Problems of transformation of the institution of family and marriage at the present stage

Abstract

The article presents the results of a study of the institution of the modern Russian family, the purpose of which was to determine the nature of the transformation processes experienced by the modern Russian family. It is substantiated that without this complex sociocultural education, stability and sustainable development of society is impossible: the family, being part of the social structure, performs the functions prescribed by society and ensures that the new generation acquires basic values, cultural norms, and socially approved forms of behavior, thereby socializing it. It is indicated that the family is influenced by external dysfunctional social phenomena characteristic of both Russian society and the entire world community in general. The authors of the article analyzed scientific approaches to assessing the nature of changes experienced by a modern family. It has been established that researchers’ assessment of the transformation processes that have caused changes in marriage and family relations is carried out in the context of two paradigms — the modernization of the family and the crisis of the institution of marriage and family relations. Supporters of the modernization paradigm believe that the modern Russian family is evolving along with society, experiencing a process of modernization that is predominantly positive. Researchers, whose assessment of modern marriage and family relations is made from the standpoint of a crisis approach, argue their position by the fact that transformation processes not only destructure the family, but also undermine the institution of marriage and family relations, which without radical measures will lead to large-scale destructive consequences up to the loss of statehood. The significance of the study lies in the fact that a theoretical understanding of the features of institutional transformations will make it possible to develop appropriate control mechanisms and take certain «protective» measures aimed at preserving the family’s essence as a basic stabilizing factor in modern Russian society.