Ukrainian children under russian occupation are losing their health, say researchers

Amid the ongoing war, a critical question has emerged: How should we approach and assess russia’s criminal impact on the development of abducted Ukrainian children? In response, Ukrainian researchers have developed a methodology for studying the impact of Ukrainian children’s exposure to the control of the aggressor state.

Tamara Pirozhenko, corresponding member of the National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine, PhD in Psychology, presented this methodology during a briefing at the Media Center Ukraine.

“The uniqueness of this research lies in its methodological core, which aims to document the impact of captivity on children’s health and outline ways to reintegrate them into active life and restore their well-being. What makes this work exceptional is its conceptual approach. It identifies multidimensional developmental losses and emphasizes that a person is a social being with spiritual characteristics that are key metrics in assessing these losses,” Pirozhenko explained.

According to the researcher, the methodology development is based on a bio-psycho-socio-ontological model for analyzing the destructive effects of militarization of Ukrainian children: “Under occupation, russia does everything to change children’s mentality. Everything that forms meaning – literature, language, religion, art – all these spheres of life are changed and presented to our children in a different context.”

Read more: https://mediacenter.org.ua/news