Socio-Psychological Online Survey of Ukrainian Forced Migrants in the First Months of the War in 2022: General Characteristics of the Study and Methodological Aspects of Data Collection on Facebook

Abstract

The unprecedented scale of Ukrainian military migration in 2022 raises the issue of creating effective programs of social and psychological assistance and facilitating the integration of forced migrants into host communities. This is impossible without knowledge of the specifics of modern Ukrainian migration and its features. Therefore, the author presents the organization of a multi-stage program of social and psychological research of Ukrainian refugees. The article presents the results of the first stage of this program. Its purpose was to describe the procedure of social and psychological online survey and to present a portrait of a Ukrainian refugee in the first months of the struggle against Russian aggression. The features of the socio-psychological online survey as a research method of data collection, as well as the advantages and limitations of its application in modern research are considered. The methodology and organization of the online survey in the social network Facebook are described. The process of development and content of the online questionnaire for the survey of Ukrainian refugees in the social network Facebook is presented. Based on the results of the analysis of the answers of 2049 respondents (women - 95.8%), the socio-demographic characteristics of the sample, the geographical distribution of Ukrainians by country of residence, their gender and social status, as well as the age and professional structure of respondents are determined. It was found that in the first months of the war, typical Ukrainian refugees were women of working age with higher education who went abroad with minor children. Most of the respondents went abroad from Kyiv and eastern regions of Ukraine to Germany, Poland, France. A problematic analysis of the peculiarities of Ukrainian migration in comparison with other military migration movements of recent years (its feminization, a significant proportion of children and able-bodied people with high career potential) is provided. The possible socio-psychological consequences for Ukraine and host countries and the related needs for the creation of socio-psychological support programs are also analyzed. The findings will be useful for organizations and professionals who provide assistance to Ukrainian refugees, as well as state institutions that develop short-term and long-term policy programs for Ukrainian refugees.