Larisa Pautova: “Young people later start living independently”

Larisa Pautova: Adulthood is the ability to make decisions, to choose from several alternatives. Unlike a teenager, an adult is able to withstand internal stress and act in a situation of conflict. For sociologists, the key indicator of independence is the answer to the question “Do you live with your parents or separately from them?”. In this sense, growing up in Russia begins at the turn of 24-25 years – 62% of young people of this age live separately*. By a number of criteria, today’s adolescents mature earlier – for example, in the sexual area or as buyers of goods and services. But in general, young people mature later than their peers 20-30 years ago. Parents are so concerned about the safety of their children that they are simply afraid to let them go. If the child cannot enter the budget department of the university, they choose the institute for the child and pay for the education. Marriage and childbearing happen later. And although there are more trial (civil) marriages, they often hide an evasion of responsibility. Young people start working earlier, but it is more difficult for them to achieve financial independence. Although it must be admitted that students are actively looking for a part-time job in their specialty and are ready to work for free for the sake of recommendations, an entry in a resume and a chance to get a place in the state later.

Are the rituals of transition to the category of adults left today?

LP: Rituals exist, but due to social stratification, it is now more difficult to find a single event for all that marks the onset of maturity. Starting from the age of 14, teenagers go through an almost continuous series of initiations and trials: obtaining a passport, passing the exam, coming of age, entering an institute, defending a diploma, the army – a very eventful time. For girls, with an “ideal” (according to Russians) life path, less than six years pass from the first sexual experience (18,5 years) to separation from the parental family (24,3 years)**. In the mass consciousness, marriage and the birth of a child remain evidence of a woman’s adulthood, and only then – getting an education and starting a job. Although this view is also changing: in 2005, 62% of Russians, answering the question “If you had a teenage daughter, what would you primarily associate her future with?”, Named a good job, and only 27% – a successful marriage * **. For young men, adulthood comes when they start earning. But they themselves attach more importance to sexual experience, smoking, drinking alcohol …

Criminal liability from the age of 12, sale of alcohol from the age of 21 – what is the logic behind the new legislative initiatives?

LP: There is a reasonable grain in this: crime and alcoholism (along with drug addiction) are the key problems of young people, and the state is trying to solve them in this way. How effective is another question.

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