Young People in Serbia 2015: Situation, Perceptions, Beliefs and Aspirations

Material status and living conditions, education, work and employment, family and leisure, trust, attitudes and beliefs, future aspirations as well as politics and EU-accession of Serbia.

I. Face-to-face interview:

Topics: 1. Leisure time and lifestyle: main leisure time activities; internet access; number of hours a day the respondent spends watching TV (genres) and on the internet; purposes for internet use; fashionable and old-fashioned personal values; average money for personal needs.

2. Values and beliefs: rust in social groups from young people’s milieu; attitude towards different groups in the neighborhood; ever felt discriminated and factors for discrimination; ranking of the most important values; most important reason for voluntary activities; religious beliefs and practices: religious denomination; acceptance of religious beliefs (there is a God, God created the world, believe in the existence of heaven and hell, and in God as a source of moral prescriptions and duties); frequency of participation in religious practices.

3. Family transitions: housing situation; number of rooms in the household; form of ownership; reasons for living with the parents; relationship with the parents; persons with most influence on young people’s decisions; advantages of marriage; advantages of unmarried relationship; most appropriate age for creating a family; desired number of children; ranking of factors for the choice of a marriage partner; part of a group of friends; satisfaction with friends.

4. Migration intentions: intentions for internal migration and emigration; activities for emigration; expected personal situation in ten years.

5. Education: educational aspirations; most important factor for obtaining the desired education; everyday life at school / university: motivation for attending school / university; academic efforts and achievements; corruption in the educational system: grades and exams are being bought at the own school / university.

6. Employment: preference for private or public sector employment; most important factor for finding a suitable job and succeeding in employment today; employed in the profession the respondent was educated for; working hours per week; average monthly income.

7. Democracy and politics: frequency of political discussions with parents; interest in world politics, EU politics, politics in the Balkans, and Serbian politics; correspondence between political views of the respondent and his parents; party preference; electoral participation since becoming eligible to vote; satisfaction with democracy; opinion about the influence of one’s vote upon parliament and the government; trust in Serbian and EU institutions; importance and ranking of different political issues.

8. European integration: attitude towards Serbia’s EU membership; Serbia has benefited or lost from EU membership; areas where Serbia has benefited from EU accession.

9. Optimism and fears: assessment of personal and family life-prospects at present; expected future in ten years; vision of Serbia’s short-term future; disturbing / alarming problems for Serbian society; Serbia’s EU membership poses threats to different levels.

Demography: sex, age, year and month of birth; satisfaction (personal relationships, family life, occupation); household size, highest educational level of respondent and parents; marital status; number of children; the most appropriate age to get the first child; material status; family’s cultural capital: number of books in the household; financial situation of the household; housing situation; number of rooms; own room; employment situation; sources of income.

Additionally coded was: questionnaire-ID; date (month and year) and time of interview; duration of interview; settlement.

II: Self-administered questionnaire:

Topics: alcohol and marijuana use; acceptance of marijuana use and alcohol use; satisfaction with own appearance; sexual experience; use of form of birth control; opinion on sexual abstinence; tolerance towards non-traditional forms of sexuality; tolerance towards abortion; involvement in some form of physical (violent) conflict in the last 12 months.