Despite the presence of different points of view on the family crisis, all researchers are unanimous in their opinion about its presence in modern Russian society. The components of this crisis can be considered the following signs: falling birth rates; mass childlessness; depopulation of the nation; an increase in the number of divorces; increase in the number of single-parent families; children born out of wedlock; widespread informal marriages (cohabitation); alternative forms of marriage and family relations (“concubinate”, family-commune, “swing”, “group marriages”), legalization of same-sex relationships; increase in individuals living alone (loneliness).
The decline in the birth rate in Russia began in the late 60s. Modern fertility parameters are two times less than what is required to replace generations: on average, there are 1.2 births per woman, compared with 2.15 required for simple population reproduction. In a number of regions located in the central part of Russia, the total fertility rate is about one birth per woman.
The nature of the birth rate in the Russian Federation is determined by the widespread prevalence of small families (1-2 children), the convergence of the birth rate parameters of the urban and rural population, the postponement of the birth of the first child, and the growth of out-of-wedlock births.
Small families, as an established, developing and diversified social phenomenon, have crossed all boundaries: national, regional, class, professional. It has taken root in society and has become not a random or temporary process, but a pattern. The increase in the number of small and childless families is a reflection of family instability and a decline in its status. Modern society provides a person with many different opportunities for personal self-realization, which constitute a serious alternative to the need to have children. Although, undoubtedly, a low standard of living serves as a brake on the birth rate, the reason lies not only in this. The family crisis is not a problem of wealth and poverty, it is a common misfortune of the entire modern civilization, a misfortune that is expressed in the devaluation of family values. In the system of these values, regardless of material well-being, the human “I” determined itself in any way, but not through parenthood. We are dealing with something that has never happened in the history of mankind: having few children was forced. Nowadays, the anti-child, anti-family trend is mainly associated with the life philosophy of the younger generation, which does not want (or is afraid!) to have children due to the lack of real prospects for their professional and social self-determination. There was no place for man in this value system; his destiny was the hypertrophied social function of the worker. There is no man, there is no woman with her special responsible role of reproduction and education of the younger generation, but there are workers, creators, politicians. Unfortunately, people have transferred these impersonal relationships into the family, thus devaluing one of its most important functions. And therefore, now not only familists, but also representatives of other “human sciences” state with alarm: “... We are on the threshold, no matter how scary this word sounds, of depopulation, when the mortality rate is higher than the birth rate. Until we say that the crisis of the family is not just a crisis of its material capabilities, not only for this reason spouses refuse to have children, but that it is a crisis of the value system generated by the costs of industrial production, until this problem is realized in such a way production, until then its resolution will not be invented. It will still have to be allowed, since the anti-child, anti-family direction of development is inhumane, and therefore non-progressive, unpromising... There is no humane alternative to the family.”
Low birth rate is one of the reasons for depopulation. Depopulation – a persistent excess of the number of deaths over the number of births – has affected, to varying degrees, almost the entire territory of the Russian Federation and almost all ethnic groups.
Destabilization of marriage is one of the most important demographic problems, quantitatively expressed in the unfavorable ratio of registered and dissolved marriages. The divorce rate in Russia increased continuously in the 50s, 60s and 70s of the twentieth century.
Currently, more than 50% of marriages end in breakup.
Divorce is the most obvious, but not the only evidence of the destruction of family relationships, since it only formalizes their actual situation. Not all families with dysfunctional relationships make the decision to divorce, either due to fear of the procedure and consequences of divorce, or because of psychological inertia, or because of the belief that “children should have two parents, regardless of the relationship between them.” In this case, the family is formally preserved, but its basic functions are disrupted.
The downward trend in marriage rates, which intensified towards the end of the 1990s, was determined by several factors.
Firstly, partner cohabitation is becoming more and more widespread among young people.
Secondly, registration of marriages takes place today at an increasingly older age.
And, thirdly, the general deterioration of the economic situation, the growth of unemployment, especially among young people, the decline in living standards - all this slows down marriage.
The number of single-parent families (as a result of divorce, widowhood, the birth of a child to an unmarried woman, etc.) is 20%, with a predominance of single-parent families in which the child is raised by one mother (approximately 14 such families per single-parent family, in where the child is raised by one father).
Against the background of a general decline in the birth rate and an increase in the number of single-parent families, there is an intensive increase in children born out of wedlock among all births. Until 1985, their share fluctuated around
10%, and then began to grow rapidly, and in 2000 reached 28%. Today, the parents of almost every fifth child in our country are not in a registered marriage. This is partly due to weakening moral standards and more liberal attitudes towards children born out of wedlock, and can sometimes be seen as an indicator of the spread of de facto marriages. There is a significant increase in out-of-wedlock births among teenage mothers. Increased out-of-wedlock birth rate at very young ages is mainly a consequence of low contraceptive culture at the beginning of sexual life.
Both our and foreign experience shows that among the illegitimate children of minor mothers, the number of unplanned and unwanted children is especially high. Therefore, the rates of maternal and infant mortality, pathology of newborns, and mothers abandoning their children are increasing. Among the problems of single-parent families, the problem of its functioning as an institution for the upbringing and socialization of children is especially acute. Being born out of wedlock reduces a child’s chances of having a full family in the future: “purely” female, as well as “purely” male child rearing leads to the formation of a distorted pattern of behavior. Another important difficulty for this type of family is their economic insolvency. The vast majority of single-parent families have the characteristics of being poor and dependent on benefits.
The next social characteristic that requires society's attention to single-parent families with minor children is related to the quality of the latter's health. Pediatric scientists studying the level of health of children come to a disappointing conclusion: children from single-parent families are much more likely than children from intact families to be susceptible to acute and chronic diseases that occur in a more severe form. Thus, the specific lifestyle of a single-parent family has a significant impact on the well-being of a single-parent family. Nevertheless, from year to year the number of children born out of wedlock is growing, which over time aggravates the problem of single-parent families.
Researchers, starting from the second half of the 80s, began to note the liberalization of public opinion regarding cohabitation. In the public consciousness, the name “civil marriage” is increasingly assigned to such unions, although this term arose in a completely different context - as a marriage union registered with government agencies, an alternative to church marriage.
Society's attitude towards “civil marriages” is becoming more and more loyal. Between 1980 and 2000, their number increased sixfold. Young couples are increasingly refusing to officially register their marriage; the prevalence of legally unregistered marriages led to the fact that in 2000, every fourth child was born out of wedlock.
Social practice is expanding in society when, for many young people, marriage is preceded by cohabitation, which can be considered as a temporary, but in most cases an indispensable step towards the legal consolidation of emotionally and psychologically justified relationships. Traditional marriage is being replaced by the so-called “trial marriage” (cohabitation, extramarital union), most often at the age of 18–25 years. Analyzing the reasons for the growth of extramarital unions, some experts associate this fact primarily with the crisis of the modern family and the decline in its social prestige. Many young people are frightened by the prospect of taking responsibility for another person, as well as for children who sooner or later appear in the family. They should not be blamed for this, because today's youth achieve economic independence later. On the other hand, early physical development determines the need for sexual relations. Of course, sexual potency and the need to satisfy the sexual instinct have always existed, but previously this was largely prevented by strict social norms. Now freedom of premarital sexual relations dominates. Therefore, a couple living together without legal registration of the relationship can, with greater ease than in a legal marriage, terminate their relationship if something in the partner does not suit them. Psychological factors also play an important role in the growth of extramarital unions. An increasing number of young people (and even their parents) consider it necessary to undergo a probationary period in cohabitation before a “real” marriage - to better get to know each other’s character and habits, to check their feelings and sexual compatibility. But it should be noted that most often the initiator of a “trial marriage” is a man. The modern woman, as before, is more interested in creating a family and suffers more from its absence, although marital responsibilities primarily bind her and provide advantages to the man.
Objective statistics provide interesting data on this matter. A married man differs from a bachelor in better physical and mental health, he gets sick less often, he is less likely to get hit by a car, become an alcoholic, or commit suicide, he is luckier in his professional activities, and lives longer. And a married woman has worse health than her unmarried peers, especially those under the age of 30, her career advancement is hampered by the birth and raising of children, household responsibilities, and opportunities for extra-family leisure are limited.
It turns out that marriage is more in the interests of a man, nevertheless, he sees “quarrels” in the family, and she sees “happiness”.
The position of a woman in a “trial marriage” is no different from the position in a registered one: it is she who bears the main burden of housekeeping. Men, on the other hand, more often feel like a guest in an unofficial marriage, who is given honor and respect every day and hour, and at the same time no one expects, much less demands, his participation in household work. Everything depends on his personal desire, i.e. he enjoys all the advantages of a married man, but with the only difference that he has no responsibilities and is not responsible for the economic well-being of the family. Family problems are resolved based on mutual agreement. Therefore, “trial marriage” should be considered not as a new stage in the development of intersexual relations, but as a crisis state of the modern family.
The phenomenon of diversity of family models is associated by both foreign and domestic researchers with profound social changes that have global and national characteristics and are expressed in a change in value paradigms.
In the 20th century Along with the monogamous family type, a number of types of non-traditional models have become widespread. The appearance of such forms in science is explained by the complexity of the formation of modern and post-modern types of families. As an example, we give several forms presented in English literature.
