Tekijät

• Advisory Council for Youth Affairs (Nuora)
• Finnish Youth Research Society. Finnish Youth Research Network

Asiasanat

adolescents, education, future, housing, internet, labour and employment, satisfaction, social systems, unemployment, voting, youth

Sisällön kuvaus

The youth survey focused on Finnish young people's employment, education, the Internet, the future, participation in local policy, and relationship to society.

First, questions related to work and education were presented. The respondents were asked about the nature of their work, whether they had been unemployed, and how much unemployment benefit they had received during their period of unemployment. The respondents also assessed the importance of various school subjects and the characteristics they considered important in getting on in life. They also estimated how various characteristics affect one's employment possibilities.

The respondents were asked which services offered by their municipality of residence they used, how often they used them, and whether they knew where to find those services. They were also asked how important they considered municipal youth facilities, youth council, organised afternoon activities, and other services aimed at young people.

Participation in local decision-making was charted. The respondents were asked whether there was a youth council in their municipality of residence, whether they felt they could influence matters in their municipality of residence, whether they were going to vote in municipal elections, and whether they considered online voting to be a factor that would activate voters. Internet use was queried by asking the respondents how much time they spent on the Internet weekly, which services they used, and the amount of money they had spent on the Internet. In addition, they gave their opinions on the amount of influence their families, friends, school, the media, and society had on their hobbies, political orientation, use of intoxicants, and career choice.

The respondents' political orientation, values, and interest in political issues were charted by presenting them with a series of questions. Their identification with various groups, such as their family, city, Europe and church was also examined.

Finally, the respondents were asked how they viewed their possibilities of influencing their own future, how important they considered for instance traditional values, partying, studying, school success, possibilities of seeing foreign cultures, money, and success with their hobbies.

Background variables included the respondent's age, gender, mother tongue, household composition, level of education and economic activity.