The main goal of the study was to make a subjective assessment of the social security of households during the coronavirus pandemic. In order to achieve this goal, a three-stage primary research ...based on the CAWI method (computer-assisted web interview) was conducted on households in Poland in April, June, and September 2020. The research used statistical methods of structure evaluation and the fuzzy TOPSIS method. It assessed the security of households and respondents’ subjective perceptions of the loss of financial stability, income, and employment, as well as presenting the deterioration of the situation of their households in the immediate future. The respondents also assessed the possible deterioration of the situation in Poland, the growth of poverty in families and unemployment in the immediate future. In addition, the respondents’ subjective assessments of the level of insecurity about the future of their households and the situation in Poland were quantified. One of the most important conclusions was the dichotomy in the respondents’ perceptions, as they assessed the situation of their households better than the situation in Poland. The research shows that in April 2020, i.e., at the first stage of the research, the respondents strongly felt that the financial situation of their households had deteriorated. In June 2020 (stage II) this perception weakened slightly because they may have considered the pandemic situation to be temporary. However, in September 2020 (stage III) the sense of the possible deterioration of their financial situation increased again due to the ongoing pandemic and its consequences.
The relevance of the study is due to the fact that the solution of the tasks facing the country is impossible without strengthening the role of the regions. Russia is characterized by deep ...differentiation of regions in terms of development level, which is due to the influence of natural and climatic conditions, uneven distribution of minerals, labor resources, external factors, etc. To these mentioned factors, another one was added – coronavirus. The purpose and objectives of the study are to determine the role and place of regions in their socio-economic situation, assessing them using the indicators used by the rating agency RIA Rating, taking into account modern challenges. The practical significance of the study is as follows. The concentration of competitive advantages in some regions and their lack in others, which depend on the population`s incomes, exacerbate social inequality. At the present stage of development, taking into account the changed economic situation in the world, the issues of economic security of the regions are of particular importance. The article provides ratings of Federal districts, regions by the level of their socio-economic situation for 2019 in comparison with 2018, for the 1st quarter, 9 months of 2020 in a pandemic.
Background
The development of children of parents who are experiencing mental health difficulties is a continuing cause of concern for professionals working in health, social care and education as ...well as policy makers. In light of this interest our study investigates the interplay between the mental health of mothers and fathers and family socioeconomic resources, and the impact for children’s cognitive and social development.
Methods
The study uses survey data from the Millennium Cohort Study linked with the Foundation Stage Profile assessment for children in the primary year of school in England between 2005 and 2006. The study includes 4,781 families from England where both parents’ mental health had been assessed using the Kessler 6 scale. Associations between parents’ mental health and children’s cognitive and social development were estimated using regression models. Multivariate models were used to explore the mediating role of the families’ socioeconomic resources. Gender interaction models were used to explore whether effects of parents’ mental health differ for girls and boys.
Results
The study finds lower attainment in communication, language and literacy, mathematical development and personal, social and emotional development among children whose parents were experiencing high levels of psychological distress. Parents’ age and qualifications and families’ socioeconomic resources strongly mediated the effects of parents’ psychological distress on children’s attainment, and although independent effects of mother’s mental health were maintained, effects of father’s mental health were not. Stronger effects of mothers’ mental health were found for boys than for girls.
Conclusions
These findings highlight the interplay between the mental health of parents, families’ socioeconomic resources and children’s development which speaks for the need for close integration of mental health and social interventions to improve the well being of families.
—
Against the backdrop of turning points in Russian history, the difficult path of the formation and development of Russian economic science is presented. The study of market economy problems is ...currently an important part of modern fundamental economic science. The issues of studying a market economy, including the problems of finding adaptive ways to smooth out market failures and form an effective competitive environment, are not only relevant from a scientific point of view, but also of an applied and practical nature.
In this paper, we analyse the responses of 450 students from Greece, Portugal and Italy, who were asked to assess the efficacy of 32 actions as reactions against the austerity measures implemented to ...deal with the financial and economic crisis. These actions were organized into six types by a principal component factor analysis, and were ranked as follows from the most effective to the least effective: protectionism, civic participation, political resistance to government measures, individual financial protection, economic resistance to government measures and violence. Results showed that Greek respondents, who were in the most difficult socioeconomic situation, viewed all types of actions, except civic participation and individual financial protection, as more effective than the other respondents did. Regression analyses revealed, however, that crisis-related variables, in particular the attribution of responsibility for the crisis to internal factors and not to the people, and individual-related variables, such as political orientation and the intensity of depressive feelings, were strong predictors of the assessment of the efficacy of actions, in addition to the socioeconomic situation of the countries.
