Individual and family effects of existential insecurity in Serbia

The subject of this research project is the impact of existential insecurity on the psycho-physical health of individuals and families, including resources needed in coping processes. Existential insecurity is defined as a state of general insecurity that stems from one’s insecure professional status, social discrimination, poverty, and deteriorated familial relationships. The mechanism of effects of existential insecurity on individual/family wellbeing will be determined by the model of psychosocial stress. Research objectives of this project include the following four categories: 1) exploration goals, 2) the examination of differences according to distress between existentially vulnerable and non-vulnerable individuals and families, 3) the analysis of the relationship between experiencing existential threat and adjusting to such a threat, 4) objectives related to adjustment changes in the non-normative transition points that are important for the functioning of existentially vulnerable groups. Expected results will provide an insight into the quality and intensity of measured stressful events, resources and coping strategies, as well as into the general quality of adaptation of individuals and families to these events. The results are expected to describe the whole process of stress caused by existential insecurity, its indicators and factors, as well as state of the psychophysical health of existentially vulnerable individuals and families.