Humanities Studios: Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy

Role balance of Ukrainian university students during wartime

Iryna Soroka, Alla Zasluzhena, Iryna Arhatiuk
Download article
Abstract

Balancing work, study, and personal life was a major concern among university students. This study aimed to answer the research questions concerning challenges Ukrainian university students face while balancing roles within education, employment, and personal life during wartime and the strategies which can help Ukrainian university students to balance work, study, and life roles. Research indicated that conflicting roles and demands lead to emotional exhaustion, stress, and anxiety. Inter-role conflict theory served as the basis for this research, and the findings supported its main principles: the competing interests of different fields create role conflict, which affects the individual in all spheres. This study employed a mixed methods design. A survey was conducted among 80 Ukrainian university students. 62.5% of the surveyed prioritise academic work, 37.5% prioritise part-time job. 57.5% of Ukrainian respondents do not have enough time for hobbies and entertainment. A thematic analysis was performed with the help of MAXQDA 24 software. The results revealed the challenges Ukrainian students confront: environmental instability (war, power cuts), performance anxiety, emotional depletion. The role conflict within work-study-life led to high levels of stress. The participants struggled with managing time, felt exhausted and burnt out. Among the effective strategies that can help Ukrainian university students to balance work, study, and life roles, the following ideas were mentioned: setting clear boundaries between work, education, and free time, taking rest, avoiding multitasking. Ukrainian students expected changes at the system level, such as remote options for education and flexibility. The findings of the study can provide a framework for further empirical research and open interdisciplinary dialogue between psychological and pedagogical fields. Balanced roles of work, study, and life may improve students’ academic performance and overall quality of life and well-being

Keywords

inter-role conflict; educational institutions; challenges; work-study-life harmony; strategies