Background: Physical growth of children and adolescents depends on the interaction of genetic and environmental factors e.g. diet and living conditions. Aim: We aim to discuss the influence of ...socioeconomic situation, using income inequality and GDP per capita as indicators, on body height, body weight and the variability of height and weight in infants and juveniles. Material and methods: We re-analyzed data from 439 growth studies on height and weight published during the last 35 years. We added year- and country-matched GDP per capita (in current US$) and the Gini coefficient for each study. The data were divided into two age groups: infants (age 2) and juveniles (age 7). We used Pearson correlation and principal component analysis to investigate the data. Results: Gini coefficient negatively correlated with body height and body weight in infants and juveniles. GDP per capita showed a positive correlation with height and weight in both age groups. In infants the standard deviation of height increases with increasing Gini coefficient. The opposite is true for juveniles. A correlation of weight variability and socioeconomic indicators is absent in infants. In juveniles the variability of weight increases with declining Gini coefficient and increasing logGDP per capita. Discussion: Poverty and income inequality are generally associated with poor growth in height and weight. The analysis of the within-population height and weight variations however, shows that the associations between wealth, income, and anthropométrie parameters are very complex and cannot be explained by common wisdom. They point towards an independent regulation of height and weight.
The paper reviews Russia’s experience in regional policy development since 1994. Comparison with foreign experience shows that this work has been quite successful, making it possible to reframe key ...objectives of state regional policy (including spatial justice and state integrity), define the related basic methods that are most effective in Russia’s context, and reconsider the socioeconomic geography of Russia from the perspective of regional policy. Nevertheless, no official document or legislation has yet been adopted to regulate this area. It is proposed to adapt regional policy to the diversity of Russia’s regions. It is suggested that this diversity can be described by the typology of federal subjects, which has been developed using one of the automatic classification algorithms with supervised learning based on the processing of 230 statistical indicators. The indicators are grouped according to four themes by the Delphi method: resources, population, economy, and finance. Nine types of regions are identified. Recommendations on specific kind of regional policy are made for each type.
The purpose of the present study was to gain a comprehensive view of the quality of life and socio-economic conditions in a more representative sample of patients with diastrophic dysplasia than ...previously presented.
The study sample comprised 115 patients with diastrophic dysplasia, aged over 18 years. The patients were contacted, and 68 patients (59%) agreed to participate in the study. They answered a structured questionnaire, which included the items of RAND-36 and Finn-Health Assessment Questionnaire (Finn-HAQ) questionnaires. The Finn-HAQ items were linked to the categories of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). Population controls for matching the participating patients for age and sex were identified in the Finnish population registry. Demographic and social factors (educational status, employment status and household income) were collected in separated questions.
RAND-36 showed significantly lower physical functioning in the group of diastrophic dysplasia patients than in the control group. Also, the differences in scores for energy and social functioning were significant. In the mental component scales, no significant difference was found between the groups. When compared with the controls, we found significantly lower levels in all 3 ICF components of functioning in the group of patients when Finn-MDHAQ items linked to ICF were used. Almost 75% of patients with diastrophic dysplasia belonged to the group of people with minor/low income. Some or clear worsening of economic situation due to diastrophic dysplasia was reported by 25 (58%) female and 17 (68%) male patients.
In their daily living, patients with diastrophic dysplasia have marked physical difficulties, which affect their quality of life, participation in society and their financial situation. It seems that the mental situation is not greatly affected, but a more detailed study is needed to evaluate and illuminate the psychological consequences of this severe skeletal dysplasia. Overall, the pieces of information in the present study are of high importance when designing and reorganizing rehabilitation and in supportive therapy and treatment of patients with diastrophic dysplasia.
Latest economic research has been overloaded with discussion of socio-economic crisis and its complexity, or even impossibility of rapid recovery. We have considered the state of environmental ...security of the region and the key factors affecting it. There are two main approaches to the assessment of the environmental security: an economic and geographical approach, and a geo-ecological approach. The first one suggests considering the environmental infrastructure as an object of the nature protection and restoration. The second approach implies that the environmental security is aimed at preserving the sustainability of environment. We view the environmental security both as one of 13 modules of socio-economic security, which is assessed using the said approaches, and as a basis for the normal living of population (with regard to the impact of environmental state deterioration). It is worth examining these changes under diagnostics of the crisis cycle "entry - process - recovery", taking into account several aspects of socio-economic situation development. We have calculated the "environmental security" module in comparison with general socio-economic security of the region using the example of six constituent entities of the Ural Federal District (UFD) for the period from 2000 to 2017. During that period, the regional economy faced several crises, and currently its state varies from a relatively grave pre-crisis stage to a crisis phase with multidirectional change vectors. We examine not only the change of the environmental security of the region, but also the ability of the economy itself to find the way to recover from the crisis. It is a mistake to rely exclusively on the territory self-development (applicable to self-development of environment), because the economic growth and getting on the trajectory of relatively normal development require much more investments than simple maintenance of the same level. Furthermore, we analyze potential changes in the environmental security depending on the selection of different scenarios of the regional economic development.
PDF
