The Director of the Institute of Sociology of the NAS of Ukraine, Corresponding Member of the NAS of Ukraine Yevhen Holovakha in an interview with the "We-Ukraine" TV channel spoke about the moods and "resilience reserve" of Ukrainians in the fourth year of the full-scale Russian invasion (based on the results of the traditional annual institutional sociological monitoring "Ukrainian Society," conducted this year in October).
Answering a question about the limits of patience of Ukrainian society amid continuous Russian attacks aimed at destroying critical infrastructure, the scientist noted a paradox: in the first and most terrible winter of the full-scale invasion, sociological surveys recorded the best mass mood in the history of Ukraine. Yevhen Holovakha calls this amazing phenomenon shock euphoria and associates it with the victories of the Ukrainian army in the North and South of our country. Now everything is more complicated: there are brilliant Ukrainian operations and victories, especially in the drone war, but not everything is simple with ground operations and international support, and four years of continuous war are exhausting. Therefore, mass moods, as the scientist stated, have significantly worsened. At the same time, strangely enough, some assessments of the present compared to 2021 are better in some parameters. For example, this concerns the economic situation: if in 2021 Ukrainians rated it at 3.2 points on a 10-point scale (and in the 1990s – generally at 1.5 points), now this indicator has risen to 3.9. Despite all difficulties, losses, and destruction.
Touching on the topic of stress, which during continuous bombings of Ukraine and the difficult situation at the front has become a constant background of our lives, Corresponding Member of the NAS of Ukraine Yevhen Holovakha called prolonged stress especially dangerous. Last year's sociological survey showed that only 20% of respondents did not experience severe stress (distress) due to major life losses. Therefore, it can be predicted that this year it has not become easier, and Ukrainians experiencing distress now are noticeably more than the 14% who experienced it at the beginning of the 2020s.
As the scientist emphasized, besides the war, stress factors can also be considered fundamental changes in every sphere of state and social life of independent Ukraine. Therefore, in Yevhen Holovakha's opinion, Ukrainians' stress resilience is enviable: we bravely endure all the trials that have fallen on our difficult fate and have considerable adaptive potential. But it is not limitless, and positive events and news, spreading information about the heroism and successes of people thanks to whom Ukraine still holds and lives, can strengthen Ukrainians' adaptive resource.
Yevhen Holovakha also asserts that it is necessary to develop and expand the system of social and psychological assistance to those who need it. There are already many such people today, and after the war, their number will increase, for example, when our defenders who hold the front despite extreme exhaustion – physical and psychological – return home. Although, the scientist notes, much depends on the natural resilience of the psychotype of the individual. However, people must know that no one will be left alone. And this must be guaranteed by both the state and society.
Horizontal connections in society, manifestations of solidarity, including in the form of volunteering, which has become widespread in Ukraine, especially during the full-scale invasion, are also important.
The guest also commented on other current issues, illustrating them with materials from the latest sociological research.
Scientists of the Institute of Sociology of the NAS of Ukraine, as well as Ukrainian sociologists in general, continue to study social and psychological processes in our society, forming scientific foundations for political and managerial decision-making, as well as explaining to Ukrainians the complex processes of our present.
According to information from the Institute of Sociology of the NAS of Ukraine