The press release was prepared by Liana Novikova

During December 3-11, 2021, the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) conducted its own all-Ukrainian public opinion poll "Omnibus". By the method of computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI) based on a random sample of mobile telephone numbers (with random generation of telephone numbers and subsequent statistical weighing) were interviewed 2,000 respondents living in all regions of Ukraine (except AR of Crimea). The sample is representative of the adult population (18 years and older) of Ukraine. The sample does not include territories that are temporarily not controlled by the authorities of Ukraine - the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, some districts of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

In Luhansk and Donetsk regions, the poll was conducted only in the territory controlled by the Ukrainian authorities.

The statistical error of the sample (with a probability of 0.95 and taking into account the design effect 1.1) does not exceed: 2.4% for indicators close to 50%, 2.1% for indicators close to 25%, 1.5% - for indicators close to 10%, 1.1 % - for indicators close to 5%.

According to a KIIS research, at least two-thirds (69%) of respondents experienced some sort of stressful situation during 2021, and this is the highest indicator in the last 10 years of measurements. Compared to the previous "pre-covid" period (2013-2019), in 2020-21 the share of those who survived the death of loved ones is about twice as high. If by 2020 this indicator did not exceed 9%, in 2020 it was 17%, and in 2021 it was 19% of respondents. The share of those who survived their own serious illness or surgery has also increased (18% in 2021 compared to 15% in 2020). At the same time, in recent years (2019-2021), there is a significantly lower share of those who felt helpless or lost faith in their own strength, compared to 2013-2018.

Only 29% of respondents did not experience any stressful situation during 2021, which is much less than in 2019, before the pandemic (49%). Compared to 2020 (32%), the indicator decreased by 3 percentage points, but this difference is statistically insignificant. It seems that in the last two years the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected the lives of Ukrainians and to some extent exhausted citizens: in 2020-2021 there was a significant increase in the share of those who survived serious illness or death of loved ones, lost their jobs.

Most often in 2021, Ukrainians experienced these types of stressful situations:

• 19% of respondents had to survive the death of loved ones, which is 3 percentage points more than in 2020.
• 18% of respondents survived serious illness or surgery themselves, which is 3 percentage points more than in 2020.
• 16% of respondents experienced severe illness of relatives, as in 2020.
• 11% of respondents lost their jobs and became forced unemployed, which is 2 percentage points less than in 2020.
• Lost faith in people, faced with meanness 10% of respondents, as in 2020.

Graph 1. Stressful situations experienced by Ukrainians in 2021,% (14% of respondents experienced other stressful situations that are not on this list)

To some extent, the integral indicator that would characterize the overall level of stress in society may be the percentage of those who have not experienced any stressful situations (Graph2). As can be seen, the situation was mostly better in 2013, before the conflict in eastern Ukraine: 48% of respondents did not experience any stressful situations. In 2014 and 2015 the situation was the worst, only 35% and 34% of the population did not experience stress, respectively (i.e. two thirds of the population experienced at least one type of stress). In 2016 and 2017, the situation improved, the share of people who did not experience stressful situations increased to 42%, but in 2018 it decreased again to the level of 2016. However, in 2019 this indicator went up again and amounted to 49%. However, 2020 and the COVID pandemic brought new challenges that significantly increased the overall stress level of Ukrainians. This was reflected in a significant reduction in the share of those who did not experience stress - in the last two years, this indicator is about 30%, i.e. 70% of the population experience some form of stress.

Graph2.  Percentage of respondents who did not experience any stressful situations, the dynamics of 2013-2021

By age:

• There are more among  people over the age of 50 who have experienced their own serious illness or surgery in the past year (from 21% in the age group 50-59 to 33% in the age group 70+), compared to people under the age of 50 (8-13%).
• On the other hand, among older respondents the share of those who lost their jobs and remained unemployed is traditionally lower - among those over 60, 2-3% experienced this event during the year, while among those under 60 – 11-17%.
• It is noteworthy that in 2021 the youngest respondents (15% among people aged 18-29) were more likely to lose faith in people than the oldest (5-7% among people over 60).
• In general, respondents aged 18-39 experienced less stress (among them 61-64% experienced stress in 2021) compared to respondents over 70, among whom 75%experienced stress.

By gender:

• In general, during 2021, women were slightly more likely to experience stressful situations: 63% of respondents experienced at least one stressful situation among men, and among women – 73%.
• Women were more likely to experience severe illness of loved ones (17% among women against 13% among men), death of loved ones (22% against 15%), and their own serious illness or surgery (22% against 13%). Also, during the past year, women were slightly more likely than men to feel helpless (9% among women against 6% among men). It should be noted that the life expectancy of women in Ukraine is about 10 years longer than men, so among women there are many more elderly people, higher morbidity and mortality.

By type of settlement (city-village):

• In 2021, the rural population experienced stress situations somewhat more often: among urban residents, 67% of respondents experienced stress, while among rural residents – 73%.
• Rural residents were more likely than urban residents to experience illness or surgery (21% among rural residents against 17% among urban residents) and more likely to feel helpless (9% against 6%). 

By the level of financial security of the family:

• Respondents with a high level of financial status generally have the lowest level of stress (among them only 53% experienced any stress) compared to respondents with very low, low or medium income (among them 71-78% experienced stressful situations during the year).
• People with low and very low financial security are much more likely than people with medium and high financial security to experience a serious illness / surgery and find themselves without means of subsistence.
• Among respondents with a high level of wealth, only 3% of respondents felt helpless, while among respondents from other categories of wealth, this share is 7-12%.
• Job loss (and forced unemployment) is also the least for the wealthiest citizens - 4% of high-income respondents lost their jobs in 2021, while among respondents from other categories of wealth this share is 11-16%.

Annex 1. Formulation of question from the questionnaire.

In which of these situations did you have to be during the year?

TRANSFER THE CARD. POSSIBLE SEVERAL ANSWERS

Annex 2. Tables

Table 1.  Which of these situations have you been in during the year? % of those who experienced these or those situations

According to the latest Omnibus, December 2021:

In which of these situations did you have to be during the year?

Age groups:

Gender:

By type of settlement:

The level of financial security of the family (self-assessment)[i]:

For comments, please contact Liana Novikova, l.novikova@kiis.com.ua