DYNAMICS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS INDICATORS IN MILITARY PERSONNEL DURING RELATIONAL-IMAGE SCENARIO THERAPY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32689/maup.psych.2026.1.6Keywords:
military personnel, psychological distress, psychotherapy, relational-image scenario therapy, psychological adaptation, OQ-45Abstract
The article presents the results of a study on the dynamics of psychological distress, interpersonal functioning, and social role adaptation among military personnel under the influence of relational-image scenario therapy (RIST). The relevance of the study is determined by the growing need for scientifically grounded psychotherapeutic approaches aimed at supporting the mental well-being of military personnel under conditions of prolonged combat stress, psycho-emotional overload, and impaired adaptive mechanisms. The purpose of the study is to identify the dynamics of psychological distress indicators measured by the Outcome Questionnaire-45 (OQ-45) in military personnel who underwent the RIST program and to compare these changes with the indicators of control and clinical groups. The study involved 67 servicemen divided into an experimental group (n = 19), a control group (n = 24), and a clinical group (n = 24). The OQ- 45 questionnaire was used to assess psychological functioning, including symptom distress, interpersonal relations, social role functioning, and the overall distress score. Data were processed using descriptive statistics, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test for related samples, the Kruskal–Wallis test for between-group comparisons, and Cohen’s d effect size. The findings indicate positive dynamics of psychological functioning in the groups where psychotherapeutic or clinical interventions were applied. In the experimental group, the overall distress score decreased from 56.3 to 53.9 points, whereas in the control group it increased from 34.1 to 37.3 points. The highest distress levels were observed in the clinical group; however, after treatment, the total score decreased from 73.5 to 65.1 points. The obtained results confirm the feasibility of using RIST as a promising psychotherapeutic approach.
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