News

Results of the special wave of the How are you, Slovakia? survey suggest that the majority of Slovakia's population is concerned about themselves and their loved ones in connection with the war in Ukraine. At the same time, people declare a high willingness to help Ukraine. Respondents who do not agree with Slovakia's membership in NATO declare less concern and less willingness to help Ukraine.

The How are you, Slovakia? project has been monitoring the attitudes of the population in Slovakia for a long time since the beginning of strict quarantine measures in March 2020. The surveys were initiated by the research company MNFORCE, the communication agency Seesame in cooperation with the Institute for Sociology SAS and the Institute for Research in Social Communication SAS. So far, they have carried out extensive surveys six times in 2020 and six times in 2021.

The special wave of the How are you, Slovakia? research took place from February 25 to March 1, 2022. The war in Ukraine began in the early morning hours of February 24 with the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops. Attacks on military and non-military targets and civilian casualties have been reported since the beginning of the invasion. Most of the Western world, as well as the European Union, has condemned Russia's aggression and imposed severe economic sanctions. Thousands of war refugees began to flow into Slovakia from the territory of Ukraine.

Fears of war and economic crisis

40.6 percent of respondents answered the question In the current situation, in connection with the war in Ukraine, do you have concerns about yourself and your loved ones that they were very worried about themselves and their loved ones, 40.2 percent of respondents said that they were a little worried and only 19.2 percent of respondents said that they have no worries. Women feel often more concerns. Respondents who disagree with our NATO membership are more likely to say that they have no concerns.

In the research, we also asked about specific facts that respondents may have concerns about in connection with the war in Ukraine. Respondents feel the greatest concern about the economic crisis as a result of the Russian Federation's attack on Ukraine (77.5% of responses on a scale 1 to 4 where 1 = very worried and 10 = not worried at all), of the outbreak of World War III (72.6%) and the spread of the war conflict in Ukraine to Slovakia (68.7%). Respondents are slightly less concerned about the arrival of refugees as a result of the Russian Federation's attack on Ukraine (53.9%).

In this case, too, women are more likely to raise greater concerns about the crisis, the spread of the conflict or the outbreak of World War III. On the contrary, even in this case, respondents who do not agree with our membership in NATO are more likely to answer that they are not concerned about the economic crisis, World War III or the spread of the conflict to Slovakia. At the same time, however, these respondents are more concerned about the arrival of refugees as a result of the Russian Federation army's attack on Ukraine.

Willingness to help

We also asked our respondents if and how they were willing to help Ukraine. Most respondents are willing to contribute material gifts (61.7% of "yes" and "definitely yes" answers) and food preparation and distribution (49.6%). The willingness to contribute financially (37.4%), to help as a volunteer in working with refugees (36.9%), and to help accommodate someone (26.3%) is slightly lower. Respondents who do not agree with Slovakia's membership in NATO declare their willingness to help in any form less often. Willingness to help is also related to how people perceive their subjective income situation. People who answer that it is difficult for them to make ends meet declare their willingness to help materially or financially less often, but they declare their willingness to help as volunteers when working with refugees more often.

A total of 22.8 percent of respondents answered "definitely yes" to at least one of the above options. This group of strongly willing to help includes younger people more often. Even in this case, people who do not agree with Slovakia's membership in NATO declare their willingness to help less often.

"Our research conducted in the first days after the Russian Federation's attack on Ukraine confirmed that concerns about the war in Ukraine are very high in Slovakia. The declared willingness to help Ukraine is also high. Concerns and willingness to help are most strongly related to respondents' geopolitical preferences. Respondents who say that they are and have always been against our membership in NATO declare lower fears and less willingness to help Ukraine,” Miloslav Bahna from the Institute for Sociology SAS comments on the research results.

Data from the How are you, Slovakia? research series will be available to the professional public in the Slovak Archive of Social Data in the long term, key findings are also available on the survey website.