Intergenerational conflict and psychological well-being of family

Abstract

The article presents the results of a series of studies, the purpose of which was to study the socio-psychological patterns (causes and functions) of intergenerational conflict in different social contexts (in the family and in society). Problematic issues are discussed regarding the reasons for the inevitability of a generational conflict; the relationship of the conflict with the psychological well-being/unhappiness of the family; the “creativeˮ function of the conflict. The results of empirical studies are presented, the sample of which consisted of 371 people – representatives of the generations of “sonsˮ and “fathersˮ. The main results are the description of the system of positive and negative attitudes of young people in relation to old age as a factor of conflict, as well as contradictions in the understanding by parents and adolescent children of the actual situation of their relations and interaction. It is noted that this inconsistency is not only an indicator of intergenerational conflict in the family, but also an important factor in its inevitability, which is associated with natural attribution errors associated with differences in the life experience of different generations. Based on the analysis of the results obtained, the identification, adaptation and selection functions of the generational conflict in the family are described.