Anxiety and Social Change

The purpose of the study: a comparative study of the correlation between the level of social anxiety, and some of the economic characteristics of the countries.

Indicators: the level of anxiety (Q83-Q84 – EVS), the level of happiness (Q3 – EVS), the level of social activity (Q5aA-N – EVS), human development index and human development rates.

High growth rates of human development level positively correlate with increased level of anxiety (0, 76) and negatively correlate with the level of happiness (-0, 51) and the level of social activity (-0, 57).

Low growth human development index are accompanied by reduced anxiety (-0, 88), high level of social activity (0, 81) and feeling of happiness (0, 71).

Negative emotions can be an important regulator of social activity. It is necessary to distinguish between the qualities of negative emotions. For example, the decrease in activity occurs in depression. Anxiety is accompanied by disappearing of emotions, interest loss, and energy reduction.

Anxiety stimulates social activity, makes people more susceptible towards, first, to social innovation, and secondly, to social dysfunction. High innovative activity leads to a more rapid pace of economic and social development of the country.