Within the framework of McClelland’s motivational theory, a model of the motivational structure of the migrant personality is proposed. It is argued that those who choose to leave their country of origin have higher achievement and power motivation and lower affiliation motivation than those who want to stay. This model was tested with 1050 college students in Albania, the Czech Republic, and Slovenia. Data were collected between 1993 and 1996. MANOVA analysis confirmed our predictions for the achievement and power motives. Students who wanted to emigrate had higher achievement and power motivation scores than those who wanted to stay. This model was also applied to internal migrants. It was tested with 789 United States college students. Those who wanted to leave the region of their university after graduation scored significantly higher on achievement and power motivation than those who wanted to stay. It is argued that this pattern is specific for countries or regions of economic stagnation or decline, while it may be reversed for countries or regions of economic growth. Predictions for the affiliation motivation were only partly supported. Our findings suggest that psychological factors are important predictors of (e)migration.

Do economic indicators predict the general level of support for gender equality? This question was investigated in a sample of countries in Central and Eastern Europe, a region that has been undergoing rapid economic Sex Roles (

Since socialism’s decline, abortion has become a divisive political issue in East Central Europe, just as it is in the United States. Questionnaires administered to college students in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and the United States between 1991 and 1994 assessed the importance of religious identification, degree of religious feelings and participation, desired number of children, and gender role attitudes as predictors of approval of abortion for reasons of personal choice. Multiple regression indicated that these variables best predicted level of approval of abortion in Slovenia. The strong link between gender role attitude and abortion approval that emerged in the Slovene 1993 data is discussed in relation to the changing social and political contexts.

University students today in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) confront a world in which old ideals learned under state socialism are being questioned. Despite initial difficulties after the end of socialism, most of these countries now have more stable market economies. This article investigates how macroeconomic variables relate to ideals for future work in samples of students from eight CEE countries and the United States. Results indicate there are some significant relationships between macroeconomic factors and job values. Wanting a job that pays well is associated with poorer economic conditions, whereas wanting a career is associated with better economic conditions. Results for wanting a job that allowed time for family are mixed, with higher GDP per capita a positive predictor but economic growth a negative predictor. Economic predictors of wanting a job helping others are weak, with a significant effect of growth found only when U.S. data are added.

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