The role played by the social environment within the future’s plans of youth

The attention given by the social environment to the teenager is essential within his/her life project and expectations. The theory of social capital is bringing arguments for the importance of the family, school, peer group and community in building-up the adolescent’s trust for his/her future. Feeling the continuities and discontinuities between his/hers own expectations and the atmosphere within the family environment, the school, the community and the peers, the teenager becomes more or less confident in his/hers capacities, more or less responsible and optimistic about the future. We are exploring our assumptions through an investigation constructed on self-report by adolescents. The data was collected using a complex questionnaire: School Success Profile (SSP), on a sample of 2465 teenagers, aged between 13-18 years old. The respondents were students of the second level and high school level. They are living with their families, within eleven counties of Romania. The investigation was done durng November 2008 and January 2009. The results of the investigation are clearly emphasizing the relevance of the family, school and peers for the teenager’s expectations concerning the future. Some conclusions of our investigation are underlining the impact of Romanian cultural specificities concerning child – adult relationship.