Here we present the most important results and their assessment from the analysis of the online survey carried out within the framework of the project “Implementation of the ‘TeenSTAR’ methodology in Hungary” (project identification number: EFOP-5.2.2-17-2017-00075) that is supported by the European Union and the Government of Hungary. The results are grouped according to the different topics examined:

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TEENSTAR METHODOLOGY IN HUNGARY Final Research Study

According to the experience of youth professionals, more than half of young people have a negative body image. This is a worryingly high figure, as the relationship with one's own body is of paramount importance to a teenager in adolescence, and a negative body image can easily lead to problems with self-esteem and eating disorders. All of this can be a trigger for very harmful or even life-threatening disorders such as anorexia or bulimia - but a negative body image can also have a detrimental effect on personality development. From a statistical point of view, there is a difference in trends between the responses of Hungarian and Austrian experts. While the experience of Hungarian professionals is that more than half of young people have a negative body image, Austrian professionals have a more positive attitude, according to which slightly more than half of young people have a positive opinion of their own body. This shows that the negative body image strongly characteristic in Hungarian adolescents cannot be considered as a general valid negative trend independent of countries. Experience from TeenSTAR instructors shows that, unlike non-TeenSTAR instructors, more than half of young people have a positive body image.

The experience of youth professionals shows a consistent and even more positive picture of how young people plan their lives, how important the family is in their future plans, which is in line with Hungarian and foreign research results. Based on the answers, the vast majority of young people, more than four-fifths, would like to start a family sometime in the future. There is no significant difference in responses between either TeenSTAR and non-TeenSTAR instructors, or if the responses from different countries are compared. The family, as part of their overall outlook, is clearly an extremely important value for teenagers.