VISIONS ANND DIVISIONS
The 5th Conference of the
European Sociological Association
Session: Sociology of Families and
Intimate Lives
August 28-September 1,
2001
Helsinki, Finland
Agnes UTASI
Social solidarity and integration in a
new market economy:
Aspects of confidential
relationships
( Paper to be presented at the
conference)
University of Szeged Department of
Sociology
Correspondence: Institute for Political
Science of the
Hungarian Academy of Sciences
H-1399 Budapest, Országház
u. 30.
Tel.: (361)3111420 / e-mail:UTASI@MTAPTI.HU
A growing number of people use the Internet on
regular basis and many of them have virtual friends and some of them have even
found real friends thanks to the web. Technical
advances like the emergence of the web, the ever growing popularity of
telephones, etc. might contribute to
strengthening relationships but are no substitutes for direct human contact. An
international survey conducted fifteen years ago on the relationship-networks
of seven countries showed that as regards keeping contact with parents and
friends on the phone Hungary was lagging far behind the other six countries in
the survey (ISSP, TÁRKI, 1986, N=10 700). In the aforementioned period only
10-12% of the population had a telephone line in Hungary. However the extent of
respondents regularly keeping in touch with their parents, that is visiting
them, was significantly higher than in countries better equipped in terms of telecommunication (Utasi, 1991).
Social integration is maintained first and foremost through real relationships, especially
through strong ties represented by regular visits and stays. A recent survey has provided further evidence for
this claim. In the survey respondents had fifteen different options
representing factors that help social integration, their task was to pick the
one they considered the most effective. The results showed that illness or
being disabled are the most important
reasons for isolation, lack of integration. According to the survey people
consider ’to have friends’ (89.2%)
and ’to have family and children’
(81.0%) the most important conditions of avoiding isolation. (EURÓPA 2000, BKE,
Házt. Kut. Csop. N=1500) This shows that an overwhelming majority of the respondents considered real
confidential strong relationships essential. While altruism and selflessness are fundamental conditions of
non-virtual relationships, these values
are supressed by the virulent tendencies of individualization, financial
growth, the never-ceasing competition for ’progress’ on the social ladder, the
meritocratic value-orientation urging ever-increasing performance.
Quality of life surveys dating from the 1960s and 1970s had
already established that human
relationships are essential constituents of ’well-being’, happiness and
satisfaction. At the same time both sociologists and demographers had noticed changes in the workings of relationships
(Allardt, E.,1975). Most hit by changes corresponding to the tendency of individualization and the spreading of civilization
were partnerships. The need for independence, for autonomy was on the rise and
consequently a growing number of people wanted to lead a life adapted to
individual needs and self-fulfillment.
The need for self-fulfillment together with growing financial autonomy and
independence stemming from civilizatory welfare disentangles first the
extra-familiar ties which rely on
self-imposed altruism and ’piety’. Most effected by this increased
need for self-fulfillment is the longevity of partnerships. The number of
marriages ending in divorce, the number of non-married couples living together
and the age of people getting married have all increased. (Cseh-Szombathy
L.,1994, Somlai, P., 1999, Tóth O., 1994 Pongrácz T.-né, 1994 S. Molnár E.,1997
Utasi Á.,1999, Szücs Z.,1999)
The
international relationship-survey conducted before the
political changes (in the
1980s) showed that in Hungary strong family-relation ties
have contributed to making a living and reaching financial security mainly by
means of instrumental motivation.
Cooperation within the family was intensive. Workplace and neighborhood
acquaintances were also sustained mainly by instrumental motivation. On the
other hand the number of respondents picking friends and especially close
friends from the options was very low. To sum up, in the 1980s social
solidarity and especially instrumental assistance was very well-sustained due
to the network of strong relationships whereas emotional and expressive
assistance was lagging far behind. (Angelusz-Tardos, 1988, Utasi, 1990, 1991).
The
Realignment of Interpersonal Relations in the Emerging Market Economy
Following the
political changes the rapidly growing prosperity of the higher
ranking, financially better
equipped social strata and the tendency for individualization together with the desire to get rich
inevitably led to a loosening of relations considered ‘uneconomic’ and also to
the upgrading of financially valuable relations. In the meantime as a reaction to the growing social financial inequalities there has
been an intensification of family ties among those lacking resources.
The new
emphasis on democracy, freedom and individual choice was reflected in the
growing significance of values such as autonomy, independence and respect for
others’ individuality. Whereas the importance of
respect for differences and the appreciation of individual performance was on
the rise, there was a
corresponding ebb of solidarity towards people lagging behind in this
new wealth-oriented society. The higher one gets on the social ladder, the
wealthier, the more competitive he is with a higher probability of
‘meritocratic success’, the less he inclines to accept that the state should
support those at the bottom end of the financial spectrum (e.g. people out of
job or students coming from low-income families) (Utasi, 2000). Meanwhile the trust in individual effort and achievement has intensified.
In the new
democratic political system criticism against the ‘regime’, the government and
state representatives is no longer prosecuted. Fear of
retaliation and its companion servile attitude towards power has declined. As a side-effect of this process the prestige of state authorities had eroded. Most spectacularly so in the case of offices and
authorities representing political ‘self-government’ and also for the
policy-making elite. Loyalty and trust towards them sharply declines. The
majority of Hungarians lost trust in their government and the Parliament.
Unfortunately the growing respect for individual rights and the rule of law in the new democracy had encouraged
criminal wrong-doing. Vandalism in the streets following political and sport events,
causing damage in public places had become frequent. Disorderliness and crime in general is
on the rise. As a counter-step the rich has moved from cities to suburban
districts and nearby villages. The most likely sights at weekends in city
centers, apart from tourists, are homeless people roving the streets with large
plastic bags containing all their belongings and a few well-dressed people
doing their best to ignore this unpleasant sight.
