A poll carried out this October by the Rating Group, a member of the Sociological Association of Ukraine, yielded incredible figures: 70 percent of Ukrainians feel happy, while 20 percent are unhappy, and 10 percent are not sure. You have to agree that 70 percent is a cherished dream for any rating.
The sources of joy for Ukrainians are in the following order: family (60 percent) children (47 percent), and friends (37 percent). What makes Ukrainians feel happy in today’s conditions? Oleksii ANTYPOVYCH, director of the Rating Group, and The Day‘s experts offer their comments below.
Mr. Antypovych, what prompted you to carry out this kind of poll, considering Ukraine’s rather complicated situation? What are your conclusions?
“We wanted to have something to cheer up our fellow Ukrainians now that we’re living through all such disheartening political and economic events. In fact, our findings indicate that most Ukrainians feel happy despite all problems and worries. For example, 28.5 percent of the respondents stated they feel happy about their daily life; 24.4 percent feel happy several times a week, while 13.6 percent, several times a month. In other words, two-thirds of the respondents are happy at least once a month. One-fifth rejoices on rare occasions, while 12 percent are not sure. This poll proves that there is a direct connection between the small joys of life and happiness; most Ukrainians feel happy about every day of their life.
In western Ukraine, 40 percent of the respondents feel happy about their daily life, compared to 20 percent in the Donbas and 13 percent in the central regions. Our findings further show that people feel less happy as they advance in age. Nearly one half of the respondents aged 18–29 feel happy every day, compared to some 20 percent aged 50 and over, especially pensioners. In contrast, the percentage of those who feel happy on rare occasions increases from nine to thirty-nine. We have also noticed the following trend: the lower the respondent’s educational level, the less happy s/he feels. Another interesting aspect is that married people appear to be less happy than single individuals or those in common law marriage.”
How do Ukrainians understand joy and happiness?
“It’s having a family, friends, and children in the first place. This is proof of our inherent Ukrainian essence — family always came first for our forefathers. Almost 20 percent of our respondents feel happy being in the lap of nature. Every sixth Ukrainian is fond of traveling; 13 percent enjoy doing household chores; 10 percent are happy having pets.
“In the sphere of art, most respondents enjoy listening to music and watching movies. As for the theater, it is not affordable, for one thing, and not understandable to everyone, so it got only two percent. Books bring happiness to 12 percent, while every tenth Ukrainian feels happy about good food.
“This exhilarating feeling often depends on the respondent’s age. With age things like friends, music, vacation, shopping, the Internet, dancing, studies, and money tend to bring less joy. I would say that here less responsibility means more happiness. When one builds a family, the scale of joys changes, because certain things start being regarded from a different angle, while other things become less important or no longer available. Other reasons for feeling happy emerge.
“On the average, having a good job makes one happy regardless of one’s age; the feeling is even more pronounced among middle-age people. The same is true of food and alcohol consumption. Age practically doesn’t affect one’s attitude to gifts. As one’s family grows, there is the joy of having children. Among the single respondents and common law partners, about 40 percent feel happy about having a family, compared to 70 percent among the officially married.”
Were there any gender differences?
“Not really. Men and women appeared to feel happy for largely the same reasons, except that men feel happier than women about having friends, watching the television, using the Internet, going on vacations, having a good job, doing sports, the victories of their favorite sports teams, drinking, and making money. Women are three times happier about shopping, and they also enjoy having a solid family, children, doing house chores, reading books, looking after pets, and going to church. They feel happier than men when receiving or giving presents. Enjoying nature, music, traveling, good food, watching movies, and dancing are the areas in which men’s and women’s preferences coincide, except that women are a bit more into singing than men.”
What factors make people happy?
“Family and all the related aspects come first. Good family relationships and calm atmosphere are perhaps the key factors that make one feel happy. Yet one ought to bear in mind certain economic parameters, the living standard, financial status, and financial problems. They also have a direct bearing on one’s emotions and world outlook.”
Tamara MARUSYK, pro-rector for curriculum and instruction, Yurii Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University:
“The continuity of generations is genetically included in Ukrainian mentality; in many areas Ukrainians use their knowledge of the history of their people, even though this past was so tragic. Ukrainians have, nevertheless, managed to find and preserve their identity, and to rally around the idea of independence. Come what may, they are determined to keep it. This is the main reason behind their sense of happiness. After all, we have our nation-state. Compared to what our forefathers had to go through, today’s problems are not worth crying about.”
Ihor PASICHNYK, Ph.D. (Psychology), rector, Ostroh Academy:
“I believe that there are two reasons behind this Ukrainian optimism: our mentality and our anatomy and physiology. To begin with, Ukrainians have historically developed a defense system, so they can feel happy even in a critical situation. Regrettably, Ukrainians have often suffered from diseases, wars, famine, and ruin, so this function has become vital. I would describe this psychological defense of our organism as a Ukrainian know-how.
“Second, there are ‘paradise’ and ‘hell’ areas in man’s cerebral cortex. They are located close to each other, also known as the pleasure and displeasure/discomfort centers. After a long period of depression, man’s displeasure center becomes very active. Under the laws of physics, vibrations caused by this agitated state are conveyed to the pleasure center, so that an individual involuntarily feels invigorated after considerable stress. From the standpoint of anatomy and physiology, our society should experience positive emotions after the shock of economic crisis, quarantine, horrifying gossip about pneumonic plague, and so on.”
