What moves young people in Jena

The psychological stress levels of pupils in Jena have risen sharply and their trust in our democratic system is dwindling. These are two of the many findings of the Jena Youth Study, which show that there is an urgent need to consolidate and further expand youth welfare services and participation formats for young people. The results were presented at a joint meeting of the youth welfare, social and cultural committee, the school and sports committee and the youth parliament.

The evaluation of the youth study can now be found on the city's website (under Downloads):
bildung.jena.de/en/kinder-und-jugendstudie

Survey takes a comprehensive look at the lives of young people

From mid-October to the end of January, schoolchildren aged between ten and 18 in Jena were asked to answer questions about their living situation, leisure activities, nutrition, democracy and politics, problems and career orientation. 1,373 took part. The city of Jena has been giving young people a voice through the youth survey since 1998. With the exception of a longer break due to the pandemic, this social science study has taken place approximately every two to three years - since 2017 together with "ORBIT", the Thuringia Organizational Consulting Institute.

"The Child and Youth Study is a real socio-political treasure. We have been collecting data on the living conditions of children and young people in Jena for almost 30 years. This twelfth study contains a whole host of challenges for shaping positive living conditions for all young people in Jena",

says Ines Morgenstern, Chairwoman of the Youth Welfare Committee of the City of Jena.

Data collected flows directly into planning

The anonymously collected data flows directly into the city's planning. Among other things, it helps to adapt leisure activities to demand, provide contact persons for problems, plan youth projects and facilities and further develop school social work. Much has already been achieved thanks to the results of the previous surveys. For example, there is now a youth center in every planning area of the city and school social work is available at all secondary schools.

"The study has some very positive findings. For example, our children and young people in Jena are more active in sports than average and spend much more of their free time together than alone",

says Johannes Schleußner, Head of Education.

"However, there are developments that are worrying and represent a clear challenge for our urban society."

Results of the individual topics

What does the current study show?

• On the living situation: around 72% of those surveyed said they felt safe in their neighborhood, with a further 23% saying this was partly true. Around 14% of young people say they are afraid when they go home alone in the evening. 21% of respondents live in a single-parent household and 18.1% have a migrant background.

• Leisure activities: Sport and exercise were named as the main leisure activities. Young people in all planning areas make use of youth clubs.

• On democracy and politics: 69% of respondents consider democracy to be the best form of government. However, democratic principles are not fully shared by everyone: 17% say that people's concerns are no longer represented in our democracy. Although young people place the least trust in social media (compared to traditional media, science, courts, police, etc.), they use it most frequently to find out about politics. Young people would like to have a greater say when it comes to public transport, sports facilities and public places.

• On problematic situations: Almost 60 percent of respondents state that they use drugs. Almost 25 percent of young people use cigarettes and e-cigarettes. At the same time, there is a desire for more educational offers. 14% of respondents say they have felt particularly mentally stressed since the pandemic, while 21% say this is at least partly true. 37% of young people say that they still notice that something has changed for them because of the coronavirus period. In relation to the current situation, 21% of respondents said they felt under a lot of psychological stress.

The results are now being evaluated and will be incorporated into municipal planning processes. Schleußner cites one conclusion:

"The feedback on dealing with social media and the topic of drugs shows us that the existing educational offers should be continued and accompanied by preventative projects to strengthen social skills."