The past ten
years had seen the birth and proliferation of
‘security’ enterprises guarding the properties and belongings of the
‘privileged’. Rented flats
had given away to private flats and as these ‘private owners’ can’t afford to
employ ‘security men’ and receptionist there has been a boom on the market of
locks, steel bars and alarm-systems all unmistakable signs of the growing ‘mistrust towards others’ that coexists with the aforementioned ‘respect
for others’. These devices symbolize the fear of owners, the decline of trust
towards ‘others’. The growing untidiness in public places
further supports the feeling of lack of security, intensifies the isolation of
individuals thus undermining and damaging the cohesion of society and
correspondingly the extent of trust towards ‘others’.
The nuclearization of families signals the decline of
socially integrative strong relationships. Less and less people feel obliged to sustain broken
marriages. The growing need for autonomy transforms the traditional
institutions of marriage and family. People are more
likely to follow their individual judgments and thus ending imperfect relations
to give way to new relations.
Divorce has always been an accepted reality and the extent of marriages ending
in divorce was high but recently there is a new tendency of couples living together without getting married and consequently an
increase in the number of children born out of marital ties (though some of these couples get married
after their child is born) (Szücs Z., 1999). The growing number of couples
living in permanent relationships without being married and the postponement of
marriage shows a reluctance to enter into lifelong, i.e. ‘eternal’ bonds in
preference of partnerships demanding a lower level of altruism and sharing.
The
Decrease of Trust Towards ‘Others’ and the Growing Importance of Confidential
Strong Relationships
Contrary to the
above described tendencies it would be a mistake to assume that in
post-communist Hungary disorderliness, crime, untidiness, lack of trust and the
decrease of strong relationships are more pressing problems than in the
established democracies of the West. International surveys have shown that in
modern democratic societies based on economic rationality the process of
individualization led to similar changes over the past decade with the
exception a few Asian democracies (Fukuyama, 2000). It remains to be seen
whether the changes induced by the democratic and economic changes in Hungary
should be regarded as part of this general tendency or specific to Hungary and
if so in what degree.
As we have
indicated traditional relationships 15 years ago were still based on trust and
their operation was intense and wide in its scope. The trust that supported
economic corporation reached beyond the circle of relatives and friends to that
of colleagues and neighbours (Utasi, 1988, Sik E., 1988). However this trust has gradually eroded and its scope is now limited
to a much smaller circle -- matters of confidence are increasingly kept and
discussed within the closer circle of the family which even excludes further
relatives (Utasi, 1994). Many
interpreted these changes as a consequence of the anti-religious policy of the
Communist regime that undermined all tradition and the traditional values of
communities. While not denying that traditional social values are losing ground,
it is to be pointed out that the ebb of trust and the corresponding weakening
of social integration should be explained in a wider context of contributing
factors. The findings of empirical surveys show that social integration based
on traditional community values was still largely operational in the days of
Communism. It was not before the introduction of market economy that
instrumental cooperation and ‘naive piety’ that characterizes traditional
communities were radically pushed in the background (Weber, M., 1982), whereas
the need for the meritocratic appreciation of performance, individual ambitions
and achievements has intensified. One of the main reasons for these changes was
the acceptance of the radical shift towards social inequalities by the elite
and its endorsement by labeling it a ‘transient’ phenomenon that is a necessary
prerequisite of the ‘financial strengthening of the middle-classes’. The
difference in average wages between the upper 10% and the bottom 10% was 380%
in 1982, this inequality rose to 730% in 1994 which represents a doubling of
the difference (Andorka, R., 1996, Ferge, Zs., 2000). By adopting this practice
the governments gave priority to the further gain in prosperity of the
well-to-do and letting the cohesion and integration of the majority fall, thus
further increasing the inequalities.
The aim of the
present study is to unravel the ways in which the mentioned economic and
political changes effected the instrumentally properly operating strong human
relationships and mutual trust. The foci of our investigation are the analysis of the characteristics of trust and specifically of confidential relationships
within the nuclear family and outside the family: friendship ties.
Following the political changes in Hungary the
lack of resources (Dahrendorf, 1990) meant that relationships confidential and
strong enough to provide financial backing and capital were essential to start
new businesses. Sociological studies had shown that this need is most likely to
be satisfied from within the family, just as tradition would dictate. The
future of such new businesses being highly uncertain, thus their financial
support being highly hazardous, they could only rely on family members as
sources of capital. Another consideration that helped inter-family financing
was the idea that the capital could be repaid for the next generation as well.
Accordingly most of the small businesses, the so-called forced entrepreneurs
started off with help from within the family that could take the form either of
financial support or providing labor. (Lengyel Gy. 1995) The acquisition of
privatized property and getting the necessary financing was often made possible
by confidential information passed on by friends thus capitalizing on
relationships. (Utasi, 1994)
This is of course not something peculiar to
Hungary. Many companies and enterprises, even some multinational giants all
around the world are run by families or their influence is maintained by having
members of the family on the board, so as to protect the families interests.
The rationality and practice of collaboration within the family to assist
enterprises has strengthened in Hungary since the fall of Communism. One unique
aspect of this process was that while previously the regrouping of resources
stemming from connection capital could result only in relatively low profit
because of the regulations limiting private profit, in post-communist Hungary
the same connection capital by helping the acquisition of privatized property
or to start a new business yielded extremely high profit ratios. The intensive
cooperation and confidential relationship between members of the nuclear family
and friends thus remained strong under the changed conditions but its content
and result had significantly altered in the various strata yielding strongly diverging
profits.
