12. Youth in a Broader Socio-Cultural Context

Authors

Miran Lavrič
University of Maribor, Faculty of Arts
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5818-1647
Anja Gvozdanović
Institute for Social Research in Zagreb
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1213-5928
Vesna Vuk Godina
University of Maribor, Faculty of Arts
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18690/um.ff.7.2025.12

Synopsis

This chapter analyses shifts in social trust, religiosity, and pro-social attitudes among youth in Croatia and Slovenia, and their implications for well-being and social cohesion. Generalised trust remains modest, with Slovenia seeing a decline during COVID-19, followed by a recovery by 2023. Croatian youth show higher trust, but with gender disparities. Interpersonal trust in family and friends remains high, yet between 2018 and 2023, declines occurred in both countries, particularly in Croatia, where trust in neighbours, classmates, and extended family dropped. The patterns of religiosity among Croatian and Slovenian youth differ notably. Slovenian youth maintain low and stable levels of religious belief and practice, while Croatian youth show increasing polarisation between firm believers and secular non-believers, with declining church attendance. Religiosity offered little protective effect on psychological well-being during the pandemic, except for a modest benefit of personal belief in Slovenia. Both countries show declining altruism and support for redistribution, signalling erosion of solidaristic norms. Policy implications stress strengthening peer networks, gender-responsive support, civic education, and measures to reduce inequality and rebuild social cohesion.

Author Biographies

Miran Lavrič, University of Maribor, Faculty of Arts

Dr. Miran Lavrič, is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Maribor, Slovenia, and a researcher at the Centre for the Study of Post-Socialist Societies (CePSS). His research focuses primarily on youth in Slovenia and Southeast Europe. He has led several research initiatives and authored numerous scientific papers in international journals on diverse sociological topics. Lavrič directed two national youth studies in Slovenia (2010, 2020) and served as lead research coordinator for the international project Youth Studies Southeast Europe 2018/2019. He is a member of the Slovenian Sociological Association and the European Sociological Association (ESA).

Maribor, Slovenia. E-mail: miran.lavric@um.si

Anja Gvozdanović, Institute for Social Research in Zagreb

Dr. Anja Gvozdanović, is a Senior Research Associate in sociology at the Institute for Social Research in Zagreb. She is co-author and co-editor of six books and has published over twenty scientific papers, book chapters, and professional articles on political culture, social capital, youth values, social trust, reconciliation, and peace-building in Croatia and the Western Balkans. She has participated in 15 research projects, including leadership of three national and three international projects. Since 2023, she has served as Vice-President of the Croatian Sociological Association, contributing actively to the development of sociological research and academic collaboration.

Zagreb, Croatia. E-mail: anja@idi.hr

Vesna Vuk Godina, University of Maribor, Faculty of Arts

Dr. Vesna Vuk Godina, is an Associate Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Sociology at the Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor, and a researcher at the Centre for the Study of Post-Socialist Societies (CePSS). Her research focuses on the anthropology of postsocialism, particularly anthropological analyses of Slovenian postsocialism, as well as the anthropological study of socialization processes. She employs qualitative research approaches in her work and contributes to the development of anthropological perspectives on contemporary social change. She is a member of the Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI) and actively participates in academic and professional networks.

Maribor, Slovenia. E-mail: vesna.godina@um.si

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Volume

Two Countries, One Crisis: The YO-VID22 Pandemic Study

Pages

313-334

Published

September 3, 2025

Categories

Copyright (c) 2025 University of Maribor, University of Maribor Press

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Lavrič, M., Gvozdanović, A., & Vuk Godina, V. (2025). 12. Youth in a Broader Socio-Cultural Context. In A. Naterer & D. Potočnik (Eds.), Two Countries, One Crisis: The YO-VID22 Pandemic Study (pp. 313-334). University of Maribor Press. https://doi.org/10.18690/um.ff.7.2025.12