Youth 2004 - Research Report

7/29/2019 Youth 2004 - Research Report

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YOUNG H

Bla Bauer, B

9 7 9 9 6 3 8 6 7 7 4 5 6

ISBN 963-8677-45-7

RESEA


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The original Hungarian version of the report was written by

Editor of the English versionBence Sgvri

The report was translated byDniel Nagy

English collaboratorEtienne Lain

The publication of this report was sponsored by theMinistry of Youth, Social and Family Affairs and Equal Opportunities

Publisher:Director of Mobilitas Office of Youth Research

Bla Bauer, Klmn Gbor, Ferenc Gazs, Lszl Laki, Mikls Pter Mder,Szilrd Molnr, Zsuzsanna Molnr, dm Nagy, Istvn Nemeskri, Pter Pillk,

Gergely Rosta, Andrea Szab, Tmea Tibori

Bla Bauer, Bence Sgvri, Andrea Szab editors, 2005

Mobilits Office of Youth Research, 2005

ISBN 963 8677 45 7

Bla BauerKlmn GborFerenc Gazs

Lszl LakiMikls Pter Mder

Szilrd MolnrZsuzsanna Molnr

dm NagyIstvn Nemeskri

Pter PillkGergely RostaAndrea SzabTmea Tibori

youth2004 res rep.qxd 2005. 09. 14. 1:55 Page 2


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Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Demography and family relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Family status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Childbearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Expansion of education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Educational inequalities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Economic activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Entering work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Unemployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Material, financial, income and housing situation . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Family situation, self-dependents and dependents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Income relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Housing situation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Information society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Use and access to computers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Internet access and use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Lifestyle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Smoking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Alcohol consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Experimenting with drugs and drug abuse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Cultural consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Reading habits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Scenes of cultural consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Spending free time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

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Values and social perspectives of young people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Life principles, importance of values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Public opinion on the transition and the future of Hungary . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Political activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Problems facing todays youth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Index of figures and tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

6 Youth2004 Research report



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INTRODUCTION

Hungarian society has been undergoing the lengthy process of transition for (al-ready) one and a half decades. The effects of the transition have had an undeni-able impact on public opinion in ways which come to shape Hungarys buddingcivil society and political democracy. Paying special attention to societal changeand the opinion structures of youth, the snapshot we hereby provide attempts tooffer insight into the processes of the past 15 years and in particular into thechanges which occurred over the last four years.

Since the transition began, Ifjsg2004 is the second social scientific and soci-ological study to attempt a description of the generational changes that resultedfrom the social and economic transformations of a changing regime.

One of the aims of reproducing the 2000 youth study, and acquiring compara-ble longitudinal data, was to record the extent and ways in which social factors

effecting education, employment, career, becoming self-sustaining and accedingto financial opportunities have changed. Furthermore, the study seeks to recordhow these changes have impacted on the lifestyles, leisure activities and culturalconsumption of young people.

Recent sociological research on youth indicates that youth itself, as a periodin ones life, has lengthened. For example, young people spend more and moretime in education. Data from the eighties and even from the early nineties re-veal that in the case of skilled workers, as well as in the case of workers who par-take in routine white collar activities (especially those with secondary school de-grees), leaving school, beginning work, starting a family, and having children areclosely correlated. Young people irrespective of their qualifications usually getmarried after entering work and have their first child in the following two years.However, one third of young people holding vocational certificates enter the la-bor market at the age of 18, and another third at the age of 19 or later.

Similar tendencies can be described in the case of young people doing thekind of intellectual work that does not require a degree. Up until 1993-1995, en-tering the world of work usually coincided with obtaining ones secondary schooldegree. Already by 2000 more than two fifths of our sample entered the labor



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market for the first time at the age of 20, or later. Similar tendencies can be ob-served in 2004.

The question can be raised whether postponing entry into the world of workbears relation to the integration of young individuals in society and their accep-tance of traditions and norms.

The prolongation of youth as a stage of life is further indicated by the fact thatwhile young people want children, in the last 10 years having ones first childhas been delayed by a couple of years. This can partly be explained along withthe increased time spent in education by a change in commitment to perma-nent relationships by men and women in the second half of their twenties.While in 1990, 20.3% of the whole population was unmarried, in 2001 and 2002the figures were 27.1% and 28% respectively. The Ifjsg2004 data on youngpeople between 15 and 29 shows that this trend is on the increase.

Although it is undeniable that the period following the political transition as-sertively introduced cohabitation as the new form of permanent relationship,Ifjsg2000 called attention to the fact that even in 2000 the intention to havechildren was tied to marriage. This traditional inclination remains essentiallyunchanged as the data indicates that young people tend to marry around thesame time as they have their first child. The prolongation of the youth stage pro-motes other roles, such as the single, or even the pre-single stage.

Within this age groups life strategies we can observe new dynamics of depen-dency and independency in relation to the parental home. This results from thefact that the time spent living with ones parents overlaps with becoming inde-pendent. Leaving the parental home mostly coincides with marriage or cohabi-tation with a partner, and is no longer simply correlated with finishing ones

studies or entering work.In the nineties, sociological studies on youth cherished the hope that qualifica-

tion levels would rise, thereby maintaining the illusion that the gates of higher ed-ucation would also open for those lower down the social ladder (e.g. children ofrural families with low educational attainments). However, a study conducted in2002 among freshman students of higher education indicates that this hope wasunfounded. Though higher education holds certain opportunities for the childrenof parents with secondary or higher educational qualifications, for the better partof society education remains only a theoretical possibility of social advancement.

In the year 2000, the unequivocal beneficiaries of the expansion of higher edu-cation seemed to be young people belonging to the most educated familial andsocial environments. Nonetheless, for children of fathers holding secondary edu-cational qualifications, the prospect of pursuing higher education has apprecia-bly improved in the past four years. The proportion of children of parents hol-ding no more than secondary school degrees significantly increased both amonguniversity and college students. Consequently, it seems that from the point ofview of pursuing higher education, only the fathers secondary education qualifi-cations may be regarded as a caesura for the time being. Nevertheless, this de-




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velopment seems to have had no beneficial effect for those two groups of youngpeople belonging to familial and social environments having even lower qualifi-cations (that is, children of fathers having vocational high school or elementaryschool qualifications). What is more, the likelihood of young people from disad-vantageous familial and social environments to enter further education seems tohave, if anything, decreased. Therefore, it appears that differences in socialbackground have an incommensurable impact on educational opportunity andresult in perpetuating inequality.

