Dr Volodymyr Vakhitov
Director of the Institute for Behavioral Studies at American University Kyiv and Associate Professor at AUK
Dr Vakhitov is Director of the Institute for Behavioral Studies at American University Kyiv and Associate Professor at AUK.
He is interested in the motifs and incentives that drive people's movements during wartime. In particular, why people leave or refuse to leave dangerous areas, how they choose a particular destination (within their region, inside the country, or abroad), and under what conditions they consider returning back home. Also, what is "home" for those whose home was destroyed or when they incurred other war-related losses (the loss of property or the life of someone close and important to them)? Another topic relates to perceived stigmas in the realm of mental health of various groups of people - soldiers, veterans, KIA/MIA and their family members, IDPs, refugees, etc.
The Institute for Behavioral Studies at AUK now have several directions of research related to Ukraine:
1. People movement. Why people stay, leave and return home during war-time?
2. Attitudes and stigma about mental healthcare. Why people avoid psychological help even if they need it?
3. The impact of the international aid programs and the long-term behavioural changes of small farmers. We study the effect of USAID AGRO program on farmers' behaviour (risk attitudes, cooperative behaviour, reciprocity, etc.) and their surrounding (the ripple effect of the program).