Patterns of continuity and disruption: The specificity of young people's mental structures in three transitional societies

In: Young: Nordic journal of youth research, Band 16, Heft 3, S. 251-278

Abstract

This article analyzes inter-generational continuity and cultural reproduction in three transitional countries: Estonia, Latvia and the Czech Republic. We compare the levels of internalization of factor structures of self-identification and values among young people and older generations. We focus specifically on a comparison of young people representing the two main ethno-linguistic groups in Estonia and Latvia: ethnic Estonians, or Latvians, and Russians. The data are derived from representative population surveys carried out in the three countries in November 2005 and spring 2006. In general, we observed greater inter-generational continuity in the Czech Republic, compared with Estonia and Latvia. Cultural reproduction among the ethnic minorities in both Baltic countries has been most vulnerable to transitional changes: Russian youngsters differ from their parents to a greater extent than do young Estonians and Latvians from theirs.