Seeking and experiencing the social support by people with a homosexual orientation

The article presents the results of a study on the subject of seeking and experiencing the social support by homosexual people and the social attitudes they experience (fear of rejection, lack of understanding, discrimination, acceptance). The study used the original questionnaire, which was completed by 108 people with a homosexual orientation. The research material was collected using the snowball method. The research of the results indicate the search for support in various people/groups depending on the crisis situation affecting homosexuals. The group by which they feel supported and accepted are primarily their friends, and the person with whom they most often seek and experience support in the family environment is their mother. A significant percentage of the respondents also benefit/ed from the support of specialists. Most homosexual people don’t feel accepted in Poland, pay attention to the sense of social exclusion, discrimination, fear of revealing their homosexual orientation in the sphere of social life and their own family. All these factors can cause an increased need to seek and receive social support.

Research aim: This paper aims to show the actions that European metropolises are taking to minimise anthropic pressure and to present the attitudes of Polish city dwellers towards climate change. Research problem and methods: The main research problem is to determine to what extent cities, within the possibilities of self-government, can limit, their negative impact on the environment, taking into account the attitudes and opinions of their inhabitants. As research methods, a system analysis, a decision-making analysis, and a behavioural method were used, within which a survey technique was applied. Process of argument: the article presents the process of climate change and its consequences for the state of the environment and the well-being of societies. Actions taken by European metropolises that are forerunners in the implementation of pro-environmental solutions that fit into the vision of the economy and society of the future are presented. This futuristic perspective was juxtaposed with an analysis of the attitudes of the inhabitants of Polish cities. Results of the scientific analysis: The scientific analysis has shown that metropolitan European communities value intangibles, recognising the state of the environment as an integral part of them. Similar attitudes have been noticed among the inhabitants of Polish cities, although they vary depending on the size of the centre. At the same time, environmental awareness is not the same as the willingness to incur costs to protect nature. Conclusions, innovations, and recommendations: Stopping climate change is only possible with the active participation of cities that are forerunners in the implementation of innovative environmental technologies. Polish cities should benefit from the good practices of European environmental leaders, with the participation of citizens in the decisions taken.

The article is a short report compiled on the basis of the survey research focusing on disabled people’s conceptions of their own everyday life and of social attitudes towards impairment. The survey examined the ways of experiencing life, with regard to the following categories: self-perception; perceiving environmental attitudes towards visible disability; emotional and behavioural reactions to the patterns of behaviour displayed by the environment; assessing one’s own relations with other people; making an overall evaluation of the society’s approach to disability. The author also presents three main theoretical theses regarding shaping social attitudes towards the disabled, as well as outlines the leading strategies which people with disabilities employ in order to cope with critical situations. These are constructive and destructive strategies, related to young people’s approach to life – a positive attitude (encouraging development) and a negative one (hindering development).