Furthermore, we observed that the number, as well as the kind, of cultural ac-tivities which young people participate in, would surely disappoint the expecta-tions of recent studies in cultural sociology. The few leisure activities young peo-ple report doing out of impulse rather than conscious thought reflect actionsand decisions which, for the most part, involve only the individual him/herself.

In other words, the demand for companionship and communal spirit rarely ap-pears. In fact, the desire for ambitious social activity has almost disappearedfrom the cultural activities of young people.

Compared to previous years, values relating to a sense of security (peacefulworld, prosperity, social order) have fallen behind on the ranking of values,while (more) transcendent ideas or values (creativity, respect of traditions, worldof beauty) have come to play an increasingly central role in the life of youngpeople. The fact that material principles are coming to play a less and less signif-icant role in young peoples value systems may be explained by the countryseconomic improvement and a further increase in social stability. In parallel, val-ues regarding ones individual life, notions of self-realization, and values whichdirectly impact on everyday actions appear to have taken the front stage of

young peoples value systems.

It is our opinion that the above-mentioned facts are sufficient to justify con-ducting a study whose focus would be to survey the changes and processeswhich are affecting the youths situation. Subsequently, for the better part of theyear 2004 we conducted the so-called Ifjsg2004 study. The research programwas financed by the Ministry of Youth, Social and Family Affairs and Equal Op-portunities; and by the Prime Ministers Office. We hope that the Ifjsg2004study, which follows from the Ifjsg2000 study, may provide sufficient funda-mental information to make it possible to a have systematic and extensive youthresearch program in Hungary.

This reports purpose is to provide a basic insight into the most important pre-liminary results of the research. At present, we have neither any pretensions per-taining to a profound interpretation of the existing data, nor will we seek to ex-plore and explain any of the correlations which may emerge.

9Introduction



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DEMOGRAPHY AND FAMILY RELATIONS

FAMILY STATUS

The Ifjsg2000 study reiterated some of what may already have been evident

for demographers and sociologists: one of the feature characteristics of todaysyouth is the lengthening of time spent in education and postponed entry intothe world of work. In turn, this impacts on youth by delaying the forming of per-manent partnerships and the founding of a family. Also, marriages are less com-mon, while common-law marriages (i.e. the cohabitation of a couple even whenit does not constitute a legal marriage), which involve fewer restrictions whilesupposedly retaining equal emotional intensity, have become more frequent.

Four years later, we observe that this trend has strengthened. In 2004, nearlyseven tenths of the 15-29 age group remain unmarried, 17% live in common-lawmarriages, and 14 % are married.

Compared to the data of the Ifjsg2000 study, its 2004 counterpart revealedno significant changes relating to the proportion of unmarried young men and

women. However, the composition of those living in permanent partnershipschanged significantly: the proportion of married young people decreased by 5%,

Figure 1: Distribution of young people by marital status (in percentages)



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in parallel with an increase of 7% of those married under common-law. Eventhough the proportion of marriages has undoubtedly diminished, this does notresult in a lack of permanent partnerships. Rather, there appears to be a changein the form of permanent relationships of those living together outside contrac-tual obligations.

Within the youngest (15-19) age category studied we found but rare examplesof permanent partnerships. Naturally, as our subjects get older, changes occur:9% of 20 to 24 year olds, and 36% of those between 25-29 are married. Respec-tively, one fifth and one sixth are married under common-law. Nearly 16% of the20-24 age group married under common-law follow this legally more lax rela-tionship by a formal marriage, while as far as young people between 25 and 29are concerned every third common-law marriage results in marriage.

As expected, discrepancies between the marital status of men and women are

consistent with the previous study. Today, 76% of men, and 61% of women areunmarried. 17% of women are married under common-law, and 22% of them areformally married. In the case of men, differences between these two types of per-manent partnerships are not as substantial: 11 and 12% live in marriages or co-habitations respectively.

In the case of the oldest segment of men, we noticed significant changes withregards to the data of the Ifjsg2000 study. Four years ago, 51% of men be-tween 25 and 29 were unmarried, 35% of them were married, and 11% of themlived in common-law marriages. In the latter category, the increase is of 7%,while there are 7% less marriages amongst men.

As far as women are concerned, the change is even more evident. Comparedto 2000, there is a 9% decrease in the proportion of married women even in the

11Demography and family relations

Figure 2: Distribution of mens marital statusby age category (in percentages)



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20-24 age group, and an increase of 12% in the case of common-law marriages.The change in the marital status of women between 20 and 29 can be regardedas dramatic. Indeed, four years ago every fourth women between 15 and 29(55%) was married as opposed to the present figure of 43%. In parallel, the pro-portion of unmarried women increased from 27% to 35%. To conclude, changesin lifestyle and the prolongation of education as a phase of life mainly affectswomen aged between 25 and 29.

CHILDBEARING

One fifth of the samples subjects already have children, thereby indicating a 3%decrease in comparison to 2000. Reasons for this decrease derive from the factthat, though the proportion of young people having three or more children re-mains essentially unchanged, fewer decide to have one or two children.

Two thirds of children are raised by married parents; one quarter are broughtup by parents married under common-law, and 11% are raised by single parents.

Though we observed a low number of children in the study, these numberscould easily rise were the young people in our sample to decide they wantedchildren. Around 18% of respondents in the 15-29 age group decisively declarehaving no intention to have a/another child; 4% intend to decide according tocircumstances; and over three fourths plan to have children. Among young parents,more than half plan on having another child, and less than a fifth of parentswith two children claim to want another. Compared to the average, the propor-tion of those intending to have children depending on circumstances is higher in


Figure 3: Distribution of womens marital status accordingto age category (in percentages)



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both groups. A total of 9% of those without children intend never to have any.The low level of intent to childbearing is further illustrated by some of the re-sults in the chapter on the values of youth.

In line with the data presented so far, young people with a university degreecomprise the highest proportion (around 90%) of those wanting children. How-ever, they are also the group with the lowest number of children. 82% of youngpeople with secondary school degrees, seven tenths of skilled workers, andslightly more than three-quarters of those with no more than primary educational

qualifications would like to have children. As far as young people with no morethan a primary education and those with vocational certificates are concerned,the intent to have children is lower since they are the group with the highest pro-portion of young parents amongst them (17% of young people with no more thana primary education, and 37% of skilled workers already have children.)

