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STRESSFUL SITUATIONS IN THE LIVES OF UKRAINIANS, 2024
The press release was prepared by Volodymyr Paniotto (using the materials of Liana Novikova)
From December 2 to 17, 2024, the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) conducted its own all-Ukrainian public opinion survey "Omnibus", to which, on its own initiative, it added a question about trust in public institutions. By the method of telephone interviews (computer-assistedtelephoneinterviews, CATI) based on a random sample of mobile phone numbers (with random generation of phone numbers and subsequent statistical weighting) in all regions of Ukraine (the territory controlled by the Government of Ukraine), 985 respondents were interviewed. The survey was conducted with adult (aged 18 and older) citizens of Ukraine who, at the time of the survey, lived in the territory of Ukraine controlled by the Government of Ukraine. The sample did not include residents of territories temporarily not controlled by the Ukrainian authorities (at the same time, some of the respondents are IDPs who moved from the occupied territories), and the survey was not conducted with citizens who left abroad after February 24, 2022. Formally, under normal circumstances, the statistical error of such a sample (with a probability of 0.95 and taking into account the design effect of 1.3) did not exceed 4.1% for indicators close to 50%, 3.5% for indicators close to 25%, 2.5% for indicators close to 10%, 1.8% for indicators close to 5%. Under the conditions of war, in addition to the specified formal error, a certain systematic deviation is added. Factors that may affect the quality of results in "wartime" conditions were previously cited by KIIS. In general, we believe that the obtained results are still highly representative and allow a fairly reliable analysis of the public moods of the population.
Main results:
KIIS has included questions about stressful situations from time to time in our researches since 1996, when we conducted a research of the income and expenses of the population of Ukraine commissioned by the World Bank. The list of stressful situations probably corresponded to World Bank researches conducted in other countries at that time. Over time, the list had to be modified, in particular, shelling and bombing were added in 2014. It should be noted that KIIS has also conducted researches using other lists of stressful situations. For example, in a research for the National Democratic Institute (NDI), we asked what from the list Ukrainians faced after a full-scale invasion[1]. Graph 1 shows the most common stressful situations that Ukrainians experienced in 2024. According to the data, a significant part of respondents faced serious life challenges, such as job loss, worries about the health of loved ones, or their own illnesses. On average, each respondent experienced 2-3 types of stress. Of particular note is the increase in the number of respondents who reported war-related stress, including bombing, loss of housing, or forced evacuation.
Graph 1. Stressful situations faced by Ukrainians in 2024
Almost 40% of the population has experienced bombing and shelling, 30% have experienced or continue to experience separation from loved ones. More than a quarter of respondents (26%) have experienced the death of loved ones in 2024, about the same percentage have experienced the illness of loved ones (23%), and 18% have been sick themselves.
Graph 2 illustrates the dynamics of the share of respondents who did not experience any stressful situations in 2013-2024 (and the Annex also contains data for 2000, 2005 and 2010). As can be seen, in the first years of the analyzed period the share of such respondents was relatively high (especially in 2013-2019). However, after 2020, due to the Covid pandemic, this indicator drops sharply to 29%. However, a dramatic increase in stress level occurred after the start of full-scale war, when the number of those who did not experience any stress decreased to 13% in 2022 and to 8% in 2023, and, accordingly, about 9 out of 10 Ukrainians experienced one type of stress. In 2024, 10% did not experience any stress, which is not significantly different from 2023.
Graph 2. Percentage of respondents who did not experience any stressful situations, dynamics during 2013-2024
The analysis shows that the level of stress depends somewhat on the region, increasing from West to East, in particular, in the West of Ukraine 90% of respondents experienced stress, in the Center – 86%, in the South – 92% and in the East – 97%. The number of those who experienced stress in 2024 does not significantly depend on gender (92% of women and 87% of men experienced stress), the difference in the level of stress among age groups, among urban and rural residents, and, surprisingly, among groups by level of wealth is statistically insignificant.
The appendix, Table Ä1, contains the dynamics of each type of stressful situations that Ukrainians experienced during 2013-2024. In particular, the share of those who survived bombings and shelling has increased rapidly since the beginning of the war: from 2% in 2020 to 39% in 2024. The experience of the death of loved ones has been increasing over the years, reaching a peak in 2023 (27%) and 2024 (26%, the difference with 2023 is statistically insignificant). The share of respondents who lost their jobs or were left without a means of livelihood has gradually increased since 2019, reaching a maximum in 2022-2023. In 2024, the indicators decreased slightly, which may indicate some adaptation of the population.
Volodymyr Paniotto's commentaryThe stressful situations that we study are specific circumstances or events that can (or may not) cause stress. We do not want to confuse the reader with terminology, but there are also stressors (these are specific aspects of a stressful situation, specific factors that cause stress). In addition, stress can be positive and mobilize a person, or it can be negative and cause physical or psychological exhaustion, depression. To study stress, it is needed to use not one question, but a whole block of questions. Of course, the more stressful situations, the higher the level of distress. But the fact that 87% of the population of Ukraine experienced one or another stressful situation in 2024 does not mean that all of them have distress. Thus, the website of the Institute of Sociology of the NAS of Ukraine has published an analytical material by Dr. Serhii Dembitskyi, Social Sciences, “Media Stressors and the Psychological Well-Being of the Population of Ukraine”, prepared for the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting[2]. This report was about the level of distress of the population of Ukraine (the express test "SCL-9-NR" was used to record it). In October 2023, 69% of respondents demonstrated a normal level of psychological distress, 21% had increased levels, and 10% had high levels. In 2023, according to our data, approximately 90% of the population experienced stressful situations, and only 31%, i.e. a third of them, had increased or high levels of distress. Our data shows that since 2022, the lives of Ukrainians have been connected with continuous stressful situations, but for three years now they have continued to fight and overcome difficulties. The majority of the population (57%) is ready to endure the war as long as it is nedeed[3]. Other KIIS researches show that Ukrainians are fully aware that war is existential and peace under any conditions is unacceptable. The majority of those surveyed are not ready for territorial concessions[4]. A high level of experiencing stressful situations does not mean that Ukrainians are ready to give up, but still, despite all the difficulties, they demonstrate the will to continue the figh.
Annex 1. Formulation of the question from the questionnaire. Which of these situations have you experienced during the year? RANDOMIZATION OF READING. MULTIPLE ANSWERS POSSIBLE.
Annex 2. Tables Table Ä1. Which of these situations have you experienced during the year? % of those who experienced some kind of stressful situation
[1] Opportunities and obstacles on the path of democratic transition of Ukraine (slide 6) // ÌÎÆËÈÂÎÑÒ² ÒÀ ÏÅÐÅØÊÎÄÈ ÍÀ ØËßÕÓ ÄÅÌÎÊÐÀÒÈ×ÍÎÃÎ ÏÅÐÅÕÎÄÓ ÓÊÐÀ¯ÍÈ
31.1.2025
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