ABSTRACT
Young people in the new member states of the European Union and the candidate countries of southeastern Europe share many common transitional experiences with their counterparts in the ‘old’ west. Among the most significant trends are a prolongation of studies, a delay in getting their first stable job, the postponement of marriage and parenthood, an earlier start to independent consumer behavior and attaching a greater importance to leisure and the quality of life (Wallace and Kovacheva, 1998; Roberts, 2003; Catan, 2004). Specific to the situation of youth in the eastern half of Europe is the simultaneous occurrence and overlapping of various transitions of post-Communist societies: the passage of young people from dependence to autonomy, the pluralization of family patterns and the societal transition from authoritarianism to democracy. These transformations are influencing each other—and not in a linear way. Each is composed of various processes, the interplay of which creates a complex picture of contradictions ( Figure 7.1 ). Thus, at present, young people in the new member states have more education opportunities than 15 years ago but also face greater risks of unemployment after graduation. With labor market access tighter within their countries, the young are finding better work opportunities abroad. They are more dependent financially on their parents but more independent in their values and forms of behavior. There is a growing disparity in value systems between the generations in society but a strengthening of solidarity between them in the family.
