Kokybinė studentų ketinimo emigruoti arba planuoti savo ateitį Lietuvoje socialinių ir psichologinių veiksnių analizė

Abstract

Emigration of young people is an increasing phenomenon in Lithuania, which may have serious consequences on the country’s economy and demographics. The objective of this study was to investigate the factors that motivate students to emigrate or to plan their future life in Lithuania. The methods used were focus groups. The subjects were 13 students. The age of the participants ranged from 20 to 27. Thematic analysis of the data led to the identification of four major thematic categories of motivating factors: social conditions, possibilities for professional realization, social relations, and psychological factors. Some students will emigrate because of existing social conditions (economical, cultural, and educational). Other students plan their future in Lithuania and want to change the existing situation. Some students decide to emigrate because of more favourable possibilities for professional realization abroad. Some students plan to emigrate because of social relations (for example, a foreign boyfriend). Other students are planning their future in Lithuania because their family and friends live in Lithuania. Students who have intentions to emigrate do so because they seek new cultural experiences, adventures, knowledge. Those students who feel responsible for the future of their own country plan their future in Lithuania.