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Nuclear Anxiety Amid the Russian-Ukrainian War 2022 (RUW-22): Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

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  • Abanoub Riad

    (Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Anton Drobov

    (Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Muhammad Abdullatif Alkasaby

    (Centre for Global Mental Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel St., London WC1E 7HT, UK)

  • Aleš Peřina

    (Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic)

  • Michal Koščík

    (Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic)

Abstract

Nuclear anxiety, which refers to the fear of nuclear war and its consequences, is expected to increase amid the Russian–Ukrainian War of 2022 (RUW-22). This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of nuclear anxiety and its associated variables among university students in the Czech Republic during the first weeks of RUW-22. A cross-sectional survey-based study was carried out from March–April 2022, utilizing a digital self-administered questionnaire (SAQ) to collect data from the target population. The SAQ consisted of multiple-choice items inquiring about demographic characteristics; generalized anxiety symptoms using generalized anxiety disorder-7 (GAD-7); depressive symptoms using patient health questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9); and attitudes towards civilian uses of nuclear power, and nuclear war-related anxiety. Of the 591 participating students, 67.7% were females, 68.2% were Czech nationals, and 61.8% followed the RUW-22 news at least once daily. The mean GAD-7 score of our participants was 7.86 ± 5.32 (0–21); and their mean PHQ-9 score was 8.66 ± 6.29 (0–27). Regarding the civilian uses of nuclear power, most participants agreed that nuclear power was safe (64.5%), denied being afraid that civilian use of nuclear power might deteriorate their health (79.7%), and thought that public acceptance was important for building new nuclear power plants (56.9%). About 42.1% and 45.5% of the participants reported feeling depressed at the possibility of nuclear war and agreed that the chances that there would be a nuclear war in their lifetime were very high, respectively. When asked about their preparedness measures during the previous four weeks, less than one quarter (23.9%) reported looking for recommendations for protection against nuclear accidents, and less than one-fifth (19.3%) were looking for the nearest bomb shelter. The depression about nuclear war possibility was positively and relatively strongly correlated with the level of “feeling concerned about the RUW-22” (rs = 0.401), and it was moderately correlated with GAD-7 (rs = 0.377) and PHQ-9 (rs = 0.274) scores and weakly correlated with RUW-2-related news-following frequency (rs = 0.196). Within the limitations of the present study, nuclear anxiety was common among Czech university students. Its associated factors may include but are not limited to the female gender; common psychological disorders such as generalized anxiety and depression; RUW-22-related news following-frequency; and the level of “feeling concerned”.

Suggested Citation

  • Abanoub Riad & Anton Drobov & Muhammad Abdullatif Alkasaby & Aleš Peřina & Michal Koščík, 2023. "Nuclear Anxiety Amid the Russian-Ukrainian War 2022 (RUW-22): Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-13, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:4:p:3551-:d:1071633
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Israa Baker & Nizar Marzouqa & Bashar Nafe’ Yaghi & Samer Osama Adawi & Shahd Yousef & Tayseer Nedal Sabooh & Nataly Mazen Salhab & Hiba Mahmoud Khrishi & Yahya Qabaja & Abanoub Riad & Elham Kateeb & , 2021. "The Impact of Information Sources on COVID-19-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) among University Students: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-18, November.
    2. Edyta Skwirczyńska & Mateusz Kozłowski & Katarzyna Nowak & Oskar Wróblewski & Agnieszka Sompolska-Rzechuła & Sebastian Kwiatkowski & Aneta Cymbaluk-Płoska, 2022. "Anxiety Assessment in Polish Students during the Russian–Ukrainian War," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-13, October.
    3. Abanoub Riad & Anton Drobov & Martin Krobot & Natália Antalová & Muhammad Abdullatif Alkasaby & Aleš Peřina & Michal Koščík, 2022. "Mental Health Burden of the Russian–Ukrainian War 2022 (RUW-22): Anxiety and Depression Levels among Young Adults in Central Europe," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-14, July.
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    1. Simone Persico, 2024. "Affective, defective, and infective narratives on social media about nuclear energy and atomic conflict during the 2022 Italian electoral campaign," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-14, December.

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