Suggested citation
Soroka, I., Zasluzhena, A., & Arhatiuk, I. (2026). Role balance of Ukrainian university students during wartime. Humanities Studios: Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy, 14(2), 107-117. https://doi.org/10.31548/hspedagog/2.2026.107
References
  1. American Sociological Association’s Code of Ethics. (2018, June). Retrieved from https://www.asanet.org/wp-content/uploads/asa_code_of_ethics-june2018a.pdf.
  2. APA dictionary of psychology. (n.d.) Interrole conflict. Retrieved from https://dictionary.apa.org/interrole-conflict.
  3. Bello, Z., & Tanko, G.I. (2020). Review of work-life balance theories. GATR Global Journal of Business and Social Science Review, 8(4), 217-227. doi: 10.35609/gjbssr.2020.8.4(3).
  4. Błaszczyk, M., Kovalisko, N., Pieńkowski, P., Pachkovskyy, Y., & Ryniejska-Kiełdanowicz, M. (2025). Coping with adversity: Mechanisms of resilience in Ukrainian universities during the Russian-Ukrainian war: A perspective from Lviv University students. Higher Education. doi: 10.1007/s10734-025-01506-z.
  5. Boyko, O., Ziakun, A., Povalii, T., Kotenko, O., & Siryk, O. (2024). Volunteering as a factor in the implementation of a sustainable development at Sumy State University. Obraz, 3(46), 5-20. doi: 10.21272/Obraz.2024.3(46)-5-20.
  6. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101. doi: 10.1191/1478088706qp063oa.
  7. Cronshaw, S., Stokes, P., & McCulloch, A. (2024). Outside looking in: Gendered roles and the wellbeing of working student mothers studying for a part‐time PhD. Higher Education Quarterly, 78(3), 608-624. doi: 10.1111/hequ.12471.
  8. Curtis, S., & Lucas, R. (2001). A coincidence of needs? Employers and full-time students. Employee Relations: The International Journal, 23(1), 38-54. doi: 10.1108/01425450110366264.
  9. Kirchmeyer, C. (2000). Work-life initiatives: Greed or benevolence regarding workers’ time? In C.L. Cooper & D.M. Rousseau (Eds.), Trends in organizational behavior, volume 7: Time in organizational behavior (pp. 79-93). Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
  10. Korda, M., Shulhai, A., Shevchuk, O., Shulhai, O., & Shulhai, A.-M. (2025). Psychological well-being and academic performance of Ukrainian medical students under the burden of war: A cross-sectional study. Frontiers in Public Health, 12, article number 1457026. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1457026.
  11. Kulik, L. (2025). Role conflict, enrichment, sense of balance, and well-being among working students who are parents. Journal of Family Social Work, 28(2), 86-107. doi: 10.1080/10522158.2025.2468264.
  12. Lenaghan, J.A., & Sengupta, K. (2007). Role conflict, role balance and affect: A model of well-being of the working student. Journal of Behavioral and Applied Management, 9(1), 88-109. doi: 10.21818/​001c.16780.
  13. Lowe, J., & Gayle, V. (2016). From lifelong learning to youth employment: Back to the future for higher education in Scotland’s colleges. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 40(3), 351-371. doi: 10.1080/0309877x.2014.971104.
  14. Malysh, N., Shevchenko, V., & Tkachuk-Miroshnychenko, O. (2025). Learning in Ukraine in wartime. Open Learning: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning, 40(4), 350-366. doi: 10.1080/02680513.2024.2399847.
  15. Marchenko, T. (2023). Higher education during the war time in Ukraine. Scientific Journal of Polonia University, 59(4), 49-57. doi: 10.23856/5907.
  16. Martinez, E., Ordu, C., Sala, M.R.D., & McFarlane, A. (2013). Striving to obtain a school-work-life balance: The full-time doctoral student. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 8, 39-59. doi: 10.28945/1765.
  17. Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. (n.d.). Educational institutions that were affected by bombings and shelling. Retrieved from https://saveschools.in.ua/.
  18. O’Mahony, M., & Jeske, D. (2019). Study-work-life balance of international students in the context of temporal boundaries. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education, 7(2), 63-79. doi: 10.32674/jise.v7i2.1212.
  19. Pallay, K., Markos, V., & Fényes, H. (2024). Volunteer activity of Transcarpathian youth during the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian war. Corvinus Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 15(1), 49-71. doi: 10.14267/CJSSP.2024.1.3.
  20. Polovko, O., & Glotov, S. (2023). The educational process of Ukrainian university students following the full-scale Russian invasion. London Review of Education, 21(1), article number 31. doi: 10.14324/lre.21.1.31.
  21. Polyvianaia, M., Yachnik, Y., Fegert, J.M., Sitarski, E., Stepanova, N., & Pinchuk, I. (2025). Mental health of university students twenty months after the beginning of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war. BMC Psychiatry, 25, article number 236. doi: 10.1186/s12888-025-06654-1.
  22. Sprung, J.M., & Rogers, A. (2021). Work-life balance as a predictor of college student anxiety and depression. Journal of American College Health, 69(7), 775-782. doi: 10.1080/07448481.2019.1706540.
  23. Stadnyi, Y. (2025). Student migration to western universities: How many Ukrainians left between 2008 and 2023 and where. Retrieved from https://voxukraine.org/en/student-migration-to-western-universities-how-many-ukrainians-left-between-2008-and-2023-and-w.
  24. Szegedi, K., Győri, Z., & Juhász, T. (2024). Factors affecting quality of life and learning-life balance of university students in business higher education. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11, article number 113. doi: 10.1057/s41599-024-02603-7.
  25. Tsybuliak, N., Suchikova, Y., Gurenko, O., Lopatina, H., Kovachov, S., & Bohdanov, I. (2023). Ukrainian universities at the time of war: From occupation to temporary relocation. Torture Journal, 33(3), 39-64. doi: 10.7146/torture.v33i3.136256.
  26. Vokić, N.P., Bilušić, M.R., & Perić, I. (2021). Work-study-life balance – the concept, its dyads, socio-demographic predictors and emotional consequences. Zagreb International Review of Economics and Business, 24(S1), 77-94. doi: 10.2478/zireb-2021-0021.
  27. Yamchuk, T. (2025). The resilience of the student community in wartime. Scientific Bulletin of Mukachevo State University. Series “Pedagogy and Psychology”, 11(1), 19-31. doi: 10.52534/msu-pp1.2025.19.