NEGATYWNY WPŁYW ZAANGAŻOWANIA W DZIAŁANIA POMOCOWE NA DOBROSTAN WOLONTARIUSZY NA PRZYKŁADZIE WOLONTARIATU DLA OBYWATELI UKRAINY
NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF INVOLVEMENT IN AID ACTIVITIES AMONG VOLUNTEERS, TAKING VOLUNTARY ASSISTANCE FOR UKRAINIAN CITIZENS AS AN EXAMPLE

Summary/Abstract: The outbreak of full-scale war in Ukraine led to a massive rush of aid in Poland.The scale and intensity of involvement demonstrated the enormous potentialdormant in Polish society. While many studies have focused on the forms ofsupport, the motivations of volunteers, and attitudes towards Ukrainians — mostconcentrate on the positive effects of the aid given. The main aim of this articleis to show that despite the obvious social benefits (for Ukrainian citizens, thevolunteers themselves, and society as a whole) involvement in Ukrainian volunteeraid can be detrimental to the helpers. Assisting people who have suffered traumaor harm can lead to compassion fatigue, burnout, secondary traumatic stress andvicarious victimisation. An indirect aim of this analysis is to highlight the shortageof studies on the psychological and health costs of volunteering, not only in thecontext of helping the Ukrainian people. As a result, studies often overlook thephysical and mental health of volunteers, and there is a lack of systemic supportin this regard, which could ultimately lead to Poles becoming less involved involunteering and turning away from such activity.

• Details
• Contents