Traditional relationships operated mainly
through instrumental motivation in the past as well. Providing help in building
a home, interchange of products to lower costs and mutual labor-assistance was
more typical than emotional ties. The sudden emergence of unemployment among not only the unqualified but
also the well-qualified strengthened the cooperation and mutual assistance
within the families and intensified the co-reliance and self-protection among
confidential friends. Being jobless was something that the family considered a
shame and tried to keep secret. This emotion reduced the ties outside the
circle of the confidants. (Utasi, 1994)
The
period following the political changes saw the intensification of confidential
relationships and friendships that were able to provide resources all along the
social spectrum. Friendship especially for those with a higher
status could bring access to resources simply because it is the people
belonging to the upper strata of society who have friends. (Utasi, 1990,
Angelusz R.-Tardos R., 1988, Albert F.-David B., 1988).
Members of the new governments tended to
appoint friends for confidential positions. The circle of those ‘in power’ was
recruited from the circle of confidential friends, relatives, ex-classmates
(Mills, C. W., 1951, Weber, M., 1987). Party leaders also tended to surround
themselves with close friends and ex-schoolmates. In local communities, small
or medium sized towns people of higher status could invariably find a relative
or friend who could provide useful information if need be. ‘Influential and
confidential friendships and affinities’ are also extremely effective in a
small country like Hungary (Utasi, Á.-A. Gergely, A-Becskeházi, A., 1996).
The
discussed changes had limited the scope of trust to the circle of close agnates
and friends. A survey made in 2000 showed that regular contact within the nuclear
family remained as intensive as it was before the political changes. Almost all the respondents would visit their
parents at least once a month, and only 2.8% falls below this frequency. The contact with children is similarly
intense, but there is a slight shift: 5.5% of the respondents sees his/her
children with lower frequency than once a month.
Since the earlier survey telephone has
become the general means of communication. 62.4 % of the respondents makes a phone call to
his/her parents at least once a month. The same figure for parents talking to
their children on the phone is 72.8%. (Európa, 2000, BKE N=1500) In 1986 the
figure for people staying in phone contact with their parents was just a few
percent. Our previous studies have indicated that in Hungary the role of
emotion in family relationships is less significant than that of instrumental
motivation. However regardless of the kind of motivation operating in
connecting people within the nuclear family, data shows that ties between
relatives is still very strong and trust is undiminished.
A survey
conducted last year investigated the intensity of trust
and also its direction, i.e. who the respondents put their trust in. There was a scale indicating 4 levels of
trust. Full trust was indicated by assigning number 4 to the given category,
while number 1 would indicate no trust. Categories to be evaluated were: the
government, political parties, NATO, the Parliament, God, the respondent
himself and his family. (Demokrácia, MTA PTI, 2000, Simon)
According to
the survey people trust first and foremost themselves with an average value of
3.7. Family-members, relatives came second: 3.6. These figures indicate almost
unconditional trust. However there is a well-marked inconsistency in the
value-structure of the respondents: the first of the top two categories
indicates that one can rely only on oneself and this reflects an individualistic value-priority. The category coming second contradicts our previous
conclusion as it indicates the endorsement of traditional value-priorities
based on family-ties and kinship. The rest of the evaluated categories –
including neighbors -- received a far less favorable index ranging 1.5-2.6.
68.3 % of the respondents unconditionally
trust their family and relatives, while only 7% evaluated the government
similarly. (Unfortunately
‘friends’ was not included in the categories, but we have grounds to suppose
that they would have received high marks, close to that of relatives.)
Trust in governments has sharply dropped
as it was demonstrated by surveys conducted in the U.S. As a tendency policymakers seem to have lost public
trust in liberal democracies. In 1958 in the U.S. less than a quarter (23%) of
all respondents claimed that they would never or hardly ever trust their
government, four decades later the same figure had tripled (1995: 71%-85%)
(Fukuyama, 2000). At the present the number of people considering their
government untrustworthy or almost completely untrustworthy is somewhat lower
in Hungary (2000: 60.7%) (Demokrácia, MTA PTI, 2000).
Indices
indicating mistrust are similarly high for categories designating people
outside the closer circle of confidants, i.e. ‘others’ or ‘people in general’. The Hungarian survey shows that 2 out of 3 respondents (68%) thought
that one cannot trust or hardly ever others (Demokrácia, MTA PTI, 2000). The figures indicating
mistrust towards ‘others’, ‘aliens’ is somewhat higher in Hungary than in the
U.S. However it is worth noticing that the survey dating from 1997 showed a
progressive loss of confidence in ‘others’ in the U.S. Three decades earlier
the number of respondents saying that “one can trust or almost always trust”
people in general was ten percent higher than the number of those saying “one
cannot trust” others. By the second half of the 90s tables were turned and the
majority of people would say that “one cannot or hardly ever trust others” (60%)
(Fukuyama, 2000).
Friendship: a chosen confidential relationship
The trust in friends is similar in quality to
the unconditional trust in family-members and relatives. We believe that among confidential relationships the most significant
one, next to the family-kinship relationships, is friendship. Naturally,
having confidential friends is not as common as having relatives one can rely
on. Friendship is a chosen relationship
that may generate solidarity and mutual resources without a formalized framework
and bring social integration. It can operate successfully without legal or
institutional regulations. Different schools consider different motivations to
be dominant in forming friendships, but most would agree that it is not one but
a set of motivations that shape friendships. Some claim that mutually
attractive individual characteristics, attitudes are the main factors. Others
would argue that friendships emerge on an emotional basis, that is the
attraction is driven by emotion. Most
experts would consider similarities in structural and cultural basics to be the
determining factor is generating friendships. (Adams, B. 1979)
In our opinion friendships are primarily
determined by social and structural factors, but emotion as a decisive
relational motivation is essential in developing friendships. Nevertheless
among the contributing and sustaining factors to this relationship – friendship
not being different in this respect from all other human relationships – aim,
value, tradition and emotion can all be present (Weber, M., 1987), but
certainly the various motivations will have a different weight in contributing
to friendships developing between individuals with different backgrounds. Similarity, homogeneity and endogamy is
among the defining characteristics of friendships. (Laumann, E.O. 1973) (In
1998 Lawer's survey: 83.9 % of first friends of lawyers, 86.2 % of second
friends have a university degree, 74.8 % of their spouses have a university
degree).
