PATHOLOGICAL TRANSFORMATION OF FAMILY STRUCTURE UNDER CONDITIONS OF FORCED MIGRATION

Abstract

A multi-disciplinary team of pediatricians, child neurologists and psychiatrists, school psychologists, speech therapists, speech pathologists, and specialists in social work explored the dynamics of psychological health of 121 families of Russianspeaking migrants from the former Soviet republics in conditions of migration. The nature of family communication and the relationships of parents and children in this group were analyzed, both prior migration, and in the changed sociopsychological conditions. In most cases, in the families before the migration it was possible to state adequate conditions and parenting style which characterized the family as stable and prosperous. Evaluating retrospectively all positive mental attitude of parents to the children in these families, we allocated some models of them. As the research has shown, a social-psychological crisis of the family causes change in its structure, in the general psychological status of the family and affects primarily the system of upbringing. In migrants’ families there was a significant increase in divorces. In those families that preserved their structure disturbances of social status were accompanied by changes in the general atmosphere of the family with a more or less pronounced signs of psychological tension. In many families a change educational approaches was detected. As a result of psychological stress, the number of conflict situations witnessed by children dramatically increased. The results of the study show that the number of divorced families has increased by almost 8 times. In addition, families on the verge of divorce have been identified with a more conflict relationship. The inability of families to effectively adapt to new conditions became the cause of antisocial behavior in children.

Keywords

• psychological health of the family
• forced migration
• sociopsychological crisis
• family model