Changes in transition to adulthood of young people in Serbia between 2003 and 2011

Abstract

The paper deals with transition to adulthood of young people in Serbia through analysis of findings of the two surveys from 2003 and 2011. The aims are to explore the changes in pace, as well as in transitional trajectories that could indicate their destandardisation and individualisation. Some of the debatable issues related to the transition to adulthood approach are presented in the framework and discussed further in relation to the results of the analysis in the concluding section. The findings indicate that there exists some acceleration in the pace of transition, mainly due to increased financial independence of young people. The trajectories, however, are still standardised, while transition is postponed and prolonged. The comparative analyses of some features of young people's transitions to adulthood in the Balkans led to the conclusion that an alternative conceptualization is needed.