Study finds Hungarians pessimistic, adverse to challenges

A new study published on Thursday shows that Hungarians are distrustful, pessimistic, increasingly individualistic and try to avoid difficulties.

The study prepared by Semmelweis University's Behaviourism Department over the past three years showed that as many as 98 percent of Hungarians do not like challenges and try to avoid uncertainties. According to the writers, around 20 percent of the public need treatment against depression.

Married people in Hungary are generally happier and live longer than singles but many marriages become the source of additional stress, researcher Piroska Balog said. Many marriages come under threat by depression affecting one of the partners. Treatment, possibly in couple therapy, is also important for the children if they are present in the family, Balog said.

A representative study on the psycho-social conditions of Hungarian Roma found that a large proportion of Roma men aged over 40 were in "catastrophic" health, editor Maria Kopp said. One major source of stress in this group was unemployment and the inability to support their families, she added.

A poll prepared in 2006 showed that 85 percent of all Hungarians believed sufficient life conditions could only be achieved through the violation of law or regulations, Kopp said. Around 70 percent of people said they were unable to plan ahead and four out of five people said they had nothing to believe in, Kopp added.

• Email
• Save to My Caboodle