A Társadalomtudományi Kutatóközpont (MTA Kiváló Kutatóhely)

Szociológiai Intézete
tisztelettel meghívja 102. Jour Fixe eseményére

 

Ivett Szalma - Borbála Júlia Szczuka: Why Bring a Child Into a Doomed World?

 

Előadók:

Szalma Ivett (TK SZI; MTA TK Lendület Reprodukciós Döntéseket Vizsgáló Kutatócsoport)

Szczuka Borbála Júlia (Budapesti Corvinus Egyetem; MTA TK Lendület Reprodukciós Döntéseket Vizsgáló Kutatócsoport

 

Hozzászólók: Megyesi Boldizsár (TK SZI); Mihók Barbara (Szegedi Tudományegyetem)

Időpont: 2022. november 3.  csütörtök 13:00 

Helyszín: Az eseményt hibrid formában tartjuk meg.

Személyesen: Szociológiai Intézet 1097 Budapest Tóth Kálmán utca 4.;  B.1.15 tárgyaló

Online: Zoom link: 

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82997148102?pwd=eDIzTkt6UW8rQ1ltVFloSlVGYi9UZz09

Meeting ID: 829 9714 8102

Passcode: 715396

Angol nyelvű absztrakt:

Recently, a growing number of studies connect concerns about climate change and fertility, and there is empirical evidence for the existence of the relationship between climate-change concerns and voluntary childlessness. However, findings are mostly from outside of Europe. In our interview study from Hungary, we examined the relationship between climate-change-related concerns and childbearing preferences in the context of Covid-19. We asked young people of childbearing age how they perceive the process of climate change and whether it has an impact on their lives. We were eager to get to know the attitudes of the studied group towards statements such as ‘you should not bring children into this world and expose them to the adversities they have to face on a warming planet’. We were also curious whether the Covid-19 pandemic altered how they view the process of climate change. In Hungary, negative environmental effects of climate change are not yet directly tangible, thus climate change is less of a popular topic in the everyday discourse, and perceived seriousness of the crisis have even decreased since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Our semi-structured interviews were conducted during two different waves of Covid-19, mostly online or via telephone. The first set (40 interviews with women and men aged between 20-45) took place during September–October, 2020, while the second set (20 interviews with women and men aged 20-35) were conducted in February–March, 2022.

Preliminary findings show that climate change was considered a very serious threat by our respondents, however, there were notable differences by age. The majority feel personal responsibility for taking action against the process of climate change. Effect of Covid-19 on the perception of climate change was not uniform among respondents. Many interviewees were factoring climate change considerations into their fertility plans at different levels. Some even thought about whether it is a good idea to bring a child into this world with an uncertain future because they were worried about the well-being of their potential offspring, and a few respondents were concerned about the ecological impact of having children; nevertheless, the majority did not link climate-change-related worries to their own fertility decisions. Those concerned about the future were mentioning that environmentally conscious upbringing and education of the next generations would be the key to stop or slow down the threatening process.

Kulcsszavak angolul: reproductive choices, climate change, COVID-19, overpopulation, green parenting

Az esemény angol nyelvű!