Problems of the family institution in the youth environment

Abstract

The problems of the family institution are reflected in the family values transformation. The patterns of family and marriage relations which are traditional for historical Russia come into conflict with modern realities. This transformation affects primarily the youth environment, putting young people in front of a tough choice between socially approved career growth and a quiet feat inconspicuous to the world within family relationships. The all-Russian study “Self-regulation of the Life of Young People in a Changing Social Reality”, conducted in the fall of 2020, revealed problematic aspects of marital relations. The traditional values of the family, which are historically common for Russia, are opposed to a set of modern values characteristic of the liberal model and sometimes inferior to the latter. The course laid down by the founders of communism to eliminate the monogamous family as an economic unit of society gives its late shoots refracting in the individualization of society, leveling the significance of official marriage unions and reducing the number of children in families. The results of the all-Russian sociological survey of young people make it possible to identify the real marital status of young people in Russia and to consider its models. The article analyzes the prevalence of so-called “civil marriages” and the correction of attitudes towards them by official bodies. The author gives the rationale for the growing popularity of the “Japanese model” in marital relations, as well as the reasons that push young people to short-term marriage unions fraught with loneliness. The nature of young people relationship with their parents is considered and different generations of youth are compared. The idea of the respondents about the meaning of the family is investigated and the main motives for marriage are established. The number of children in modern youth families is revealed and trends in various social groups are analyzed. Conclusions are drawn about the instability of the family institution in the modern world and the need to protect it by the state.