Tendencje zmian we współczesnych rodzinach w ponowoczesności
The Contemporary Families - Post-modern Trends

Summary/Abstract: RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: The aim of the article is to present changes which take place in Polish families (which are the basic environment of life, development and rearing of a human being) at the beginning of the 21st century, called a post-modern period. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The research problem focuses on finding the answers to the following questions: what changes do families and their functioning undergo in postmodernity? What is the direction of these changes? What factors determine these changes to the greatest extent? The methods used in the paper include the analysis of literature, the synthesis of conclusions and an overview of selected reports, diagnoses, and results of studies devoted to the changes of the contemporary family. THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: By referring to various scientific papers, the article offers an interdisciplinary reflection on the changes taking place in the contemporary family; these changes are directed towards a post-modern family model and democratization of family relations, which are accompanied by still present features of a traditional family. RESEARCH RESULTS: The analyses reveal that changes the family undergoes are caused by micro-and macrosocial factors characteristic for post-modernity, whose important elements are the processes of globalisation, urbanization and industrialization, consumerism and the development of new media and new technologies. The areas which change cover not only the ways of defining a family, but also social declarations within marital and family life, as well as the family structure, fulfilling specific roles within a family and its daily functioning. CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: The contemporary family has been undergoing distinct transformations towards democratization of family life. These changes entail both new chances and opportunities in the area of optimization of the functioning of the family and threats and problems leading to disorientation and chaos. That is why a description of the contemporary family and its interpretation requires continuous scientific exploration, which allows for obtaining knowledge about the family during the process of its adjustment to the new reality and formulating desired directions of initiatives taken in the area of supporting the family and parenthood.

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