Search

Search Results

• Solidarity and autonomy in times of an epidemic

  47-73

  Domonkos Sik

  Views:

  45

  The paper seeks to answer the question: what patterns of solidarity and autonomy can be identified in the Hungarian context of late modernity. The specific difficulty of answering this question is that it refers to social structures, which are naturalized interpretations of reality, thus exist mostly at an unreflective, preintentional level. In order to address this difficulty, our research has considered the COVID epidemic as a natural experimental situation: while the paradoxes and distortions of solidarity and autonomy, are usually naturalized by the actors, during the COVID they become reflected. The first section of the paper develops theoretical idealtypes of autonomy and solidarity specialised to the Hungarian social historical context. Then, after a brief methodological overview, I will present different patterns of solidarity and autonomy in the form of case studies. In the final section, the general conclusions are drawn from these cases, while an attempt is made to answer the question: how do the actors cope with modernisation structures that narrow the space of solidarity and autonomy and are characterized by fundamental paradoxes?

• Peer support instead of community solidarity among people with psychiatric diagnosis: Examining an online, anonymous self-help website

  10-33

  Borbála Bányai

  Anna Légmán

  Views:

  58

  In our research, we examined the first social networking website in Hungary that was specifically and explicitly designed for people with mental health problems and their relatives, or for people interested in the topic. A unique feature is that in 2021, it will still be possible to register anonymously and post comments on the site. Our research explores the life situations of people diagnosed as psychiatrically ill based on the concept of the recovery model, and therefore a central question for us is how an online self-help, peer support group can contribute to the recovery of individuals. In addition, one of the main hypotheses of our research is that community solidarity towards people with a psychiatric diagnosis is very low at different levels of society, and therefore self-help and peer support, also provided by the site we are investigating, may be of particular importance for the people concerned. We assume that they are a group that is highly stigmatised and socially rejected. In the media they are typically either invisible or portrayed as violent, aggressive figures. The Covid19 epidemic situation has led to many people experiencing psychological difficulties because of quarantine or the long-term side effects of the virus itself, which have been thematised in the media, but we believe that the mechanisms of solidarity with those diagnosed as psychiatric patients have not fundamentally changed (see for example the first establishment of psychiatric hospital wards

• Visibility of marginalized social groups from a network perspective

  83-108

  László Vida

  Views:

  280

  The study examines the segregation of different marginalized social groups – ex-prisoners, gypsies, gays and lesbians, homeless people – and their visibility in society. Using a size generator network method, the study builds negative binomial models to compare the segregation of marginalized groups within a representative sample of 1000 people. The alpha value in these models indicates the level of overdispersion. According to the results, the level of segregation varies between the overall network and the trust network. Specifically, the level of segregation for gypsies is the lowest in the overall network, whereas in the trust network, it is the lowest for gays/lesbians. The segregation of homeless people is extremely high, which is due to the fact that they are confined to their own space. Individuals with low education, belonging to lower classes, living in villages have the smallest network size. However, they have the highest number of marginalized social group members. A smaller network is associated with lower levels of peer support. The lack of weak bonds makes the social network homophilic and „island-like” social exlusions are formed where poverty and vulnerability are typical.

• Reification, child protection in lock-ups

  34-46

  Andrea Rácz

  Views:

  82

  This paper examines how the child protection system can address the problems of children and young adults, compensate for childhood disadvantage and promote successful social integration. To what extent are the professional means available within the state structure to achieve all these goals - as declared in the Child Protection Act of 1997. The interpretation of solidarity as a value in child protection is clear, since child protection aims to improve the situation of families affected by child protection problems and to promote their healthy personal development. The study, based on interviews with professionals and experts and a short case study, draws attention to the shortcomings and limitations of the system.