Compared with bygone ages today’s people have a
greater freedom in choosing friends. Our ancestors were limited in their
choices by rigid boundaries between estates formulated on the basis of birth.
Despite the increased freedom the way in which friends are chosen is
characterized by cultural and status homogeneity much like in the case of
spouses. Why homogeneity has such a strong effect on choosing friends is not a
question that could easily be answered. Most probably the answer lies in the
fact that making one’s choice has both affective and cognitive components: the
identical structural spot is the dominant field of the selection, this is where
attraction, sympathy takes root, and at the same time where the cognitive
process of getting to know the chosen person extensively takes place together
with the more or less rational mapping of his social merits. As a result of the
free choice of those befriending each other, the similar social values
facilitate the trouble-free interchange of connections. (We presume that
friendship and marriage are brought about by a similar cognitive force, but the
affection involved certainly differs.)
Homogeneity
prevails primarily among people having similar status and prestige. Arguably homogeneity in finding
friends is primarily the result of the prevalence of the prestige-principle.
Following and accepting Weber’s theory on the stratification by birth and
lifestyle, we claim that men of similar status prefer similar means of living, they choose their
friends, spouses and ‘commensals’ from similar circles (commensalism) (Weber,
M. 1987). Following the
prestige-principle, we suppose that friends predominantly occupy a similar
position in the social hierarchy.
The most important characteristic of
confidential relationships and thus of friendships from the viewpoint of social
integration is solidarity. Solidarity towards others could be expressed by
providing material goods or labor, but
also by providing symbolic resources. This last category would involve useful
information, mediation, intercession, emotional support, joint visits of public
events or spending time together. The resources provided to each other might
transform into other types of capital or wealth, and eventually they might
contribute to the integration of society. (Wellman, B. 1990, Bourdieue, P.
1986, 1980).
In
our present study we define friendships as chosen confidential relationships
with emotional ties, where the partners
involved help each other by conveying solidarity by activating emotional
resources in certain situations. We also presume that many instrumental
relationships may over a period of cooperation transform and deepen into
friendship bonds. In our previous studies we made a distinction between
‘instrumental friendship’ and ‘emotional friendship’ by saying that the former
lacked emotional assistance. Friendship
is a relationship predominantly based on emotionally motivated selection, it
involves mutual solidarity and is usually characterized by some kind of
homogeneity.
The international survey conducted in 1986
showed that unlike in other countries of the survey the majority of friendships
in Hungary derives from workplace relationships. (In Hungary 53.6% of
friendships develops between fellow-workers, while the corresponding figure in
other countries varied between 5-32%.) In ‘instrumental friendships’ based on
working together emotion is of lesser importance. There is no denying that all
relationships are motivated to some degree by emotions, but dominantly
‘instrumental friendships’ often end with the ceasing of cooperation (change of
job, termination of a project, completion of building a house), while
friendships hailing from school-days can survive decade-long intervals with no
common activity.
According to the aforementioned fifteen-year-old survey 2 out of 3
Hungarians (64.4%) claimed to have a friend, that is being party to an
‘instrumental’ and/or ‘emotional’ friendship (Utasi, 1990). However 1 out
of 3 Hungarian respondents claimed to have no friends at all and this was the highest corresponding figure in
this international survey (35.6%).[1]
As the above definition shows we consider
similar structural position and emotional motivation as binding element crucial
in forming friendships. The categorization of friendships as ‘instrumental’ or
‘emotional’ was based on the presence or lack of the emotional motivation.
In our study a friendship was considered ‘emotional’ if the respondents claimed to
share their grief with their friend (at least as second person) caused by some
personal problems like being upset, depressed, having had a fall-out with
their partner/spouse, etc. 1 out of 2 friendships in Hungary are emotional
according to the survey, that is 1 out of 2 respondents would share their
emotional problems with their friend. With the rest of the friendships
instrumental motivation is the dominant cohesive factor. Overall one can
conclude that among Hungarians 1 out of 3 people would confide in someone about
their emotional troubles in cases of crisis, that is 1 out of 3 Hungarian respondents have an ‘emotional friend’.
(Utasi, 1990)
The nationwide representative survey conducted
in 2000 offered better indicators to explore extra-familiar confidential
relationships with emotional ties, that is friendships (Európa 2000, BKE, Házt.
Kut. Csop. N=1500). The survey defined friend
as a person the respondent “feels very close to and can confide in about
important personal matters, and is not a spouse/partner or family-member”. Data shows that almost 1 out of 2 people (48.9%) claimed to have such ‘intimate’ friend,
that is a friend able to provide
‘emotional resources’ in our terminology. (In case we could consider the
data gathered by different methods in 1986 relevant, we could register a 10%
increase in the number of ‘emotional’ friendships between 1986 and 2000.)
On considering the various classes and strata
of society in terms of the unequal life conditions one could conclude that
among people living under better conditions the ratio of people having friends
is higher. This is especially true when we limit the scope of investigation to
friends able to provide emotional assistance, understanding and solidarity.
As a result of the social inequality and
discrimination based on biological differences between the sexes the number of
friends providing emotional solidarity is somewhat
lower among women (47.4%) than men (50.2%). Comparing friendships of the
two sexes international surveys had shown that more men (especially middle-aged men) have friends than women (Fischer-Oliker,
1983). A possible explanation is that more men have jobs outside the home than
women and their progress in the company hierarchy is also faster than that of
women and both factors increase the chances of making friends. In the light of
this women obviously have a lower chance of meeting ‘potential’ friends.
