Globalization and Life Satisfaction of the Polish Population. Before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The main objective of the present research was to examine whether the attitude towards globalization and life satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic differs from the one observed beforehand. An additional goal was to find out whether the attitude to globalization during the pandemic can serve as a predictor of life satisfaction. On the basis of data obtained by Folk Theory of Social Change, we assume that the attitudes towards globalization and their correlation with life satisfaction are shaped by personal experiences with globalization. The survey was carried out on two independent sample groups of Poles: Sample 1 consisted of individuals tested in 2017 (n = 455), while Sample 2 involved individuals tested during the COVID-19 pandemics (n = 300). The mean level of life satisfaction and an accepting attitude towards globalization is lower in Sample 2 than in Sample 1. The analysis results of this reversion suggest that during the COVID-19 pandemic the Polish population's anxious attitude towards globalization is the predictor of life satisfaction β = –.20, p < .001, 95 % CI (–.35, –.10). The results confirm the assumptions of the FTSC in the matter of shaping attitudes towards globalization in developed countries. During the COVID-19 pandemic, life satisfaction is influenced by an anxious attitude trig-gered by a sense of vulnerability to the threats posed by globalization.