Social identity is based on family
The most significant element in young people’s lives is the family. Together with education, it is what they value most. Children and young people construct their social identity and determine how they will be educated, what job they will do, and how long they they will seek it on the back of their relations with their parents and the broader family. For this reason, most young people (65.7 percent) live with their parents until the age of 30 or over. Just 19.5 percent live alone and another 9.3 percent with a partner. Married young people account for just 3.4 percent. Living with parents offers high levels of support, which is supplemented by that of friends. Almost 60 percent of young people feel that family is a great help. But another 50 percent regard help from friends as important. Expert help is regarded as important by 26.9 percent, while state institutions draw a blank. Young people get money chiefly from their family (58.4 percent) but also from permanent jobs (23 percent), occasional work (6.8 percent) and only a little from benefits (0.8 percent). The State does not support young people, while there is no loan system to help with education costs. Of course, there are differences between the various age groups. For example, the income of 15- to 19-year-olds is 80 percent derived from parents, while the income of 25- to 30-year-olds is 56 percent derived from work. Young Greeks (along with Italians and Spaniards) are also among the poorest in Europe. Monthly income, for 48 percent of young people, comes to no more than 500 euros. Perhaps for this reason work does not interest young people much, with education and family topping their list of values. Work is lower down the list, while social prestige is derived from participation in tertiary education. For young people up to 24, education and career come first, followed by family, with personal life in third place and work in fourth. Family overtakes education for 24- to 30-year-olds, while work comes in third place. Education and the army are the institutions young people place the most trust in. Belonging to the EU is also important, and they show great trust in European institutions as well as in the nascent European Constitution.
