Social exclusion, social isolation, and mental health: Understanding the Ukrainian context

Aim: The paper aims to reveal the essence of social exclusion and social isolation, their impact on mental health, and consider the experiences of Ukrainians who may potentially fall under the definition of socially excluded groups.

Materials and Methods: The study is based on a transdisciplinary approach combining socio-psychological and philosophical analysis along with narrative interviews. The authors used interpretive research paradigm, integrative anthropological approach, system-analytical, discursive, hermeneutical, and comparative approaches. For narrative interviews, methods are reported in line with COREQ. The data collection was carried out using PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar databases. Research papers were identified according to search terms: "social exclusion", "socially excluded groups", "social isolation", "mental health", "well-being", "discrimination", "poverty", "belonging", "depression", "anxiety", "anger", "hopelessness", "alienation", "loneliness", "communication". To understand problems faced by those who may belong to socially excluded groups, their symbolic systems of orientations, and their coping strategies for overcoming difficulties, the narrative interview was conducted. As recent studies show, nowadays, in the context of the war with its devastating consequences, analysis of narrative interviews acquires special significance, primarily from the standpoint of analyzing the mechanisms of individual adaptation to the tragedies of the war. The authors conducted five interviews with people who potentially fall under the definition of representatives of socially excluded groups. All participants were assigned pseudonyms, ensuring confidentiality and anonymity. Interviews took place online or in-person and lasted around two hours. The participants were interviewed between January and March 2026.

Conclusions: Being one of determinants of mental health, social exclusion has become increasingly widespread in Ukraine, and the ongoing war has given rise to new groups that are currently most susceptible to social exclusion. During narrative interviews aimed at uncovering the experiences of Ukrainians who may fall into these groups, it was found that participants do not consider themselves socially excluded, although everyone talks about voluntary or involuntary social isolation that negatively affects or may affect their mental health and well-being. The narratives illustrate not only experiences of social isolation, but also the ways in which participants propose to address the unmet needs of individuals suffering from social isolation.