Hope for peace: Perceived hope as a protective factor of mental health in the times of war in Ukraine
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | This study aimed to investigate the role of perceived hope in the levels of mental health and psychological distress associated with the armed conflict in Ukraine, elucidating its connections to attitudes towards peace and war. One thousand adult Czech respondents (51% female, mean age 45.3 years) completed an online anonymous questionnaire, including the Perceived Hope Scale, Mental Health Continuum Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, and Attitudes toward Peace and War Scale. Demographic data such as age, gender, level of education, and marital status were also collected. Over three-quarters of respondents perceived the effects of the war in Ukraine on their country, with almost 50% feeling personally threatened by the conflict. Nearly half of the respondents experienced increased stress and negative emotions, and most held pessimistic expectations about the socio-political situation's future development. Nevertheless, almost 75% of the participants remained hopeful. Correlation analysis indicated that a higher level of perceived hope positively correlated with positive mental health and attitudes toward peace, while negatively correlating with levels of anxiety and depression and attitudes toward war. Hope emerged as a significant predictor of positive mental health, associated with a more positive attitude toward peace than war. In conclusion, our findings underscore the pivotal role of perceived hope as a protective factor in mitigating the adverse impact of armed conflict on the mental health of the Central European population. The positive correlation between hope, positive mental health, and pro-peace attitudes highlights the importance of fostering hope as a targeted intervention for enhancing psychological resilience amidst ongoing crises. |