“Regularly separated” marriage is a model, the essence of which is that the husband and wife, at a certain stage of development of an individual family, prefer to live separately for a fairly long period of time. Spouses choose a certain degree of spatial isolation from each other in order to prevent the routinization of life and everyday conflicts and thereby achieve maximum satisfaction of individual needs and create the ground for creative expression.
The next non-traditional form is “open” marriage. Some people do not recognize divorce as the best solution to family problems, so they look for opportunities to “open” the marriage. “Opening” a marriage means taking steps towards full equality and independence of spouses in the intellectual and professional spheres. In such a marriage, the husband and wife are independent partners. One of the extreme forms of “sexual open marriage” is the so-called “swinging”. Here, extramarital sexual contacts are openly practiced by both spouses, often at the same time and in the same place.
Alternative marriages also include “concubinage” (in which there is some participation of the “father” in the future fate of his child and his mother - in unregistered relationships, i.e. a “de facto” marriage, although the man has an official family), and also all varieties of bigamy.
One of the most pressing problems of marriage and family at the turn of the millennium is the legalization of same-sex cohabitation, equating them with legally registered marriages.
Finally, another sign of an unstable family lifestyle is the belief that being single is an attractive and comfortable lifestyle. To one degree or another, loneliness was inherent in various societies and peoples in the past. But if in the past it was the result of objective factors that almost did not depend on the person himself (the death of men in war, the death of one of the spouses from epidemics and diseases), now it also depends on the individual himself. Many become single consciously, that is, people consciously do not want to get married. Since the Second World War, the number of people living in isolation has increased dramatically. In previous generations, loneliness was perceived as a fate in general and people who experienced it were treated with understanding. However, conscious loneliness was condemned by society. Nowadays there is a different view. There is no doubt that public consciousness no longer forms a negative attitude towards him: society is quite tolerant of single people, perhaps even indifferent. We believe that these changes are due to some extent to the process of changing emphasis in the “society – family – individual” system. But in reality, this means that society today is not so important whether a person is a family person or not. Other indicators become more significant: professional, educational, etc.
Opinions and attitudes in this area depend on nationality, the degree of urbanization of the settlement, age and some other factors. At the same time, it is clear that directly or indirectly, the prerequisites for loneliness are created: economic, social, moral and psychological. All benefits and benefits are distributed in accordance with a person’s achievements in professional activities. Loneliness becomes a phenomenon organically inherent in society, and not accidental or temporary. The traditions and customs with which our ancestors fought against it are almost forgotten.
Another undoubted factor that negatively affects the stability of marriage, primarily abroad, but is already penetrating into the consciousness of Russians, is the influence of the feminist worldview. In Russia, the spread of feminist ideas occurs not only for internal reasons, but also under the influence of foreign theories - through international conferences, grants from foreign foundations, through the media and various publications. For example, in the introductory remarks to the works of prominent feminists translated into Russian, their generally positive assessment is given; In a number of translated sociology textbooks, material on family and marriage is presented as part of gender sociology. For the Russian reader, it is of some interest to consider “anti-familyism” in American feminism from the position of familism, the pro-family perception of these views.
The disappearance of the social need for a large family and a high birth rate caused the contraceptive and with it the sexual revolution, the collapse of a thousand-year-old system of social norms of family lifestyle. The spread of small families, the growth of divorces and cohabitation, socialization pathology, illegitimate births, etc. strengthened a new system of thoughts, where family was associated with everything “old” and “obsolete”, and the products of its disintegration - with everything “new” and “advanced” " In a situation of a value crisis in the family style of behavior and the indifference of public opinion towards the family, feminism appeared as an obvious ideological and theoretical justification for what was happening. In feminism, the inequality of the family among the institutions that exploit it is replaced by the inequality and exploitation of women, while the social problem of the decline of the family is removed, and the problem of gender relations is brought to the fore.
A crushing critique of the family is inherent not only in radical feminism, which fully declared itself in the United States in the 70s, but also in other areas of modern feminist theory, the differences between which have been smoothed out in the last decade due to a general rejection of family.
The ideology of feminism was formed under the influence of Enlightenment ideas about the natural rights of every person and thanks to the contributions of prominent figures in the women's movement: Mary Wollstonecraft, Frances Wright, Sarah Grimke, Elizabeth Stanton and Suzanne Anthony. At the first stage of the formation of American feminism, liberal feminists gradually leaned toward radicalism, viewing women as an oppressed class and all social institutions as attributes of patriarchy. In the 19th century the emphasis was placed on the difference between men and women, purely feminine qualities were highlighted, and the leading idea was the desire to concentrate all management in the hands of “strong women.” In fact, it was the idea of mother's right, which was very fashionable among anthropologists at that time. Among liberal or cultural feminists, there was an opinion that the call for “matriarchy” (dominance of women) was a response to the enslavement of Western women in the 19th century.
Within the framework of cultural feminism of the 19th century. Elizabeth Stanton took a radical position, rejecting religion and the Ten Commandments, supposedly invented by men to deprive women of their rights. Matilda Gage went further than E. Stanton, equating patriarchy with the horrors of war, prostitution and the enslavement of women. Victoria Woodhull became the first woman to address the US Congress on the issue of women's rights, linking them with shocking views on free love. V. Woodhull defended the abolition of marriage as a system of official prostitution and rape.
Cultural feminists also defended abortion rights: Emma Goddman was arrested in 1916 for distributing literature on abortion, and Margaret Sanger advocated for better living conditions through legalized abortion and advocated slowing population growth.
The anti-family theory of feminism is based on the idea of individual freedom, cultivating the desire for freedom, not limited by anything - not even by the requirement of individual responsibility for the negative consequences of any unauthorized actions. Every individual of the female gender is free to do as he pleases, because responsibility for this is shifted to society and the state. From the point of view of feminism, traditional sociology of the family is guilty of sociocultural recognition of the separation of the sexes, in justifying the socialization of children according to their physiological constitution, i.e. in forced heterogeneous education. In the context of postmodern revaluation of values, feminist denial of human nature and relevant human culture surpasses all known forms of nihilism.
So, the crisis of the modern Russian family, unfortunately, is an undoubted fact. Moreover, it is taking place against the backdrop of a large-scale social crisis in the country, which makes it particularly acute and dramatic. In addition, it is associated not only with socio-economic, but also with a number of psychological reasons that appeared among people against the backdrop of social devastation.
The family has ceased to be a condition for survival in society, since every adult has the opportunity to become economically independent and therefore shows more concern for his personal growth than for family well-being. Most members of society have a pronounced focus on satisfying the basic needs of life not in the family, but outside it. Nowadays it is much more important to make a career than to become a good family man.
In recent years, an increasing number of young men have become involved in deviant activity and criminal activity, or have been drawn to participate in military operations taking place on Russian territory. All this, of course, is connected with a lifestyle that denies family, so young people of marriageable age are in no hurry to create one or simply do not have time to do so.
The crisis of the modern family is in some way connected with the decline in the role of men as a stabilizing factor within it. The leading position continues to be occupied by a woman with her high level of emotionality, which often leads to a thoughtless break in marriage on her initiative. Mass culture, which cultivates sexuality without love, has also played a negative role in this: in particular, advertising, beauty contests and other similar entertainment events that direct a man to evaluate a woman in terms of sexual attractiveness, rather than love and motherhood. Various kinds of sexual services have appeared, ranging from special salons to computer sex for intellectuals, which is incompatible with family life. In addition, the media (print, radio, television) obsessively promote the ideas of hypersexuality, leading to frequent changes of sexual partners. Naturally, the implementation of such ideas does not contribute to the strengthening of marriage and leads to a devaluation of spiritual and moral values and feelings of love.
In Russian society, there has been a sharp decline in the role of traditionally significant family ties within the family and, first of all, between parents and children. Parents raised under the Soviet regime found themselves unadapted to dramatically changed social relations and became confused in the face of a reality that was unusual and incomprehensible to them. Therefore, children stopped perceiving them as carriers of wisdom, certain life experiences that could be borrowed. In turn, children who have not received a good upbringing do not know how to raise their children. Intentionally or unwittingly, difficult life situations make the family another “irritating factor”, so the husband and wife, as well as other members of the family group, being in a chronic state of stress for several years, strive to find peace at least for some time. And a possible way out in this case is either the destruction of the family or the refusal to create one.
Thus, modern Russian society and social work are faced with an urgent task - helping a family in crisis, which is in a rather difficult socio-economic situation, which is aggravated by the increasingly widespread decline in the values of the familial lifestyle.
Tasks for independent work
1. Offer your definition of the concepts of “family” and “marriage”.
2. Draw your family tree.
3. Tell us about the family as a social institution, using five groups of general characteristics of social institutions:
– attitudes and patterns of behavior;
– cultural symbols;
– utilitarian cultural traits;
– oral and written codes of conduct;
– ideology.
4. Make a table “Typical norms of a traditional and modern family”
|
The sphere of family life and non-family activities of spouses |
Typical norms traditional family |
Typical norms modern family |
5. Using the diagram below, describe the family life cycle. What typical problems does a family encounter at each stage?
|
Stages of the family cycle |
|||
|
Stage of childlessness, pre-parenthood |
reproductive parenthood |
socialized parenthood |
ancestry |
|
Family Events |
|||
|
Marriage |
Birth of first child |
Birth of the last child |
Separation from parents birth of the first |
6. Take notes on the work: Sorokina P.A. The crisis of the modern family // Bulletin of Moscow University. Ser. 18. Sociology and political science. – 997. – No. 3. Do you agree with the opinion of the sociologist? Give reasons for your answer.
