Profiles of Resources and Subjective Well-Being. A Comparative Study between Poles and Ukrainians Living in Poland

Magdalena Grabowska, University of Warsaw
Marcin Rzeszutek, University of Warsaw

Subjective well-being and stress are central aspects of human lives. These psychological states have been strongly affected in the case of Ukrainians since the outbreak of a full-scale war in 2022. However, this ongoing military conflict has also a spillover effect on the well-being of Poles due to the increased uncertainty and social challenges related to the rapid inflow of war refugees from Ukraine. This study aims to compare these two societies i.e., Poles and Ukrainians (migrants and war refugees) living in Poland regarding their levels of subjective well-being in the context of stress measured as the perceived losses and gains of the most important resources in life. We use data gathered in a survey study conducted in the first half of 2024. To explore the heterogeneity of resources between the studied populations, we use Latent Profile Analysis. Using this method allows us to distinguish various profiles of resources among respondents and compare their levels of various components of subjective well-being (i.e., life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect). Additionally, we construct a hierarchy of resources in the case of Poles and Ukrainian migrants in Poland, which provides valuable sociological insight into modern Polish and Ukrainian societies.

Keywords: Migrant Populations and Refugees, Comparative methods , Population, Shocks and Pandemics

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