Factors Influencing Changes in Social Activity under COVID-19 in Polish Rural Areas

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic, due to unprecedented countermeasures aimed at limiting social contact, affected many spheres of life, including the forms and scope of social activity. This paper aims to identify the importance of the size and economic type of village, as well as the existence of rural organizations before the pandemic to identify the changes in different forms of social activity among rural area residents during the first and second year of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. This research was based on phone interviews (CATI) carried out in December 2022 with village administrators. It was concluded that the village size, economic profile, and the activities of various types of social organizations had very limited influence on changes in social contact during the pandemic. The economic type of the village, both low and high levels of agrarisation, showed a significant relationship with change of only one form of social activity: joint work on a farm. The activities of organizations popular in rural areas such as Volunteer Firefighters’ Brigades or Rural Housewives’ Clubs played an important role in the changes (decrease) in meetings at home and after mass in church.