Write an essay on the topic: “Values of family and marriage in modern society.”
Using the table below, describe the characteristics of alternative lifestyles in modern society.
|
Traditional marriage and family relations |
Alternative forms of marriage and family relations |
|
Legal (legally formalized) |
Loneliness Unregistered cohabitation |
|
Mandatory presence of children |
Deliberately childless marriage |
|
Stable |
Divorces, remarriage |
|
Sexual fidelity of partners |
Swinging |
|
Heterosexuality |
Homosexuality |
|
Dyadicity |
Group marriage |
9. Describe the family as a small social group.
10. Tell us about role conflicts in the family.
To fully disclose the above, I would like to consider the issue of crisis in the modern family, since changes in some functions of the family are closely related precisely to the crisis situations developing in the modern family. The Russian family is going through a difficult crisis. A significant number of family and moral traditions have been lost, the attitude of parents towards children has changed, the psychological microsociety of the family has been largely destroyed, and its educational function has been weakened. The child often lives in conditions of socio-psychological deprivation, experiences a lack of emotional support, and the family does not guarantee him security.
Family influence on children is unique in intensity and effectiveness. It is carried out continuously, simultaneously covering all aspects of personality formation, and continues for many years. This impact is based primarily on the emotional relationship between parents and children, becoming one of the main factors in family dysfunction.
The alienation of parents from children, younger generations from older ones against the backdrop of infringement of universal and religious morality, weakening of the values of family well-being led in the late 80s - early 90s to that rampant immorality and social pathology, which most clearly reveals the social crisis of our society, the crisis existential values. Based on the above, Russia will need much more time to transform the entire system of life, reorienting it towards the interests of the family, than Western countries. Hence, we need to start a pro-family policy and think about how to make it effective earlier.
Childlessness and having few children have become quite common in most of Russia, and not only that. A sharp decline in material standards forces young families to refuse to have a second and third child and to postpone the birth of the first. Families with two or more children more often end up in poverty and in this situation cannot provide their children with adequate nutrition, maintenance and education.
The current situation in Russia (economic crisis, increased social and political tension, interethnic conflicts, growing material and social polarization of society, etc.) has aggravated the situation of the family. For millions of families, the conditions for the implementation of social functions - reproductive, existential content and primary socialization of children - have sharply worsened. The problems of the Russian family are coming to the surface and becoming noticeable not only to specialists.
These are a fall in the birth rate, an increase in mortality, a decrease in the marriage rate and an increase in the divorce rate, an increase in the frequency of premarital sexual relations, an increase in the frequency of early and very early, as well as out-of-wedlock births. This is an unprecedented increase in the number of abandonments of children and even their murders, and galloping teenage and, alas, child crime, and an increase in emotional alienation between family members. This includes the growing preference for so-called alternative forms of marriage and family life, including the growing number of singles, single-parent families, marriage-like relationships and quasi-families of gays and lesbians, and the growing number of marital cohabitations. This is also the growth of family deviation - alcohol and drug abuse, family violence, including incestuous violence.
The collapse of a family with several children and lifelong marriage is a global process, most clearly manifested in developed countries. Few children are a global problem of our time, which arose as a result of the historical weakening of the family institution, the destruction of family production and the transformation of family members into hired workers who do not have new, market incentives to have children at all. The modern degradation of the family as a marital union, a union of parents and children and an economic association, that is, as an institution that does not fulfill its fundamental functions, is a direct result of the cessation of the inertial action of the norms of the family way of life, the departure of family production into oblivion. Three centuries away from family, market-oriented production turned out to be enough for the need for children as such to dry up.
The new society did not bother to create new incentives for having children. That is why there is such a massive need for one child in a market economy (wage labor). If the market economy does not change in this regard, then in one demographic generation people's need for one child will begin to weaken.
The goal of family strengthening policy is to create in the market system a completely new market motivation for starting a family and children. Motherhood and fatherhood, logically, should become a professional occupation, just like any other business. Society should feel the need and interest in the family fulfilling its functions of reproduction and socialization of new generations.
_INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL "INNOVATIVE SCIENCE" No. 5/2016 ISSN 2410-6070_
SOCIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
S. A. Bulgakova
IEiU, Surgut State University, Surgut, Russian Federation Scientific supervisor: N.A. Butenko
CRISIS OF THE FAMILY AND TRADITIONAL FOUNDATIONS IN MODERN SOCIETY
annotation
The article discusses the concept of “family”, current problems of family formation in modern society. The author poses the problem of the influence of the crisis of family values on the development of society.
Keywords
Family, society, traditional values, social institution.
Throughout his life, a person is part of many different groups - a group of friends, a school class, a dance team - but only his family remains the group that he never leaves. In modern society, the functions of the family as a social institution are weakening. This is due to the dynamic changes taking place in the world. The institution of the family becomes more and more unstable every year, as its foundations, which are based on centuries-old traditions, are being destroyed. This is evidenced by sociological and psychological research in the field of family relationships.
The family as a social institution is an association that is characterized by a set of social norms, patterns of behavior and sanctions that regulate the relationships between spouses, children, parents and other relatives.
In modern society, the problem of weakening the functions of the family as a social institution is being raised, which is associated with dynamic changes taking place in the world. The institution of the family becomes more and more unstable every year, as its foundations, which are based on centuries-old traditions, are being destroyed. This is evidenced by sociological and psychological research in the field of family relationships.
Each family is a unique world, which is based on certain values, continuity, emotions, traditions, feelings.
But in the modern world, the institution of family is experiencing a deep crisis. On the one hand, it is expressed in the transformation of the family from a unit of society into a decaying element, on the other hand, in the devaluation of family relationships.
The family is currently going through various modifications. Family relationships are losing their socializing and educational significance. The family ceases to be a school for the spiritual maturation of individuals entering into social relationships. It is increasingly becoming just a formal association, a kind of club of interests. And the disintegration of the family consequently entails the disintegration of society.
In fact, society itself as a whole and all other social institutions are to a greater extent possible only thanks to the family, and without it they are doomed to death and stagnation. Society can perform some of the functions of the family and help a person in socialization, but it cannot replace the family, for the latter is the primary cell, the union of which with others like it creates society.
Let us consider the essence of the evolutionary changes that the family is experiencing in modern society.
INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL “INNOVATIVE SCIENCE” No. 5/2016 ISSN 2410-6070_
At the beginning of the 20th century. a group of economists conducted a study to study family budgets in Russia. Ultimately, they found out that basically the man has complete control over the money in the family. In the 1920s repeated the same thing and saw that in 15% of families the woman began to manage the budget. And at the end of the 20th century. In two out of three families, the woman managed all material resources. Traditional roles, when a woman raises children and runs a household, and the husband is the owner and ensures the economic independence of the family, are changing.
Today, the family, as a single whole, depends less and less on laws, morals, traditions, public opinion, customs, etc. and increasingly from interpersonal relationships, mutual understanding and mutual affection. As a result, the number of actual, but not legally formalized, “free” family unions and children born in them is increasing. Also, the professional interests of women and men become a serious rival to family interests.
The number of divorces and single-parent families is growing. Among the reasons for divorce, the most common cause is lack of preparation for marriage. Love does not always help to cope with emerging conflict situations.
Trends in family development in the modern period
Traditional foundations Modern society
1. Patriarchal type of family. 2. The most important feature of a traditional family is the subordination of the goals and interests of the individual to the interests of the entire family. 3. "Father is the breadwinner." 1. Egalitarian type of family. 2. Economic support for the family often becomes the responsibility of women. 3. Increase in the number of single-parent families. 4. Declining birth rate. 5. Increase in early pregnancy. 6. Changes in the sexual behavior of men and women. 7. Leisure function comes first. The educational function has decreased. 8. Increase in the number of divorces.
In Marxist theory, the family is interpreted as the economic unit of society. Its role in society can hardly be overestimated. The family crisis in modern society should become one of the main directions of state policy. It should include the following:
1. Taking special measures aimed at increasing or reducing the birth rate.
2. Development of economic and social programs to support families.
3. Formation in the public consciousness of value systems for family lifestyle. State support for families is provided in Russia: additional leaves have been established,
cash benefits were established, special benefits were introduced, etc.
In modern socio-cultural and socio-economic conditions, there is a decline in universal value orientations in the family, as well as the moral degradation of society. Consequently, it is necessary to raise the prestige and significance in society of the social institution of the family, since the preservation of traditional family values contributes to the stable development of society.
List of used literature:
1. Antonov A.I., Medkov V.M. Sociology of the family / A.I. Antonov, V.M. Medkov - M.: MSU Publishing House, 2013. - P. 65
2. Gurko T.A. Current problems of families in Russia/T.A. Gurko. - M.: Institute of Sociology RAS, 2013. - P. 116.
3. Nosova A.V. Family policy in Europe: the evolution of models, discourses, practices./Socis. 2014 No.5. -P.64
© Bulgakova S. A., 2016
Send your good work in the knowledge base is simple. Use the form below
Students, graduate students, young scientists who use the knowledge base in their studies and work will be very grateful to you.
