Identification models for adolescents and youth: "heroes of our time"

Abstract

The results of the empirical study of identification patterns of the respondents teenage and younger youth age, conducted in two stages: in the 2000–2001 and 2014–2015, with a total sample size of 512 are presented. Under identification models were understood to be real or fictional people whose world-views or opinions are valued by the respondent as very close, who act for him as certain role models, which suggests respect, emotional acceptance of this figure, a desire to follow that pattern at the level of personal behavior, and that this attitude is shared by the surrounding, i.e. a kind of "heroes of our time". Research methods included questionnaires, conducting focus groups, content analysis of free essays. Comparative analysis shows that in identifying patterns of adolescents and youth over the past fifteen years there have been significant changes: first, significantly reduced the number of conscious rejections from following any of the examples of "heroic", and secondly, have changed almost the entire range of possible data characteristics models. So, teenagers of the beginning of 2000-ies as role models was chosen mostly socio-family and friends by the actual interaction of the figures, which were characteristic of professionalism, financial security, expressed as citizenship, propensity to cooperation, in cooperation, honesty and responsibility. Later teenagers focused more on people who are not familiar to them in life, the characteristic which was not mentioned professional affiliations or success in the profession, whose civil position expressed in law, financial security was "typical" among personal qualities dominated the courage and the will, and among socio-psychological – willingness to defend and to come to the rescue. The only similarity for the two samples amounted to total absence among the "heroes of our time" characters of any literary or artistic works and the dominance of male figures regardless of the gender of the respondents.