Factor structure of the component characteristics of mental health among high-security penitentiary staff by diagnosed levels of resilience
Abstract
The preservation of mental health among penitentiary staff working in high-security institutions is a critical issue due to sustained exposure to professional stressors, elevated responsibility, and psychologically demanding working conditions. The study aimed to empirically explore the level of resilience as a key resource for maintaining mental health among penitentiary personnel employed in high-security environments. The study involved 2,518 employees of high-security penitentiary institutions of the State Criminal-Executive Service of Ukraine; data were collected online via Google Forms using 16 standardised psychodiagnostic instruments, and 77 psychometric indicators were analysed in SPSS 24.0 using standardisation procedures, non-parametric tests, discriminant analysis, and factor analysis. The results of factor analysis revealed a differentiated structure of mental health characteristics depending on the level of resilience. In the low-resilience group, the dominant factors were reflective evaluation of activity (10.249%), emotional lability (7.152%), and psychological defence through regression (6.339%). In the medium-resilience group, the leading factors included persistence (9.652%), emotional exhaustion (9.085%), psychological defence through regression (6.011%), and internality in the domain of failures (4.708%). In the high-resilience group, the key factors were emotional exhaustion (9.045%), professional persistence (8.653%), and psychological defence through denial (6.454%). The findings demonstrate that resilience functions as a differentiating parameter that shapes specific configurations of mental health, psychological defence mechanisms, psychological well-being, and professional persistence under conditions of high professional risk. The conducted study provides a comprehensive assessment of the structural organisation of mental health characteristics among penitentiary staff, revealing key patterns of psychological functioning under conditions of increased professional risk. The findings may serve as a basis for developing mental health support and burnout prevention strategies for penitentiary staff in Ukraine
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