13Demography and family relations

Figure 4: How many children do you have? In 2000 and in 2004(in percentages)



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EDUCATION

EXPANSION OF EDUCATION

With regards to young people aged between 15 and 29, a significant develop-ment is that of the expansion of education: schooling begins earlier and pro-ceeds further in life. Young people partake in growing numbers and higher pro-

portions in education. In the past four years, the 15-29 age groups participationin education increased by approximately 6%. According to the results of thissurvey, we notice that in recent years this expansion has, above all , affected the25-29 age group. In 2000 34%, and in 2004 40% of the whole population waspursuing some kind of educational program.

Table 1: Participation in education in 2000 and in 2004 respectively by agegroups (in percentages)

In the youngest age category, among secondary school students, the propor-tion of those in education has not increased in recent years. Data indicates thatthe increase in secondary education has already come to a halt. In the midst ofaltered demographic conditions, the problem facing a young person leaving ele-mentary school is no longer that of a choice between continuing studies andstaying at home, but in which secondary school to pursue ones studies. In thisrespect, opportunities to secondary education vary substantially according tosettlement type (i.e. whether one lives in a village, a town, a city), as well asaccording to social status.

However, data also indicates an undisputable and robust increase in participa-tion in higher education. This impulse is clearly illustrated by the fact that be-tween 2000 and 2004, the proportion of 20-24 year olds attending classes has in-creased by 14%. Of this group, 75% study in higher education; 7% attendstechnical training subsequently to vocational secondary schooling, and the re-mainder undergo further vocational training in a variety of professions in high



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demand on the labor market. As far as the oldest age group of the sample (25-29year olds) is concerned, the proportion of those partaking in education hasgrown from 4% to 12% in the last four years. This is an especially significantchange. On one hand, it can be explained by the fact that entry into higher ed-ucation occurs later in life. On the other hand, university or college curriculaare lengthier. In turn, this can help us understand why more and more youngpeople combine work alongside their studies. Indeed, combining work and stud-ies seems to have become the configuration characterizing this age group. Twothirds of students combine learning with some kind of paid activity. Further, thisconfiguration is also becoming widespread amongst the 20-24 age group, andcharacterizes 10% of students in higher education.

On the basis of the Ifjsg2004 study, we may infer some conclusions pertain-ing to whether the structure of secondary and higher education has changed.

Data indicates that no significant change can be observed in the structure ofsecondary education. Due to an increase in demand for skilled labor, it seemsthat the long-expected decrease in the proportion of students undertaking ap-prenticeship training has come to a halt. However, the increase in percentage istoo low to indicate a change of trend, yet. Although the proportion of studentscontinuing their studies in secondary schools has slightly decreased, vocational-technical education remains an attractive option.

Table 2: Distribution of students in education by type of schoolin 2000, and in 2004 (in percentages)

The tables data indicates that the rise in participation in higher educationhas come about mainly through a significant increase in the number of studentsgoing to college. As far as university education is concerned, there are no signif-icant changes in the proportions of students.

EDUCATIONAL INEQUALITIES

As opposed to earlier studies, we drew a more accurate and differentiated pic-ture of the social makeup of secondary and higher education on the basis of alarge scale sample drawn both in 2000 and 2004. More precisely, we determined

15Education



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the proportions of various socio-cultural groups in secondary education, andhow the structural makeup they draw to see has changed within the context of arapidly expanding higher education system.

Table 3: Participation in education of 15 to 29 year oldsaccording to fathers educational level (in percentages)

The data reflects an unchanged picture. Based on the concordant results of the2000 and 2004 studies sampling, it is unequivocal that educational discrepanciesresulting from disparities in social background are especially high, and have notdiminished in spite of the expansion of the educational system. Invariably, forthe group whose parents hold low qualifications, only apprenticeship trainingprovides a viable opportunity for pursuing education. Disadvantages stemmingfrom social class are unequivocal in comparing apprenticeship training and voca-tional/technical schools with other schools. Only 3% of the children of parentswith elementary qualifications partake in higher education. While seven tenthsof young people belonging to the most educated familial and social environmentstake part in some kind of secondary or higher education, this figure is only 19%

for the group whose parents only hold elementary qualifications or less. In this re-spect, the past four years have not brought about any changes.

However, some transformations are noticeable, especially in higher education.If we look through the distribution of university and college students in relationto their fathers qualifications, we might notice the following.

Table 4: Distribution of university and college studentsby the fathers qualifications in 2000 and 2004 (in percentages)

In 2000, the unequivocal beneficiaries of the expansion of higher educationseemed to be young people belonging to the most educated familial and social




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environments. In the past four years, prospects to pursue studies in higher edu-cation mostly improved for children of fathers holding secondary education de-grees. The proportion of children with parents holding secondary school degreessignificantly increased both among university and college students. Thus, itseems that in relation to prospects of higher education, it is only the fathers sec-ondary education qualifications that should be regarded as caesura. Concerningthose two groups of youth belonging to familial and social environments witheven lower qualifications (that is, children of fathers holding no more than vo-cational certificates or primary educational qualifications), the expansion hashad virtually no beneficial effect on their situation. What is more, for youngpeople from disadvantageous domestic and social environments, the prospectsfor further education seem even gloomier than before. Therefore, educationalinequalities resulting from differences in social backgrounds invariably impact

on the youths opportunities to acquire knowledge.

17Education



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ECONOMIC ACTIVITY

ENTERING WORK

Two-fifths (39%) of young people between 15 and 29 have been employed atsome point during the course of their studies, and a further 5% of them have

combined studies and work. Of course, number of young people have alreadycompleted their studies to enter the labor market, but sooner or latter left theirjobs (e.g. decided to further their studies) or were contrived to leave (e.g. be-came unemployed).

The employed are roughly distributed along the two older age categories,meaning that two thirds belong to the 25-29 age group; nearly one third are be-tween 20-24 years of age; and only 2% belong to the 15-19 group. In 2000,roughly two thirds (38%) of these occupations were manual jobs. By 2004 thisnumber increased to 58%, denoting a significant and tendency-like shift. White

Figure 5: Occupational structure of working young peoplebetween 15 and 29 (gender-specific distribution)



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collar jobs occupy over a third of the occupational distribution. A tenth of whitecollar workers are entrepreneurs working mainly in the fields of commerce, industryor services. Only one per cent of the youth works in the agricultural sector.

The types of occupations held by men and women differ significantly. Theoverwhelming majority over two thirds of men do manual work, mostly asskilled workers (44%). In contrast, there is a low proportion of semi-skilled(17%) and especially unskilled (5%) workers, indicating a low demand for thiskind of work. The proportion of male employees doing white collar work is onlyaround one quarter.

