Structural and dynamic peculiarities of the sense of ownership experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine

Abstract

The article contains the results of empirical studyof structural-dynamic peculiarities of the sense of ownershipexperiencing under the conditions of COVID-19quarantine restrictions, which aimed at identifyingand comparison of the peculiarities of how individualsexperience a sense of ownership towards variousproperty targets during the quarantine restrictionsand after some time of the restriction lifting. The paperalso addressed the identification of such structural-dynamic peculiarities in terms of age and genderof the respondents. There was also an attempt to findthe connection between the manifestation of the senseof ownership during the quarantine in various domainsand the level of psychological wellbeing of the population.The research method was based on a two-phaseonline survey: 1) May 2020 (the period of increased quarantine restrictions and aggravation of psychologicalexperiences in humans); 2) July 2020 (a month afterthe restrictions had decreased) among 363 individuals,41.8% male and 58.2% female. The questionnaireincluded open questions, as well as metric scales thatrelated to the peculiarities of the sense of ownershipexperiencing during the quarantine, and standardizedPsychological Wellbeing Scale. The desire to own a vehiclewas the primary one, especially among females, whichrelated to substantially low rate of females who owneda car. In addition, the findings indicate that another primaryconcern was to possess enough funds and financial‘safety bag’ to have opportunities to overcomethe uneasy period together with the risk to lose job orincome. In order to find other resources for stabilizationand safety, the attention of the population was refocusedat the targets of ownership which they still were able tocontrol, including body care and physical exercises, workor learning area management, creation and personalizationof leisure environment and solitude. In addition,there was a rethinking of the value of costly things thatlost their actuality and meaningfulness, as well as socialcontacts, including close people, the meaningfulnesshas substantially increased and stayed at the same leveleven after the quarantine restrictions had been lifted. Itcan be observed that unstable periods in society, such aspandemic and quarantine restrictions, create conditionsfor restructuring of the basic sense of personality safety.