Russian Parents Research Articles

Factor Modelling of Russian Parents’ Opinions on the Impact of the Parental Leave System on the Birth Rate

In the context of the negative demographic trend in Russia, new mechanisms for stimulating birth rates are of particular relevance. One such instrument is parental leave policy. The aim of our study is to model the impact of potential transformations in parental leave on the reproductive intentions of Russian parents using factor analysis. In 2022, we conducted a survey of Russian parents with children under the age of 18 months. The sample consisted of 1,000 individuals, and the survey covered nearly all regions of Russia. We identified two main components: 1. Opinions on the flexibility of the parental leave system as a factor for improving birth rates; 2. Opinions on the amount of parental leave benefits as a factor for improving birth rates. We found significant correlations between the values of these components and several socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents, including gender, age, satisfaction with the current division of parental responsibilities within the family, the desire to legally mandate fathers to take a portion of parental leave in Russia, and the prospective evaluation of the financial status change if mandatory paternal leave were to be introduced. Our results contribute to the ongoing debate on the necessity and feasibility of improving the existing parental leave system in Russia and its potential impact on birth rates.

The right of Russian fathers to parental leave: is a transformation of an established system necessary?

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to research the current state of fathers' involvement in childcare during parental leave and to assess attitudes of Russian population towards possible measures that can expand the use of parental leave by fathers in Russia.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a survey of Russian parents with children under the age of 18 months in 2022. The sample accounts for 1,000 people; the survey covered almost all Russian regions.FindingsThe authors found that the ideal workload of fathers is not expected to exceed a third of the total parental workload. Russian parents are not ready to admit dissatisfaction with the existing distribution of workload during parental leave. However, an egalitarian demand for greater involvement of fathers in parental responsibilities is forming, and an interest in transforming the parental leave policy is emerging.Originality/valueThe value of the study consists of assessing the effectiveness of measures that may have a beneficial effect on the use of parental leave by fathers, as well as identifying consequences of the possible introduction of mandatory parental leave for fathers.

Interaction Between Home and School

This study undertaken as part of the project AHIC (Addressing Challenging Health Inequalities of Children and Youth between two Karelias 2013-2014), aimed to explore the interaction between home and school from a cross-cultural perspective. The study sample comprised 60 parents and 18 teachers from two schools in North Karelia, Finland, and 154 parents and 51 teachers from two schools in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, in May 2013 using questionnaires. The results indicated that teachers on both sides of the border had quite similar views about the interaction between home and school. Parents’ views, instead, differed more between the countries, since Finnish parents viewed the characteristics of home-school collaboration more positively than Russian parents did. Comparisons within the countries reveal that parents and teachers in both countries held several contradictory views about home-school collaboration, mainly in the areas of communication and parents’ participation (Finland), and in the areas of parents’ role and participation in the school community (Russia). The findings underline that in-service training for teachers is recommended to help them recognise the different characteristics for efficient home-school collaboration and include them into their everyday work. School procedures involving parents in the school community needs to be clarified.

SOME ASPECTS OF DIGITAL SOCIALIZATION OF PRESCHOOL AND PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN (RESULTS OF AN EMPIRICAL STUDY)

Digital childhood is determined by a special social situation of the development, since the persistent use of digital devices affects all spheres of contemporary children’s life. The Center for Interdisciplinary Research on Contemporary Childhood of MSUPE conducted an empirical study aimed at identifying the peculiarities of parents’ position regarding the use of gadgets by their children. Questionnaires were developed for parents of preschool and primary school age children. The sample consisted of  respondents from different regions of Russia. The data obtained suggest that most children get access to digital devices at preschool age with the permission of their parents, as a rule, for entertainment and the development of individual mental functions. Digital devices begin to perform the socializing function at primary school age, when the functionality of their use signifi cantly expands, and they start being used to solve such age-related tasks as communication and learning. Most Russian parents of preschoolers take a conscious position regarding their children’s access to digital devices, allowing or completely prohibiting children from using them. However, there are parents who lack a consistent strategy in providing digital devices to their children. They have diffi culties in organizing their children’s interaction with various types of digital content. At the same time, parents rarely rely on professional recommendations concerning the organization of the child’s interaction with digital devices. The revealed contradiction emphasises the importance of elaborating recommendations for organizing children’s interaction with digital media as a tool that allows them to effectively solve socialization tasks.

