Perceived Stress and Learning-related Cognitive Measures among Ukrainian Students during the War: Implications for Higher Education

Abstract

The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine has created unprecedented psychological and educational challenges for students in Ukrainian universities. Understanding how war-related stress affects learning is essential for developing effective pedagogical strategies that support students' academic success under crisis conditions. This case study investigated the relationship between perceived stress and learning-related cognitive performance among 36 biochemistry students at Vasyl Stefanyk Carpathian National University (Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine) during February 2026. Perceived stress was assessed using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), while attention, concentration, and processing efficiency were evaluated using the Bourdon-Anfimov correction test. The PSS-10 indicated that 92% of students experienced moderate to high stress, with only 8% reporting low stress. Students with low stress levels maintained stable productivity and high accuracy, whereas students with moderate and high stress demonstrated a tendency toward reduced cognitive performance accompanied by considerable individual variability. Highly stressed students showed greater variability and a tendency toward decreased accuracy. The scientific novelty of the study lies in integrating psychological stress assessment with objective indicators of cognitive performance to examine learning-related functioning of university students during wartime in a region remote from active combat. From a pedagogical perspective, the findings highlight the importance of systematic monitoring of students' psychological well-being and cognitive readiness for learning and support the implementation of educational interventions aimed at improving academic resilience, attention, and learning effectiveness under prolonged crisis conditions.