‘Hope Barometer’ to measure our enthusiasm for 2015

Do you have high hopes for the coming year? A new survey will seek to suss out just how ‘hopeful’ Maltese people are feeling about 2015, with the aim of fostering a more positive and constructive worldview.

Taking its starting point from an international initiative originating in Switzerland, the Centre for Resilience and Socio-Emotional Health at the University of Malta is currently conducting a study on “the Maltese people’s hopes, wishes and expectations for 2015”.

Far from fanning mawkish clichés about ‘positive thinking’, the study will seek to quantify the country’s hope for the future, in an attempt to remind people that hope is a key aspect of our everyday psychological wellbeing.

Presented in an online questionnaire on www.hope2015.ch, the ‘Hope Barometer’ will seek to “explore the hopes of individuals across various aspects of their life, including family and relationships, work, the economy, national politics, religion and spirituality, and climate and the environment”, and will be timed to coincide with the New Year celebrations, traditionally a time associated with ‘new beginnings’ and hope for the future.

Forming part of an umbrella research network led by the University of St Gallen in Switzerland and Swissfuture, and which includes Austria, Czech Republic, France, Norway and Switzerland, the Maltese faction of this initiative is spearheaded by Prof Carmel Cefai, director of the Centre for Resilience and Socio-Emotional Health.

“It is important not to lose hope in difficult and challenging situations, as a sense of hopelessness does not only deplete one’s resources to deal with challenges, but may lead to more serious psychological difficulties,” Cefai, who is also the head of the Department of Psychology at the University of Malta, said.

Cefai pointed out that researching into ways of fostering hope serves as an overarching psychological exercise, and forms part of a “movement in psychology for the promotion of the positive development”.

“Hope is one of the key psychological resources in this process, giving one the strength to face the social and economic challenges one is set to face in today’s society,” Cefai said, citing a recent global event.

“This is particularly relevant in view of the economic winter which swept across the European Union over the past few years, which had a consequent impact on the social fabric of families, communities and entire countries.”

Cefai stressed that the ‘Hope Barometer’ is designed to address key issues that affect Maltese life, since it incorporates “family and relationships, work, the economy, national politics, religion and spirituality, and climate and the environment”, adding that “rising stress levels” and environmental issues are likely to be key factors in how Maltese people respond to the survey.

“As a recent survey has shown, the environment has become one of the major sources of stress for the Maltese people, particularly the noise and dust from ever-sprouting building sites, while last week another survey reported that almost half of Maltese workers say that their stress levels have risen over the past year,” Cefai said.

However, Cefai is – appropriately – optimistic about how the Maltese will react to the survey, as recent findings have suggested that we may in fact be a more upbeat bunch than our European counterparts.

Cefai cites a Eurobarometer survey on public perceptions of science, research and innovation and the future, published last month, which reported that the Maltese, in contrast to other Europeans, are considerably more likely to believe that one’s actions and behaviour, as well as technological innovation, will have a positive impact on the future in such areas as job creation, health and education.

“Furthermore, the results of last year’s Hope survey in countries such as Switzerland and Germany, found that people in general tend to be more optimistic than pessimistic, particularly in relation to one’s personal life, but less optimistic in other areas towards the economy, politics, or the environment,” however adding that it’s worth remembering how “hope is something personal, depending on various individual and contextual factors”.

Asked whether the onslaught of negative international news we’ve been subjected to over the past year – ranging from the ebola crisis to the rise of the Islamic State – will have an impact on the kind of research the Hope Survey covers, Cefai thinks this is unlikely since these events occurred far from our shores.

“On the basis of the response to similar events in the past, in general most people tend to remain hopeful and optimistic in the face of negative events which happen far away from their personal environment. Bad news in the media may not have as much negative impact on the hope level of individual people. The picture is quite different, of course, when tragedy strikes at home,” Cefai said.

To contribute to the survey, log on to www.hope2015.ch by 30 November