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Young people feel more stressed by Corona than old people

2020-09-30T18:44:46.420Z


A common misconception is that young people in particular would hardly worry about being infected with Covid-19. A worldwide survey comes to a different conclusion.


Icon: enlarge

Young people also say of themselves that they follow hygiene rules to contain the corona pandemic

Photo: FilippoBacci / Getty Images

The visitors to the Hamburg bar "Katzen" were evidently not afraid of an infection with the corona virus.

When the health department of the Hanseatic city tried to contact the guests after positive tests by the bartenders, around 100 people did not succeed.

They left incorrect contact details - and pretended to be Darth Vader, among other things.

Stories like these reinforce the impression that young people in particular are acting carelessly during the pandemic.

But an international online survey comes to a different conclusion.

The young in particular are concerned about the pandemic - and would be more willing than the older generation to give up part of their income to fight the virus.

Over the past six months, the authors of the "Life with Corona" survey collected data from around the world.

They see their survey as a first, global picture of the mood of the crisis.

Among other things, they asked the participants in their online survey what measures they took to protect themselves against the virus, how stressed they and their family members were in the pandemic, or how much they support the measures to contain the virus.

From a scientific point of view, such a survey has its pitfalls.

Although the scientists reached a large number of respondents, a total of 12,000 people from 130 countries took part in the survey.

But the participants are not representative of the general population: fewer old people than young people answered, blind people or people without smartphones are also excluded.

Age and gender are more important than where you live

Tilman Brück from the International Security and Development Center (ISDC) still believes that he can make general statements based on the survey.

"This crisis is not just a medical pandemic - it's also a social one," says Brück, who coordinated the study.

Usually he researches the effects of wars or natural disasters - now he wanted to know the consequences of the corona pandemic.

His findings: On the one hand, where they lived was not decisive for the answers of the study participants - more important factors were age or gender.

So there were more differences between the generations than between the inhabitants of France and Germany.

"A global pandemic obviously leads to global, human reactions," Brück concludes.

The second finding: the pandemic will keep the world busy for a long time.

Many people hoped that they could be done by next summer at the latest, so Brück.

"But as a crisis researcher, I can say: An event of this magnitude will certainly keep us busy for many years to come."

International study: Living with Corona

Who did the study? Up arrow Down arrow

The "Life with Corona" study was carried out by a team of scientists from around the world.

The following research institutes are involved:

  • ISDC - International Security and Development Center, Berlin, Germany

  • United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki, Finland

  • University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany

  • Leibniz Institute for Vegetable and Ornamental Plant Cultivation (IGZ), Großbeeren, Germany

  • Institute for Development Studies (IDS), Brighton, UK

How was the data collected? Up arrow Down arrow

The study data was collected over a period of six months between March 23 and September 15, 2020.

Almost 12,000 people from more than 130 countries took part in the online survey.

How meaningful are the results? Up arrow Down arrow

Online surveys have the advantage that scientists can reach a large number of participants with little financial means and in a short period of time - in this case 12,000 people around the world, which is quite a large sample.

Respondents did not receive any money or other incentives to participate in the study.

However, the method also excludes certain respondents: people without a smartphone or access to the Internet, for example.

The scientists still believe that their study can make general statements that give an overview of the mood in the corona crisis.

The results at a glance

Brück and his colleagues examined a total of six subject areas.

The analysis of the study focuses on the differences between the generations.

For participants over 45 years of age, the scientists no longer differentiated between different age groups.

It is therefore not possible to differentiate between responses from the age-related risk group.

According to the RKI, the risk of a severe course increases steadily from 50 to 60 years.

  • Stress:

    The study participants were asked to rate their current stress level on a scale from 1 to 10.

    The 36 to 45 year olds felt particularly stressed by the virus, with an average score of 5.76.

    But even in people 26 and over, the stress level was just below that.

    From the age of 45, however, concern about the virus decreased; on average, respondents gave a value of 5.09.

    There is only one issue that older people worry more than younger people: With age, fear for one's own health increases.

  • Preventive measures:

    wash hands, wear a mask, keep your distance - the study authors found only minor differences between the age groups in the measures to contain the pandemic.

    According to the survey, people aged 45 and over are most active in prevention, but the results show that "young people take their responsibility very seriously," the study says.

  • Behavior after the peak:

    what happens when the first wave is over?

    To answer this question, the scientists wanted to know from the participants how much they support measures against the virus.

    They compared this data with the deaths within a country that could be attributed to the virus.

    It turned out that the respondents generally supported the measures.

    However, this value fell when the number of new deaths also fell, meaning the first wave was over.

    According to Brück, this continues at a time when the situation is becoming more serious again.

  • Access to the vaccine:

    Most people want an even, global distribution of a vaccine.

    Only the USA is falling out of the grid: More respondents there were convinced that the population of their home country should be vaccinated first - and then the rest of the world could also get access to the vaccination.

  • Stop the pandemic:

    "The younger generation has their whole future to lose," says study coordinator Tilman Brück.

    Therefore, they are ready to make the biggest cuts when it comes to containing the coronavirus.

    This is also reflected in the results: Participants under the age of 25 stated that they would pay 35 percent of their annual income if this could stop the pandemic completely.

    This willingness decreases with age.

    People over 45 wanted to give up just under a quarter of their income.

    However, these results say nothing about how the respondents actually behaved if they had to forego their salary in real life.

    Therefore, this answer can rather be understood as an indication of the priority young people attach to solving the corona crisis.

  • Conflicts with family members:

    Families with children experience a significantly higher burden in the corona pandemic than childless couples - this should come as little surprise due to school and daycare closings.

    Respondents who only lived with one other person gave the conflict level an average of 3.4.

    If three or more people lived in the household, this value rose sharply.

    It appears to be the most stressful in families with six people (conflict level: 4.6).

    What is exciting, however, is that women perceived the tensions as greater overall.

    You are apparently bearing a particularly heavy burden in the corona crisis.

"The coronavirus has changed the lives and everyday lives of billions of people worldwide with unimagined power and speed," says Tilman Brück.

He would now like to continue the study - and expand it.

Brück reckons that the virus will keep the world busy for years - and hit particularly poor regions hard.

His goal: to win thousands more participants for the survey (you can take part in the study here).

Brück hopes to gain even better insight into the social consequences of a global pandemic of unknown proportions.

Icon: The mirror

Source: spiegel

All life articles on 2020-09-30

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