In contrast, half of the women work in white collar jobs, above all as officeemployees (26%). It is important to note that the proportion of female profes-sionals (19%) highly surpasses that of male professionals (8%). Also, there is alow percentage of women in manual jobs, and the majority of them work as

skilled workers (27%).The occupational distribution shows similar differences along the lines of settle-ment types.

In the capital, the proportion of young people performing white collar work isof 50%, whereas the rest of the country sees a higher proportion of manualworkers (47%) rather than white collar employees (42%). In the countrys othertowns, the proportion of manual workers revolves around three fifths (63%),and this figure rises to nearly seven-tenths (68%) in villages.

19Economic activity

Figure 6: Occupational distribution of working young peoplebetween 15 and 29 by settlement type (in percentages)



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Contrasting with earlier decades, the distribution of employees by educationalqualifications provides us with an encouraging picture, since there are near tono workers without elementary qualifications and the proportion of those hol-ding only primary educational qualifications is but a tenth. Further, vocationalcertificates do not predominate and are to be found in equal proportion to sec-ondary school degrees (37%). Finally, if we account for college (11%) and uni-versity (4%) graduates, we witness the predominance of higher educationamongst todays youth. (Of course, the data does not reveal a significant im-provement in qualifications, but displays the fact that those with low educa-tional qualifications do not even enter the labor market.)

UNEMPLOYMENT

Unemployment remains one of the youths main problems. One third of respon-dents claimed having already been unemployed during their rather brief workinglives. The overwhelming majority (28%) of those concerned has already beenregistered as unemployed, a minority (3%) has not, or and another minority (3%)claims having been both registered and unregistered as unemployed. Althoughthere are higher education students who are affected by unemployment (5-10%),this problem mainly impacts those who could not, or did not want to, remain ineducation. Accordingly, one third of those doing non-remunerated housework,and two fifths of those on maternity leave report having been unemployed.Among the employed, the incidence of those affected by unemployment is evenhigher: nearly fifty per cent reported having known such a state of affairs.


Figure 7: Have you ever been unemployed?(by group, in percentages within a given group)



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In this respect, significant differences can be found as far as occupationalgroupings are concerned: while around seventy per cent (69%) of unskilled andnearly sixty per cent (59%) of semi-skilled workers claimed having been unem-ployed, only a rough forty per cent of office workers and professionals (44%and 37% respectively) made such claims.

Although a majority (69%) has been unemployed only once, 30% of 15-29year olds have known such a state of affairs twice or more.

The seriousness of this situation is further indicated by the fact that while forthree tenths of our sample the length of unemployment did not exceed threemonths; the majority of young people suffer from extended periods of joblessness.

Taking into account the high proportion of young people affected by unem-ployment, and the widespread negative social experience it induces, it comes asno surprise that a significant part of the youth (42%) lives in dread of joblessness.

Three themes recur: fear of being unable to enter the world of work, loosing onesjob, or being incapable of re-entering the labor market once having left school.

21Economic activity



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MATERIAL, FINANCIAL,

INCOME AND HOUSING SITUATION

FAMILY SITUATION, SELF-DEPENDENTS AND DEPENDENTS

36% of young people between 15 and 29 are independent, live alone or with a

family of their own. They form a category which is more or less financially re-sponsible for their everyday life and that of their familys. From the materialpoint of view, this group contrasts with young people who live with their parentsand have not started a family of their own.

Young people defined as independent, whether living alone, or with a familyof their own, are on average significantly older (they average at 25.6 years ofage) than the so-called dependents (who average at 20.6 years of age).

Partially resulting from their age difference, and partially from the pressure ofbeing financially responsible for themselves and their families, 62% of the inde-pendent youth work (even while studying), whereas this holds true of only 34%of those living with their parents.

INCOME RELATIONS

To calculate the per capita income of each household, we will use the equiva-lence method of calculation.

Households monthly net income per consumer unit averages at 63.753Forints. As far as income per capita is concerned, there is practically no differ-ence between the households of dependent or independent youths. However,differences in households average income per consumer unit can be observed atthe regional level: the average income per consumer unit in Central Hungary is79.119 Forints, and decreases to 51.465 Forints in Northern Hungary.

We find even larger differences if we compare households according to settle-ment types. In Budapest, the average income per consumer unit in a householdhousing a 15-29-year old is of 85.005 Forints, whereas in villages the numbers dropto 53.594 Forints. We divided the income per consumer unit into five parts in or-der to approximately infer the income situation of young peoples households.



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Figure 8: Average income of households per consumer unitby settlement type (in HUF)

23Material, financial, income and housing situation

Table 5: Average income of households per consumer unit, by region



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HOUSING SITUATION

Two thirds of respondents live at their parents place. For the better part of theyear, one fifth of them live in their own flat/house or the flat/house of theirlife/matrimonial partner, and the remaining 14% live in rented flats, dormitory,or at a friends place.

Table 6: Where do you live most of the year? (in percentages)




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INFORMATION SOCIETY

By the end of 2004, a newborn divide appeared in Hungarian society regarding

the possession of modern information and communication technology (ICT).While national data sources reveal that by 2004 the development of the infor-mation society has come to a halt in Hungary, we observed significant changesin some of our samples age groups. These appeared as outstanding even whencompared to other EU countries. An ambivalent process is being introduced inHungary. While there are no significant changes in the number of new inter-net and computers users (older generations seem unable to embark), the digitalculture and literacy of old users (i.e. young people socialized in a digital envi-ronment) has experienced a qualitative shift. Technological changes (e.g. theuse of broadband at home and in schools) and the growing utilization of internetservices and applications (e.g. online banking) have expanded individuals digi-tal resources. We would hereby like to call to attention to both specialists and

decision-makers in considering the fact that Hungarys digital divide is deep-ening rather than declining.

According to World Internet Projects (WIP) 2004 data, the proportion ofHungarian households owning personal computers has increased by only onepercent (from 31% to 32%) between 2003 and 2004, and the use of internet athome has increased by 2% (from 12% to 14%). By contrast, the results of theyouth-specific Ifjsg2004 study reveal that 57% of households own a PC, whileapproximately 24% of these households are able to connect to the internet.

During the Ifjsg2000 study, emphasis was placed on surveying the habits ofcomputer users, whereas in the Ifjsg2004 study, the main focus pertained to pat-terns of internet usage and differences in the experiences of home internet use.



