Survey: Slovaks Mostly Concerned with State of Economy

Kosice, April 27 (TASR) - According to the first results of an international survey project in which the Psychology Department of Pavol Jozef Safarik University (UPJS) in Kosice participated, 80 percent of Slovaks are concerned about the current state of the national economy, which has been affected by the outbreak of novel coronavirus. The project, named COVIDiSTRESS Global Survey, has been carried out under the auspices of Aarhus University in Denmark. It's aim is to map all the factors that can influence the human psyche and decision-making during the pandemic. The first phase of data collection in Slovakia was carried out before Easter. The survey was conducted on 446 Slovaks, of which 80 percent were women and 20 percent men. The average age was 40, and 74.3 percent of the respondents were employed, 10.6 percent were students and 8 percent pensioners. The results showed that the measures that have been implemented in Slovakia are considered as appropriate by 36.3 percent of the respondents, while 15.1 percent called them mild and 48.6 percent stated that there are too many of them. An important part of the survey was to find the reasons behind concerns over the current situation. While 80.4 percent said that the state of the national economy worries them, 73.2 percent were concerned due to a lack of knowledge about how long the measures will last. Another 72 percent fear that they or someone else they know might contract the virus and that they might have to go into hospital, or die. Approximately 58 percent are concerned about their incomes, and the same share is worried about a lack of job vacancies in the future. According to the researchers, it's surprising that only 20 percent of Slovaks are concerned by the fact that they can't attend religious masses and activities. "We can conclude that the respondents are predominantly worried about the economy, their incomes and their own and their relatives' health. They're also concerned about the lack of cultural and physical activities. Conversely, only a small percentage are worried because of a lack of knowledge regarding what to do in order to slow down the spread of the virus," stated member of the UPJS team Jana Nezkusilova. The Slovak team also analysed what helps people to deal with the unpleasant feelings provoked by the outbreak. Most of the respondents, i.e. 94.6 percent, stated that they cope with them via remote communication with family and friends. Religion provides respite for 41 percent, while the least-used strategy is playing computer games, as only 25 percent resort to gaming. zel/df