Personal safety of young people in a million-plus city: analysis of behavioral patterns

The relevance of the study is due to the social demand for the analysis of behavioral preferences of young people in the field of personal safety in cities with a population of over one million in order to justify the feasibility of including this aspect in government programs. The empirical basis of the study is the data of a formalized survey conducted in 2025 among young people aged 18–35 living in Perm, Nizhny Novgorod and Novosibirsk. It was found that young people have a moderately high subjective level of security and their own capabilities to resist threats. Based on the factor analysis, 8 behavioral models of ensuring personal security were identified, which were typologized into three groups: 1) proactive models with the manifestation of personal efforts and responsibility in ensuring their own safety – 59% of respondents in this group; 2) adaptive models with a focus on external systems, i. e. transfer of responsibility for ensuring their safety to other subjects of the risky space – 62% of respondents; 3) passive models, implying avoidance or ignoring threats in their perception – 45% of respondents. It was revealed that young people have a set of universal protective measures related to control of the physical environment, which are implemented even when ignoring other rules. In addition, young people actively combine models: ignoring threats in personal perception is enhanced by shifting responsibility for ensuring security to social institutions. It was found that passive models, although they determine an increased sense of security, but this feeling is rather illusory. Reliance of young people on social mechanisms indicates a demand for increased attention and the role of social institutions and the public in the field of youth safety in modern large cities. There are differences depending on gender and level of education: women and respondents with higher education tend to use a wider range of protective measures, while men have a much narrower set. The obtained results allow us to substantiate the need to revise the state approach to the formation of a culture of youth safety, paying attention to socio-demographic characteristics, illusory attitudes and the integration of social capital into protection mechanisms.