Posted on http://www.allbest.ru/
Ministry of Science and Education of the Russian Federation
Moscow State University of Culture and Arts
Faculty of Social and Cultural Activities
Department of Social and Philosophical Sciences
Course work
in the discipline "Social pedagogy"
« The crisis of the modern family"
Completed by: 2nd year student
correspondence department Zhdannikova N.V.
Scientific supervisor: Loseva Lyubov Pavlovna
Moscow 2013
Introduction
1.Theoretical characteristics of the family
1.4 Family life cycle
2.2 Crisis of the family institution
2.3 Divorce and domestic violence
2.4 Violation of the reproductive function of the modern family
3 . Diagnosis of interpersonal relationships in the family
3.1 Methods of psychodiagnostics of interpersonal marital relationships
3.2 Methods of psychodiagnostics of child-parent relationships
Conclusion
Bibliography
Application
family relationships psychodiagnostics marital
Introduction
Problems of family and intrafamily relationships have always been relevant. But, perhaps, special interest in issues of family life has appeared in recent years in connection with the crisis state of the modern family. Most studies are devoted to the analysis of economic, social, and pedagogical aspects of family life.
As you know, the first five years of married life are the most difficult; during these years, family happiness is fragile. Many mistakes that are made by young people even before marriage, and then repeated in the process of living together, are largely due to ignorance of the basic problems of family life. Hence the psychological unpreparedness for their discussion and constructive resolution.
In our time, quite a lot of attention is paid to the study of the modern family, both in our country and abroad. Therefore, in psychology there are different points of view on the phenomenon of the modern family.
Most domestic researchers note that the transition of our country to conditions of qualitatively new economic relations influenced the formation of the family, because the family “directly or indirectly reflects all the changes taking place in society, although it has relative independence.”
Therefore, studies of the modern family allow us to say that “the idea of the family is increasingly moving away from the unconditionally recognized strict functions set by society, and is increasingly approaching the image of the family as a small group in which functions, roles and values depend on the individuals who make it up” .
The course work is devoted to the problems of the modern family, its characteristics, characteristics and functional-role structure. The course work outlines issues related to the characteristics of the basic functions, structure and typology of families, and examines the psychological characteristics of the modern Russian family.
1. Theoretical characteristics of the family
1.1 Definition of family. Functional-role aspect of the modern family
A family is a small group based on marriage or consanguinity, whose members are bound by a common life, mutual moral responsibility and mutual assistance; it develops a set of norms, sanctions and patterns of behavior that regulate the interaction between spouses, parents and children, and children among themselves.
A family is a more complex system of relationships than a marriage, since it usually unites not only spouses, but also their children, as well as other relatives or people simply close to the spouses.
Marriage is a historically conditioned, sanctioned and regulated by society form of relationship between a man and a woman, establishing their rights and responsibilities in relation to each other, their children, their offspring, and parents.
Today, the family is viewed from two sides. The family is considered one of the four fundamental institutions of society, giving it stability and the ability to replenish the population in each successive generation. At the same time, the family acts as a small group - the most cohesive and stable unit of society. Throughout his life, a person is part of many different groups, but only the family remains the group that he never leaves. It is the most important institution for the socialization of younger generations. It represents the personal environment of life and development of children, adolescents, and young men.
Family is an integral part of society and it is impossible to reduce its importance. Not a single nation, not a single civilized society could do without a family. The foreseeable future of society is also unimaginable without family. For every person, family is the beginning of beginnings. Almost every person associates the concept of happiness, first of all, with family. And only a healthy, prosperous family has a beneficial effect on a person, the creation of which requires significant effort and certain personality traits.
The topic of the institution of family and its problems is one of the most important and relevant, since the family today is in an institutional crisis, is unable to cope with its functions and needs support and assistance from both society and the state.
The degree of study of this topic is quite high, as evidenced by the variety of literature on this topic, which addresses family problems. These are journalistic articles used in writing the work of V.M. Zakirova, candidate of sociological sciences, on divorce and domestic violence as a phenomenon of family dysfunction. Also, an article by Tyurina E.I., candidate of pedagogical sciences, on the causes of the crisis of the modern family - as a social institution, the article attempts to analyze the factors of the crisis of the modern family. An article by E.I. Balditsyna, which examines the nature of the relationship between the state and the family during the Soviet period - as social institutions of society. When writing the work, we used theoretical data from textbooks on sociology and family psychology, as well as data from Internet resources, directly articles on family problems and statistical data. There is a lack of regulatory framework.
The family is the first social community (group) in a person’s life, thanks to which he is introduced to the values of culture, masters his first social roles, and gains experience in social behavior. Social psychologists view the family as a unit of the social structure of society, acting as a regulator of relationships between people. A family is a small social group, which is characterized by certain intra-group processes and phenomena. At the same time, the family is distinguished from other small groups by certain characteristics: marriage or kinship ties between its members; community of life; special moral, psychological, emotional, ethical and legal relations. A family is characterized by such features as lifelong membership in a family group (a family is not chosen, a person is born into it); maximum heterogeneous composition of the group; maximum degree of informality of contacts in the family and increased emotional significance of family events. One of the most accurate definitions of family belongs to N.Ya. Solovyov. According to his definition, a family is “a small social group of society, the most important form of organizing personal life, based on the marital union and family ties, that is, the relationship between husband and wife, parents and children, brothers and sisters and other relatives living together and having a common life.” farming."
The most complete and modern version of the classification is offered by E.G. Eidemiller and V.V. Justitskis, highlighting the following main functions of the family
educational function - satisfying the need for fatherhood and motherhood, raising children;
economic and household - the formation and expenditure of the family budget, maintaining the physical condition of the family, caring for the sick and elderly;
emotional - stabilization of close emotional relationships of family members, satisfaction of the need for sympathy, respect, recognition, psychological protection;
the function of primary social control is the fulfillment of social norms by family members;
the function of spiritual communication is mutual spiritual enrichment, organization of leisure;
sexual-erotic - satisfying the sexual-erotic needs of family members.
The authors note that the internal essence of the function can change with changes in the living conditions of the family. The functions of the family are determined by needs, the subjects of which are society, the family and the individual. The functions of the family are realized in the process of fulfilling family roles and determine, first of all, their content.
The distribution of roles and functions in the family is closely related to the concepts of leadership in the family. In this regard, it should be noted that “...now the head of the family is not the head “by law”, but a leader, that is, whose psychological influence is voluntarily recognized.”
In a modern egalitarian family, the husband is the head in some matters, and the wife in others. At the right moments, they exchange leadership, and no friction arises in this regard. Such families are characterized by approximately the same level of assessment of the personal characteristics of the husband and wife and high satisfaction with family life. The problem of distribution of roles between spouses is the basis for dividing families into traditional and egalitarian.
A feature of the modern stage of family formation is a significant increase in egalitarian families and a corresponding decrease in the number of traditional ones.
In a traditional (patriarchal) family, roles and responsibilities are strictly distributed according to the norms prescribed by gender roles. This is a family, the head of which is a man - the breadwinner, the breadwinner; the woman in such a family is assigned the role of educator.
a) there is a traditional division of male and female roles in the sphere of “secondary” functions;
b) a system of norms is expressed that justifies this distribution, a position of responsibility for family functions;
c) the leading role in making family decisions belongs to the husband; the authority of the father is high, exercising social control over the behavior and upbringing of children.
The modernized (egalitarian) family model assumes:
a) distribution of roles in the domestic sphere, based on the relative equality of spouses’ contributions to external activities;
b) the position of combining responsibility for performing family functions;
c) democratic leadership structure;
d) “egalitarian concept of family life”, equality of husband and wife in the family and outside it.
An egalitarian marriage is characterized by an equal and fair distribution of roles. Some researchers consider a woman’s participation in the financial support of the family to be a criterion for the traditionality/egalitarianism of a family. L. Haas discovered that for the egalitarian distribution of roles, it is not so much the fact of the wife’s work that matters, but rather her earnings and the prestige of her occupation.
1.2 Types and types of modern family
An analysis of literary sources shows that psychologists working with the problems of a modern family attach great importance to its characteristics and distinctive features in comparison with a traditional family.
Schneider identifies the following features of the modern family:
The family has become smaller in number;
The modern family is less stable;
The number of families where the head is the husband has decreased;
The family has become less friendly, because... parents and adult children, brothers and sisters prefer to live separately;
A significantly larger number (compared to the recent past) of people do not legalize relationships, or even live alone.
In accordance with the listed modern features of the family, the following types are distinguished.
1. By related structure family maybe nuclear(married couple with children) and extendedAndRennoy(married couple with children and any of the husband's or wife's relatives).
2. By number of children: noTNaya, single child, small child, large family family.
3. By structure: with one married couple with or without children; with one of the spouses' parents and other relatives, with two or more married couples with or without children, with or without one of the spouses' parents and other relatives.
4. By composition: single-parent family, separate, simple, large family.
5. By geographical feature: urban, rural, remote.
6. By uniformity social composition: socially Ohomogeneous and more than oneOnative families.
7. By family experience: newlyweds; a young family expecting a child; family of middle married age; older marital age; elderly couples.
