Miroslav Popper

Constructions of Sexual Relationships A Study of the Views of Young people in Catalunia, England and Slovakia and their Health Implications

Q methodology was applied to investigate the views of young people from Catalunia, England and Slovakia regarding sexual relationships and their health implications. The Q sorts of 188 16-18-year-olds from these three diverse European regions were reduced by Q factor analysis to six clear accounts. These accounts are presented in relation to three emergent themes: (a) traditionalism/liberalism; (b) locus of responsibility; and (c) the relationship between sex and love, and these discursive themes are discussed in relation to health-salient criteria such as awareness of sex-related risk and corresponding implications for conduct.

Social trust, norms and morality

The article approaches the topic of social trust from an evolutionary perspective. It begins by summarising the most influential approaches that have defined specific and social trust and ascertains what causes differences in degrees of trust and how the potential risk of deception might be lowered. It then notes that the basis of morality had already been formed during the era of prehistoric man, who was able to create coalitions against aggressors and to socially control the behaviour of deviants. It points out, however, that having a certain predisposition to behaving cooperatively or an increased sensitivity to recognising and not tolerating behaviour aimed at abusing cooperation is not a sufficient guarantee of the fact that people will always (or at least in the majority of situations) favour cooperation over deception. One of the reasons for this is a tendency to favour short-term gains over long-term ones. The article argues that establishing norms (moral, social and legal) produces a higher level of social trust because it not only “encourages” individuals to behave in certain ways in particular situations but also works as a sanction which “discourages” the individual from socially deviant behaviour. The article then focuses on a debate about the causal relationship between social trust and social capital. It discusses the suggestion that political institutions, government and the judiciary may reduce rather than raise levels of social capital and consequently also the level of social trust. This is partly because of their powerful position and the consequent scope for corruption and partly because of the fact that even when attempting to act honestly, representatives of these institutions cannot sufficiently reflect upon dynamic change at the local level. Finally, the article ends by adopting the position that social trust is built primarily from bottom up and so it is risky to continually doubt the very existence and usefulness of social norms and morality and to be governed simply by legal norms.

Normativity: Approaches, Polemics, Problems

Normativity: Approaches, Polemics, Problems

Interaction of substance use and risks to sexual health in the Slovak army: General, sociocultural and individual behaviour patterns

This paper offers an overview about the application of the newly designed WHO/UNAIDS Rapid Assessment and Response Guide (SEX-RAR) for research on interaction between psychoactive substance use and sexual risks in the very specific environment during mandatory military service in the Slovak Republic. Presented results outline general, specific (sociocultural) and individual behaviour patterns concerning interaction of substance (alcohol) use and sexual behaviour, as well as proposed recommendations for intervention activities.

Do we know what we are asking? Individual and group cognitive interviews

Abstract The paper deals with cognitive interview, a method for pre-testing survey questions that is used in pilot testing to develop new measures and/or adapt ones in foreign languages. The aim is to explore the usefulness of the method by looking at two questionnaires measuring anti-Roma prejudice. The first, the Stereotype Content Model (SCM), contains questions that are dominantly used to test two dimensions of social perceptions of various groups: warmth and competence. The second, Interventions for Reducing Prejudice against Stigmatized Minorities (INTERMIN) consists of the items most frequently used in contact research to measure attitudes, social distance, anxiety, trust and behavioural intentions towards outgroups. Two rounds of cognitive interviews were held on both questionnaires to verbally evaluate participants’ understanding and/or interpretation of the draft questions. The first round was attended by university students, while the second round (with improved versions of the questionnaires) was done with high school students, as they are the target group for planned interventions based on the contact paradigm. The paper explains the problems/difficulties the participants had answering some of the questions and our attempts at improving the questionnaires. The problems can be grouped around six issues: The first two deal with the strategies participants used to answer our questions – whom exactly did they have in mind when answering the questionnaires and whose viewpoint did they represent in their answers. The next four problems are around nuances in the formulations of our questions and generally have to do with how the participants interpreted our questions – they concern assumptions that distinct items were logically interconnected, the period of time and locality referred to in our questions, translation and transferability of meanings from one language to another and double negation.

