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Contents

INTRODUCTION
  THE PURPOSE OF THE RESEARCH
  TOPICS
  SPONSORS OF THE RESEARCH
  LEADING RESEARCHERS OF THE YOUTH2008 PROJECT
  COOPERATING RESEARCHERS
  COOPERATING ASSOCIATES
  THE DATA WERE COLLECTED BY:
  PROFESSIONAL REVISER:

METHODOLOGY OF THE YOUTH2008 RESEARCH
  THE METHODOLOGY OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
  THE METHODOLOGY OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

DEMOGRAPHICS, FAMILY RELATIONS AND CHILD BIRTH
  MARITAL STATUS
  CHILDBIRTH

EDUCATION
  PARTICIPATION IN EDUCATION
  ECONOMIC ACTIVITY AND LEARNING
  EXTENDED EDUCATION, LANGUAGE SKILLS, SPECIAL CLASSES
  UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGE STUDENTS
  POSSIBLE WAYS OF TRANSITION BETWEEN SCHOOL AND WORKPLACE
  SCHOOL
  THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
  TEACHERS
  CURRICULUM
  ASPECTS OF CHOOSING SCHOOLS
  PREFERENCES
  DISLIKES
  OTHER DECISION-MAKING FACTORS
  DROPPING OUT
  LATER OPINIONS ABOUT THE CHOICE OF SCHOOL

A REVIEW OF THE LABOUR MARKET
  FIRST JOBS
  EMPLOYMENT IN THE FIRST JOB
  CURRENT WORKPLACE, EMPLOYMENT
  BLACK WORK
  OCCUPATIONS
  GIVING UP AND LOSING JOBS, UNEMPLOYMENT
    Losing jobs
    Young unemployed people
  GEOGRAPHICAL MOBILITY
  CHOOSING THE WORKPLACE, SATISFACTION WITH THE WORKPLACE, THE IDEAL WORKPLACE
  UNEMPLOYMENT
  THE WAY OUT OF UNEMPLOYMENT
    Getting work abroad
    Moving within Hungary
    Starting a business
    Training courses, retraining
    Labour centres

FINANCE, PROPERTY, INCOME AND HOUSING
  YOUTH - A UNIFORM GROUP?
  FAMILY STATUS, SELF-DEPENDENTS AND DEPENDENTS
  INCOME
  INCOMES OF HOUSEHOLDS
  PROPERTY
  HOUSING
  SUBJECTIVE OPINIONS ABOUT THE FINANCIAL POSITION
  HOLIDAYS

A FEW CHARACTERISITICS OF THE LIFESTYLE OF THE 15-29 AGE GROUP
  SPORTING HABITS
  SMOKING HABITS
  ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION
  DRUG CONSUMPTION
  SUBJECTIVE OPINIONS ABOUT THE HEALTH STATUS
  SEXUALITY-RELATED ATTRIBUTES

THE INFORMATION SOCIETY AND MEDIA CONSUMPTION
  COMPUTER AND INTERNET USAGE
  DIGITAL DEVICES IN THE HOUSEHOLDS
    Internet and computer
  CHARACTERISTICS OF INTERNET USAGE
  OTHER DEVICES IN THE HOUSEHOLDS OF YOUNG PEOPLE
  TV, RADIO, DAILY AND WEEKLY PAPERS
    Television
    Radio
    Newspapers

A FEW CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURAL CONSUMPTION, SPENDING LESIURE TIME
  SUPPLY OF MATERIALIZED CULTURAL CAPITAL
  SCENES OF CULTURAL CONSUMPTION
  SPENDING LEISURE TIME

THE YOUTH'S PUBLIC MOOD IN SOCIETY, THEIR ATTITUDE TO POLITICAL ISSUES
  PUBLIC MOOD
  POLITICAL INTERESTS AND OPINIONS
  POLITICAL ACTIVITIES
  YOUTH SERVICES
  YOUTH OFFICES AND CONTACT PERSONS FOR THE YOUTH

RELIGIOUSNESS

THE MOST SIGNIFICANT PROBLEMS OF THE YOUTH

CLOSING STATEMENTS

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Introduction

When we pose the question as to what characterises the situation of young Hungarians and the Hungarian society, we are basically examining what circumstances and conditions are provided to the youth under the new system that has evolved over the past two decades following the change of regime. What opportunities are offered and what barriers are raised to the coming generations in terms of social preparations, gaining independence, taking social roles and actions as well as career and job opportunities? To put it in another manner: how are the actions of the youth and their forms of interest influenced by the circumstances of generational reproduction created by the social, economic, political, legal, etc. relations evolving as a result of the political and economic restructuring?

In modern societies, also including the Hungarian society, the social preparation, the activities and the integration of young generations are to be guaranteed at all times through the simultaneous operation of numerous and diverse social institutions and organisations. In this respect, one of the most important elements is the family, but a basic role is also taken in the socialisation of the youth by the educational and training system, the state, the local governments, the youth and civil organisations, the church as well as by contemporary groups or even by the media.

The quality of life and the background provided to young residents in an unemployment-ridden settlement with a poor population, by a local government with a low budget and by a inadequately supplied school is basically different from a settlement that is mainly populated by a well-off middle class, where the local government has sufficient funds for rendering high-level services and provisions.

Since the start of the restructuring process, the Youth2008 research has been the third experiment that makes an attempt to describe - through the instruments of social science and sociology - the changes and characteristics deriving from the social and economic transformation that takes place in the processes of generational reproduction. One of the objectives of the youth data collection - conducted every four years in a large sample covering the 15-29 age-group - is to record the changes (compared to the previous collection(s)) in the social factors that influence the education, the employment, the career, the independence and the welfare of young age groups. A further aim is to register how these impacts are reflected in young people's lifestyle, leisure activities and cultural consumption.

The youth sociology surveys conducted over the past two decades go to show that the period of youth has become longer1. Young people spend more and more time at educational institutes. The data collected in the 1980s - and even in the early 1990s - showed that finishing school, finding jobs, getting married and having children were closely related to each other in terms of time in the case of skilled workers and people doing routine intellectual work (mainly with a GCSE exam). Young people usually got married after starting work (irrespective of their educational level), and they had their first child within two years. Today however, those with vocational training start work that lasts for more than three months for the first time typically at the age of about 19. The trend is similar with those who do intellectual work that does not require a university/college degree. Previously, starting work depended on the date of the GCSE, but in the year 2000, more than two-fifths of the people concerned joined the labour market for the first time at the age of 20 or older. The trend was still very similar in 2004, but by 2008 this rate went up to cover two-thirds of young people.

...

The Youth2008 research programme was ordered by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, and it was financed by the Training Fund of the Labour Market Fund and by the Employment Fund of the Labour Market Fund.

Compared to the previous large-sample surveys, the large-sample survey conducted in 2008 was extended with a qualitative (focus group) phase in order to more accurately explore the decisions that affect the lives of young people.

At last, it can be declared that - following the example of numerous EU countries - government-backed, comprehensive youth research activities have also become regular in Hungary by 2008. It is one of the basic objectives of this research that the collected data should - according to the traditions - be available for use by all interested parties. Thus, the results and the findings will be published after processing the work.

Due to its specific features, the Flash Report serves the purpose of giving an insight into the basic research data prior to preparing the studies; however, we do not undertake here and now to interpret the figures in depth or to highlight and explain the relationships. Therefore, the Flash Report is nothing else but a surface approach to the basic research data.

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