ABSTRACT
This chapter compares young people’s attitudes and values in different European countries. It analyses the changes in the values of Finnish young people which have happened during the economic recession in the framework of education, gender and ideological/religious backgrounds. A European comparative study shows that young people’s sense of satisfaction with life is linked to their economic situation. Young people’s subjective feelings of freedom and their level of influence in matters concerning them are interrelated. The deteriorating economic situation in Finland was reflected in young people’s more rigid attitudes regarding, for instance, refugees and development aid. In 1989 young people considered the standard of living in Finland to be high enough that the country could afford to take better care of the unemployed and other disadvantaged population groups. This supportive attitude weakened during the recession, but well over half were still of the same opinion in 1992.
