that stronger legal guarantees were associated with lower occupational stress, while greater legal certainty was linked to better self-assessed mental health. Insufficient legal guarantees were significantly associated with emotional burnout.
Conclusions: Legal guarantees for law enforcement personnel in combat conditions should be regarded not only as a formal element of service status, but also as a practical mechanism for preserving mental and physical health. Strengthening legal certainty, improving access to psychological and medical support, and ensuring effective rest and rotation mechanisms are essential for reducing stress and burnout and for enhancing professional resilience.
Authors
Pogoretskyi Pogoretskyi, Pogoretskyi Pogoretskyi, Serhieieva Serhieieva, Starenkyi Starenkyi, Nahorniuk-Danyliuk Nahorniuk-Danyliuk
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