8. According to the characteristics of the existing family life and organization of family life: family is the “outletAndon the" ( gives a person communication, moral and material support ); child-centric family; family such as a sports team or debate teamOgo club(they travel a lot, see a lot, can do it, know it); etc.
10. By nature of the leisure: families open(communication oriented) and closed(oriented towards family leisure).
11. By the nature of the distribution of household responsibilities: families traditional And egalitarian.
12. By type of headship families can be authoritarian and democraticAndmi.
13. Depending on special conditions for organizing family life: student family and "distant" family (separation due to the specific profession of the spouses).
14. By composition of spouses in a nuclear family: complete(includes father, mother and children) and incomplete(one parent is absent).
15. By social-role characteristics stand out traditional, child-centric and supratfemale families.
16. By the nature of communication and emotional relationships in the family marriages are classified into symmetrical, complementary and metakomtribal.
IN symmetrical In a marriage, both spouses have equal rights, none of them is subordinate to the other. Problems are resolved through agreement, exchange or compromise. IN complementary marriage one gives orders, gives orders, another obeys, awaits advice or instructions. IN metacomplementary In a marriage, the leading position is achieved by a partner who realizes his own goals by emphasizing his weakness, inexperience, ineptitude and powerlessness, manipulating his partner.
There are many varieties of family structure, where these signs are somewhat smoothed out, and the consequences of improper upbringing are not so clear. But still these negative consequences exist. One of the most noticeable is the mental loneliness of children in the family. This fact is taken into account in the Richter-Spivakovskaya typology.
1. Outwardly "calm family" is different those , What events V her proceed smoothly. From the outside it may seem that the relations of its members are orderly and coordinated.
But in such family unions, long-term and strongly suppressed negative feelings towards each other are hidden. This type of relationship is unfavorable for the child's development. The child feels helpless and is constantly afraid. His life is filled with an unconscious feeling of constant anxiety, the child feels danger, but does not understand its source, lives in constant tension and is unable to relieve it.
2. " Volcanic family: In this family, relationships are fluid and open. Spouses often separate and come together, make scandals, quarrel, only to soon love tenderly and confess their love for the rest of their lives. Children in such families experience significant emotional overload. Quarrels between parents are a real tragedy for a child.
3. Family -"sanatorium" - a typical example of family disharmony. One of the spouses, whose emotional reactions are expressed in increased anxiety in front of the outside world, the demand for love and care, creates a specific limitation, a barrier to new experience. All family members, including children, are gradually drawn into a narrow, limited circle. The couple spends all their time together and tries to keep their children close to them. Such parental positions lead to excessive overload of the child’s nervous system, which causes neurotic breakdowns and emotional characteristics such as hypersensitivity and irritability.
4. Family-“fortress”: such alliances are based on ideas about the threat, aggressiveness and cruelty of the surrounding world. The spouses experience a pronounced increase in the sense of “we.” They seem to be psychologically arming themselves against the whole world. Love for a child is increasingly becoming conditional; a child is loved only when he lives up to the demands placed on him by his family.
5. Family-"theater": Such families maintain stability through a specific “theatrical” lifestyle. The focus of such a family is always play and effect. As a rule, one of the spouses in such families experiences an urgent need for recognition, constant attention, and encouragement. Showing love and care for a child to strangers does not prevent children from feeling acutely that their parents have no time for them.
6. Family "third wheel". This type of family arises in cases where the need to take on parental roles is unconsciously perceived as an obstacle to marital happiness. This happens when one or both parents are psychologically immature, when they are unprepared to perform parental functions. As a result, a style of relationship with the child arises along the lines of hidden rejection. Raising children in such situations leads to the formation of self-doubt, lack of initiative, fixation on weaknesses; children are characterized by painful experiences of their own inferiority with increased dependence on parents.
7. "Family with an idol": This type is quite common. Relationships between family members lead to the creation of a “family idol.” The child turns out to be the center of the family, becomes the object of increased attention and care, and inflated expectations of the parents.
With such upbringing, children become dependent, activity is lost, and motivations are weakened. The need for positive assessments increases, children lack love; encounters with the outside world, communication with peers.
8. Family-"masquerade". By building their lives around differently understood values, serving different gods, parents place the child in a situation of different demands and inconsistent assessments. Inconsistency in the actions of parents, for example, the increased demands of the father with excessive care and forgiveness of the mother, causes confusion in the child and a split in his self-esteem.
The presented typology of families would be incomplete if it did not include atypical families. Despite the emergence and spread of such families in modern society, scientists almost do not connect their research interests with their study. Therefore, many problems affecting these families still remain unknown to the general public. However, such non-traditional marriage unions exist, have their own characteristics, and lead their own way of life, which sometimes differs significantly from generally accepted ideas about marriage and family.
1. Occurring family: the marriage is registered, but the spouses live separately, each of them has their own home. Even the appearance of children is not a reason to unite and live in a “common home.” Most often, children remain with their mother or are given to close relatives to raise. Such a family gets together either on holidays and weekends, during vacation. The rest of the time, spouses can meet occasionally without burdening each other with family problems.
2. Intermittent a family is characterized by the fact that the marriage is officially concluded, the spouses live together, but consider it acceptable to separate for a while and not run a common household.
3. Unregistered marriage(civil) - an increasingly widespread form of family. The reasons for the popularity of extramarital unions are primarily related to the crisis of the modern family and the decline in its social prestige. The traditional distribution of household chores, characteristic of an official marriage, is disrupted in an extramarital union. The form of living together provides each partner with individual freedom, which he can use at any time. This form of living together will become more widespread. This is facilitated by early physical and sexual development, the process of breaking the strict generally accepted framework in the field of sexual morality, and the dominance of freedom in establishing extramarital sexual relations. An increasing number of young people consider it necessary to undergo a probationary period in cohabitation before a “real” marriage - to better get to know each other’s character and habits, to test their feelings and sexual compatibility.
4. Open The family differs in that, publicly or secretly, spouses allow relationships outside of marriage. Some married couples, in search of sexual diversity, by mutual voluntary consent, establish sexual relations with some other, one or more couples (closed and open swinging). Some swingers not only make love together, but also organize and spend vacations together, help each other raise children, and solve everyday problems together.
5. Muslim family - polygamy legalized by religion. The husband is the sole owner of all household members, submission to him is mandatory for all members of this family - from young to old. He alone makes decisions and determines the future fate of his aging wives and growing children.
6. " Swedish“A family is a family group that includes several representatives of not only females, but also males. Legally, relations in such a family can only be formalized between partners of one couple, but this does not prevent all men and women included in the family union from considering themselves spouses of each other, running a common household, and having a common family budget. Children are also considered common.
7. Homosexual the family consists of marriage partners with so-called “non-traditional” sexual orientation. If this is a purely male or purely female married couple, within such a family there is a division of partners into “husbands” and “wives” and a corresponding distribution of family roles and responsibilities.
8. Time-limited marriage: the creation of a family union is considered as a kind of peculiar transaction. If the spouses, after the expiration of a certain period, which they agreed upon earlier, do not declare their desire to extend the “contract,” they are automatically considered complete strangers to each other. The group of atypical families of this type includes: mixed families formed by divorced parents and their remarried partners; families raising adopted detey; families raising other people's children; extended community-type families; families with incompetentOown parents; families with chronically ill and disabled childrenladies.
In addition to the structural and functional characteristics that reflect the state of the family as a whole, the individual characteristics of its members are also important for social and pedagogical activities. These include socio-demographic, physiological, psychological, pathological habits of adult family members, as well as characteristics of the child: age, level of physical, mental, speech development in accordance with the child’s age; interests, abilities; the educational institution he attends; successful communication and learning; the presence of behavioral deviations, pathological habits, speech and mental disorders.
The combination of individual characteristics of family members with its structural and functional parameters develops into a complex characteristic - the status of the family. Scientists have shown that a family can have at least 4 statuses: socio-economic, socio-psychological, socio-cultural and situational-role. The listed statuses characterize the state of the family, its position in a certain sphere of life at a specific point in time, that is, they represent a snapshot of a certain state of the family in the continuous process of its adaptation in society. The structure of family social adaptation is presented in the diagram:
The first component of a family's social adaptation is the family's financial situation. To assess the material well-being of a family, which consists of monetary and property security, several quantitative and qualitative criteria are needed: the level of family income, its living conditions, the subject environment, as well as the socio-demographic characteristics of its members, which constitute the socio-economic status of the family.
If the level of family income, as well as the quality of housing conditions, is below established standards (the cost of living, etc.), as a result of which the family cannot satisfy the most basic needs for food, clothing, and payment for housing, then such a family is considered poor, its socio-economic status is low. If the material well-being of a family corresponds to minimum social standards, that is, the family copes with meeting the basic needs of life support, but experiences a shortage of material resources to satisfy leisure, educational and other social needs, then such a family is considered low-income, its social economic status is average.
A high level of income and quality of housing conditions (2 or more times higher than social norms), which allows not only to satisfy basic life support needs, but also to use various types of services, indicates that the family is financially secure and has a high socio-economic status.
The second component of a family's social adaptation is its psychological climate - a more or less stable emotional mood that develops as a result of the moods of family members, their emotional experiences, relationships with each other, with other people, with work, with surrounding events. To know and to be able to assess the state of the psychological climate of the family, or in other words its socio-psychological status, it is advisable to divide all relationships into separate spheres according to the principle of the subjects involved in them: marital, child-parent and relationships with the immediate environment.