Comparison of attitude of Indian and Russian parents to children’s vaccination

Background. The vaccine preventable diseases outbreaks have become more frequent in recent decades and the lack of global vaccine awareness has been increasing and deteriorating vaccine compliance. The aim. To assess the attitude towards vaccination of parents from India and Russia. Methods. 1620 parents from Russia (Irkutsk city) and 214 parents from India (Kerala state) took part in the international cross-sectional multicenter study via survey method. Results. Parents from both countries showed good adherence to vaccination, only 1 % of Indians and 2 % of Russians did not vaccinate their children. More than 90 % of Russians took information from pediatricians compared with other sources with a prevalence of pediatricians working in the public health system 91.7 % (95 % CI: 90.2–92.9), whereas only 50 % of Indians were informed about vaccination from pediatricians (p < 0.0001). The main source of vaccine information for Indian parents was Internet (52.8 %; 95 % CI: 46.1–59.3) and mass-media (83.6 %; 95% CI: 78.1–87.9), whereas Russians resorted to this source much less (0.3 %; 95 % CI: 0.1–0.7 for Internet; and 4.3 %; 95 % CI: 3.4–5.4 for mass-media; p < 0.0001). Interestingly, while the vast majority of Russians received information about vaccination from a pediatrician, 71.2 % (95 % CI: 68.9–73.3) wanted to know more. Indians suffered from a lack of information too, but not as much (63.1 %; 95 % CI: 56.4–69.3; p = 0.01). Conclusion. Despite of a good attitude to vaccination of parents from India and Russia the lack of vaccine information was registered.

Parenting Culture(s): Ideal-Parent Beliefs Across 37 Countries

What is it to be “an ideal parent”? Does the answer differ across countries and social classes? To answer these questions in a way that minimizes bias and ethnocentrism, we used open-ended questions to explore ideal-parent beliefs among 8,357 mothers and 3,517 fathers from 37 countries. Leximancer Semantic Network Analysis was utilized to first determine parenting culture zones (i.e., countries with shared ideal-parent beliefs) and then extract the predominant themes and concepts in each culture zone. The results yielded specific types of ideal-parent beliefs in five parenting culture zones: being “responsible and children/family-focused” for Asian parents, being “responsible and proper demeanor-focused” for African parents, and being “loving and responsible” for Hispanic-Italian parents. Although the most important themes and concepts were the same in the final two zones—being “loving and patient,” there were subtle differences: English-speaking, European Union, and Russian parents emphasized “being caring,” while French-speaking parents valued “listening” or being “present.” Ideal-parent beliefs also differed by education levels within culture zones, but no general pattern was discerned across culture zones. These findings suggest that the country in which parents were born cannot fully explain their differences in ideal-parent beliefs and that differences arising from social class or education level cannot be dismissed. Future research should consider how these differences affect the validity of the measurements in question and how they can be incorporated into parenting intervention research within and across cultures.

Parenting-allocated time in families of the Ural Russian region: amounts and determinants

This study aims to measure the time allocated to child raising using parents’ self-assessment and the criterion of subjective time sufficiency or insufficiency. We surveyed 545 Russian parents from the Ural region and used factor analysis to identify the main determinants that affect the self-assessment of time allocated to parenting. We found that parents in the Russian Ural region believe they do not spend enough time with their children. Reasons for the insufficient amount of time allocated to parenting are the following: overload of labor duties at home and at work, psychological causes of intergenerational interaction, external reasons − studies, poor health, the need to care for other relatives and so on.

Проблемы и трудности семейного воспитания: взгляд современных родителей

The paper explores the views of today’s parents on challenges of family education. It analyses the data of a survey conducted on 116 parents of different age groups (aged 20 to 60) and the data obtained from the content analysis of Internet resources for parents. The data are analysed according to the age of parents (three age groups: from 20 to 30, from 31 to 40, from 41 to 60), the age (preschool, primary school, teenage) and sex of their children. The data analysis identified most common challenges of family education regardless of the demographic characteristics of the respondents and the age of their children: lack of psychological knowledge about child development, children’s interaction with gadgets and the digital world, difficulties in mutual understanding and building effective communication. An alarming trend is that parents trust recommendations of anonymous Internet users and seek advice about children’s upbringing and health from people with no specialist knowledge. The comparative analysis of Russian and foreign resources shows that Russian parents and their foreign counterparts have different reasons to worry about: children’s mental health, bullying (the child is bullied or the child is a bully), the issue of gender identity in adolescence. The following problems are discussed by both Russian parents and parents from abroad: discipline at school, help with homework, tantrums, communication with peers, game addiction, parental control, etc. The article provides examples of parents’ questions and requests and their descriptions of specific problems.

