Personality and Situational Determinants of Sustained Helping Towards Ukrainian War Refugees in 2022

Radosław Walczak,* Katarzyna Błońska,* Przemysław Zdybek,* Zofia Kardasz Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Opole, Opole, Poland*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Radosław Walczak, Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Opole, Staszic Square 1, 45– 052, Opole, Poland, Tel +48 77 4527370, Email [email protected]: The aim of the research was to determine the personality and situational predictors of helping behavior towards war refugees from Ukraine in 2022.Patients and Methods: A survey with repeated measurement was conducted, in which 720 people participated in the first date in March 2022 and in the next one in June 2022, n = 127. The study was conducted online, and the respondents were recruited through advertisements on websites and groups helping refugees. In the context of personality factors, five basic personality traits (IPIP-20), the degree of altruism (IPIP Altruism scale) and locus of control (Drwal’s Delta Scale), and trait anxiety (STAI) were measured. The main situational factors included the sense of threat of armed conflict (GAD-7), the level of state anxiety (STAI) and the amount of time spent following information about the war in the media. In addition, the level of social distance towards Russians and Ukrainians was measured (Bogardus Scale), and basic birth data were recorded.Results: Based on the above variables, a significant linear regression model was built, explaining more than half of the variance in the phenomenon of continuous helping. The important role of both personality factors – altruism, and situational factors such as state anxiety or social distance towards Russians was demonstrated. Moreover, people with a high level of altruism keep helping the refugees regardless of their level of feeling threatened after the war’s outbreak, while people with a lower level of altruism keep on helping only when their sense of threat is high.Conclusion: The level of altruism, perceived situational anxiety and attitude towards the aggressor (in this case Russia) are important factors supporting continuous helping refugees from Ukraine.Keywords: helping, altruism, fear, threat of war, war refugees