The following indicators of the state of the psychological climate of the family are distinguished: the degree of emotional comfort, the level of anxiety, the degree of mutual understanding, respect, support, assistance, empathy and mutual influence; place of leisure (within or outside the family), openness of the family in relationships with its immediate environment.
Relationships built on the principles of equality and cooperation, respect for individual rights, characterized by mutual affection, emotional closeness, and satisfaction of each family member with the quality of these relationships are considered favorable; in this case, the socio-psychological status of the family is assessed as high.
An unfavorable psychological climate in a family is when there are chronic difficulties and conflicts in one or more areas of family relationships; family members experience constant anxiety and emotional discomfort; alienation prevails in relationships. All this prevents the family from fulfilling one of its main functions - psychotherapeutic, i.e. relieving stress and fatigue, replenishing the physical and mental strength of each family member. In this situation, the socio-psychological climate is low. Moreover, unfavorable relationships can transform into crises, characterized by complete misunderstanding, hostility towards each other, outbreaks of violence (mental, physical, sexual), and a desire to break the ties that bind. Examples of crisis relationships: divorce, child running away from home, termination of relations with relatives.
The intermediate state of the family, when unfavorable trends are still weakly expressed and are not chronic, is regarded as satisfactory; in this case, the socio-psychological status of the family is considered average.
The third component of the structure of family social adaptation is sociocultural adaptation. When determining the general culture of a family, it is necessary to take into account the level of education of its adult members, since it is recognized as one of the determining factors in raising children, as well as the immediate everyday and behavioral culture of family members.
The level of family culture is considered high if the family copes with the role of guardian of customs and traditions (family holidays are preserved, oral folk art is supported); has a wide range of interests and developed spiritual needs; in the family, life is rationally organized, leisure is varied, and joint forms of leisure and everyday activities predominate; the family is focused on the comprehensive (aesthetic, physical, emotional, labor) education of the child and supports a healthy lifestyle.
If the spiritual needs of the family are not developed, the range of interests is limited, life is not organized, there is no cultural, leisure and work activity that unites the family, the moral regulation of the behavior of family members is weak (violent methods of regulation prevail); If the family leads a dysfunctional (unhealthy, immoral) lifestyle, then its level of culture is low.
In the case when a family does not have a full set of characteristics indicating a high level of culture, but is aware of the gaps in its cultural level and is active in improving it, we can talk about the average sociocultural status of the family.
The state of the psychological climate of the family and its cultural level are indicators that mutually influence each other, since a favorable psychological climate serves as a reliable basis for the moral education of children and their high emotional culture.
The fourth indicator is situational-role adaptation, which is associated with the attitude towards the child in the family. In the case of a constructive attitude towards the child, high culture and activity of the family in solving the child’s problems, its situational-role status is high; if in the attitude towards the child there is an emphasis on his problems, then - average. In the case of ignoring the child’s problems and, especially, a negative attitude towards him, which, as a rule, are combined with low culture and activity of the family, the situational role status is low.
Based on the analysis of the structural and functional characteristics of the family, as well as the individual characteristics of its members, it is possible to determine its structural and functional type and at the same time draw a conclusion about the level of social adaptation of the family in society.
1.3 Psychological factors of well-being of a modern family
Researchers of modern families identify several factors of marital well-being:
Psychobiological compatibility is the main factor influencing well-being in the family. It includes mutual respect, mutual attraction, readiness of spouses for family life, duty and responsibility, self-control and flexibility, etc. Frequent divorces in modern families can be explained by the unpreparedness of spouses for marriage, the inability of men to bear responsibility for the family;
Education. Numerous studies indicate that higher education does not always increase the level of stability in family relationships. But most researchers are inclined to believe that the level of intelligence of partners should not differ significantly. A marriage can exist in a patriarchal form or something close to it, if the husband has a higher education than the wife, but if the wife’s intelligence and education are higher than the husband’s, this is a problematic marriage;
Labor stability. There is an opinion that people who frequently change jobs are characterized by their inability to establish long-term relationships, which affects not only work, but also family relationships;
Age. The most optimal period for marriage is considered to be 20 years for a girl and 24 years for a boy. Early marriage implies unpreparedness for married life and insufficient life experience to start a family. Later marriage entails a longer process of adaptation of spouses to each other, because character and way of life are already more formed;
Duration of acquaintance. A short period of courtship cannot show future spouses in different life situations. With a short acquaintance, spouses run the risk of recognizing each other, already being in marriage, where all the qualities that were not seen until that moment are manifested.
All these factors determine psychological compatibility or incompatibility in a family.
Psychological compatibility and incompatibility is determined by the following criteria:
The emotional side of marital relationships, the degree of attachment;
The similarity of spouses’ ideas about themselves, about their partner, about the world as a whole;
Similarity of partners’ communication patterns and behavioral characteristics;
Sexual and psychophysiological compatibility of partners;
The general cultural level, the degree of mental and social maturity of the spouses, the coincidence of value systems.
1.4 Family life cycle
The life cycle of a family is the history of the family’s life, its length in time, its own dynamics; family life, reflecting the repetition and regularity of family events.
1. Premarital courtship period. The main objectives of this stage are to achieve partial psychological and material independence from the parental family, gain experience in communicating with the other sex, choose a marriage partner, and gain experience in emotional and business interaction with him.
2. Marriage and the phase without children. At this stage, the married couple must establish what has changed in their social status and determine the external and internal boundaries of the family: which of the husband’s or wife’s acquaintances will be allowed into the family; to what extent is it permissible for spouses to stay outside the family without a partner; to what extent is it permissible to interfere in a marriage on the part of the parents of the spouses.
During this period, the couple needs to conduct a huge number of negotiations and establish many agreements on a variety of things. Social, emotional, sexual and other problems may arise. In the conditions of modern Russian reality, many newlyweds do not immediately decide to have their first child; Increasingly, there are cases when couples do not register, preferring the so-called civil marriage to the legal registration of relations.
3. Young family with small children. This stage is characterized by the division of roles associated with fatherhood and motherhood, their coordination, material provision of new living conditions for the family, adaptation to great physical and mental stress, insufficient opportunity to be alone, etc.
A couple may not be ready for children, and the birth of an unwanted child may complicate the challenges of raising the child. A number of important issues at this stage are related to who will care for the child. New roles for mother and father emerge; their parents become grandparents. For many, this is a difficult transition. Material provision falls on the husband, so he “frees” himself from caring for the child. On this basis, conflicts may arise due to the wife’s overload with household chores and the husband’s desire to “relax” outside the family. The marriage may begin to disintegrate as the wife's demands for child care increase and the husband begins to feel that his wife and child are interfering with his work and career. In relation to young Russian families, in some of them there is a need to separate from the older generation, in others, on the contrary, all concerns are transferred to grandparents.
4. Family from schoolnicknames. The time a child enters school is often accompanied by the onset of a crisis in the family. The conflict between parents becomes more obvious, since the product of their educational activities becomes an object of public viewing.
5. A mature family that is abandoned by children. Usually this phase of family development corresponds to the midlife crisis of the spouses. Often during this period of life, the husband realizes that he can no longer climb higher on the career ladder, but in his youth he dreamed of something completely different. This frustration can spill over into the entire family and especially the wife. Children should feel like adults, they develop long-term relationships, and marriage is possible.
6. Aging family. At this stage, older family members retire or work takes up only part of their time. A financial shift is taking place: old people receive less money than young people, so they often become financially dependent on children.
At this stage, marital relations are renewed and new content is given to family functions. Retirement can make the problem of being alone with each other even more acute.
7. The last phase of the family life cycle. One of the spouses may die, and then the survivor must adjust to living alone. Often he is forced to seek new connections with his family. In this case, the single spouse is forced to change his life style and unwittingly accept the lifestyle offered to him by his children.
In the process of development of family and marital relations, psychologists identify periods of “recession in relationships,” which are characterized by an increase in feelings of dissatisfaction with each other, and differences in views are found among spouses. Such periods are called “crisis situations in marriage.” Under Withemain crisis understands the value conflict of the individual and society regarding the birth and socialization of children, resulting in the failure to fulfill the reproductive and socialization function of the family, accompanied by the weakening of the family as a union of relatives, a union of parents and children, a union of spouses, a weakening of the trinity of kinship - parenthood - marriage due to the disappearance of family production, joint activities of parents and children.
2. The main problems of the modern family in Russia
2.1 Patterns of development of family relationships
At the heart of a family crisis are certain patterns of development of intrafamily relationships. In a crisis situation, it is necessary to show patience and avoid rash decisions and actions.
There are several such periods, or downturns, in relationships that not all families successfully overcome:
* the first days after marriage;
* after about two to three months of married life;
* after six months of marriage;
* after the first anniversary of marriage;
* after the birth of the first child;
* in the interval of three to five years;
* after seven to eight years of marriage;
* with 12 years of family experience;
* after 20 --- 25 years of family life.
The above periods of family crises are considered conditionally, because they are not experienced by all families. There are two natural critical periods in the development of marital relations. It is during these periods that divorce and remarriage are most common. It is impossible to avoid such crises, but it is possible and necessary to consciously manage them and their course in the interests of further strengthening the family.