However research in Great Britain brought
opposite results: there the number of women joining clubs, associations and
charities was higher than that of men (Wellman, B., 1992), and so the number of
friendships deriving from these communities was higher among women than men.
Similar Hungarian surveys show that men’s friendships clearly outnumber that of
women even in this respect.
Social
inequality based on biological differences
could be noticed between different
age-groups as well. Among people
younger than 29, 3 out of 4 have an extra-familiar confidential relationship
(73.0%), while among people over 70 only 1 out of 3 has a friend (31.5%).
Despite the large differences between the two extremes of age-groups,
comparison with previous surveys shows a significant
decrease in the extent of the difference. In the 1986 survey the youngest generation claiming to have
an emotional friend outnumbered the
oldest age-group 5 times, the 2000 survey showed a halving of this difference
with a mere 2.5 multiplier. The present inequality index in Hungary between
the two extremes of the age-groups is now identical with that of the more
developed western countries in 1986 (Utasi, 1990). It remains to be
investigated whether the younger and the older generations would show a similar
convergence in other fields of
life-style.
The
development of friendships is significantly effected
by life-cycle effects which are often
accompanied by other kinds of biological inequalities. The friendships
generally typical in school-years show a significant drop after marriage and
then there is a similar watershed at retirement age (Allan, G., 1979, Utasi,
1990). The result of the latest survey also confirms this trend of following
life-cycles. Obviously the life-cycle
effect and the age effect usually adds up to form an important determinant in
the development of friendships. Some experts have noticed that friendships
in old age are often characterized by multiplicity meaning a larger extent of
friends who unify several different relationship contents and functions
(Weiss-Lowenthal, 1975). A likely explanation is that the inevitably decreasing
number of friends in old age makes it necessary for friendships to fulfill
several functions at the same time. The fields of activity that were previously
divided into several different relationship contents and distributed between
several individuals thus show an inevitable concentration by aging. As the
actual range of activity narrows with old age the extent of elderly people
naming their neighbours as their friends increases.
Following the labor-division status-hierarchy first we investigated the ratio of respondents having confidential
friends among the different labor-division groups of the actives. Confirming our
hypothesis we found the number of people having confidential friends was the
highest among company leaders (72%) and intellectuals (69.2%) and the lowest
among the different groups of workers (51.4-52.8%).
Differences also show up according to the participation on the labor market: a
larger percentage of full-time employees claimed to have confidential friends
(57%) than people employed in part-time jobs (53%). People running their own
businesses show a higher index than employees (60%) and this is perfectly
understandable considering the fact that they need to have confidential
relationships and to be present continuously on the labor market to achieve
success.
People active in labor-division have a higher
chance of making friends outside the family, while conversely people
not present on the labor market show a much lower index: in the case of
homemakers and dowagers only 1 out of 3 (30.8-31.3%) have intimate friends, but
the situation of young mothers receiving motherhood benefit and staying home to
look after their children is even more worrying – only 1 out of 6 claimed to
have someone outside the family they could confide in (16.7%). People outside
the labor market and with low chances of having confidential relationships are
almost exclusively women. This shows that the
disadvantages deriving from inequalities based on gender or on the unfavorable
labor-division position add up to determine the life conditions of these
groups. The unfavorable positions in the two hierarchies get interconnected
intensifying the negative effects and so increase the chances of isolation and
segregation. The lack of intimate relations might eventually lead to the
deterioration of subjective life quality.
As one grows older and especially after
retirement social prestige declines in the overwhelming majority of cases. This
then results in a decrease of the number of relations and correspondingly
confidential friendships. This phenomenon of social devaluation deriving from
different inequality dimensions is reflected in the low ratio of friendships
among pensioners: disability-pensioners have the lowest
hopes of finding friends (34.1%), prepensioners
have somewhat better chances (36.4%) and finally pensioners, i.e. employees previously fully integrated into the
labor market have the best chance within this group (39.1%). But the
differences are relatively small. Being a pensioner and of old age definitely
reduces the chances of having friends.
The inequality cross-sections investigated so
far had all shown that the higher social status someone has the less
disadvantages he will have to put up with in the life condition dimensions
characterized by inequalities and the more likely he will find a friend who
will understand his problems and provide solidarity. This was also confirmed by
the analysis of the cross-section showing
cultural differences symbolized with the levels of qualification.
In the category of people not completing their primary school studies only 1 out of 4
has an intimate friend (25.4%). In this category there is an overlapping
intensification of the effects of the disadvantages of elderly age and low
labor-division status. The index for people
completing their primary school studies is markedly better: 1 out of 3
claimed to have a close friend (38.3%). The category of people with completed
secondary school studies shows another significant extension: for those
graduating from technical school the
figure is 52%, while for those graduating from grammar school the figure is 55.8%.
The hypothesis that higher educational levels
effectively safeguard from social disadvantages is further supported by the
fact that among people with a college or
university degree 2 out of 3 does have close friends (64.6%). The
inequality between college and university graduation in terms of social capital
and progress in the social hierarchy is reflected by the fact that people with
a university degree – the ones who are the most likely to reach top positions
and thus command power, prestige and wide-ranging network of relationships –
have a significantly higher chance of having confidential friends (70.7%) than
those with a college degree (61.5%).
We saw earlier that men in general have a
higher chance of having confidential relationships than women. But once we
shift the focus of investigation to levels of education, we find that at those higher levels where women receive
significant skill, expertise and this way command adequate competence and
what is even more important become
financially independent, they tend to have a better index of having close
friends. In the category of people with a degree women have a slightly
better index (in the case of college degree, this index is 59% for men and 63%
for women). There is a similar tendency in the case of high-school graduates,
that is women being slightly better off in terms of having close friends. It
seems that well-qualified women need to support their social capital by
strengthening their friendships more intensely than men in order to protect
their relatively rare and fragile privileged position. The higher extent of
friendships among qualified women relative to men could be explained by the
need to compensate for the sexual discrimination in society.
