Czechs perceive price increases as biggest threat, but fears of migration have also increased, says sociologist
Inflation, man-made climate change, wars, and other global events have an understandable impact on people's mental health. What is the situation like in Czechia and what are Czechs most concerned about? A new study from PAQ Research has some of the answers.
Daniel Prokop, founder and sociologist of PAQ Research, spoke to Czech Radio about some of the ways global issues have exacerbated the mental health crisis in Czechia.
“In the first closure in April 2020 there was a large increase in people suffering from symptoms of depression and anxiety. It had risen to twenty percent. After that, every time pandemic restrictions caused economic closures, cases of depression increased. But interestingly, today it's back up to something like seventeen or eighteen percent.
“That’s because of the economy. Often the symptoms are reported by people who are affected or have been affected by the crisis or have a low-income. This problem is more stable now than it was then.
“It always went up, then it went down again when the economy opened up. During the pandemic, depressive symptoms were especially prominent among young people, because they had their lives changed the most and repeatedly because of the closures.”
The added problem is that Czechia spends a much smaller percentage of the health budget on treating depressive symptoms than is common in Western Europe, Mr. Prokop explains. There are fewer psychologists and psychiatrists, for example, especially in schools.
The mental health crisis also has significant impacts on the economy.
“Roughly sixteen percent of what are lost productive years of life are attributable to mental health-related illness. It then translates into your physical health, in your productivity, and in the economy. It's a thing that we've pretty much underestimated in the last ten years. I don't feel that the Department of Health or the Department of Education takes it as a major problem.”
Mental health problems have been increasing especially among people who are or have been significantly impacted by inflation. However, even with inflation under control, people report feeling overly anxious and depressed. This suggests that unpredictable events across the globe might be contributing as well, explains Mr. Prokop.
“We [as researchers] don't ask about the reasons, but it is clear that fear of migration, for example, has increased enormously. Thirty-seven percent of people rank migration among the top three global threats to Czechia. This is double the number of a few years ago. People may be reacting this way due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and/or the war in the Middle East, which is now escalating. And it is also often a media issue in the run-up to elections.
“There is an increase in fear of migration among all household groups. It's not that poorer people are afraid of competition in the labor market, for example. The increase goes across the board, suggesting that it is a fear of global risks.
“It is also a consequence of media coverage, which is sometimes overstated. I think some structured communication would help. And of course calming down the conflicts in the world, which contribute to large migration flows, would help since people are afraid of them.”
The data shows that the number of people who are worried about migration has been steadily increasing since May this year. Mr. Prokop touches on some of the reasons for this increase.
“One reason is that the competition from other risks is decreasing. People are less worried about the economy and they are starting to worry about other risks, which could be immigration, climate change, and so on.
“I think it's a reaction to the fact that the issue of migration is really spilling over into Czechia from Germany and Britain.
“At the same time, wars have led to waves of migration in the past, for example in Syria and now in the Middle East. And people are probably worried about these consequences.”
