S. STOYANOVA
672
spondents who did not have any children, the participants having
1 child, and the subjects with 2 children in their attitude to-
wards 13 - 19 year-old (F|2,111| = 1.455; p = .238), in their atti-
tude towards 20 - 25 year-old (F|2,111| = 2.448; p = .091).
Media content analysis revealed that the quoted sources and
news items expressed mainly positive attitudes towards young
people (only positive attitude in 44 news items –27.7%; more
positive than negative attitude in 52 news items –32.7%) than
negative attitudes (only negative attitudes in 12 news items
–7.6%; more negative than positive attitude in 26 news items
–16.4%) and neutral attitudes (in 25 news items –15.7%). 72
news items (45.3%) expressed adults’ concern for young peo-
ple.
The media described family issues in 46 news items in Sep-
tember 2010. The media positive attitudes towards young peo-
ple were related to family issues in 30 news items out of 46
(65.2%).
A young person’s voice was quoted in 31 news items. In 16
news items out of them (51.6%), a young person expressed
positive attitudes towards young people. These positive atti-
tudes towards young people were related to family issues, be-
cause a young person’s voice was quoted in 15 news items
dealing with family issues and in 11 news items out of them
(73.3%), a young person expressed his/her positive attitudes
towards young people.
An example for a positive attitude towards young people re-
lated to family issues is: A businessman is plunged in loans in
order to feed orphans (Telegraph, 15.09.2010).
Some examples for a negative attitude towards young people
related to family issues are: a 21 year-old man from Yambol
has transformed his flat into a home laboratory for production
of meta-amphetamines (Telegraph, 17.09.2010). A grand-
mother and her grand-child cultivate cannabis (Telegraph,
25.09.2010).
Discussion
Regarding the first hypothesis, the increase of the age was
related to a more positive attitude towards younger people from
13 to 19. The older respondents (more than 20 years old) had a
more positive attitude towards young people from 13 to 19
years old than the younger respondents (up to 20 years old) did.
Bulgaria is moving towards individualism, but the collectivistic
values are strengthened with the increase of age and the strong-
est individualism is in the age group of 15 - 18 years old (Pas-
palanova, 1999: p. 138) where—the basic differentiation is not
we-the others, but I versus the others (Hofstede, 2001; Hofstede,
Pedersen, & Hofstede, 2003: p. 110) and individualistic values
of young people could explain this result (Hofstede, 2001;
Hofstede, Pedersen, & Hofstede, 2003: p. 110).
The older respondents (more than 20 years old) and the
younger respondents (up to 20 years old) did not differ signify-
cantly in their attitudes towards young people from 20 to 25.
The elderly people’s attitudes towards young people from 20 to
25 were not strongly positive. Young people in Bulgaria had
positive attitudes towards young people, but not the most posi-
tive ones.
The image of young people reflected by the media was also
predominantly a positive one.
Only educational groups in Bulgaria differed in their atti-
tudes towards young people. The participants graduated from a
lyceum had the most positive attitudes towards 13 - 19 year-old
and towards 20 - 25 year-old.
Regarding the hypothesis that people who feel satisfied are
more likely to have positive attitude towards young people, it
was proved that life satisfaction now and expected life satisfac-
tion in the future were not related to a more positive attitude
towards 13 - 19 year-old, but the increase of the participants’
life satisfaction in the present time was related to a more posi-
tive attitude toward 20 - 25 year-old, and expected life satisfac-
tion in the future was not. The participants in the study felt
more community with 20 - 25 year-old people that was pretty
their own age group.
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