1. The critical crisis period between 3 and 7 years, under positive circumstances, lasts about a year. Romantic relationships disappear, an increase in disagreements in everyday life, an increase in negative emotions, a feeling of dissatisfaction, silent protest, a feeling of deception, and reproaches. Psychologists recommend limiting conversations about marital relationships and avoiding discussing practical problems. Talk about professional interests. Spouses must look for a way out on their own; the intervention of third parties can aggravate the situation.
2. crisis period between 13-23 years. It is less deep, but longer in time than the first. It coincides with the age of the “midlife crisis.” There is a heavy pressure of time, a feeling that a person will not have time to do everything he has planned. The social environment evaluates a person by what he has achieved. The result of the crisis is the development of a new image of one’s “I”, a rethinking of life goals. This crisis is a difficult test for the family.
2.2 Crisis of the family institution
The family has always been an institution of primary socialization. The processes occurring in and within the family certainly affect the process of personality development. Conflicts that arise in the family between parents and children, younger and older, conflicts between the “old” generation and the “new” complicate the process of upbringing and socialization of the younger generation.
Socialization is the process of familiarization with the values and norms accepted in society and its subsystems. In the broadest sense of the word, socialization lasts a lifetime. In a narrow sense, it is limited to the period of growth of the individual until adulthood. Family socialization is understood in two ways: as, on the one hand, preparation for future family roles and, on the other hand, as the influence exerted by the family on the formation of a socially competent, mature personality. The family has a socializing effect on the individual through normative and informational influence. It is the family that is the primary source of socialization, and it is the family that, first of all, provides the opportunity for the individual to develop as a socially competent person.
The problems of the modern family are among the most important and pressing. Its significance is determined by the fact that, firstly, the family is one of the main social institutions of society, and secondly, that this institution is currently experiencing a deep crisis.
And yet there are more than enough reasons for concern about the family. The family is truly in crisis. And the cause of this crisis, if viewed broadly, is general global social changes, increased population mobility, urbanization, secularization and others, which lead to the weakening of “family foundations.” These and a number of other factors determined the fall of the family as a social institution of society and a change in its place in value orientations. It is known that during the years of Soviet power the social status of the family was relatively low, although the state had a significant influence on family relations.
During the years of reform there was a sharp decline in this status. The economic, social, and moral foundations of the family turned out to be undermined, which accelerated the process of devaluation of the family way of life, lifelong marriage, small children, the growth of the prestige of single-single independence, etc.
Over the past one and a half to two decades, there has been a serious reduction in the number of marriages. In recent years, the number of divorces has increased compared to the number of registered marriages. So there are about two divorces for every three marriages.
The causes of the crisis of the modern family as a social institution.
The family represents the personal environment of human life and development from development to death. This is the child’s special environment, the first social institution that has a whole range of means of influence aimed at introducing the individual to the social whole.
Among people, the struggle of heterogeneous and multidirectional interests does not subside, the disunity of cultures and traditions is great, ideals and values also do not coincide, and the level of satisfaction of needs differs sharply. Meanwhile, a family's security is inextricably linked to its needs. Needs are the need for something necessary for the life of a person, his family and society as a whole. Satisfaction of needs is determined by numerous factors, including socio-economic ones. The socio-economic circumstances of the current stage of social development determine the use of indicators of the physiological minimum, and not indicators of the subsistence level, when solving problems of social protection of the population. The unimaginable wealth of an unjust bunch of oligarchs demonstrates the complete redistribution of property, which leads to the fact that over 70% of the population have incomes below the subsistence level. The continued lag in the growth of monetary incomes from the growth of consumer prices causes a deterioration in the financial situation of the majority of the population of Russian society. The distribution of poverty due to socio-economic difficulties is the cause of the crisis of the modern family.
Life is now very difficult for all segments of the population classified as poor, but it is especially difficult for families with children. The birth rate has fallen catastrophically; it is estimated that the population consisting of two-child families will lose a third of its size in about 30 years. For simple reproduction it is necessary that half of the families have 3 children. The attitude that one cannot afford to raise one is a consequence of the crisis of livelihoods of the majority of the population. The number of families with minor children with an average per capita income exceeding the subsistence level is catastrophically decreasing. It has already been proven that the level of poverty is caused by an increase in the number of children in the family. Thus, the main reason for the crisis of the modern Russian family lies in the sharp decline in the quality of life of the population. The quality of life of a family is the most reliable indicator of its well-being.
The family crisis is unfolding against the backdrop of global social changes of the 20th and 21st centuries, entailing the weakening of the “family structure”, the intensification of divorces and the breakdown of marriages, the increase in the number of single-parent families, the widespread prevalence of abortions and extramarital affairs, and the increase in domestic violence.
The unequal position of the family institution among other social institutions has led to the devaluation of the family lifestyle, lifelong marriage, an increase in the prestige of single-single independence and small children in various countries and strata of society.
At the end of the 90s, the catastrophic decline of the family lifestyle showed that having a family with several children ceased to act as one of the indicators of human well-being. The birth of children began to be seen as an “obstacle” on the path to happiness and success in life, and the achievement of an acceptable standard of living. According to a number of sociological and demographic studies, ensuring the status of parenthood and reducing the value of children allows any living conditions to be considered insufficient even for the birth of a second child in the family.
Over the past three decades, the average family size has been 3.2 people in cities and 3.3 in rural areas, which is due to an increase in the number of small families, an increase in the number of young families due to a decrease in the age of marriage, a tendency to separate young families from their parents, an increase shares of single-parent families as a result of divorce, death of one of the spouses, and single births of children.
Russia is currently experiencing its fourth period of population decline. Unlike the previous three, it is not associated with any catastrophic events, but is the result of “internal” evolutionary changes in population reproduction, which are a direct consequence of the crisis of the family as a social institution.
Childlessness and having few children have long been quite common phenomena in most of Russia. Not only the number of such families is growing, but also their share in the family structure.
The crisis of the family and population reproduction is a value crisis of the social order, for which immediate interests are higher than the interests of its own self-preservation. Another factor in the family crisis is the attitude towards women as labor force. This is due to the fact that family members have become more enslaved and less bound by the group, i.e. the family as a whole has become conditional. This is also due to the increase in the number of women in the labor market, for example, the economic unity of husbands and wives has weakened. This generally leads to a weakening of marital unions. Bonds are destroyed not only between spouses, but also between parents and children. It is also associated with weakened reproductive function. Perhaps families today have fewer children than before because they want to do more for each child. A decrease in the amount of time that parents spend with their children, an increase in the duration of a child’s loneliness and time spent on the street serves as a quantitative expression of the ineffectiveness of family socialization of children. Accordingly, this leads to the disintegration of family integrity.
Modern society is eroding family values, corroding them, ultimately threatening its own existence. Namely, this fundamental contradiction of industrial society, which, on the one hand, cannot exist without a family, without population reproduction, and on the other, does not have immanent mechanisms for realizing this existential need, determines the need for family and demographic policies.
2.3 Divorce and domestic violence
The public cannot but worry about the large number of divorces. Without exaggeration, we can say that there is a catastrophic increase in divorces. The main causes of divorce are alcohol abuse, domestic instability of spouses, adultery, the problem of distribution of household responsibilities, and psychological incompatibility. The increase in divorces has led to a significant increase in the number of children left without one of their parents.
According to Roskomstat, in the first half of 2013, the number of registered marriages and divorces increased compared to the same period in 2012.
The trends in the decrease and increase in the number of births quite consistently repeat the changes in the number of registered marriages, although they are formed against the backdrop of the persistence of a fairly high proportion of births to women who are not in a registered marriage, and a periodic increase in the number of registered divorces 13.
The decrease in the number of births in the 1990s occurred simultaneously with a significant decrease in the number of registered marriages against the backdrop of a decline in the demographic wave (the age of greatest marital and reproductive activity was reached by relatively small generations born in the second half of the 1960s - the first half of the 1970s). The number of registered marriages dropped to a minimum of 849 thousand in 1998, and subsequently grew, rising to 1316 thousand in 2011. Deviations from the growth trend were observed only in 2004 and 2008. Overall, during the period 1998-2011, the number of marriages increased by 55%. However, in 2012, fewer marriages were registered than in 2011 (1213.6 thousand versus 1316.0 thousand). In the first half of 2013, the number of registered marriages was 14.4 thousand more than in the same period in 2012 (481.9 versus 467.5 thousand).
