From the Ukrainian Adaptation to Research with Civilians, Service Members, and Veterans, and Therapeutic Applications
Questionnaire text:
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Instructions for data analysis:
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In 2025, the HITT-Q was translated, culturally adapted, and psychometrically evaluated for use in the Ukrainian context.
The instrument subsequently formed the basis of a comprehensive dissertation study of transgenerational experience and psychological resilience among Ukrainians living through the war.
Ukrainian Research Program
(Selected Phases)
299 participants:
psychometric validation of the Ukrainian version of the HITT-Q
142 participants:
retesting in about three weeks
403 participants in the civilian sample:
a study of transgenerational experience, resilience, and coping strategies.
123 service members and veterans:
a study of transgenerational resources, vulnerability, and current psychological resilience.
37 participants:
a pilot NET–LBP therapeutic program with a retrospective assessment of participants’ pre-group status and a current assessment following program completion.
1. Ukrainian adaptation of the HITT-Q
- The Ukrainian version of the HITT-Q was psychometrically evaluated in a sample of 299 adult participants. Of these, 142 completed retesting approximately three weeks later.
- Internal consistency. Nine of the twelve factors demonstrated acceptable or high internal consistency. Test–retest reliability was predominantly moderate, while the overall model-fit indices supported the instrument’s twelve-factor structure. However, some items and factors require cautious interpretation and further evaluation.
The findings from the Ukrainian adaptation, factor-structure evaluation, and cross-cultural comparison have been published in three peer-reviewed articles.
Key takeaway: The Ukrainian version of the HITT-Q makes it possible to investigate not only the transgenerational consequences of trauma in Ukrainian families, but also the resources preserved and transmitted from one generation to the next.
2. Research on Ukrainian Civilians
- The study included 403 participants. Assessments comprised the Ukrainian version of the HITT-Q, the CD-RISC-10 resilience scale, and the Strategic Approach to Coping Scale (SACS).
- Current psychological resilience was most strongly and positively associated with Offspring Resilience, while the strongest negative association was found for Offspring Vulnerability.
- At the factor level, Values, Adaptation (Ability to Cope), Belonging, and Family Resilience emerged as important resources. Trauma-Related Distress, Avoidance, Heightened Responsibility, and Fear were associated with lower current psychological resilience.
The manuscript reporting the study findings is currently undergoing editorial review.
Key takeaway: From one generation to the next, Ukrainian families transmit not only trauma. They also transmit ways of enduring danger, preserving belonging and values, and restoring the capacity to act.
3. Research on Service Members and Veterans
The study included 123 Ukrainian service members and veterans. Assessments comprised the HITT-Q, CD-RISC-10, and the Scale of Negative Psychological Reactions and States.
The HITT-Q Offspring Resilience scale showed the strongest association with current psychological resilience. Its primary resource components were Adaptation (Ability to Cope), Belonging, and inherited Values.
At the same time, higher self-reported resilience may coexist with more pronounced negative psychological reactions. The capacity to act and withstand adversity does not imply an absence of psychological distress.
The manuscript reporting the study findings is currently undergoing editorial review.
Key takeaway: A person can continue to act, withstand extreme demands, and remain resilient while simultaneously experiencing significant psychological distress.
4. The “Landscape–Boat–Human” Model
- To interpret HITT-Q results within a broader historical, family, and individual context, Tetiana Stanislavska developed the original Landscape–Boat–Person model.
- Landscape refers to the historical and contemporary environment in which the family lived: wars, famine, repression, deportation, discrimination, loss, and forced displacement.
- Boat represents the family system through which experience moves across generations: memory and silence, parenting, communication, fears, values, belonging, and family resources.
- Person refers to the offspring who inherits this experience but is not merely its passive carrier. The person may interpret, reproduce, transform, and integrate the family history in different ways.
The manuscript presenting the theoretical conceptualization of the Landscape–Boat–Person model is being prepared for release as a preprint.
Key takeaway: The past shapes the landscape and the family boat, but it does not predetermine a person’s resilience.
5. NET–LBP Pilot Therapeutic Program
- The Landscape–Boat–Person model formed the basis of the pilot NET–LBP group therapy program, which combined principles of narrative exposure therapy with the exploration of the historical landscape, family patterns of transmitting experience, and the offspring’s personal history.
- The pilot included 37 Ukrainian civilian women. All participants completed the program and, upon completion, assessed both their current state and their retrospectively recalled state before joining the group.
- The General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE) and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE) were used for evaluation.
- Following the program, the mean general self-efficacy score was 3.19 points higher and the mean global self-esteem score was 1.70 points higher than the retrospective pre-group ratings. Both differences were statistically significant and had large effect sizes.
The findings from the pilot evaluation of the NET–LBP program are presented in a manuscript currently being prepared for release as a preprint.
Key takeaway: After completing the program, participants rated both their ability to act and their sense of self-worth more highly. This is a promising initial finding on the therapeutic application of the LBP model that requires further evaluation in a prospective controlled study.
Tetiana Stanislavska
Psychoanalyst, clinical psychologist, PhD student at the Kyiv Institute of Modern Psychology and Psychotherapy, and founder of the War Trauma Institute.
She led the adaptation of the HITT-Q for the Ukrainian population and conducted a comprehensive dissertation study of transgenerational experience and psychological resilience among Ukrainians living through the war.
The project was conducted under the academic supervision of Doctor of Psychological Sciences and Professor Kateryna Miliutina, in collaboration with the authors of the original instrument.