Politics frequently prevents us from assessing our life objectively. Watching the fierce struggle in the high ranks, Ukrainians are also inclined to give way to hysteria, get worried about their lives and the future, and be cheated by promises of stability and welfare. Clearly, this is skillfully used by politicians and spin doctors.
In fact, the connection between the powerful and the citizens appears perhaps during the elections. Otherwise it is not political battles that people suffer from but illnesses (14 percent), the illnesses of their close ones (16 percent), the death of their family members (13 percent), and loss of a job and trust in people (11 percent). This is indicated by the survey “Stress situations in the lives of Ukrainians in the first decade of the new century” conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociological Research. Compared with 2000, the number of people who have suffered stress during the year has decreased by nine percent (from 77 to 68 percent), whereas the number of those who have not suffered any stress during the year has increased from 22 to 31 percent.
So, Ukrainians are growing more resistant to stresses. A higher number of difficult situations have been experienced by women (72 percent).
On the whole, city residents who have higher education and jobs are more prone to stress. At the same time, rural residents that are retired or are close to the retirement age and have secondary or specialized secondary education run a higher risk of experiencing stress. KMIS Director General Volodymyr PANIOTTO in his interview to The Day explains the peculiarities of the way Ukrainians react to stress and certain paradoxes.
Mr. Paniotto, judging from your survey, we feel better now, in spite of the economic crisis. What is the reason for this?
“Starting from 2000 the level of population’s welfare in Ukraine has grown substantially. It seems to me that the population is not aware of this because of the fierce political struggle. Whoever comes to power, the opposition will tell that the people will become poorer. The dynamics of the welfare levels and indices of people who suffer from stress the most (those are poor people) show that in 2000 we had 53 percent people who did not have enough money for food. When we ask people what things they cannot buy today, some of them reply it is food; others have money for food, but it is hard for them to buy footware and clothes; the third category will tell that they have money for clothes and shoes, but they can’t buy items of long-time use. So, the number of people who lack money for food, according to the World Bank’s data, strongly correlates with the index of absolute poverty. It made 53 percent in 2000 and decreased to 13 percent by the beginning of 2008. So, the situation has improved by 40 percent.
“The second reason why people are not aware of this, in my opinion, is that relative, rather than absolute, poverty was chosen as the main index in Ukraine. And relative poverty, in fact, has not undergone any changes within this period. Relative poverty shows what percentage of people have incomes lower than the average index. Since the average index has been growing, the relative poverty index has not changed. At the same time, it rather testifies of social disparity which has not decreased, but even grew within this period of time.
“One of the main stressful factors is the welfare level and number of poor people. The poverty index had essentially decreased by 2008, and then it started rising again. In 2000, 22 percent of citizens did not find themselves in any stress situations, whereas in 2003 this number was already 33 percent. This figure started to decrease, and there was a drastic fall, and then it rose somewhat again. It seems that now it continues to go down. This is better shown by the answers concerning the job loss and forced unemployment. There were 11 percent of such people in 2000, six percent in 2005, and again 12 percent in 2010.
“However, certain indices have been really falling all this time. For example, it is interesting that fewer citizens told that they ‘felt helpless,’ ‘had no means for living,’ or ‘lost faith in themselves’: their number is diminishing and has practically achieved the 2005 levels. These indices have not grown during the crisis, therefore I think that people do not believe any more that the state can help them.
“After the market transformations, starting from 1991 the public opinion has also been ambivalent. On the one hand, most Ukrainian citizens supported the market relations, while on the other hand, they told that the state should provide more assistance. Therefore, I think that at the moment people have grown more self-confident and less inclined to rely on the state.”
In terms of regions, the situation is quite different. In the west there are more ill people and more people experience stress because of their relatives’ death, whereas in the south as many as 19 percent have lost their trust in people. How can you explain this?
“The situation in the regions strongly depends on the correlation between urban and rural populace. Insufficient data analysis has been conducted in this respect as yet. Say, in the east more people are living in the cities, whereas in the west in the countryside. The level of education also has a strong effect on how much stress is experienced by a person. The situation with stresses is better among people with higher education, unlike in Soviet times, when qualified workers were in a better situation than people with higher education. At the moment, if we analyze the disparities based on education, people with higher education are in a far better situation than those who have secondary or specialized secondary education.
“As for the negative tendencies, we have a complicated situation with people’s health, which has not undergone any improvements. It has become only somewhat better, because the poverty level has dropped. If you look at people whose family members were ill (the same figure of 16 percent has remained in 2010), the number of respondents, whose relatives were ill or died, you will see that these indices have not essentially changed.
“However, the unemployment level has grown because of the crisis, so the process may somehow be regulated after the crisis is over. Furthermore, in spite of corruption, there is hardly any difference in the number of court appeals. I mean the number of such problems has not decreased. Despite the crisis, the number of people close to suicide has somewhat decreased, which is a very positive thing. As for those who have been attacked or robbed, their number has not substantially dropped – compared with 2005, it has grown by one percent.”
What is your forecast concerning further influence of stresses on the life of Ukrainians?
“In our country, it essentially depends on the welfare level. We have studied such factors as the level of happiness and the level of satisfaction with one’s own life. These indices are closely related with stress. In many countries this disparity (between the level of happiness and the level of satisfaction with one’s own life) is in fact very small.
The principle is as follows: when very poor people become simply poor, their results improve and they grow happier (when a more or less acceptable level of normal welfare is achieved). Afterwards the welfare level does not influence the level of satisfaction with one’s own life. In our country, it does have an impact, because the sustenance level is low. It seems to me that further on the level of stresses will be largely dependent on the economic situation. At the moment, this is crucial for our country, once the crisis is over and there are economic successes, which I doubt, the situation will improve. However, even if this happens, it will take at least several years.”