Доступность цифровых устройств детям дошкольного возраста: различия в родительских позициях

Introduction. The article presents the results of an empirical study, aimed at revealing the peculiarities of parent position concerning the use of gadgets by preschool children on a Russian sample. Objective. The article focuses on the phenomenon of parents’ inconsistent position concerning the use of digital devices by preschoolers. Methods. The study was conducted in February-April, 2021. The questionnaire, elaborated by the authors of the study, was disseminated in social networks. 6376 parents of preschoolers aged from 2 to 7 from Russian Federation participated in the study. The collected data was analyzed with the help of quantitative and qualitative methods. Results and conclusions. The results of the study testify that most Russian parents demonstrate a coherent position in relation to accessibility of digital media to their children — they either give their children limited access to gadgets (66,1%), or completely ban it (5%). A big group of parents (28,9%) give rather controversial answers to questions concerning the accessibility of digital devices to their children, which testifies that they have no coherent strategy. The research demonstrates that many Russian parents face difficulties in organizing their children’s interaction with gadgets and testifies that it is important to organize parents’ counselling and education in relation to these challenges.

And they all lived unhappily ever after: Positive and negative emotions in American and Russian picture books.

The U.S. and Russian cultural contexts are thought to foster different models of emotion, with the former emphasizing positive emotions more and negative emotions less than the latter. Little is known about the ways in which parents transmit these models of emotions to children. Cultural products, such as popular storybooks, may serve to provide important tools of transmission. Two studies examined similarities and differences in the extent to which children's books from these cultural contexts depict emotions. In Study 1, U.S., Russian American, and Russian parents described the extent to which books that they recently read to their children depict positive and negative emotions. Although no differences emerged for depictions of positive emotions, U.S. parents described reading books with lower levels of negative emotions than Russian parents, with Russian American parents in between. These differences were partially due to parental beliefs about sadness. In Study 2, verbal and nonverbal depictions of emotions were compared for sets of popular children's books from the U.S. and Russia. U.S. books verbally referenced anger and sadness and depicted happiness, anger, and fear faces less frequently than Russian books. Taken together, these studies suggest that American and Russian parents value and expose their children to different depictions of emotions, particularly negative emotions. Future studies need to examine the ways in which children in these cultural contexts interpret depictions of emotions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Dynamics of Well-Being of Fathers and Mothers with Minor Children

The purpose of the article is to continue the analysis of the dynamics of the life styles and wellbeing of Russian parents. The article presents foreign research directions of studying the influence of the ideology of intensive parenting on the well-being of parents, the lifestyle before the birth of the child/ children, the composition of children by gender, the external similarity of children and parents, the selfassessment of the fulfillment of their parental role, the marital/partner status of parents. It is shown that according to the data of ESS–2018 and RLMS HSE–2019, in the age group of 30–44 years, statistically not significantly more fathers are happy and satisfied with life than their peers who do not have children. No differences were found in these variables between mothers and their peers without children. To analyze the dynamics of parental well-being, sub-samples of parents were formed, regardless of their age and place of residence, according to the criterion of whether they have minor children, according to representative samples of the RLMS HSE. In 2004, this sub-sample was 2,270 parents, in 2008 – 2,220, and in 2019 – 2,645. Subsamples for these years are formed based on the ability to compare data on identical indicators. The analysis of the data shows that from 2004 to 2019, the share of fathers and mothers who are satisfied with their lives and assess their health as good, as well as satisfied with their work in general, their pay, and their professional growth opportunities, increased. For parents who drink alcohol, as well as those who are satisfied with their financial situation, there is almost no change, there are fewer smokers among fathers, but not mothers. According to the RLMS HSE–2019 data, there are more well-off people among married parents, less among never-married mothers and widows, as well as among divorced fathers and mothers. More fathers and mothers with special education are satisfied with life and work, much less of them smoke incomparison with those with secondary education. It does not depend on the level of education of alcohol consumption by parents, satisfaction with the financial situation and the assessment of health. In conclusion, it is proposed to revise the concepts in official documents on family policy, in statistics and in the media in relation to parents and children in non-normative families. The author emphasizes the relevance of developing educational programs for various categories of parents and future parents, and improving their competence.

