Russia’s invasion of Ukraine swept through Europe like a psychological shock wave
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused a sharp drop in the well-being of Europeans. This week, 50 international researchers published those results in the journal Nature Communications. “It seems that the outbreak of a major war leads to psychological damage, even in countries not directly involved.”
On February 24th, 2022, Europe woke up to the news that Russia had invaded Ukraine. For the next few weeks, that news caused a collective decline in the mental well-being of Europeans, regardless of their personality, age, gender, or political preferences, is the conclusion of 50 international researchers, including UvA professor and psychologist Martin Obschonka.
It was only by chance that the researchers were able to measure the effect. The research team was working during the outbreak of war in Ukraine on a global study of the effects of the corona pandemic. Participants from 40 countries gave the researchers daily updates on their mental well-being.
How did Europeans feel in the weeks following the outbreak of war in Ukraine?
“Uneasy, unsafe and anxious. Some worried a lot, others felt gloomy or depressed. In a non-clinical sense, we looked at daily moods and charted the extent to which negative and positive emotions occurred. Participants still went to work and their lives went on. Compared to tragic life events such as grief and disability, the declines in mental well-being during the outbreak of war were much smaller.”
Was this drop in mood among Europeans also due to the outbreak of war?
“We looked at coverage of the war on social media. We observed a correlation (covariance) between coverage of the war on Twitter and people’s well-being: The more coverage there was, the lower the well-being. Therefore, we think the only logical explanation for the decline is the outbreak of war. We also found that the collective psychological impact of that event was much stronger than the impact of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster or corona lockdowns.”
How do you explain that?
“We can only speculate. After all, we haven’t looked at how the psychological effects came about, only established that they are there. You can compare the range of shock waves, but that does not yet answer the question of why one is larger than the other. New research is needed for that. We do know that Russia is a superpower and that the attack on a large country like Ukraine shocked many people in Europe. Also, the attack came as a surprise to many.”
The war in Israel-Palestine is also widely reported on (social) media. What mental impact does that have, do you expect?
“I can’t say anything about that, because we don’t have any data on that. However, our study does seem to imply that the outbreak of a major war has a large, tangible effect, even in countries that are not directly involved. But more research is needed to substantiate that.”
Why is it important to research the mental damage of surrounding countries? Compared to the losses experienced by the warring countries themselves, surely this is a trifle?
“Of course, the suffering in the countries themselves cannot be compared, and that is of course the most important issue. But beyond that, it is indeed interesting to discover that—in addition to the economic, political, and social consequences—a war can also inflict measurable, collective psychological damage on countries not directly involved in the war, even for policymakers. Although damage is perhaps the wrong word. You could also call it empathy. People sympathize with the affected countries, and this directly affects their own well-being.”
Are there also positive consequences of Europeans’ empathy?
“Certainly. The compassion of people makes the effect of war tangible in surrounding countries as well. It changes people’s behavior which leads to more aid, more donations, and more openness to refugees and demonstrations.”
