Samira worries about crime rates; she goes out with just enough to spend, she no longer wears jewelry or a watch, and she avoids coming home at night. Fabricio is uneasy because he can’t get a job and, therefore, doesn’t generate income. While Pía does not stop thinking that at some point her health could be compromised by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although the problems are different, everyone loses sleep over worry.
A study carried out by the Click Report pollster shows six problems that do not let Ecuadorians sleep; most cheap.
26.25% of the 760 respondents mention that the high cost of living and economic problems keep them awake at night. Also to the segment 36 to 50 years affects him more (30.13%), followed by the over 51 years old (27.55%) and under 35 years old (23.50%).
For him Economist Hector Delgado, the concern is more accentuated from 36 to 50 years old, because at this age a family is already formed and they have to contemplate expenses in education, food, housing, among others.
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Young people have less impact in this range and, according to Delgado, it is due to a decrease in responsibilities. The high cost of living afflicts women more than men, according to the survey.
The second problem is delinquency, with 24.44%. And only 0.53% separates men and women, which means the impact is almost on par.
“Crime in previous years was not the second problem. It has beaten the pandemic, but this has economic consequences,” says Delgado.
For example, if a citizen is concerned about insecurity and chooses not to go out and not consume, it will be the businesses that will see that impact.
“Is a delicate topic. There will also be people who no longer want to invest”, points out the economist.
The pandemic and unemployment are other problems that do not allow Ecuadorians to rest. In the case of the pandemic, people between 18 and 35 years of age (19.32%) are more concerned, especially women in Quito.
The psychologist Suelyng Layman think that this factor arises not only for health care, but for other reasons linked to COVID-19, such as increased spending in case of contagion.
| Problems | % | Quito | Guayaquil | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High cost of living / financial problems | 26.25% | 25.83% | 26.67% | 25.08% | 27.10% |
| crime / insecurity | 24.44% | 20.83% | 28.06% | 24.75% | 24.22% |
| Pandemic | 16.67% | 20.56% | 12.78% | 16.50% | 16.79% |
| I have no job | 16.25% | fifteen % | 17.50% | 19.47% | 13.91% |
| Health problems | 9.44% | 10% | 8.89% | 8.58% | 10.07% |
| Family problems | 6.94% | 7.78% | 6.11% | 5.61% | 7.91% |
“This is real, because if there is a regrowth, we think that we will return to what was before: that everything is closed, there will be layoffs, that we will have instability. So, there are many more difficulties than before due to the regrowth and it generates instability in the jobs. Then, people begin to feel anxiety, because that present falters”, he indicates.
While, not having a job is the fourth problem that does not let citizens sleep, with 16.67%. And it falls more on men over 51, with 27.55%.
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Delgado maintains that this segment has the greatest impact as they are laid off from the pandemic, who until now have not been able to get a job and come with a non-permanent income mechanism.
“As age goes by, this problem is a little more accentuated,” he emphasizes.
In this aspect, 15% are focused on Quito and 17.50% on Guayaquil.
Roberto Beltrán, holder of the UNESCO chair of Culture and Education for Peace at the Private Technical University of Loja, thinks that this list of problems, between financial and family, is very serious.
“All this dynamic must be understood as a serious and serious mental health problem. If we don’t attend to it, it generates affectations of all kinds in the psychic, emotional, in the families, in the economic”, he explains.
It adds, for example, that more sources of employment would decrease that indicator (16.25%) as long as that job is of good quality. This also alleviates the cost of living.
Meanwhile, there are other problems that are below 10%, such as health in general (9.44%) and relatives (6.94%). In this last particularity, women from Quito between 36 and 50 years of age are the ones who have the greatest concern.
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Layman mentions that family problems can arise due to economic and emotional factors, among others. She advises, regardless of the problem, to analyze if what I am going through is a problem, how I solve it and plan it.
“You don’t have to constantly focus on the problem,” he says. And it exemplifies, in the economic case, that if a person has their income compromised, then the main thing is to carry out financial planning, make adjustments and dialogue with their family nucleus.
“We need order and planning to avoid getting to the point of not falling asleep, which also affects us,” he recommends. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
