The well-being and vision of young people in the East

• Main Authors: Briem, Valdimar, Halldórsdóttir, Tinna
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Icelandic
• Published: School of Social Sciences 2023
• Subjects: Ungmenni; viðhorf; dreifbýli; kyn; lengd búsetu; ættartengsl; fjölskylduhagir; Adolescents; attitudes; rural communities; gender; length of resistence; relatives; family situation; Iceland; Egilsstaðir; Halda
• Online Access: https://ojs.hi.is/index.php/tf/article/view/3731

This study examined the attitudes of 144 youths in Eastern Iceland 15-22 years of age to future residence in the area. Most were students at the local gymnasium at Egilsstaðir. The results indicate that well-being and plans for the future were determined mainly by sex, number of relatives, and length of residence, but educational plans were determined more by the adolescents' family situation. Boys were generally more content than girls with their situation and local opportunities, and more prepared to live permanently in the area. Attitudes were related to age-dependent changes in the adolescents' lives. Adolescents who had lived in the area more than 10 years usually had many relatives locally and lived in nuclear families with both biological parents. Most of these were loyal to the area and optimistic about living there in future. Many newcomers lived with a single parent or with one biological and a foster parent. Some of these were optimistic about the future, but others, in particular girls, more pessimistic and prepared to move away. Í þessari rannsókn voru könnuð viðhorf 144 ungmenna á aldrinum 15-22 ára með lögheimili á Austurlandi til framtíðarbúsetu á svæðinu. Flest voru nemendur við Menntaskólann á Egilsstöðum. Helstu niðurstöður eru þær að líðan og framtíðarsýn ákvörðuðust einkum af kyni, ættartengslum og lengd búsetu, en menntunaráform fóru meir eftir fjölskylduhögum. Piltar voru almennt ánægðari en stúlkur með stöðu sína og möguleika í hinu staðbundna samfélagi og fremur reiðubúnir til að vera þar til frambúðar. Viðhorf voru bæði einstaklingsbundin og tengd aldursháðum breytingum í lífi ungmennanna. Ungmenni sem búið höfðu lengur en 10 ár á Austurlandi áttu yfirleitt mikil ættartengsl og bjuggu í kjarnafjölskyldum með báðum foreldrum. Flest þeirra halda tryggð við svæðið og eru bjartsýn um áframhaldandi búsetu. Ungmenni sem búið hafa stutt á Austurlandi búa mörg með einstæðu foreldri eða öðru foreldrinu og fósturforeldri. Sum þeirra eru örugg og vongóð um framtíðina, en önnur, einkum stúlkur, ...