Measuring Hope For The Future And Quality Of Life

New York, NY -- As the events of September 11 approach their one year anniversary, and with concern among nations over their economies and world events, a 12-country survey by Ipsos replicates and compares the findings of a survey conducted in the United States, Canada, Australia, the U.K., France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia, and the Ukraine, prior to the events of September 11, 2001. The resulting comparable findings examine citizens' ratings of their hope for the future (culminating in Ipsos's Hope Index, developed for and tracked in Ipsos's World Monitor) and perceived quality of life.

The most significant finding of the results is that despite a traumatic year for Americans, comparisons made with the survey results conducted pre-9/11 using the same questions and methodology show almost the identical findings in a post-9/11 environment.

The key highlights include:

• In terms of hope, Americans are the 12-country frontrunners (61% have the highest hopes for the future, defined as a "6" or "7" on a 7-point scale), despite the 9/11 trauma they endured just one year ago, ongoing speculation about being committed to another conflict in the Middle East, and a stagnant economy.
• Australians (45%), Canadians (43%), and Britons (42%) trail the Americans, but significantly outdistance the French (29%) and especially the Germans (15%).
• In Eastern Europe, roughly 4 in 10 Hungarians, Romanians, and Ukrainians are optimistic about the future ("6" or "7"), which is near the level of optimism among Canadians and Britons.
• By contrast, just 23% of Russians and 22% of Poles are hopeful about the future ("6" or "7"). However, this is still less despondent than Germans' predictions.

Quality of Life Assessed

• Americans indicate the highest levels of satisfaction in their quality of life compared to the other 11 countries surveyed: 64% give their current quality of life a "6" or "7" on a 7-point scale.
• Australians (58% highly satisfied), Britons (53% highly satisfied), and Canadians (45% highly satisfied) form the next-most satisfied tier.
• The French trail the surveyed Anglophone nationalities: 36% consider themselves highly satisfied.
• But Germans drop off in their assessments of quality of life to levels near the Eastern European range: only 28% are highly satisfied, with the Czechs next at 22%.
• Only 10% of Russians rate their quality of life highly, with less than 1 in 10 Hungarians, Poles, and Ukrainians indicating the same.

Key Findings in Comparing the Hope and Satisfaction Measurements Pre- and Post-9/11

• Measurements of both quality of life and the Hope Index in the United States taken before the 9/11 attacks (2nd Quarter, 2001) and after (2nd Quarter, 2002) show virtually the same results--the percentage-point differences are within the range of the margin of error.
• Stable majorities of Americans have been giving high marks to their standard of living and scoring high on the Hope Index since tracking began in 1997.
• Roughly half of Australians, Canadians, and Britons have, over the past 5 years of tracking, been giving their quality of life a "6" or a "7". In terms of hope, these nationalities have either remained constant or become slightly more optimistic.
• The French have reported moderately better ratings to their quality of life and hope for the future over the tracking period.
• The German population scores have tumbled since 1998 ("6" or 7" scores have dropped from 50% in 1998 to only 28% in 2002).
• The most significant change in the Hope Index tracking arises in Eastern Europe: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, and the Ukraine post notable upward momentum in terms of hope in this 2002 survey wave. The survey was taken just before flooding hit the area, however, which may have cast a pall on this increased optimism.

Hope Index Components

• "Over the next year, do you think your personal economic situation will improve, remain the same, or get worse?" (weight of 1)
• "All things considered, do you think you will be better off or worse off in 10 years than you are today?" (weight of 1.5)
• "All things considered, do you think your children will be better off or worse off than you?" (weight of 1.5)

Responses to the three questions are combined for each respondent to form an additive scale with a maximum value of 7 (i.e., very hopeful).

The Global Express Research Methodology:

These data were collected via the Ipsos Global Express, a quarterly international omnibus survey. Fieldwork was conducted between May 14 and June 10, 2002. Data are based on individual surveys taken with a random sampling of adults (18+) across 12 national markets. The target sample size in each country was 500, except for the United States where 1,000 interviews were conducted. Within each country, the survey results can be said to be within 177 4.5 percentage points of what they would have been had the entire adult population been surveyed; 177 3.1 percentage points for the 1,000 sample in the United States. In 11 of these 12 surveyed countries, the samples provide full national coverage. The data were collected via randomized telephone interviewing, except in Eastern Europe where door-to-door interviewing was used in five countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Ukraine). Door-to-door interviewing was also used in the non-national sample of Russia where the sample coverage was limited to the largest cities.

World Monitor is a syndicated reporting service covering international consumer trends and public opinion. It offers an extranet site, weekly alerts, and a quarterly report. For more information about World Monitor, contact Kiley Turner at 604.257.3200.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:

In Canada and International: John Wright Senior Vice-President Public Affairs Ipsos-Reid (416) 324-2900

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In the U.S.: Thomas Riehle President Ipsos-Reid US Public Affairs 202.463.7300 [email protected]