Burnout among military psychologists in the Ukrainian Armed Forces: Association with coping strategies and traumatic experiences

Military psychologists working under the full-scale war conditions in Ukraine experience elevated levels of burnout, shaped by both early-life adversity and repeated trauma exposure. Using structural equation modeling on data collected from 274 military psychologists serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, this study examined how adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), lifetime trauma, and coping strategies (emotion-focused, avoidant, and problem-focused) interact to influence burnout, while accounting for age, sex, and education. Findings revealed that both ACEs and trauma directly predicted burnout (β = .16 for each, p < .01), and were significantly correlated (r = .30, p < .001), suggesting cumulative vulnerability. Avoidant coping emerged as a strong mediator, amplifying the effect of trauma and ACEs on burnout, whereas problem-focused coping showed protective, buffering effects. Emotion-focused coping, though related to trauma exposure, was not significantly associated with burnout. Demographic covariates revealed that younger and female military psychologists were more at risk, and higher educational attainment unexpectedly contributed to higher burnout levels. Implications call for trauma-informed organizational policies, targeted resilience-building training, and inclusion of interdisciplinary roles such as social workers, to broaden the support infrastructure. Future research should adopt longitudinal designs and include other provider types.