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РЕЙТИНГ  anti - РАДОСТИ или что огорчает украинцев?

Anti-joy rating

Date posted: 01.12.2010 Print Full version

Last October the Sociological Group "Rating" presented its own project "JOY RATING", which showed that despite the crisis, the flu epidemic, elections and many other circumstances that raged in our country at that time, Ukrainians found place for joy and happiness in their lives.

This year we present another project "ANTI-JOY RATING or what saddens Ukrainians?", the aim of which is to study the other side of Ukrainians’ feelings and to try and answer more difficult questions of our lives.

Thus, Ukrainians are the most distressed about the level of their income (40% of responses), their health condition (31%), their relatives’ health (25%) and uncertainty in the future (21%).

Besides, Ukrainians are saddened by lack of work, which would bring satisfaction (15%) 1,5 times more than by the lack of work as such (9%). Also, a part of respondents (15%) do not like their homes, they are saddened by unsettled lives of their children (10%). Every tenth respondent is distressed over unrealized opportunities and talents, as well as the sense of hopelessness (7%), emotional state (5%), loneliness (5%), housework (4%), relationships with children (4%), and relations with husband/wife (4%). Other 3% are distressed over neighbors and over envy of others.

It should be noted that only 1% of respondents are saddened by the state of their spirituality and only 2% - by the level of their knowledge.

However, 13% are not saddened by anything in life - the category of the so-called "utter optimists, the vast majority of which are young people.

At the same time, a quarter of young people aged 18 to 29 are uncertain about their future, as many are concerned about lack of work, which would bring satisfaction. In addition, young people are troubled by their relatives’ health. Only young people (and only 4%) are worried about the level of their knowledge.

Middle-aged people are more concerned about the level of their income; they are troubled by their own health and the health of their relatives. They feel growing uncertainty in their future, and are more troubled by relationships with their husband/wife and their marriage. At the age of 40-49 people start to be saddened over their sexual life.

Elderly people are saddened by unsettled lives of their children, relationships with children, gradually health becomes the main issue - 37% of respondents aged 50 to 59 years and 67% aged over 60 years are the most saddened over their health condition.

Interestingly, at about 50, there is a turning point, when people start to get upset over their own health more than over the health of their relatives.

There is also another tendency: the smaller is the level of income, the more people are worried about their health.

And another tendency: weight directly affects people’s health. Thus, the more was the weight of respondents, the more often they mentioned that it was health that troubled them the most.

Elderly people (50-59 years of age) are much less troubled by the lack of work that would bring satisfaction and by the condition of their homes. However, every tenth is troubled by the feeling of hopelessness.

Elderly people (over 60 years of age) are saddened by loneliness, relationships with children; however, they are less saddened by the state of their homes and incomes. "Old age is not a joy": only 7% of respondents aged over 60 years have nothing to be upset about in their lives.

At every stage of their lives (except old age) people are equally saddened over unfulfilled plans, abilities and talents.

Women have more reasons for distress than men.

Thus, women are more concerned about the level of income, health condition (both their own and their relatives’), uncertainty in their own future, unsettled lives of children, their emotional state. Women are more frustrated by housework, loneliness and the feeling of hopelessness.

In turn, men are worried about lack of work that would bring satisfaction, unrealized abilities and talents more than women.

Based on respondents' answers to the question "What saddens you most in your life?", we created a kind of "anti-joy matrix". The answers of respondents, which correlated with each other, allowed forming certain psychological groups: there are 8 of them:

1. "Uncertainty in their future. Work, which does not bring satisfaction. The level of income. Unrealized abilities and talents. Lack of work as such"
2. "The state of my health. The state of health of my relatives"
3. "Housework. My home"
4. "Loneliness. My sex life. The feeling of hopelessness"
5. "Relations with children. Relations with husband/wife, marriage. Unsettled lives of my children"
6. "Relations with parents. My appearance. My level of knowledge"
7. "The level of my spirituality. My past. My emotional state"
8. "Neighbors. Envy of others. The attitude of my environment towards me"

If people had the opportunity to start their life from the beginning, only 25% of respondents would have lived it in exactly the same way. Most of such respondents are in the West and in the East of Ukraine, among young people and elderly respondents.

48% (and it’s a majority) would have lived their lives in the same way at one times and would have changed things at other times. Most of them are in the North of Ukraine, as well as among respondents aged 50-59 years.

Yet, almost every fifth respondent (17%) would have lived his new life totally differently. The majority of such respondents live in the Centre of Ukraine, as well as among respondents aged 40-49 years.

10% could not answer this question.

The research proved that the higher is people’s income, the more among them would have lived their lives in exactly the same way.

Thus, among respondents, whose total family income exceeds 3000 UAH, 35% would have lived their lives in exactly the same way. In turn, among respondents, whose income is less than 1000 UAH, only 18% would have done it.

These same tendencies are observed as concerns the level of education. Thus, among respondents with higher education almost a third (31%) would have lived their lives in the same way. In turn, among respondents with secondary education, less than a quarter (21%) would have done it.

33% of respondents who feel happy would have lived their lives in the same way. More than three times less (9%) - among respondents, who feel unhappy.

The target audience of the research: the population of Ukraine aged from 18 and older. Optional quantity: 2000 respondents. The methods of investigation: personal formalized interview according to the questionnaire (face to face). Measure of inaccuracy for the values close to 50% is less than 3%, for the values close to 30% – less than 2,6%, for the values close to 10% – less than 1,8. The period of completion: 4-11 of October 2010.

The oblast’ distribution:

West: Volyns’ka, Transcarpathia, Ivano–Frankivs’ka, L’vivs’ka, Rivnens’ka, Ternopil’s’ka, Chernivets’ka.
Centre: Vinnyts’ka, Kirovograds’ka, Poltavs’ka, Khmel’nyts’ka, Cherkas’ka.
North: Kyiv, Kyivs’ka, Zhytomyrs’ka, Sums’ka, Chernihivs’ka.
South: AR Crimea, Odes’ka, Khersons’ka, Mykolaivs’ka, Sevastopol
East: Dnipropetrovs’ka, Zaporiz’ka, Kharkivs’ka.
Donbass: Donets’ka, Luhans’ka.

Other research: