Zróżnicowanie postrzegania młodzieży wiejskiej przez mieszkańców miast Polski Południowej

Differences in perception of rural youth by inhabitants of southern Polish cities

Summary: The aim of the research was to analyze the general views of urban dwellers on young people from the countryside as well as their views concerning specific characteristics (e.g. honesty, religiousness, openness) in comparison with analogous traits of young city dwellers. The second objective of the study was to determine the factors differentiating the perception of each characteristic trait of young country dwellers. Factors were placed in three broad categories: 1) personal traits of city inhabitants (education, sex, age), 2) intensity of city inhabitants' relationships with country dwellers, and 3) characteristic features of survey respondents' place of residence. The last goal of the research was to determine the social distance (measured on the Bogardus Social Distance Scale) between city dwellers and young people from the countryside as well as to identify the reasons behind the uneven magnitude of the measured social distance. The research was carried out in eleven cities in southern Poland. The selection criteria taken into account before choosing cities for research purposes were the following: city size, geographic location within its historical region, dynamics of its population growth between 1950 and 2000, and date when the given city was granted "city rights". The data were collected via a survey of 1111 inhabitants of the cities selected. The results of the survey indicate that young people from rural areas are viewed differently by urban dwellers than are their counterparts from cities. Opinions expressed by urban dwellers were more positive than it was initially expected. The most important opinion-shaping factors were city dwellers' intensity of their relationship with rural areas and their level of education. Other key factors identified were various characteristics related to one's place of residence, especially considering Poland's various historical regions. Surprisingly, the social distance between the two analyzed groups is larger than it is suggested by the expressed views on young people from rural areas.

Słowa kluczowe: młodzież, wieś, postrzeganie, mieszkańcy miast, Polska Południowa

Słowa kluczowe (w języku angielskim): youth, rural areas, perception, city dwellers, southern Poland

Prace Geograficzne, 2009, z. 121, s. 59-72.

Instytut Geografii i Gospodarki Przestrzennej UJ

ISSN 1644-3586

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