Adult Filipinos hopeful than fearful for the new year — survey

A LARGE majority or 93% of surveyed adult Filipinos are entering the new year with more hope than fear, according to the Social Weather Stations (SWS).

Of the 1,400 respondents in the SWS non-commissioned poll taken December 12-16 poll, 93% of adults said they were entering 2022 with hope, while 7% with fear. 

Last year, those with hope was at 91% while in 2019 it was below 98%. 

The survey this year also showed that 65% of adults expected their Christmas to be happy, 8% expected it to be sad, while 22% were neutral. 

SWS conducted face-to-face and mobile interviews for their poll, which had an error margin of ± 2.6% for national percentages, and ±5.2% for Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, the Visayas, and Mindanao. 

The poll also indicated that hope for the coming year rose in all areas of the country except Mindanao. 

In Metro Manila, hope increased from 90 to 95%. In Balance, in Luzon, it rose from 92% to 93%, while in Visayas it rose from 88% to 90%. It remained at 93% in Mindanao.

When the SWS first conducted a survey about hope for the coming year in 2000, optimism was at 87%.

Survey questions included items about whether a person would welcome the new year with fear or with hope and if a person expects their Christmas to be happy or sad. The questionnaire was modeled after the yearly polls given by the Institut für Demoskopie Allensbach, a European research institute. — Jaspearl Emerald G. Tan