Understanding of Autonomy in Russian Youth: An Interview Study

Abstract

This study aimed to explore Russian young people’s perceptions of autonomy and the sources of these perceptions. It included thirty participants (16 female and 14 male) aged 11 to 24. Thirteen were Muscovites and 17 were from other Russian cities. Semi-structured interviews were conducted online in summer of 2022. Thematic analysis was employed to analyze the data. Findings suggest that the majority of participants perceived autonomous actions in a non-specific way or as being actions independent from others. Other meanings included adult, unruly, disciplined, responsible, successful, creative, and authoritative. The main sources of these perceptions were family, peers, education, and public opinion. Additional sources were the media, university, supplementary education, romantic partners, work, and older people. Overall, it is recommended to use non-interview methods such as observation to determine the influence of different sources on youth perceptions of individual autonomy, as it was difficult to fully capture this in interviews although their presence was detected.