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USE AND ACCESS TO COMPUTERS

Today, more than half (57%) of young peoples households are equipped withpersonal computers. Particularly significant changes can be observed when com-paring data with the Ifjsg2000 study which uncovered only 29% of householdsto be equipped with PCs. In four years time, computer ownership has almostdoubled. Access to PCs at home is far above average in Central-Hungary (66%)and in West Transdanubia (63%). The lowest scores are once again characteris-tic of Northern Hungary (50%), and the North Great Plain (49%). Such re-gional variations are consistent with those reported in the 2000 study.

Pertaining to households access to computers, the well-known urban trickle-down is once more apparent: computer ownership in young peoples house-holds varies from 71% for Budapest to 46% in villages.

Also, there are notable discrepancies amongst age categories. The oldergroups households seem less likely to have a computer: while 67% of the 15-19year olds households are equipped with personal computers, this proportiondrops to 49% in the case of older age groups.

We also observed a spectacular increase in young peoples use of PCs. In 2000,46% of young people between 15 and 29 used a PC, while in 2004 the totalnumber rose to 70%.


Figure 9: Possession of PCs in young peoples householdsin 2000 and 2004 (in percentages of respondents)



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Figure 10: Do you use a PC?(in percentages of respondents, in 2000 and 2004)

INTERNET ACCESS AND USE

59% of young people use the Internet at least once a month. The highest pro-portion of internet-users is to be found in Central Hungary (70%), and the low-est in the northeast part of the country in the regions of Northern Hungary(51%) and the North Great Plain (49%). Examining settlement types, we wit-ness that 74% of young people living in Budapest use the Internet, compared toonly 47% in villages.

77% of 15 to 19-year-olds use the internet, however, as we approach the olderage groups the proportion of users decreases. Only 45% of young people in theoldest age group use the internet at least once a month. 24% of households haveInternet access, which can be regarded as a strong increase, since only 9% ofyoung people had internet at home in 2000. 38% of households in the region ofCentral Hungary, and 25% of young people in the region of West Transdanubiahave access to the Internet at home. The region of the North Great Plain,where only 16% of households have internet access, has to be regarded as lag-ging behind.

Proportionally, the rate at which Budapest households are gaining internetaccess is three times superior to that of village households. The proportion ofhouseholds with internet access is 45% in the capital, and contrasts with a mere

27Information society



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14% in villages. 27% of the youngest age group has Internet access at home, incontrast with 21% of the oldest age group. The proportion of young internetusers who use internet from schools or universities rests at 55%. A third of thelatter use these locations above any others.

We witnessed that in the case of the oldest age group, the dominance of theworkplace as a location for browsing has severely declined given the increase ininternet use at home. Schools, though their importance is in decline, remain theprimary location for internet browsing.


Figure 11: Does your household have internet access?(in percentages of respondents, in 2000 and 2004)



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LIFESTYLE

SMOKING

Around four tenth of the studied age groups entire population claims to smoke

at least occasionally. Around a third of the respondents have never smoked and27% are currently non-smokers. The overwhelming majority of young smokerssmoke every day, 12% of them smoke at least once a week, while 8% can be re-garded as occasional smokers. Consequently, projected onto the whole of the 15-29 age group, the proportion of active smokers is located around 37%.

Compared to 2000, no significant or fundamental change has taken place in thesmoking habits of young people. However, the proportion of daily smokers has un-doubtedly increased in parallel to the proportion of non-smokers decreasing.

First smoking experiences habitually occur during the last years of primary, orthe first years of secondary school. More than half of the respondents tried outsmoking at ages as young as between 14 and 16 years old. Data indicates that aperson who does not smoke, even if only to experiment, until he/she turns 20 is

unlikely to become an active smoker. Those who smoke regularly usually smoke13-14 cigarettes a day.

Figure 12: Do you smoke? (in percentages)



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Four years later similarly to 2000 the category of daily smokers is domi-nated by male respondents. 37% of 15-29 year old men smoke on a daily basis incontrast to slightly over a quarter of young women. By their own account, 55%of men and more than two thirds of women do not smoke. Compared to thedata compiled four years ago, we can register a change of 2-3% in the number ofsmokers. The proportion of young women smoking daily has increased by 3%,and by 2% in the case of young men.

ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION

59% of the 15-29 age group claims not having, or only rarely, drunk alcohol inthe past year. Similarly to smoking, the drinking habits of male and female re-

spondents differ. According to their own accounts, nearly a quarter of men, andsix per cent of women drink alcohol on a weekly basis. Analyzing the demo-graphic variables, we can make several important statements. The negativelong-term consequences of alcohol consumption primarily manifest themselveson weekly or daily drinkers. Once again, the most endangered category of youngpeople are those holding vocational certificates. Indeed, nearly a fifth of themdrink alcohol at least, but more often than not several, times a week. As op-posed to smoking, professionals can be regarded as primary consumers of alco-hol, since 18% of them consume alcoholic beverages on a weekly basis.

Similar contrasts to those above can be drawn concerning the characteristicdifferences of the youth living in villages or in the capital. More then a tenth of15 to 29 year olds living in villages, and nearly two tenths of the Budapest youth

drink alcohol on a weekly basis. In our opinion, the data above indicates that


Figure 13: How often have you drunk alcoholin the past year? (in percentages)



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the difference does not lie in the frequency of alcohol consumption, but in thequality of the consumed product.

EXPERIMENTING WITH DRUGS AND DRUG ABUSE

Answering a written and confidential questionnaire, around one fifth of the4000 young interviewees indicated having tried or used some kind of drug.Within this sample, the proportion of those who tried drugs is of 11%, while theproportion of users is of 12%. This constitutes a serious social problem giventhat 43% of respondents claimed having an acquaintance or friend who hastried, or simply uses, some kind of narcotic drug.

Among those who had tried drugs, men again constitute a greater proportion,

though we witnessed a proportional harmonization with womens drug experi-ences. This indicates that young women are emancipated as far as drug use isconcerned.

Among young people who, according to their own account, have tried, or usedrugs, the proportion of Budapest youth is higher than the national average. Werecorded a superior average rate of experimentation and drug use among techni-cal, college and university students. This data seems to indicate that, as opposedto smoking and alcohol, the experimenting with and using of drugs is tied tohigher social status. The higher educational qualifications a respondents fatherhas, the more likely it is that he/she has already tried some kind of drug. Accord-

31

Figure 14: Have you ever tried drugs?

