The state of adolescence 2023. A national survey on attitudes and behaviours of students of public secondary schools

Abstract

The national survey on the state of adolescence 2023 was carried out within the Observatory on Youth Trends project and it is part of a consolidated line of socio-psychological studies conducted by the research group Social Changes, Evaluation and Methods (MUSA) of the CNR-IRPPS. The survey was carried out on a representative sample of 4.288 students attending public upper secondary schools in Italy by using the CAPI technique. Through the construction of innovative behavioural and attitudinal indicators, the survey results provide detailed information on individual and social factors that promote or hinder the spread of adolescents’ well-being, equal opportunities and social inclusion. By comparing the results with data collected among the Italian adolescent population by the MUSA group in 2019, this paper also shows social and psychological impacts of the spread of COVID-19. The analysis focuses on several phenomenologies and social pathologies related to the changes of social interaction, the state of the individual and relational well-being, violence and deviance offline and online, risky behaviours and consumption, socio-cultural conditioning and opinions about society and institutions.