A Typology of Poles’ Attitudes toward COVID-19 during the First Wave of the Pandemic

Rafał Boguszewski, Marta Makowska and Monika Podkowińska
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Rafał Boguszewski: Department of Sociology, Institute of Sociological Sciences and Pedagogy, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 166 St., 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Marta Makowska: Department of Sociology, Institute of Sociological Sciences and Pedagogy, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 166 St., 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Monika Podkowińska: Department of Sociology, Institute of Sociological Sciences and Pedagogy, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 166 St., 02-787 Warsaw, Poland

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-23

Abstract: (1) Objective: To explore Poles’ attitudes during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 as a contribution toward the creation of effective health policies. (2) Method: Computer-assisted web interviewing (CAWI) was used to survey a sample of 1001 Poles selected using quota sampling. (3) Results: Using cluster analysis, three types of attitudes were distinguished, people being classified as “involved” (48.1%), “cautious” (27.4%), or “indifferent” (24.6%). The result of greatest interest was the absence of any attitude indicating an extremely dismissive posture toward COVID-19. Three logistic regression analyses, comparing people displaying each attitude with those comparing the other two attitudes combined, showed that an involved attitude was likely to be associated with being female, being in a poorer financial situation, but having relatively high life satisfaction. A cautious attitude was more likely to appear in places with fewer residents and among people in a favorable financial situation, and that an indifferent attitude was more likely to be associated with being male and having lower life satisfaction. (4) Conclusions: The attitudes identified may help to explain why, during the spring of 2020, the virus was spreading slightly more slowly, and on a narrower scale, in Poland than in other countries.

Keywords: Poland; SARS-CoV-2; attitudes; government restrictions; public health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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