Optimistic expectations and life satisfaction as antecedents of emigration attitudes among Bulgarian Millennials and Zoomers

The purpose of this paper is to examine the predictive power of optimistic expectations and satisfaction with life in the country of origin and residence—Bulgaria, over attitudes towards emigration among young Bulgarians with regard to their generational belonging and age differences (i.e. Generation Y or Millennials and Generation Z or Zoomers). Although the correlation between satisfaction with life and migration (attitudes) has been studied in many countries, it has not been examined to date in Bulgaria (a sending, rather than receiving Eastern European country) in the light of optimistic expectations and age differences. Within a cross-sectional survey (N = 1200), representative of young Bulgarians aged 18–35 years—Zoomers aged 18–25 years (N = 444) and Millennials aged 26–35 years (N = 756), carried out in September-October 2021, optimistic expectations for individual development in Bulgaria, satisfaction with life in the country and emigration attitudes were measured using originally designed scales. The findings suggest that the more optimistic expectations about one's own career development and material security in the country are associated with higher satisfaction with life in Bulgaria and reasonably, with more negative attitudes towards emigration. Interestingly, optimistic expectations turned out a stronger antecedent of Zoomers' emigration attitudes compared to those of Millennials and life satisfaction—a stronger predictor of Millennials' emigration attitudes compared to those of Zoomers. Although no significant age differences in life satisfaction were found, Zoomers turned out significantly more optimistic about their future in the country, but also more attuned to emigration compared to Millennials. Young people with previous emigration experience were found to be significantly more likely to emigrate in comparison to those without prior emigration experience. The findings have some important interdisciplinary implications, both for psychological theory and for demographic policy.