Authors

• Advisory Council for Youth Affairs (Nuora)
• Finnish Youth Research Society. Finnish Youth Research Network
• Ministry of Education. Arts Council of Finland

Keywords

adolescents, cultural participation, environmental conservation, expectation, political attitudes, political institutions, social status, social systems, values, world view

Abstract

The main themes of the Finnish Youth Survey Autumn 1998 were social participation, cultural services, and political focal points. Young people's future plans, world view, and notions of various social institutions were queried.

First, the respondents were asked about public political influence. Trust in various institutions (e.g. political parties, church, police, banks, and the EU) was charted, and the respondents indicated what they would be willing to do in order to promote the issues they considered important (e.g. participate in a public demonstration, use violence against political decision-makers, sign a petition, or join a political party).

Next questions canvassed the use of cultural services. The respondents indicated the importance of various services, including opera performances and festivals, theatre performances, and rock concerts.

Young people's world view was also under observation. They were presented with a set of attitudinal statements on the acceptability of various things, such as attacking fur farms, participating in demonstrations against foreigners, and claiming unemployment benefits on false grounds. The importance of achieving various things (e.g. own family and children, permanent job, higher than average wage) by the age of 35 was also queried.

Further questions surveyed the political attitudes of young people. The importance of decisions made in various institutions (such as the local council, Parliament, the EU, and the school system) was examined. The respondents were also presented with a set of attitudinal statements on Finnish society, covering topics such as racism, the EU membership, and foreign workers. In addition, they were asked to name the two most important things the next Government should focus on (for example national defence, employment, or environmental protection). Finally, the respondents were asked how much various things (e.g. youth work, museums, or reducing taxes) should be focused on, if there were more latitude in the Finnish economy.

Background variables included the respondent's age, gender, education, province of residence, and economic activity.