Similar documents
Analysis of media publications about the crisis of morality and culture. Ecological crisis, degeneration. Social problems of the modern family. Demographic situation in the country. The crisis of the modern family, its strengthening. The problem of raising a future family man.
course work, added 01/14/2015
Classification of modern types of families. Social functions and characteristics of a modern family. The evolution of family and marriage. Analysis of the concept and meaning of marital compatibility. Social images of men and women and their influence on the quality of marital relationships.
abstract, added 05/06/2015
The concept of family, its functions and history of study. Basic approaches in modern Russian sociology. The evolution of family and marriage. Features of the path from a traditional family to a modern one. Study of family and marriage orientations and attitudes in modern Russia.
course work, added 01/17/2011
Essence, structure and functions of the modern family. Problems of the modern family. Family law. Scope of family capacity. The moral and social strength of the family. Family relationships. Comfort and warmth of home.
abstract, added 12/07/2006
The problematic side of this work is the diversity of interpretations of the family in modern reality. Review of sociological research in the field of family in modern Russia. The history of social control of the state and religion over the institution of family.
scientific work, added 02/07/2011
Family as a subject of research in sociology. Model of a modern family. The place of the family in the system of life values of residents of the middle Ural city. Features of a happy marriage in the era of the sexual revolution. System of family value orientations.
course work, added 05/28/2012
Problems of family and family education. Essence, structure and functions of the modern family. Spiritual safety, human self-affirmation and emotional security. Marriage and optimal socialization of children. Normal relationship between spouses.
course work, added 12/10/2010
Identification crisis in Russia. Concepts of the modern family: “alarmist” and “liberal”. Stereotypical views of women in a patriarchal society. Analysis of media and communication. The transitional nature of the modern urban family.
abstract, added 10/19/2012
The concept, essence and functions of the family. Types of relationships within the family: traditional and democratic. Socio-economic situation of the family in modern Russia. Social service institutions for families and children. Organization of social protection of families in Moscow.
course work, added 10/08/2014
Family as a social institution. Family functions. The situation of the modern family in Ukraine. Modern family assistance. Socialization of the individual in the family. Marriage is a historically changing social form of relationship between a man and a woman. Types of families. Single-parent family.
Family problems are of interest to both specialists in various fields and non-specialists, since these problems concern everyone and are one of the indicators of the quality of life of the population and the well-being of society. Family problems reflect the close dependence of the family on society. The family performs important social functions in society and for this reason the state and public organizations are objectively interested in creating the necessary conditions and carrying out social and pedagogical work to eliminate the main problems.
Thus, according to research, the main social problem of the family is that currently 50% of people are in the area of social disadvantage. Moreover, 20% of them are people whose incomes are below the subsistence level, and 7% are simply poor, for whom even maintaining physiological nutritional standards is a problem, 10% are the social bottom, people rejected by society and erased from life.
Entire social groups are known to be at high risk: these are engineering and technical workers, former military personnel, migrants, refugees, graduates of orphanages, single mothers. When a family finds itself in such conditions and breaks up, then, as a rule, children leave it.
Obvious manifestations of this problem are:
- - increasing stratification of society as a result of the transition to market relations, a sharp decline in the standard of living of low-income families;
- - the development of shadow, market relations among teenagers and young people, the emergence of teenage and youth racketeering, the growth of property crimes;
- - expansion of neglect and the emergence of homelessness as a social phenomenon;
- - increase in juvenile crime, involvement of children and adolescents in adult criminal groups;
- - introducing young people to drugs and substance abuse;
- - the spread of teenage and youth prostitution;
- - increase in teenage and youth suicide;
- - a decline in the authority of parents and teachers, aggravation of conflict in the family and school.
In conditions of economic and everyday instability, psychological stress, and confusion, anxiety is increasingly arising: is the family able to fully perform one of its most important functions - educational? The crisis state of the family is also evidenced by the falling birth rate, which leads to a change in the meaning of family life and its orientation towards raising children.
Also worrying is the pedagogical illiteracy of parents who, not having sufficient knowledge of the age and individual characteristics of the child, his development, often carry out education blindly, intuitively.
The process of raising a personality is especially complicated in those families where drunkenness, dependency, the semi-criminal lifestyle of parents, and their constant conflicts are the dominant factors influencing the child.
Thus, many conflicts arise due to the unsatisfaction of certain needs of one or both spouses. Famous psychologist V.A. Sysenko identifies the following main causes of conflicts:
- Conflicts based on an unsatisfied need for the value and significance of one’s “I”, humiliation of dignity on the part of a partner.
- Conflicts based on unsatisfied sexual needs of one or both spouses.
- Conflicts that have their source in the spouses’ needs for positive emotions; lack of tenderness, care, attention and understanding.
- Conflicts due to the addiction of one spouse to alcoholic beverages and gambling, which leads to wasteful and ineffective spending of family funds.
- Financial disagreements arising from the exaggerated needs of one of the spouses, different approaches to the family budget and the contribution of each partner to the financial support of the family.
- Conflicts based on the need for mutual assistance, cooperation and cooperation.
- Conflicts related to the division of labor in the family and housekeeping
- Conflicts associated with different approaches to raising children.
A crisis in the family has a number of negative consequences. And the most severe of them is the mental traumatization of children who, at any age, suffer from an unhealthy psychological climate in the family.
The next social problem of the family is the sharp rejuvenation of marriages. The lower legal marriage age has reached 16 years, and the average marriage age is 19-21 years. Statistics also show that 40% of young families under the age of 24 break up within a year or two of marriage. Thus, at present, according to official data, more than 20% of families are single-parent, and in such megacities as Moscow and St. Petersburg, this figure has exceeded 30%. There is a growing trend in the number of out-of-wedlock births, with every tenth child born to mothers under 20 years of age.
Faster puberty and earlier onset of sexual activity have led to the emergence of the phenomenon of “teenage motherhood,” which negatively affects the health of both newborns and their mothers. In recent years, every tenth newborn is born to a mother at the age of 20: annually about 1.5 thousand children are born to mothers aged 15 years, 9 thousand to mothers aged 16 years and 30 thousand to mothers aged 17 years. Young pregnant women more often develop pregnancy complications and premature birth, so the mortality rate for women under 20 years of age is about 10%.
There is a great threat to a family being left without a father due to the high level of male mortality in working age due to unnatural causes, which is 4 times higher than the mortality rate among women. In the last five years, the number of families receiving survivor benefits has increased sharply. The potential consequences of this phenomenon are negative and varied, including early orphanhood and the raising of grandchildren by grandparents.
The latest census data indicate that a Russian family on average has 3-2 people. The family structure is dominated by one-child families - 56%, two-child families - 35%, large families - 8%, preserved due to the traditional mentality of high birth rates in the southern republics. All this indicates the following trend in the development of the modern family:
- reduction in the total number of families;
- reducing the number of children in the family;
- orientation of family reproductive behavior towards one child;
- reduction of large families;
- the growth of single-parent and crisis families, the most socially vulnerable;
- the growth of asocial families unable to raise children [7, p. 38].
What are the causes of the modern family crisis? Thus, scientist, doctor and teacher Vladimir Bazarny believes that the crisis of the modern family is not due to material difficulties, but because of a spiritual split: “Ask prosperous, healthy, respectable young people aged 30-35 living in stable Germany: why they don't have children? It is unlikely that you will hear anything intelligible in response: you cannot take seriously discussions about a career, about the pleasures of a free life, about the fact that you need to see the world, save money. And at the same time, a wedding is being celebrated in a Chechen refugee camp. The young people have no housing - only a nook in a tent, a vague idea of where and when they will be able to work steadily, but there is no doubt that they will have children at the time prescribed by nature. The whole point is that trouble and hardship always united and strengthened family groups. And today both the poor and the rich groan and cry from the pains of marriage. We have violence, hundreds of thousands of social orphans, street children, drunkenness, drug addiction. And in explaining this family misfortune, we go through and go through the factors of material life. But we do not take into account the factor of spiritual life. Meanwhile, the spiritual gap is growing more and more from generation to generation” [8, p. thirty].
Thus, the most acute problems of the family are expressed today in the sharp socio-economic stratification of society, when today there are 35% of the poor, including 10% of simple beggars; in the constant state budget deficit and the impossibility of social and geographical mobility; in the deterioration of the health of the population, in the demographic situation, manifested in natural population decline; in a fundamental redistribution of the traditional roles of family members, especially women; in the increase in the number of single-parent families; in domestic violence, social orphanhood and much more.
All of the above negative phenomena associated with the crisis of the family institution in modern conditions lead to the need to immediately solve the problem of increasing the prestige of the family. A family is a group of people connected not only by blood and common life, but also by mutual assistance, moral and legal responsibility for their children.
Literature
1. Leaders A.G. All-Russian Scientific Conference Psychological problems of the modern Russian family / A.G. Leaders // Psychology at university. - 2003. - No. 4.
2. Kalmykova N.M. Social factors of differentiation of marital behavior of the population of Moscow / N.M. Kalmykova // Bulletin of Moscow University. Ser. 18, Sociology and political science M., - 2000. - No. 2, p. 79.
3. Isupova O.G. Abandonment of a newborn and women’s reproductive rights / O.G. Isupova // Social research. - 2002 - No. 11, p. 43.
4. Antonov A.I. The influence of the media and mass culture on the idea of marriage and family in public opinion / A.I. Antonov // Bulletin of the Russian Humanitarian Science Foundation. - 2004. - No. 1, p. 142.
5. Povlenok P.D. Fundamentals of social work / P.D. Povlenok - M.:INFRA-M, 2004, p. 21.
6. Mustaeva F. Schoolchild, his family and social teacher - a zone of trust / F. Mustaeva // School and education. - 2005 - No. 3, p. 92.
7. Gryzulina A., Romanova O. Parental position: the authority of love and demandingness / A. Gryzulina, O. Romanova // Teacher. - 2002 - No. 4, p. 4.
8. Vasilkova Yu.V. Social pedagogy / Yu.V. Vasilkova, T.A. Vasilkova - M.: ACADEM.A - 2000, p. 76.