Роль уровня образования российских родителей в формировании интуитивных теорий воспитания детей

Previous research in English-speaking countries has shown that parental education predicts significantly parental attitudes and theories about parenting which, in turn, guide parental interaction with their child and might impact the child’s mental development. However, to the best of our knowledge, there has been no research aimed at studying the role of parental education in shaping the views of Russian parents on their children’s education and development. The current study aimed to analyze the role of Russian parents’ education in their intuitive theories of parenting, by controlling for the region where the families live, and taking into account the age and sex of their child. Intuitive theories of parenting were studied using the Early Parental Attitudes Questionnaire (EPAQ). The sample consisted of 995 parents who have children aged 1 to 7 and live in Moscow, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and Republic North Ossetia in Russian Federation. Two profiles of intuitive theories of parenting were identified. Differences and similarities in intuitive theories of parenting between regions, when controlling for parents' level of education were also identified. The results characterize modern parenthood in three geographically distant Russian regions and can be useful in understanding the profile of a modern parent, as well as for developing educational programmes aimed at self-development and increasing parental competence in Russian parents.

Prevalence of “allergy” as a false contraindication to vaccination in Russian parents

Prevalence of “allergy” as a false contraindication to vaccination in Russian parents

Socio-Cultural Background of Family: Opportunities and Limitations for Schoolchild Personal Development

The purpose of the study was the study of family socio-cultural background, or rather, the possibilities of family resource use for the development of positive values and behavioral attitudes of young people. The authors put forward the hypothesis about the functional weakness of the modern family institution which is not able to ensure the socio-cultural development of the younger generation completely. At the same time, it is suggested that the socio-cultural background of a family dominates the possibilities and the limitations of a student's personal development. The Internet survey of Russian parents with school-age children (N = 775) was used as the main research method. After the study the authors conclude that the social and the cultural background of the modern family is destabilizing: there is the replacement of such values as patience, respect and fidelity to such as status, money and career. They established the limitations of a student's personal development in the context of family socio-cultural background study: the absence of cultural experience for intra-family communication, the underdevelopment of channels producing positive values, the absence of interaction effective practices with educational institutions.

“Take Everything from Life...”: the Discourse of Russian Parents about Children’s Video Games

The study reveals the analysis of the discourse of St. Petersburg parents for their ideas about children's computer games. The focus of our attention was the settings that underlie the strategies of regulation of these game practices by adults. The empirical base of the study was a series of semi-structured interviews with parents of children under ten years of age with different social characteristics (gender, age, nature and level of education, income), whose children play video games, and for various reasons are not involved in this process. Interviews were conducted in St. Petersburg in 2016-2017. According to the results obtained, the prohibition or permission of games on the computer, as well as the frequency of access to the gadget and the type of gaming activity (educational – entertaining) are based on two key ideas. The first can be referred to as the idea of "fullness of life", and the second, respectively, as the idea of "quality of life". The idea of "fullness of life" is based on such ideas about the world, when the main value is the diversity of activities, the saturation of life with events. The idea of "quality of life" is based on the value of in-depth development of a particular activity, which is currently considered as an important, significant. As the analysis showed, Russian parents use both ideas in the argument of both permission and prohibition of children's video games, but do not mix them in justifying their own decisions and actions. We also assume that the idea of "quality of life" has a deep history and has been popular for several decades, while the idea of "fullness of life" characterizes the discourse of the modern dynamic and changeable consumer society.

Home and school responsibilities for children’s health literacy development: the views of Finnish and Russian parents and teachers

ABSTRACTThis study examined how parents and teachers of pupils aged 10–11 in North Karelia, Finland, and the Republic of Karelia, Russia, perceived the home and school responsibilities associated with providing children with information related to different health learning content areas. The majority of parents and teachers considered guiding pupils’ health learning as a joint responsibility of home and school. Finnish and Russian parents’ views differed in several areas; the largest differences concerned the areas of oral health and dental care and washing and hygiene. Teachers’ views were more consistent between regions than parents’ views; the largest difference was in the area of sexuality and reproduction. Within each region, teachers perceived more areas to be the school's responsibility than parents did.

Approaches of Russian Families to Children’s Home Preparation for School in the Czech School Context

The article focuses on issues of education of foreigners, which are currently very topical. The text describes Russian families, which are undergoing a process of acculturation in the Czech school environment. The article analyses two important factors, which influence the education of Russian children at the Czech schools. 1) Parents' attitudes towards their children's study at Czech schools, 2) Russian parents' approach to home preparation of their children. This text describes how these two factors are connected with acculturation strategies, which have been chosen by Russian families.

