Is there a sociodemographic model of acceptance of postmaterialist values? The case of Serbia

Abstract

The paper offers an analysis of the factors of acceptance of postmaterialist values in Serbia. In accordance with the assumptions of Ingleharťs postmaterialist value theory, but also on the basis of empirical works of his critics, the correlation between postmaterialist values and four sociodemographic variables: age, level of education, level of family income and population size of settlement, was analyzed. The data, collected in a 2007 public opinion research including 1410 citizens of Serbia aged 15-89, indicate that all the analysed factors are important, but that age is the best predictor of these values. The conclusion discusses the adequacy of generation hypothesis as a mechanism of changing predominant values in a society and the explanatory power of the analysed sociodemographic model.