(in percentages of people answering to the question)



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ingly, the higher the respondents qualifications, the more likely it is that he/shehas tried, or uses, some kind of drug.

Those who have tried, or use, drugs are commonly found within the 20-24 agegroup. The proportion of drug users decreases both under and above this divid-ing line. Among those who have tried, or use, drugs marijuana and prescriptionsleeping pills or tranquillizers are the most popular substances.




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CULTURAL CONSUMPTION

The Ifjsg2004 study, as the Ifjsg2000 study before it, sought to analyzeyoung peoples relationship to culture and cultural consumption by means of

several questions. We will not herein present a comprehensive overview of ourresults, but rather focus on reading habits and cultural activities.

READING HABITS

In line with the Ifjsg2000 study, we asked young people how many, excludingcourse books, books they read a year.

The results remain unchanged: young people read an average of 8.9 books in2000, and an average of 8.7 books in 2004. Young people reading books de factoread three times as many books in 2000 as in 2004.

Figure 15: Apart from course books, the number of booksread in the past year, in 2000 and 2004



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There are 344 books on average in each household. However, 4% of youngpeople assert not being in possession of any book to call their own. Althoughthose living with their parents possess 90 books on average, 10% of them haveno books at all.

As far as gender is concerned, the picture drawn is strongly differentiated .Men own an average of 78 books, while women own an average of 105 books. Inrespect to printed press, the superiority of tabloids and local or regional media isdeterminant. Among daily political newspapers, Npszabadsg is most popularwith 12% of the samples readers, while Magyar Nemzet is read by 5% of respon-dents. Tabloids are popular in every settlement type. There are, however, dailypapers that are typical among readers from Budapest (e.g. Metro). The primaryaudience for daily political papers is once more the Budapest youth.

SCENES OF CULTURAL CONSUMPTION

As far as cultural consumption is concerned, we can assert an increase in the so-cietal divide since 2000. A group of young people has emerged, which relishes inthe consumption of products associated with cultural elitism. In contrast, oth-ers are denied the means to cultural consumption. The discrepancies betweenBudapest and villages are especially striking in this regard. Young people be-tween 15 and 29 years old are divided in both the quality and the quantity oftheir cultural consumption according to where they reside. Similarly to thedata of the Ifjsg2000 study, the Budapest youth ranks first in terms of the con-sumption of high culture (e.g. theatre, concert, library, museum, exhibition),

while 15-29 year olds from villages prefer going to community centers, local dis-cos, dances or dinner parties. Presumably, this can be related both to access tosuch institutions, as well as to education.

This striking disproportion coincides with differences in the frequency of visitsto cultural institutions. In 2000, nearly a quarter of the Budapest youth, but lessthan a tenth of villagers, went out to theatres within a two month period. In2004, 15% of the Capitals young people went to theatres within a one-monthperiod, while the same holds true for only 6% of young people from villages.Concerning cinemas, a twofold difference was registered in 2000: within a twomonths period, nearly three quarters of Budapests youth, and only a third ofthose living in villages went to cinemas; in 2004, with the spread of multiplexes,this gap increased. In the month preceding our study, cinemas were frequentedthree times as much by the capitals youth than by young people living in vil-lages. To conclude, the cultural gap is widening, and in turn may come tostrengthen the inequality of opportunities for young people.

We found numbers of young respondents who had never visited certain cul-tural institutions. The less frequented of cultural events were those seen belong-ing to the cultural elite. Irrespective of age groups, above 70% of young people




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have never been to art-cinemas, operas, or classical music concerts. Around20% of young people do not even go to multiplex cinemas. We can easily ac-count for the fact that both the village youth, and the 25-29 age group are thosewhich frequent multiplex cinemas the less.

Youths choices of cultural activities the data brought to light did not reflectour expectations. We found that leisure activities which young people choose onimpulse, reflect primarily individual activities and decision-making and display alack of sense of companionship and community spirit. In other words, the de-mand for companionship and community spirit rarely appears in our sample, and

there is, in our view a low desire for ambitious social activity.

SPENDING FREE TIME

Having projected the data of the Ifjsg2004 study onto an average weekday, weobserve that around 12% of 15 to 29 year olds have no more than one hour offree time, 47% of them have 1-3 hours, 27% of them have 4-6 hours, and 8%have over six hours of free time per day. Around 5% of the 15-29 age groupclaims not having any free time.

Taking into account the age dimension, it becomes apparent that the olderthe respondent, the more his/her free time decreases dramatically. 2% of youngpeople between 15 and 29, around 5% of those between 20 and 24, and 8% ofyoung people between 25 and 29 belong to the group whose activities on an av-erage weekday does not allow them any free time.

Data indicates that settlement type is important in respect to spending onesfree time. 15% of Budapest youth, 10% of county towns youth, 13% of young peo-ple from other towns, and around 12% of young people from villages have no more

35Cultural consumption

Figure 16: Institutions visited within a month (by age groups, in 2004)



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than one hour of free time. Among those having more than six hours of free time,the proportion of young people from Budapest revolves around 5%, while the pro-portion of young people living in county towns, towns and villages is around 9%. Itcan be asserted that the differences of free time in an average weekday are primarilycorrelated with the dimensions of economic activity and age category.

In comparison to weekdays, the way in which free time is spent on weekendsshows significant variations.

23% of young people have only a few hours of free time on weekends, while24% dispose of half a day. 25% of young people have a whole day of free time,23% dispose of the entire weekend, and 3% of the youth have no free time.

Similarly to weekdays, age fundamentally affects the extent of free time dis-posed of on weekends: the younger the age group, the more free time they have.The proportion of young people having a whole weekend free is of one third

among 15 to 19 year olds; one fourth among 20 to 24 year olds, and only 17%among 25 to 29 year olds.Furthermore, the proportion of young people with a completely free weekend

decreases according to settlement types: 30% among the capitals youth, 24%among those in county towns, 23% among those living in towns and 22% ofthose living in villages dispose of such a luxury. The high free time surplus inBudapest can be ascribed to several factors, which will need to be examined inthe later stages of the study.

To sum up, concerning both weekdays and weekends, the amount of free timea youth disposes of depends on his/her social status. The question remains:where do young people spend their free time on weekdays?


Figure 17: Where do you spend your free time on weekdays?(most often mentioned places, in percentages)



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Results show that, on weekdays, an overwhelming majority of young peoplesimply stay at home (around 73%), or at their friends place. Only an insignifi-cant minority of young people go out (to pubs or cafs) or to cultural institutions(1.5%.). In our preliminary hypothesis, we conjectured that young people wouldhave a higher demand for social activities on the weekends. Our hypothesis,however, cannot be verified based on the present data.