Visceral symptoms as a key diagnostic sign for the early infantile form of Niemann–Pick disease type C in a Russian patient: a case report

BackgroundNiemann–Pick disease type C is a rare metabolic disease characterized by progressive neurological deterioration with childhood onset, and often results in premature mortality. Niemann–Pick disease type C has an extremely heterogeneous clinical presentation with a wide range of visceral and neurological signs and symptoms that are not specific to the disease, and which progress over varied periods of time. The incidence and epidemiology of Niemann–Pick disease type C in Russia have not been characterized. We report the case of a Russian newborn with early-infantile onset Niemann–Pick disease type C who displayed prolonged neonatal jaundice and hepatosplenomegaly.Case presentationA 5-year-old white boy born to non-consanguineous Russian parents was originally diagnosed with galactosemia at the age of 2 months based on a raised blood galactose level. A galactose-free and lactose-free diet resulted in achievement of a normal galactose level, but hepatosplenomegaly and cholestatic signs persisted. Liver biopsy results hinted at possible Niemann–Pick disease type C, but differential diagnostic investigations for progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 2 (Byler syndrome) indicated a heterozygous genotype suggestive of this disease. Further, progressive neurological symptoms prompted additional genetic analyses for possible Niemann–Pick disease type C, from which an as-yet unreported combination of known NPC1 gene mutations was identified, and a final diagnosis of Niemann–Pick disease type C was established. The patient subsequently developed typical neurological symptoms of early-infantile Niemann–Pick disease type C, including vertical supranuclear ophthalmoparesis and cerebellar ataxia. Miglustat therapy was initiated 2.5 years ago, and some improvements in movement and speech have since been observed.ConclusionsThis case illustrates the continued challenges associated with diagnosing Niemann–Pick disease type C based on the appearance of nonspecific cholestatic symptoms. Based on this case we recommend examination of all newborns and children who display unexplained cholestasis or isolated splenomegaly/hepatosplenomegaly during the first months of life for other signs of possible Niemann–Pick disease type C.

Legal Procedure for Separation of the Child from his or her Parents: Inconsistency of Provisions of Russian Legislation with International Conventions

The purpose of the study is detection of contradictions in the provisions of international conventions and Russian legislation, which regulates relations between parents and a child, who lives separately from them (one of parents); formulation and motivation of proposals regarding elimination of contradictions. The author studies subjective (based on parents’ wishes) and objective (based on relevant government authority’s decision) prerequisites for separate residence of the child and parents (one of parents) as an actual separation. Grounds and procedures, legal effects of separation of the child from his or her parents (one of parents) are stated and studied, potential conditions for restoration of co-residence and communication of the child with parents (one of parents) are studied. The provisions of family legislation regarding deprivation of paternal rights and restriction of paternal rights in the context of exercise of the child’s power of communication with each of parents are criticized. The paper analyzes grounds, provided by the Family Code of the Russian Federation, for child and parents separation in terms of their consistency with requirements of The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. The neeed for taking into account child’s opinion and consent when establishing the regime of communication with parents (one of parents) is stated. Objective need for juridical terminology enhancement is demonstrated: development of “parental custody”, “right of access” and other notions. The need for amendments and additions in Russian legislation regarding provisions that enforce provisions of international acts in the area of child’s and parents’ rights protection is concluded. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n3s3p65

The Authoritarian Syndrome in Attitudes and Educational Practices of Russian Parents

In the structure of indicators of authoritarianism, a central position is occupied by rigidity of educational attitudes as a manifestation of the syndrome of authoritarian aggression. This article addresses educational attitudes of mothers, as well as their idea of the role of a father in families with varied economic resources. The study involved 500 mothers, selected basing on the criterion of self-identification of their economic status (low and medium), under the age of 45, with children aged from 1.5 to 3 years old. Educational attitudes were estimated on the basis of views characterizing typical principals of upbringing of children in everyday family life. This study highlighted that authoritarian attitudes are characteristic of low resource families, rather than of families with medium resources. A similar tendency can be traced in mothers’ perception of fathers in these families: as more authoritarian and more democratic, sensitive, partner-oriented in communication with their children, respectively. This work suggests the directions in correction of authoritarian educational attitudes.