The characteristics of social contact intensity, contact frequency and contact structure in Hungary in 2006 and 2015; A kapcsolatintenzitás, a kapcsolattartás gyakorisága és a kapcsolatstruktúra jellemzői 2006-ban és 2015-ben Magyarországon

In: Metszetek: társadalomtudományi folyóirat = Cross-Sections : social science journal, Band 10, Heft 4, S. 102-138

Abstract

The study aims at comparing the Hungarian results of the questions on the frequency of personal and distance contact with relatives and friends in the 2006 and 2015 ad hoc modules of EU-SILC. According to our results, in line with the findings of previous Hungarian research, compared to 2006, there were fewer contacts in Hungary in 2015. Relations with friends, especially those held in person, were less exposed to weakening compared to relations with relatives. Among the different social groups, the already disadvantaged were typically negatively affected by either the change in intensity or the structure of relationships. However, the situation of the elderly and the inhabitants of deprived households deteriorated in all three dimensions examined: their re­lations weakened more strongly, and those related to relatives and personal ones further narro­wed by 2015. This result indicates that the social disintegration of these groups has accelerated particularly between the two years, which poses a serious social policy challenge.