Probation of collaborationists in Ukraine: exploratory research of personality trait contribution in social reintegration endeavor

Abstract

In early March 2022, Ukraine in response to the invasion of the Russian Federation adopted two new laws criminalizing any type of cooperation with an aggressor state. Collaborationism has brought about not only a new category of probation clients, but also a moral challenge to cope and professional one to solve. Concerning the latter, a question arose of proper ways of collaborationists’ social reintegration. The aim of conducted research was to identify whether collaborationists have some personality characteristics that would distinguish them from other people (not collaborationists). The survey covered first 58 probation clients of Ukraine, convicted for collaboration. The personality traits (‘Big Five Model’) of the collaborationists were compared with a control group consisting of Ukrainian probation officers. Also, the technique of completing sentences was used in a comparative intergroup analysis. The results obtained made it possible to substantiate the conclusion about the significant value differences of the respondents and the contributing role of certain personality traits. In turn, this formed the basis of a proposal for a pivotal task in the social reintegration of collaborationists.

Keywords: collaborationism, collaborationist, personality trait, big five model, individual values, Ukrainian probation service