CHANGES IN THE NATURE OF POPULATION REPRODUCTION AND THE COMPOSITION OF BELARUSIAN FAMILY IN THE 20TH 21ST CENTURIES
CHANGES IN THE NATURE OF POPULATION REPRODUCTION AND THE COMPOSITION OF BELARUSIAN FAMILY IN THE 20TH 21ST CENTURIES

Summary/Abstract: Objectives. The aim of this study was to determine the variability of socio-demographic aspects of the family in Belarus during the 20th and at the beginning of the 21st centuries, based on the analysis of the survey results. Material and methods. In the early 1980s and in 2017, by questioning young women, information was obtained about them, their spouses, children and two generations of ancestors (in all 6406 individuals born from 1885 to 2017). Five generations were divided: of the early 20th century, of the 1930s, the 1950s, of the 1980s and of the early 21st century. Results. For the considered period the generation time reduced from 28 to 24 years. During 20th century the mean number of children in families decreased by more than 2.5 times, the mean age of women at birth of first child increased, the age of birth of last child decreased, the proportion of women whose first birth was under the age of 20 has decreased. In difficult socio-economic conditions, in conditions of war (the generation of the 1930s), the childbearing is delayed. During the 20th century the influence of urbanization on the formation of the structure of generations increases and the influence of immigration decreases. Conclusions. The composition of the family in Belarus from the beginning of the 20th to the beginning of the 21st century changes in an unfavorable direction and the natural decrease is not compensated by migration processes.

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