Figure 18: Where do you spend your free time on weekends?(most often mentioned places, in percentages)

Over half of young people (57%) spend even their weekends at home.

Nonetheless, it is worth noticing that around a tenth of young people spendtheir free time in nature.

The locations where free time is spent are correlated to the age and settle-ment type of young people. Every third young person belonging to the youngestage group spends his/her weekday free time at a friends place; 70% of 15 to 19year olds stay at home or in their dormitory. Only 5% mention going to sports-grounds and the same number of them hangs out in the streets. The ways inwhich free time is spent on weekdays in regards to settlement types is the follow-ing: 68% of young people from Budapest, and 76% of young people living in vil-lages stay at home or dormitories. 28% of young people living in Budapest and19% of those living in villages spend their time at a friends place.

On the weekends, 44% of young people aged between 15 and 19 spend their freetime at a friends place, 56% spend it in dormitories or at home, while 60% ofyoung people between 25 and 29 stay at home and 25% spend it at a friends place.In different settlement types, figures are the following: 44% of young people livingin the capital stay at home or in dormitories, while the same is true for about 64%of those living in villages. 42% of young people from Budapest spend their timewith friends, while this hold true for 31% of young people living in villages.




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Figure 19: Young people without a circle of friendsby settlement type (in percentages)

The existence of a circle of friends is both fundamental and determinant. Ourdata shows that the younger the age category, the more likely the individual is tospend time with friends.

Once more, whether a youth has a circle of friends, or not, seems to be corre-lated to settlement type. It is thought-provoking to observe the lack of close-ness existing in villages. There, the number of friendless young people is at its

highest. Perhaps, this might result from the fact that spending ones free time ismainly restricted to the family environment.




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VALUES AND SOCIAL PERSPECTIVES

OF YOUNG PEOPLE

LIFE PRINCIPLES, IMPORTANCE OF VALUES

We register (with one exception) a relative decrease in the importance of those

values that can be termed as material, and register an increase in the importanceof those values that can be termed as post-material. (Following Inglehart, vari-ous material goods, increase in income, and careers can be regarded as material

Table 7: How important are these values to you? (mean value of answers,where totally unimportant= 1, very important=5)



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values, while intimate and close human relationships, cultural values, indepen-dence, and freedom can be regarded as post-material values). Compared to pre-vious years, values representing security (peaceful world, prosperity, social order)lagged behind on the ranking of values, while in comparison more transcendentideas or values (creativity, respect of traditions, world of beauty, true friendship)have, in recent years, taken on an increasingly central role in the lives of youngpeople. The only exception concerns values pertaining to the nations role,which has come to play a less important role in young peoples value systems.Despite the fact that since 2000, Europe, and thus Hungary, has seen itsprospective for peace and security significantly threatened, such values have lostsome of their relative importance.

The relative decline of material principles can surely be explained by the (fur-ther) improvement of the countrys economic situation and by the (further) in-

crease in its social stability. This presumption is supported by the positive shift injudgment concerning the transition which is to be discussed in the next chapter.In parallel, principles and values pertaining to self-realization and ones individ-ual life have come to the front of the stage and have a greater direct impact oneveryday actions.

PUBLIC OPINION ON THE TRANSITIONAND THE FUTURE OF HUNGARY

Though developments in the general economic situation are judged less nega-tively, they are still regarded unfavorably. According to exactly half of respon-

dents, the countrys economic situation has deteriorated since the transition.One fifth of them think of the situation as unchanged, and around a further fifthperceive some improvement. This data corresponds with the results of theIfjsg2000 study.

On the contrary, there is stagnation rather than deterioration in the case ofgenerally interpreted personal situations. 40% of respondents see no change.According to slightly over one third of them, personal (or familial) situationshave deteriorated, while a fourth of them indicated definite improvement. Inthis regard, compared to the 2000 results we can talk of an 11% change, mostlyfor the benefit of improvement.

It can be generally stated that the youngest age category (15-19 year olds),the children of highly qualified parents, and young people from cities perceive apositive effect on their living standards since the transition.

The answers show a high level of consistency with a question further in thequestionnaire. According to their own account, 12% of young people considertheir family as winners of the 1989-90 transition, while one fourth see them-selves as losers. Every second young person gave an evasive answer, and almost14% remain uncertain regarding their opinion on the matter. As we have seen




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above, young people defining themselves as winners are from cities, are highlyeducated and come from families of good social standing.

In relation to future, public opinion is characterized by optimism. As far asquestions relating to the future are concerned, the majority of respondents expectimprovement, or see themselves as rather satisfied. Nearly four tenths of youngpeople having answered this question expect positive changes in the economyand living standards, and 45% expect favorable changes in their own personal


Figure 20: Taking everything into account, how has... developed since the transition? (in percentages)

Figure 21: Taking everything into account and on the basisof your own experience, in which category would you classify

your family into? (in percentages, by educational level)



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situation. In all three cases, the proportion of ambivalent young people stands at35%, and the proportion of those forecasting deterioration is no more than 30%(20% in the case of personal life strategies).

Compared to 2000, our data have improved favorably along two dimensions.Young people are at their most optimistic regarding both living standards, andtheir personal situations.

POLITICAL ACTIVITY

The Ifjsg2000 study revealed that less than one sixth of young people aremembers of a civil organization. This data has not changed much in four yearstime. Now 15% of respondents indicate being members of a civil, social, political,religious, charity, sport, or cultural organization, community, club, or circle. Simi-larly to the previous survey we noted a preference for organizations such as sportsocieties or clubs, and church organizations.

In 2000, data concerning party or political youth organization membershipwas not interpretable since only 32 out of 8000 young people indicated affilia-tion. By 2004, there have been no significant changes in this respect. 38 youngpeople reported being members of a party or a youth political organization, andan additional 22 claimed being members of civil associations. Membership to po-litical organizations is altogether below one per cent.

The division in organizational membership can be registered with an above-average frequency of youth belonging to younger age categories, men, the bettereducated or secondary school students of highly qualified fathers in good social


Figure 22: If you think about the future,how will change? (in percentages)



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positions, and the Budapest youth. These groups can be regarded as the win-ners of the transition, and it is their members who have the best opportunitiesto lead successful carriers and lives. However it is worth noting that these arethe groups disposing of the most free time, and thus, which can most easily ac-commodate the time restrictions required by organizational membership.