Context underlying decision-making on parenthood and reproduction

This article provides an overview of a number of research studies conducted within the field of parenthood and reproduction in a variety of Western cultures, including Slovakia and the countries of Eastern Europe. The main aim of this overview is to analyse two key indicators on Second Demographic Transition: delaying marriage and parenthood until later on in life and the growth in cohabitation as an alternative living arrangement and childbearing as part of that. The author points out that the majority of parents opt to have a first child and this brings normative and emotional fulfilment. Most young people do not reject this, but simply postpone it until later on in life. The hypothesis is postulated that the decision on whether to have further children is to a larger extent rationally based and is more dependent on weighing up the incentives available from the state. The article emphasises, on the basis of a comparison of the results of various empirical studies, that the same patterns of reproductive behaviour can produce markedly different consequences and outcomes within various subgroups of the population. It is recommended that current research into parenthood and reproduction should be extended so that studies are conducted into similar groups within subpopulations across different countries—in contrast to the current prevailing research that is focused on single countries or in comparing different countries as a whole. It is also recommended that the scope of the research be extended to compare a number of different subpopulations with similar value and life-style configurations as opposed to the majority of the current narrowly-focused approaches that concentrate on examining the differences in reproductive behaviour patterns of a section of the population selected on the basis of education.

Suspended transitions and affective orderings: From troubled monogamy to liminal polyamory

While monogamy is the norm for romantic and intimate relationships in contemporary western societies, having other sexual and affective interactions alongside a monogamous relationship is a common practice. Instead of a unilateral and/or covert non-monogamy, polyamory promises a consensual, ethical, and responsible non-monogamy. The personal transformation of normative cultural frameworks is fundamental to the experience of “becoming polyamorous.” This article explores such occasions using the notion of liminality in order to illustrate the phenomenon of “liminal hotspots.” Focusing on a specific and exemplary case describing the first stages of a polyamorous relationship, the paper explores the reordering of social formations involved. In this case, “becoming polyamorous” is expressed through a process of suspended transition where categories can be described as both/and monogamous/polyamorous and neither/nor monogamous/polyamorous.

Testing SCM questionnaire instructions using cognitive interviews

Abstract The aim of the research was to find out whether participants completing an SCM questionnaire to assess attitudes towards the Roma would give different answers in response to different sets of instructions. Three sets of instructions were tested using cognitive interviews: answer from your personal viewpoint, from the viewpoint of the majority of Slovaks, from the viewpoint of those close to you. The research sample comprised 24 respondents, of whom 12 were upper secondary school students and 12 working adults. Responses from the personal viewpoint differed markedly from responses from the viewpoint of the majority of Slovaks, but were very similar to responses from the viewpoint of those close to the person. In the research, internal and external motivation to respond with/without prejudice was also investigated. Participants with internalised unbiased beliefs showed a preference for assessing the Roma minority from their own viewpoint, while participants with internalised biased beliefs thought the instructions were unimportant.

Human Enhancement and the Concept of Liminality 1

Abstract The article considers human enhancement from the perspective of liminality. It defines the concept of liminality, introduced by ethnologist van Gennep in an attempt to generalise the rites of passage. It shows how, thanks to Turner, this concept has spread beyond anthropology to characterise the many situations ‘betwixt and between’ associated with transitioning from the original social structure to the new one. The article points out that, by definition, liminal situations break down traditional structures; hence, polemical debates on whether to allow human enhancement cannot be conducted from the position of existing normative standards. It argues, on the contrary, that these must be fundamentally expanded so as to reflect the current transitional phase from treatment to enhancement and that preparations must be made for the policies and institutions that will deal with the consequences. Otherwise, we will face threat of a new kind of totalitarianism.

Challenges to the Social Norms on Reproduction: “Irreplaceable Mother” and Affirmative Fatherhood

Abstract This study presents an analysis of recent developments in fathers’ roles in Slovakia, a country that has experienced multiple social and economic transformations in post-totalitarian Central Eastern Europe. Data from a qualitative study (14 focus group discussions, 87 participants) show that the social norms associated with the Second Demographic Transition do not constitute a homogenous unit. Young people delay reproduction due to numerous needs. A new norm is emerging-the necessity of establishing a family only once a state of economic independence has been reached. The study discusses the role of the “irreplaceable mother” and the problem of the complementarity of parental roles, shifts in negative stereotypes about men, and emerging forms of affirmative fatherhood.