Hardi Tamás - Tóth Károly (szerk.): Határaink mentén. A szlovák-magyar határtérség társadalmi-gazdasági vizsgálata (2008) (Somorja, 2009)
Esettanulmányok
220 Summary bigger or more complex relationship networks. The respective age groups of the sample also feature relationships with the same frequency. Social activity and family status do not seem to play a role in this respect, either. There are two clear things, however. 1) On the Slovak side, as it had been expected, the ethnic belonging was the main determining factor differentiating tire contacts. 2) In both samples, significant differences could only be detected by the level of school education and the closely related employment position. On the Slovak side of the border region, 62% of the respondents with Hungarian ethnicity had some cross-border relations. Among the population of Slovak ethnicity the proportion of such inhabitants was just half of this (35%), which is a surprisingly high proportion, considering the much lower rate in Hungary (Table 2). It is also visible that the Hungarians have bigger and more complex relationships than the Slovaks. The average niunber of family, friendly, acquaintanceship and colleague relationships featured in the table demonstrates that the majority of those with Hungarian nationality have the weaker forms of contacts (e.g. the have twice as many acquaintances and have four more friends on the average). In the relationships towards the other side of the border school education and the partly connected higher status also play an important role. Even on the Hungarian side, the proportion of those with contacts on the other side is 10% higher among those with higher education certificates. The responses received in Slovakia show a similar hierarchy: e.g. 65% of those who had finished university studies gave positive answers. The number of contacts is also positively influenced by the higher social status, but this is mostly true for the weaker ties and mainly on the Hungarian side. In Slovakia this parameter did not show significant differences. In the complexity of the relationships, however, on both sides it is the schooling and the concomitant social milieu that dominate. Respondents with higher education degrees are the least frequently those who have single-component relationships, and they are the ones who most frequently posses complex contacts of at least three different types. On both the Slovak and the Hungarian side the differentiating factor is the blue collar or white collar job, besides which the higher qualification and position are not so important. The mean value of the number of Table 2. The differentiation of network properties according to the nationality of the respondents - Slovakian side Hungarian nationality Slovak nationality Do you have any contact on the other side of the border (in Hungary?), % 62.3 34.5 How many persons do you keep in touch with? (average) 25 14 How many relatives do you have? (average) 10 11 How many friends do you have? (average) 11 7 How many acquaintances do you have? (average) 20 8 With one kind of contact only, % 45.6 58.2 With two kinds of contacts, % 30.6 23.6 With three or more contacts of different types, % 23.8 18.2 Source: Questionnaire survey of inhabitants (2008).