Inequalities effect one’s self-respect and
consciousness, and so they effect life conditions and the selection of friends.
The existence or lack of friends has repercussions on self-evaluation,
satisfaction, happiness and eventually on subjective quality of life (Allardt,
E., 1998). People who classify themselves as belonging to the lower strata of
society in terms of lifestyle, the
‘self-depreciators’ have a 50% lower index of having friends (37.8) than those
who evaluate their life conditions more favorably and put themselves higher in
the social hierarchy (i.e. upper-middle class) (64.9%).
The existence
or lack of friends has a large impact on one’s self-satisfaction, and satisfaction is the single most important
factor in determining subjective quality of life, that is individual happiness.
Those who have confidential friends,
are, to various extents, more satisfied
with their life-standards (corr.102**), health( corr..209**), financial
conditions (.112**), than those who have no friends. The causality-chain makes it difficult to
identify clearly which is more important: the extent of satisfaction or the
lack or existence of friends. Nevertheless it is more likely that the higher
index of having friends among people being happier with their condition is the
effect and the cause is their favorable condition of life. Those living under
better condition are the ones who are ‘better equipped with resources’ and so
are in a better exchange position on the market of social capital, so his
chances are higher of finding confidential friends and in this way feeling more
satisfied, happier.
The more optimistic outlook of those having
friends is also a sign of more favorable life-conditions. Among people
describing themselves as ‘very happy’
or ‘happy’ the number of those having
confidential friends is significantly higher (61.3% and 51.8%) than among those describing themselves ‘rather unhappy’ or ‘unhappy’ (39.3% and 33.3%)
Data unambiguously proves the correspondence
and interaction between confidential
friendship and subjective life
quality. We also know that people having friends are more likely to be
members of social groups, classes that indicate a favorable position, that is a
lower exposure to disadvantages and needs in the context of social
inequalities. (Utasi, 2001) So life
conditions have a dominant impact on the development of confidential
friendships, and as a consequence on the extent of satisfaction and happiness
that indicates subjective life quality. The existence of a confidential friend
is usually an effect and it is the outcome of the relatively favorable position
in the different dimensions of life conditions within inequality structure of
society. Friendship ties develop and survive more easily where the traffic
of solidarity-resources is two-way, where special interests (also) increase the
viability of the contact, where there is a chance of long-term return of
confidence capital in terms of solidarity. Friendship is not a relationship
primarily based on altruism, it is rather an alliance based on mutual interests
which due to the strength of the emotional relationship might occasionally
produce expressions of altruism.
The data examined so far had confirmed that
different life-conditions correspond to the different chances of having
friends. We tried to find out which cross-section of the inequality structure
has the highest probability for the emergence of confidential friendships. If
we consider confidential friendships accompanying favorable life-conditions to
be a form of social capital, then it is also likely that people living under
better conditions posses a significantly higher capital in general. As a
consequence of the transferability of social capital people with confidential
friendship connections can posses more favorable capital benefits and have a
higher chance to acquire material and immaterial goods. (Bourdieu, P., 1980)
We
looked for the parameters of the life-conditions (by means of logistic
regression) that make the development of confidential friendship ties the most
likely. In our model we applied variables symbolizing
such life-condition extremes that indicated striking inequalities in
friendships during the primary analysis. Our aim was to find out which of the
following factors was the most determinant in having friends: (1) levels of education(variable name=E41),
(2) having a partner in life( =E8),
(3) activity on the labor market
(0=jobless or retired, 1=active, receiving mother-care benefit,
student)(AKTIVIT), (4) age(=KORCS2),
(5) gender(=ENEME).
LOGISTIC
REGRESSION
( EUROPA 2000,
N=1500, BKE)
----------------------- Variables in the
Equation ------------------------
Variable B S.E.
Wald df Sig
R Exp(B)
E8(1)
,4774 ,1254 14,4904
1 ,0001 ,0773
1,6118
AKTIVIT(1)
-,0850 ,1474 ,3326
1 ,5642 ,0000
,9185
E41 56,3213 6
,0000 ,1457
E41(1)
1,9043 ,3279 33,7187
1 ,0000 ,1233
6,7148
E41(2)
1,3695 ,2628 27,1630
1 ,0000 ,1098
3,9335
E41(3)
,8068 ,2449 10,8525
1 ,0010 ,0651
2,2406
E41(4)
,8688 ,2587 11,2774
1 ,0008 ,0667
2,3840
E41(5)
,7989 ,2324 11,8127
1 ,0006 ,0686
2,2230
E41(6)
,3541 ,2234 2,5139
1 ,1128 ,0157
1,4250
KORCS2 60,4422 5
,0000 ,1554
KORCS2(1)
1,5318 ,2387 41,1894
1 ,0000 ,1370
4,6267
KORCS2(2)
,8878 ,2503 12,5853
1 ,0004 ,0712
2,4298
KORCS2(3)
,4507 ,2319 3,7764
1 ,0520 ,0292
1,5694
KORCS2(4)
,2474 ,2163 1,3078
1 ,2528 ,0000
1,2806
KORCS2(5)
,3362 ,2065 2,6494
1 ,1036 ,0176
1,3996
ENEME(1)
,0148 ,1169 ,0159
1 ,8996 ,0000
1,0149
Constant
-1,4962 ,2742 29,7717
1 ,0000
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
·
Variables:E21 1=having a friend , 0=not
E8
1=having partner in life, 0=not
AKTIVIT 1= having activity on the labor
market, 0= not
E41 1=
university graduate 7=incomplete
primary.
