Young current issue

Moving in transition: Northern Ireland youth and geographical mobility

Cairns, D. — 2008-09-16

This article explores the geographical mobility of young people in Northern Ireland. Utilizing the results of recent empirical research conducted with a sample of university students drawn from four different academic disciplines, an overview is presented of mobility experiences in terms of where these young people are going, their main reasons for travel and the main characteristics of mobile youth. Indications of future mobility intentions are also explored, revealing that a majority of these young people (55 per cent) have intentions to live outside Northern Ireland at some stage in the future. The various forms of travel and the significance of these mobility experiences are subsequently discussed in more depth through the use of emblematic case studies, highlighting the importance of mobility in both the education-to-work transition and personal development.

Patterns of continuity and disruption: The specificity of young people's mental structures in three transitional societies

Kalmus, V., Vihalemm, T. — 2008-09-16

This article analyzes inter-generational continuity and cultural reproduction in three transitional countries: Estonia, Latvia and the Czech Republic. We compare the levels of internalization of factor structures of self-identification and values among young people and older generations. We focus specifically on a comparison of young people representing the two main ethno-linguistic groups in Estonia and Latvia: ethnic Estonians, or Latvians, and Russians. The data are derived from representative population surveys carried out in the three countries in November 2005 and spring 2006. In general, we observed greater inter-generational continuity in the Czech Republic, compared with Estonia and Latvia. Cultural reproduction among the ethnic minorities in both Baltic countries has been most vulnerable to transitional changes: Russian youngsters differ from their parents to a greater extent than do young Estonians and Latvians from theirs.

The socialization of hierarchic self-interest: Value socialization in the family

Hadjar, A., Baier, D., Boehnke, K. — 2008-09-16

The article reports research on family socialization of dominance values among adolescents. Dominance values were studied as expressed in Hierarchic Self-Interest (HSI), a value pattern that is typical for highly competitive market-oriented societies and has negative behavioural consequences. In analyzing socialization, the study concentrates on authoritarian and achievement-focused parenting, as well as structural and ideological predictors thereof. The relevance of HSI for attitudes and behaviours is studied by considering xenophobia and delinquency as its consequences. Using panel data of 443 families (mothers, fathers, and adolescent offspring) from Berlin (Germany), a structural equation model is estimated. Results show that adolescent HSI can be traced back to social-structural variables and parenting modes, but also develops through intergenerational value transmission. It has assumed negative consequences.

Young Estonians and Danes as online shoppers: A comparative study

Raamat, R., Keller, M., Martensen, A., Tufte, B. — 2008-09-16

In this study, interpretations of young Danes’ and Estonians’ online shopping are compared based on interviews with 23 Danes and 24 Estonians aged 12–18 years. The findings show that young Danes are more familiar with online shopping and buying, and view it more positively than do young Estonians. This is well reflected by the fact that Estonians focus mainly on the risks of online shopping, expressing various forms of distrust, while young Danes tend to emphasize benefits. Yet, both countries’ respondents show more confidence in regular shops with face-to-face contact than in online stores which are considered to be abstract and disembedded. Differences in representations of online shopping are related to a complex set of system and agential resources: different cultural contexts, institutional and economic factors, and social networks.

Youth cultural styles: From snob to pop?

Wel, F. V., Maarsingh, W., Bogt, T. T., Raaijmakers, Q. — 2008-09-16

This research examines whether opposition between higher and lower forms of youth culture still contributes to the emergence of groups with different cultural tastes. Do youth at higher levels of secondary education (for example, pre-university education) tend to display ‘omnivorous’ tastes nowadays (Peterson, 1992), just as highly educated adults do? A sample of Dutch adolescents (N = 226) completed a questionnaire concerning their preferences in several cultural domains (music, film and television, light reading and literature, receptive cultural participation). Four groups or clusters representing cultural styles were identified: omnivores, moderate omnivores, a group interested primarily in popular culture, and a culturally disinterested group; each group comprised about a quarter of the sample. Whereas girls were overrepresented in the first two groups, boys were more common in the latter two groups. The two groups with omnivorous tastes appear to fit the profile of ‘normal’ youth. Otherwise, the four cultural groups could not be linked to specific youth subcultures.

Book Reviews

2008-09-16