Social anxiety of the Russian population: types and risk groups (based on the materials of the all‐Russian population surveys 2021–2022)

Aim. To verify the segmentation of all‐Russian anxiety by means of sociological tools, identifying the main risk groups. The time frame of the study was set for 2021–2022, a period of high concentration of social, economic and political factors that negatively affect the components of social well‐being. The empirical basis of the study was the results of a series of measurements of anxiety published in the public domain (data from the All‐Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion). The results of the analysis make it possible to identify the types of anxiety and their corresponding risk groups. The first type is consistently highly anxious: women, Russians of pre‐retirement and retirement age, with secondary general education, low‐income groups of the population, that is, the least protected cohorts. The second group is unstable, highly anxious (more sensitive to social triggers): Russians aged 35–44 years, groups with a low level of education, the unemployed, employees of the non‐profit sector, residents of cities with a population of 100 to 500 thousand people. The third group is people with unstable anxiety. They have a wider range of adaptation practices, which allows them to “equalize” indicators of social well‐being (young people 25–34 years old, Russians with higher education, state and municipal employees, unskilled workers, businessmen and businesswomen, students, middle‐income segments of the population, residents of millionaires‐plus cities and capitals). Results. According to the measurement results, fewer stable calm groups of the population can be identified than anxious ones. All this allows us to say that in 2021–2022 anxiety was typical for the majority of Russians, which indicates their vulnerability to macrosocial challenges.