Social changes and changes of values

The aim of our investigation was to find out to what extent the dramatic social changes which happened in the period between 1988 and 1994 (disintegration of the state, the war, international sanctions, isolation, rapid impoverishment, etc.) reflected upon value system of youth in Serbia. The values were investigated through the following groups of variables: ranking social goals by priority, acceptance of value orientations, life-style preferences, expectations from future career, and choice of model figures. At the end of 1988, a sample of 14- year-old pupils (N=595) were questioned throughout Serbia. At the beginning of 1994 a sample of 14-year-old pupils (N=341) from the same regions of Serbia were questioned in the same way. The overall results show that the most marked changes happened within those values which were ideologically relevant. Also, a decrease of prosocial orientation and an increase of utilitarian-hedonistic values were noticed. Although there were numerous statistically significant differences (30 out of 42 comparisons were significant at 0.05) the intensity of changes and their hierarchy indicate that social changes were much more profound than the trace they left on the values of youth of this age