Nearly half or 45% of adult Filipinos expressed optimism about the improvement in their quality of life over the next 12 months, SWS revealed in their recent national Social Weather Survey conducted from March 26 to 29, 2023.
These individuals are classified as "Optimists."
On the other hand, 42% believed their quality of life would remain the same ("No Change"), while 6% expected it to worsen ("Pessimists"). The remaining 7% did not respond.
The survey yielded a Net Personal Optimism score of +38 — classified as "very high" based on the SWS classification scale.
However, this score was 6 points lower than the excellent +44 score recorded in December 2022.
The overall 6-point decrease in the national Net Personal Optimism score between December 2022 and March 2023 can be attributed to declines in all areas.
In Balance Luzon, the score dropped from excellent (+43) to very high (+37), a decrease of 6 points.
Similarly, the score fell from very high (+37) to high (+27) in the Visayas, registering a decrease of 10 points.
However, the score remained excellent in Metro Manila, albeit with a 4-point decrease from +49 to +45. In Mindanao, the score stayed excellent, hardly moving from +48 to +47.
Optimism across education levels
Examining Net Personal Optimism across different education levels revealed interesting patterns.
Among those who graduated from college or pursued post-graduate studies, the score remained excellent, although with a decline from +52 to +45.
Similarly, it stayed excellent among individuals who completed junior high school, had some vocational schooling, finished senior high school, completed vocational school, or attended some college, with a slight decrease from +46 to +42.
However, among those who finished elementary school or had some high school education, the score fell from excellent to very high, declining from +40 to +35.
Optimism among self-rated not poor
The survey additionally examined the respondents' self-ratings in terms of poverty.
It revealed that 51% of Filipino families rated themselves as "Mahirap" or Poor, 30% as "Borderline" (placing themselves on the line between Poor and Not Poor), and 19% as "Hindi Mahirap" or Not Poor.
Net Personal Optimism was highest among adults from families who considered themselves Not Poor, with an excellent score of +50.
Among individuals from families who considered themselves Borderline Poor, the score was still high at +42. However, among those from families who considered themselves Poor, the score was lower but still very high at +32.
The SWS's 2023 First Quarter Survey gathered insights from 1,200 respondents and carries a margin of error of +/- 2.8 percent.
