Eurobarometer 28.1: Young Europeans - Life, Interests, Education, Employment, and Knowledge of Foreign Languages, October-November, 1987

The Eurobarometer (EB) survey series is a unique programme of cross-national and cross-temporal comparative social science research. Since the early seventies representative national samples in all European Union (EU) (formerly the European Community (EC)) member states have been simultaneously interviewed in the spring and autumn of each year. Starting with EB 34.1 (autumn 1990), separate supplementary surveys on special issues have been conducted under almost every EB number. The EB is designed to provide regular monitoring of public social and political attitudes in the EU through specific trend questions. More information about the series may be found on the Zentralarchiv fuer Empirische Sozialforschung (ZA - Central Archive for Empirical Social Research, University of Cologne) Eurobarometer Survey Series web pages. Background Work on European survey series began in early 1970, when the Commission of the European Community sponsored simultaneous surveys of the EC. These surveys were designed to measure public awareness of, and attitudes toward, the Common Market and other EC institutions, in complementary fashion. They also probed the goals given top priority for each respondent's nation. These concerns have remained a central part of the EC's research efforts - which were carried forward in the summer of 1971 with another six-nation survey that gave special attention to agricultural problems. The nine EC member countries were then surveyed again on the same topic areas in September 1973. After 1973, the surveys took on a somewhat broader scope in content as well as in geographical coverage, with measures of subjective satisfaction and the perceived quality of life becoming standard features of the EC public opinion surveys. Over time, the member states of the EC/EU have increased in number, and the coverage of the EB surveys has widened accordingly. In 1974, nine countries were surveyed: France, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland and Luxembourg. Greece has been included since the autumn 1980 survey (EB 14) onwards, Portugal and Spain since autumn 1985 (EB 24), the former German Democratic Republic since autumn 1990 (EB 34), Finland since the spring of 1993 (EB 39), and Sweden and Austria since the autumn of 1994 (EB 42). Norway has been included in some surveys since 1991, from EB 36 onwards. In 2004, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia joined the EU, and in 2007, Bulgaria and Romania (some of these countries participated in the Candidate Countries Eurobarometer survey series (see under GN 33343) before full accession). Some surveys are also conducted in Turkey, and in the Turkish Cypriot Community (Northern Cyprus). The Eurobarometer public opinion surveys are conducted on behalf of and co-ordinated by the European Commission, DG Press and Communication - Opinion Polls Sector (European Commission Public Opinion Analysis). Special topic modules are carried out at the request of the responsible EU Directorate General. ZA released this edition of the study on 24 January 2008. Main Topics:This round of Eurobarometer surveys queried respondents who were aged 15-24 on standard Eurobarometer measures, such as how satisfied they were with their present life, whether they attempted to persuade others close to them to share their views on subjects they held strong opinions about, whether they discussed political matters, what their country's goals should be for the next 10 or 15 years, and how they viewed the need for societal change. Additional questions focused on the respondents' knowledge of and opinions on the European Community (EC), including how well-informed they felt about the EC, what sources of information about the EC they used, whether their country had benefited from being an EC member, and the extent of their personal interest in EC matters. Other major areas of focus of the surveys included: (1) life and interests, (2) foreign languages and traveling abroad, (3) employment and education and (4) foreign relations. For the first topic, life and interests, respondents were asked: to identify their areas of interest, ideas or causes they support, three major problems facing youth today, to list their membership in particular organizations, their use of neighborhood youth services or centers, how well-informed they felt about opportunities of interest, with whom they lived, and how well different aspects of life were going. For the second topic, languages, respondents were asked about languages learned and those spoken well enough to converse with others, languages used at home, reasons and methods for learning a new language, and the teaching and importance of knowing foreign languages. Pertaining to traveling abroad, respondents were asked about the countries they visited, the duration and reasons for visiting, travel arrangements, and the main problem in traveling abroad. For the third topic, employment and education, respondents were asked about their experiences with youth discrimination, their personal financial situation, and services or individuals who assisted them in making life choices. Respondents employed full- or part-time were asked about methods used to obtain a job, duration of employment, hours worked per week, average pay rate, job satisfaction, chances for promotion, and past episodes of employment and unemployment. Respondents in school were asked about current studies and the type of institution they attended, while those in vocational training were asked about when they started the program, length of attendance, opinions regarding completion, and trainee benefits. Unemployed respondents were asked about the reasons why and the length of time they were unemployed, as well as their job-seeking methods. All respondents, except those in school, were asked about formal education, satisfaction with training courses, assistance with job attainment through training, and receipt of a diploma or certificate. For the final topic, foreign relations, respondents were asked about their feelings about the United States and its present policy towards West European unification, the relationship between the EC and the United States, establishment of the Common European Market, and the unification of Europe. Less of a focus were questions about the qualities children are encouraged to learn at home, their knowledge of a European program for the fight against cancer, and their skills and education in computers. Demographic and other background information collected includes age, gender, marital status, age when expecting to finish full-time education, size and composition of household, family income, occupation, size of company where respondent works, type and size of community, and region of residence. Several questions pertaining to voting and politics include political party attachment, vote intention, and left-right political self-placement.