Examining the question from the viewpoint of public life, there is no doubtthat the more interested a young person is in politics, the more likely he/she willbe a member of an organization. 32% of very interested young people and 11%of completely uninterested young people are members in such organizations.Subsequently, we observe that young people standing in the middle of the ideo-logical spectrum have a lower than average rate of participation in political orga-nizations. This figure is above 20% among right-wing 15-29 year olds, and 18%among their left-wing counterparts. Similar tendencies can be observed along

the liberal-conservative axis. Young people with rather conservative principleshave greater organizational potential.Young members of such organizations seem to have, in the first place, joined

because of their friends or community (38%). The second most popular reasonfor joining is having the opportunity to represent ones interests (14%), and thethird relates to the influence of school (influence of fellow students and teach-ers: 10%). Also, both tackling important issues and the possibility of doingsomething good for the community was mentioned by 7% of respondents.

The majority of young people who have no membership to any organization ex-plained having a lack of either interest or time (39 and 36 percent respectively).

Concerning direct political activity and protest potential, around one third ofthe 4000 questioned young people (replying to a written and confidential ques-

tionnaire) indicated that they had already taken part in one or more acts ofprotest. Young people aged 15-29 prefer non-violent and legal acts, politicalprotests, civil initiatives, and petition signing, which require a relatively smallamount of time or energy to be invested in. Hardly 1% of respondents wouldparticipate in a non-permitted form of protest and another percent would par-take in a violent form of protest.

The protest potential is much higher than the actual level of participation. Inlight of an important issue or an unusual situation, 56% would sign a petition,38% would take part in a permitted strike, 35% would take part in civil initia-tive, 27% would participate in an allowed political protest, and 21% would joina half lane road blocking.

43Values and social perspectives of young people



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PROBLEMS FACING TODAYS YOUTH

Significant change has occurred over the past four years concerning how we may

perceive youths problems. Nowadays, the spread of drugs undoubtedly is themost important source of concern for young people aged between 15 and 29.Previously, the drug issue ranked fifth. There have also been important changesin other forms of deviant behavior: alcohol has become one of the four most im-portant issues. Those basic problems which formerly had absolute priority, suchas unemployment, destitution, or housing issues have lagged behind. The fre-quency of unemployment being mentioned has halved. Destitution and housingissues have slipped back to the seventh and ninth place on the list. Their rolehas been overtaken by factors that are, after all, directly or indirectly connectedto fundamental social problems, and can be regarded as ways of responding tothem. It is hopelessness, aimlessness and uncertainty which feeds the birth andgrowth of these forms of deviant behavior.

As far as the youngest age category, 15-19 year olds, is concerned, the spreadof drugs and alcohol is a problem to be valued more so than in the case of otherage groups. Unemployment mainly affects young people aged 20-24 who are be-ginning their careers in the labor market. In comparison, it is for the oldestgroup that problems relating to their future, hopelessness and aimlessness be-come proportionally central.

It is surprising to note that, while it is young people living in villages who suf-fer the most from alcohol problems, the spread of drugs is not distributed alongsettlement types. In our opinion, this can be accounted for by the fact that druguse is valued as a serious problem by all social groups. Similarly to the 2000study, the Budapest youth reports becoming independent and housing difficul-ties as major problems in much higher proportions than the national average. Invillages, the significance of unemployment and destitution is dominant.

The problem map of young people currently in the educational system showsimportant differences in respect to types of school. Vocational training schoolstudents and vocational secondary school students are mostly concerned by thespread of drugs and alcohol. In comparison to others, young people attendinguniversity or college are concerned to a larger extent by immaterial or emotional



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problems, such as aimlessness, hopelessness, moral deterioration, lack of cultureand family crises.

Figure 23: What do you consider the most vital problem of youth?(cumulative percentage distribution of the two most important answers)

45Values and social perspectives of young people



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Index of figures and tables

Figure 1: Distribution of young people by marital status (in percentages) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Figure 2: Distribution of mens marital status by age category (in percentages) . . . . . . . . . 11Figure 3: Distribution of womens marital status according

to age category (in percentages) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Figure 4: How many children do you have? In 2000 and in 2004 (in percentages) . . . . . . 13Figure 5: Occupational structure of working young people between 15 and 29

(gender-specific distribution) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Figure 6: Occupational distribution of working young people between

15 and 29 by settlement type (in percentages) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Figure 7: Have you ever been unemployed? (by group, in percentages

within a given group) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Figure 8: Average income of households per consumer unit

by settlement type (in HUF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Figure 9: Possession of PCs in young peoples households in 2000 and 2004

(in percentages of respondents) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Figure 10: Do you use a PC? (in percentages of respondents, in 2000 and 2004) . . . . . . . . 27Figure 11: Does your household have internet access? (in percentages of respondents,

in 2000 and 2004) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Figure 12: Do you smoke? (in percentages) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Figure 13: How often have you drunk alcohol in the past year? (in percentages) . . . . . . . 30Figure 14: Have you ever tried drugs? (in percentages of people

answering to the question) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Figure 15: Apart from course books, the number of books read in the past year,

in 2000 and 2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Figure 16: Institutions visited within a month (by age groups, in 2000) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Figure 17: Where do you spend your free time on weekdays? (most often

mentioned places, in percentages) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Figure 18: Where do you spend your free time on weekends? (most often

mentioned places, in percentages) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Figure 19: Young people without a circle of friends by settlement type

(in percentages) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Figure 20: Taking everything into account, how has developed since the transition?

(in percentages) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Figure 21: Taking everything into account and on the basis of your own experience,

in which category would you classify your family into?(in percentages, by educational level) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Figure 22: If you think about the future, how will change? (in percentages) . . . . . . . . . 42Figure 23: What do you consider the most vital problem of youth? (cumulative

percentage distribution of the two most important answers) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45



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Table 1: Participation in education in 2000 and in 2004 respectively by age groups

(in percentages) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Table 2: Distribution of students in education by type of schoolin 2000, and in 2004 (in percentages) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Table 3: Participation in education of 15 to 29 year olds according to fatherseducational level (in percentages) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Table 4: Distribution of university and college students by the fathersqualifications in 2000 and 2004 (in percentages) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Table 5: Average income of households per consumer unit, by region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23Table 6: Where do you live most of the year? (in percentages) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Table 7: How important are these values to you? (mean value of answers, where totally

unimportant= 1, very important=5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

47Index of figures and tables



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Youth 2004 - Research Report

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