PEOPLE’S AGE AFFECTS WHAT QUALITIES THEY VALUE IN CHILDREN: A COMPARISON OF ETHNIC ESTONIANS AND RUSSIAN-SPEAKING MINORITY ACROSS TIME
PEOPLE’S AGE AFFECTS WHAT QUALITIES THEY VALUE IN CHILDREN: A COMPARISON OF ETHNIC ESTONIANS AND RUSSIAN-SPEAKING MINORITY ACROSS TIME

Summary/Abstract: The study compares socialization values held by respondents of different ages from ethnic Estonian and Russian-speaking minority groups living in Estonia over a period of 6 years. Data were collected in three rounds (2006, 2008, and 2012) of the European Social Survey (ESS) in Estonia. In each round representative samples of the non-institutionalized population aged 15 years and older filled out the Socialization Value Questionnaire (Tulviste 2013). They were asked to mark five qualities in a list of 17, which they considered the most important to develop in children at home. The study found that although the consensus between socialization values of two social groups has been relatively high and stable in the three rounds, it was bigger in older people than younger ones. Respondents placed social values (except independence – that is a self-direction value) among the qualities most desired in children. The stability vs. change and sex were linked to the specific quality rather than to the type of socialization values. The study contributed to the existing literature by demonstrating that the socialization values held by people relate strongly to their age: older people tended to choose qualities related to social values more frequently, and those of self-direction less frequently than younger people.

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