KORCS2 1= Less than 30
years old, 6= 70 years old or more
ENEME 1= man , 2= women
The model shows that the strong and significant
life-condition parameter that makes the development of confidential friendship
ties the most likely is the attained level of education (qualification=E41,
sign.: 0.00, Exp. B=6.7148). So the extent of the inequalities in the chances
of having friends among the considered life-condition dimensions was the
highest between the different levels of education. Among the variables in our model age
came second on the list of life-condition determinants making it most likely to
have extra-familiar confidential friendships (sign.:00. KORCS2 Exp. B=
4.6267).
Examining the average values of the regression
variable indicating probability (Pre3), we found that people not completing
their primary school studies have the lowest chance of having a friend with
25%, while people with a university degree have the best chance with 71%. The
extent of the difference between the two extremes in the education cross-section
was almost the same as in the case of the two extremes in the age cross-section
where people over the age of 70 have 31% probability while people younger than
29 have a 72% probability of having friends. The largest difference in probabilities is then between elderly people
with low educational level and young university graduates.
The analysis clearly showed that the level of
education attained is the fundamental factor in determining the probability of
having an extra-familiar confidential relationship, that is a friend.
Social integration in traditional societies is
sustained almost exclusively by solidarity-networks deriving from family ties,
and this is largely true for industrial societies as well. We considered those relationships to be contributing to the social
integration which the respondents claimed to be strong ties, people with whom
they have a regular and intense relationship. We consider integration sustaining strong relationships
the ones which typically develop between children and parents, spouses and
confidential friends (Granovetter, M.S. 1973). We supposed that regular
resource-transfer is only attainable between those connected by an intensive
relationship and so we considered integrative from the above enlisted
relationships only the ones where the
respondent lived in the same household or made visits at least once a week or
were in touch on the phone at least once a week. We think that only ties as
intense as that could provide the day to day solidarity giving the individual a
sense of security, mutual emotional assistance and eventually social
integration. We maintain this claim without denying that in cases of emergency
the less intense strong relationships would also be ‘mobilized’, but obviously
these looser ties provide less support and consequently they have less effect
on the individual’s sense of security, awareness of integration and subjective
life quality.
It is a well-known fact that child-parent ties
are strong in Hungarian families: the generations living in separate households
usually meet on a weekly basis or stay in contact on the phone. 1 out of 6 respondents over the age of 18
lives in the same household as his/her parents or parent (15.4%). Among those
living in separate households, but their parents/parent is still alive (38.5%)
3 out 4 meets the parents at least once a week (71.7% = 24.9% of the complete
sample), more than half of them (also) calls them on the phone at least once a
week (57%= 16% of the complete sample).
Our sample showed that almost 1 out of 2 people has
direct or indirect intense contact with their parents (46.6%) which in most
cases ensures social integration.
The intensive cooperation and cohesion of the
nuclear family is further demonstrated by the other side of the parent-child
relationship: the contact of parents with their children. Half of the respondents shares his/her household with their children
(foster-children included) (48.7%) and almost half of the respondents (also)
have a child living separately (43.2%). 2 out of 3 parents having a child
living separately claimed to meet them at least once a week (68.5% = 19.2% of
the complete sample) and/or talk to them on the phone (65.9% = 16.9% of the
complete sample).
Overall 3 out 4 of the respondents live in the same
household as at least one of their children or meet them and/or talk to them on
the phone at least once a week (73.8%).
(It is of course true that part of the children are still under-aged, and so
the transfer of resources is usually one-way, but the social integration
awareness is significantly supported by such ties as well.)
The overwhelming majority of the sample is in intensive
relationship with their parents/children that is some member of the
nuclear family, and so only 1 out of 10 respondents reported no
weekly contact with either children or parents (10.6%), while 1 out
of 3 of the respondents has strong ties to both parents and children
indicated by at least weekly contact frequency (31.0%).
Those with intensive family ties by no means
refuse developing strong extra-familiar relationships, that is friendships. In
fact the opposite is true. While almost half of the respondents reporting
strong ties to either parents or children have friends too (47.7%), and more
than half of those with intensive family ties in both directions have
confidential, close friends they can rely on in cases of personal problems
(53.4%), only 1 out of 3 respondents with no strong family ties reported having
confidential friends (39.4%). It is as if intensive, strong relationships
would attract each other, they multiply and show cumulative
characteristics. The existence of
intensive family contact increases the probability of the development of
friendship ties.
Of the four kinds of examined strong
relationships (parent, child, spouse, friend) 3.7% of the respondents claimed
to have none, 1 out of 5 reported only one (15.9%), 1 out of 3 reported
two (38.5%), 1 out of 4 reported three (27.9%), and a significant quantity
reported to have all four (13.9%).
Among those integrating with only one strong
relationship (15.9%) the majority are in contact with their children (8.2%). The number of those integrating only with their spouse (2.7%) or
friend (2.6%) or parent (2.3%) is
low as compared with the above mentioned group. However it is a
remarkable finding that among those whose
social integration is represented with just one strong relationship, the
probability that this relationship would be a friendship is very close to the
other two relationships which connect the individual to the nuclear family.
This fact suggests that in case of lack
of nuclear family members in the environment of the respondents friendship
becomes the most valuable strong relationship.
Among those with just one kind of intensive strong
relationship their labor-market position signifies important differences. For the complete sample 1 out of
6 (15.9%) respondents has just one strong relationship, while in the
cross-section of those outside the labor-market their extent is much higher.
29.3% of pensioners, 49.9% of widowers, 22% of people living on social benefits
and 22% of those taking part in rehabilitation programs have only one intensive
relationship, that is someone they can rely on permanently.
