Psychological well-being in Europe after the outbreak of war in Ukraine

Scharbert, Julian; Humberg, Sarah; Kroencke, Lara; Reiter, Thomas; Sakel, Sophia; ter Horst, Julian; Utesch, Katharina; Gosling, Samuel D.; Harari, Gabriella; Matz, Sandra C.; Schoedel, Ramona; Stachl, Clemens; Aguilar, Natalia M. A.; Amante, Dayana; Aquino, Sibele D.; Bastias, Franco; Bornamanesh, Alireza; Bracegirdle, Chloe; Campos, Luís A. M.; Chauvin, Bruno; Coetzee, Nicoleen; Dorfman, Anna; dos Santos, Monika; El-Haddad, Rita W.; Fajkowska, Malgorzata; Göncü-Köse, Asli; Gnisci, Augusto; Hadjisolomou, Stavros; Hale, William W.; Katzir, Maayan; Khechuashvili, Lili; Kirchner-Häusler, Alexander; Kotzur, Patrick F.; Kritzler, Sarah; Lu, Jackson G.; Machado, Gustavo D. S.; Martskvishvili, Khatuna; Mottola, Francesca; Obschonka, Martin; Paolini, Stefania; Perugini, Marco; Rohmer, Odile; Saeedian, Yasser; Sergi, Ida; Shani, Maor; Skimina, Ewa; Smillie, Luke D.; Talaifar, Sanaz; Talhelm, Thomas; Tokat, Tülüce; Torres, Ana; Torres, Claudio V.; Van Assche, Jasper; Wei, Liuqing; Yalçın, Aslı;...

Abstract

The Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, has had devastating effects on the Ukrainian population and the global economy, environment, and political order. However, little is known about the psychological states surrounding the outbreak of war, particularly the mental well-being of individuals outside Ukraine. Here, we present a longitudinal experience-sampling study of a convenience sample from 17 European countries (total participants = 1,341, total assessments = 44,894, countries with >100 participants = 5) that allows us to track well-being levels across countries during the weeks surrounding the outbreak of war. Our data show a significant decline in well-being on the day of the Russian invasion. Recovery over the following weeks was associated with an individual’s personality but was not statistically significantly associated with their age, gender, subjective social status, and political orientation. In general, well-being was lower on days when the war was more salient on social media. Our results demonstrate the need to consider the psychological implications of the Russo-Ukrainian war next to its humanitarian, economic, and ecological consequences.

Citation

Scharbert, J., Humberg, S., Kroencke, L., Reiter, T., Sakel, S., ter Horst, J., Utesch, K., Gosling, S. D., Harari, G., Matz, S. C., Schoedel, R., Stachl, C., Aguilar, N. M. A., Amante, D., Aquino, S. D., Bastias, F., Bornamanesh, A., Bracegirdle, C., Campos, L. A. M., Chauvin, B., …Back, M. D. (2024). Psychological well-being in Europe after the outbreak of war in Ukraine. Nature Communications, 15(1), Article 1202. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-44693-6

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 21, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Feb 20, 2024
• Publication Date: Feb 20, 2024
• Deposit Date: Mar 11, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 11, 2024
• Journal: Nature Communications
• Electronic ISSN: 2041-1723
• Publisher: Nature Research
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: 1202
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-44693-6
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2276002