Young People and Families in Poland: Changing Times, Changing Dependencies?

Abstract

This paper considers the relationships between parents and children in Polish families in the situation of social transformation. Data are based upon a survey of 1,912 respondents carried out in 1993 and supplemented with qualitative interviews. Two main hypotheses are considered: whether the strong family bonds developed under the communist regime are weakening with the new economic con ditions and whether there is a process of 'individualization' as in many other western European countries with young people seeking greater autonomy and independence from family ties. The paper concludes that although there is some evidence of a move towards individualization and a changing relationship between parents and children, there are never theless more continuities in family relation ships because of the continuing economic problems in which people find themselves and the lack of improvement or even worsening of many of the conditions which encouraged close family ties in the first place. Family obli gations and ties of loyalty and duty continue to exert a very strong influence.