Groups with the highest probability to be found among people with just one intensive strong relationship (15.9%)
People living on dower: 49.9%
Pensioners: 29.3%
People living on social aid: 22.0%
People on vocational rehabilitation: 22.0%
Those who had none of the four examined intensive strong relationships have low
chance of social integration through other channels (3.7%). They irreversibly
lose access to resources provided by the traditional solidarity-network and
unless social institutions or civil groups/organizations can effectively assist
their integration they become ‘outcasts’ on the peripheries of society and
become ‘deprived’ in terms of relationships. We tried to find out whether among
the classes with different life-conditions which are the ones to be found with
highest probability in this situation of complete contact deprivation and lack
of social integration.
Groups with the highest probability to be found among
people with no intensive strong relationship (3.5%)
Without completed primary school studies: 7.2%
People living on dower: 28.0%
Living on part-time jobs: 20.0%
Pensioners: 6.9%
People living on social aid: 5.6%
Age and the changes in life-cycle induce
profound changes in the family-structure and in the quantity of people with
strong ties, and so the probabilities of entering the group of those deprived
of social relationships are also modified. In the age-group under 39 the extent
of people without strong ties to spouse, parents, children or friends – that is
without hopes of receiving solidarity – is negligible (0.4%). In the age-group
of 40-59 the extent of people without strong ties is still very low (1.8%).
However over 60 the index sharply
rises: 1 out of 10 people in this group
has no intensive relationship at all (9.4%).
Considering the educational hierarchy we see
that in the cross-section of the least
educated the extent of those without strong integrative relationship is high (7.2%).
Above this level relationship deprivation is sharply reduced (vocational
training: 2.0%, high school graduation: 1.5%, university degree: 2.2%) Completion of primary school is a
border-line in terms of possessing strong, socially integrating relationships,
above this line there is no significant difference between the categories.
Relationship deprivation in the category of low-educated is probably connected
to the fact that people belonging to this class are mostly elderly, as the
changes in educational system almost rule out people under 55 not to have
completed their primary school studies and so factors like losing relatives or
the migration of children become highly relevant.
Another life-condition dimension that has a
high tendency to implicate lack of relationships is unfavorable position on the labor-market. Exceedingly high numbers of people without
intensive strong relationships belong to the category of those living on part-time jobs (and obviously
predominantly unskilled) (20%) and also to elderly
people living on dower (28%) but in general all the categories representing
people inactive on the labor-market
have an index higher than average (pensioners: 6.9%, people in benefit: 5.6%)
Social integration with four kinds of relationships
(parent, child, spouse, friend)
In
the group of respondents without intensive strong relationship the rate of
those considering themselves happy – ‘very happy’ or ‘rather happy’ – was only
half of the rate in the group of those with intensive strong relationships. It comes as no surprise that the index of those considering themselves
‘very unhappy’ was several times higher among those without intensive strong
relationships than among those who have such relationships.
It is easy to see which life condition factor is the most dominant in determining whether a
person will have several intensive
‘strong’ relationships and extensive contact network as means of
integrating into community: regression-analysis had also revealed that this
factor is age. The younger a person
the more likely to have intensive relationships in all four fields considered.
Next on the list was educational level the one life condition dimension that
synthesizes the effects of all the other dimensions of social inequalities.
Improvement in the probabilities of integration through the virtual ties of associations, organizations and religion
Sometimes it happens that people without the
examined family or friendship ties consider themselves happy, satisfied,
socially integrated. One typical example is people without strong relationship
ties but with firm religious faith. And it does not in any way subtract from
their well-being that transcendent and virtual relationship can provide only
emotional resources. Similar emotions can arise in those who, though without strong
relationships, belong to some sort of civil community, association, club. Such
membership can also make people feel that they are not without ties, that they
can integrate into society. Recently there is a new source of this emotional
equilibrium though perhaps of more transient nature and that is
Internet-friendship. However we have no statistically relevant information on
people with such virtual ties.
Accepting
religious faith and membership in some form of association further integrative
relationships, we modified the index that was previously
based on four different kinds of strong relationships by adding these two extra
‘ties’. In this new index the number of those considered deprived was halved: a
mere 1.5% of the sample remained without real or virtual ties as opposed to the
previously indicated 3.7%.
Social integration with six types of
relationship (parent, child, spouse, friend, religion, association)
The extent of those with just one tie had also
dropped by half but remained significant (7.5%). The extent of those
integrating exclusively through either religious
faith (1.9%) or friendship (0.9%)
or membership in some association (0.2%) complete with those not being able to report any ties at all, still only amounts to 4.5%.
Thus
we can conclude that in Hungary only 1 out of 20 people live their lives
without intensive family ties.
Our study has validated the thesis that family
is the dominant and determinant integrative force in our society. It was also
established that extra-familiar intensive strong ties provide integrative channels for
relatively few people.
The cumulative nature of integrative
relationships was also shown by the fact that in the group of people with
strong family ties the probability of having intensive strong relationships is
also higher. Relationships seem to follow the pattern established by prestige,
namely: the more you have the higher your chances are to further expand them
(Mills, C.W., 1951). Social capital accumulating through intensive strong
relationships follows the pattern of other types of capital: it accumulates on
the top of social ladder indicating the most favorable life conditions and at
the other end of the hierarchy general deprivation is usually complemented by
the lack of integrative intensive strong relationships.
Distribution of respondents having just on of the six
types of intensive strong relationships (7.5%)
The
reported relationship:
Religious faith: 1.9%
Confidential friend: 0.9%
Membership: 0.2%
Spouse or parent or child: 4.5%
Total: 7.5%
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[1] The survey showed that in Austria and West-Germany 1 out of 4 or 1 out of 5 people did not have friends (24.9% and 21.5%), the same figure for Italy and England was 1 out of 10 (14.7% and 13.7%), in Australia and the U.S. it was even lower: 5-6%.