ABSTRACT
This article presents findings about the impact of the first Covid‐related lockdown on the face‐to‐face (FTF) interpersonal contact networks of the Hungarian adult population. Our primary objective is to understand how the size, composition, and quality of such networks have changed. We base our analysis on the contact‐diary method. Our data were collected from two representative surveys of the Hungarian adult population: one in 2015 (N = 372) and one in May 2020 (N = 1001) during the first wave of the Covid‐19 epidemic. No decline in the overall bonding social capital can be detected;however, social isolation has increased. A restructuring has occurred: a considerable increase manifests in the proportion of kin ties, especially children, and a decrease in the importance of non‐kin ties, with a particularly sharp decline in friendships. FTF contacts indicate an increased emotional intensity (except for non‐kin, non‐household members) and an increase in the length of conversations, but there is a decrease in the frequency of meeting alters. The changes wrought different effects on different age groups, with the restrictions most negatively affecting the size of FTF contact networks for respondents aged 60 years or older. Our findings point to the stability and resilience of close family relations, yet the doubling of social isolation as early as May 2020 underlines fears about the pandemic's potentially detrimental effects on social connectedness. The decline in friendship ties (and most probably in other weak ties) may lead to a reduction not only in the amount and scope of accessible social capital but also to a weakening social integration. © 2023 by the author(s);licensee Cogitatio (Lisbon, Portugal). This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY).
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Covid-19-pandemic is likely to have a substantial and long-term effect on the mental health of the adult Hungarian population. Objective(s): To investigate the self-reported change of loneliness, change in well-being, and change in the numbers of significant others due to Covid-19-pandemic. Method(s): Computer-assisted web interviewing is being conducted. Survey design uses a multistaged sampling and iterative weighting algorithm, both based on the 2016 Hungarian micro census. The sample can be considered representative for age, gender, educational attainment, region, and size of the settlement. Continuous variables will be tested for normality of distribution using the Shapiro-Wilk, and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests. To check the comparability of the two groups, the Mann-Whitney U tests will be applied. The crosstabulation Pearson chi-square and Fisher's exact tests will be performed to assess the association between categorical variables. Twosample Z-tests will be applied to evaluate the difference between the proportions of the two groups. Multivariable logistic regression models will be also applied to understand the association between the direction of change and sociodemographic variables. Result(s): The survey is currently being conducted;results shall be presented at the conference. Conclusion(s): The survey is currently being conducted;results and conclusions shall be presented at the conference.