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Disincentives of resilience of the social environment in Ukraine: an outline of empirical analysis

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The article examines the impact of social environment parameters on the resilience of quality of life in Ukraine under prolonged crises caused by war, social instability, and escalating humanitarian issues. The author proposes an approach to the analysis of disincentives to the sustainability of the domestic social environment based on three phases of resilience – absorption, adaptation, and transformation – and suggests a system of key factors that enable society to maintain viability, adapt to change, and develop new sustainable models. The functioning mechanisms of the social protection system are explored across different phases of resilience, with emphasis on the roles of educational, healthcare, and security infrastructure, the labour market, digital inclusion, volunteering, and civic engagement. Particular attention is given to analysing such social environment resilience indicators as crime and suicide rates, early motherhood, prevalence of alcoholism, drug addiction, and tuberculosis, as well as the phenomena of homelessness and social orphanhood, which are generally considered as demotivating factors. The study demonstrates that the increasing frequency of these phenomena is not only a consequence of social vulnerability but also an indicator of the gradual exhaustion of society’s adaptive capacity. The article emphasises that limited access to essential social services, the degradation of institutions of trust, and the deterioration of the population’s psychosocial state undermine the long-term sustainability of quality of life. It is argued that the transformational phase of resilience requires not only institutional reforms but also ‘bottom-up initiatives’, the development of social entrepreneurship, and a renewal of the cultural and value foundations of society. The findings have practical application for improving state social policy aimed at reducing vulnerability and strengthening social cohesion as a strategic prerequisite for Ukraine’s recovery.

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