Helping foreigners has a positive impact on the psychological state of Russians, according to the press service of the National Research University Higher School of Economics. The finding reinforces a long-standing observation in psychology: extending help to others tends to lift the helper’s mood as well as assist those in need. The HSE study led by Ekaterina Nastina, from the Ronald Franklin Inglehart Comparative Social Research Laboratory, involved a broad survey of Russians and confirmed this beneficial link through public opinion data.
The research sample included 757 participants aged 20 to 75. Respondents completed the Ed Diener Life Satisfaction Test along with questions about how they helped others. The data showed that the average life satisfaction score was 3.66 on a five-point scale, with 55 percent of respondents saying they helped others often or very often. The average frequency of helping strangers stood at 2.72, while 15 percent reported that they helped strangers often or very often. Ekaterina Nastina notes that these patterns demonstrate a clear association between helping behavior and life satisfaction in the general population.
Further analysis indicated that individuals who assisted others more frequently reported higher life satisfaction, a trend observed in both men and women. While helping relatives appeared to have a stronger positive effect than helping strangers, the differences did not reach statistical significance. Importantly, there was no evidence that helping too frequently reduced life satisfaction. A notable age-related pattern emerged: younger people tended to experience greater life satisfaction from helping strangers, suggesting that giving support may play a crucial role for individuals forming their adult identities and seeking their place in life.
These findings align with a broader understanding across cultures that prosocial behavior fosters psychological well-being. In Canada and the United States, similar research highlights the value of community involvement, volunteering, and helping others as pathways to enhanced happiness and social connectedness. The Russian results echo this sentiment, indicating that generosity toward others is linked to a more positive sense of self and overall life contentment, regardless of gender. This supports the idea that prosocial actions contribute to a healthier mental state for a wide range of people, even in diverse social contexts.
In practical terms, the study suggests that encouraging acts of kindness and assistance within communities can yield benefits not only for recipients but also for those who give. For policymakers and institutions in North America, these insights reinforce the potential value of volunteer programs, community services, and social support networks as components of public well-being strategies. For individuals, engaging in helpful activities may offer a simple, accessible route to greater life satisfaction, especially during transitional life stages or periods of personal development.
The report also underscores that consistent support from relatives carries meaningful psychological rewards, while helping strangers remains a meaningful contributor to well-being as people navigate their sense of purpose and belonging. In essence, the act of giving, whether to family, friends, or strangers, often yields a reciprocal sense of fulfillment—one that can strengthen social bonds and foster a more resilient sense of well-being across populations.