RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INDIVIDUALISTIC VALUES AND OPTIMISM: A STUDY OF THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION IN BULGARIA

Authors

  • Maria Karaivanova Department of Health Care Management Faculty of Public Health, Medical University-Plovdiv Vassil Aprilov 15A Boulevard, 4002 Plovdiv, Bulgaria

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs2020.2.461.473

Keywords:

Individualistic values, self-esteem, optimism, young people, Millennial generation

Abstract

Aim. A quantitative study on generational differences showed a decrease in optimism among the young generation (Karaivanova, 2016). The present work aims to study in detail the relationship between individualistic values, self-esteem, and optimism among the Millennial generation. Optimism is a general expectation for positive results and positive events in life (Radoslavova & Velichkov, 2005).

Method. A sample of 204 respondents from 20 to 35 years old voluntarily filled in a survey containing scales measuring individualistic values, self-esteem, and optimism. The relationship between these variables was tested using regression and mediation analyses. The results were processed using the statistical software SPSS, version 22.0.0.0, and the lavaan application in R Studio.

Results. The theoretical model created and tested in this study proved to have good explanatory power for the dependent variable optimism explaining one-third of its variance and gives significant clarity on the relationship between individualistic values, self-esteem, and optimism for the young generation in Bulgaria.

Conclusion. Individualistic values turned out to predict self-esteem. The more individualistic a person is, the higher they perceive their competences and social image. At the same time, being individualistic, i.e. being open for change and following one’s own interests does not make young people look more optimistically towards the future and believe in the solution of every problem they encounter. Individualistic values have a positive mediated effect on optimism with self-esteem as a mediator. Having strong self-confidence makes young people have positive expectations for the future.

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Author Biography

Maria Karaivanova, Department of Health Care Management Faculty of Public Health, Medical University-Plovdiv Vassil Aprilov 15A Boulevard, 4002 Plovdiv, Bulgaria

She defended her PhD in Differential Psychology in 2016 at St. Kliment Ohridski Sofia University in Bulgaria on the topic ‘Values, Self-evaluations and Future Expectations of the Young Generation in Bulgaria’. Her interest in generational differences dates back to 2011 when she defended her master thesis. Since then, Mariya has had several publications on the topic of generational differences. Her academic interests are in the field of social, differential and health psychology. In 2016 2017 Mariya made an academic exchange in the Wissenschaftszentrum für Sozialforschung Berlin (Social Science Research Centre Berlin), Germany. Since the beginning of 2018, she is an Assistant Professor in Psychology at Medical University of Plovdiv, Faculty of Public Health.

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Published

2020-09-11

How to Cite

Karaivanova, M. (2020). RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INDIVIDUALISTIC VALUES AND OPTIMISM: A STUDY OF THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION IN BULGARIA. Journal of Education Culture and Society, 11(2), 461–473. https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs2020.2.461.473

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 2 (2020): Journal of Education Culture and Society

Section

LOCAL CULTURES AND SOCIETIES

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CC-BY

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