Социологическая наука и социальная практика (Jul 2018)
The Lifestyles of Russian Parents: Trends and Regional, Age, and Professional Specifics
Abstract
With the aim of developing a future Events Plan in implementing the second stage of the Concept of State Family Policy in Russia, the article outlines the task of describing the lifestyle trends of parents of at least one child aged 15 or younger. Its empirical basis is information from Rosstat, the research databases of the Federal State Statistics Service – the comprehensive monitoring of living conditions among the population (KOUZ–2011, KOUZ–2016). It demonstrates that demographic indicators vary significantly at a macroregional level and within federal districts in Russia, which is related to the level of modernization, urbanization, ethnic makeup of the population and specifics of occupation. The behavioral traits of mothers and fathers were analyzed in 2016. It was established that the daily practices of parents differ in various indicators between federal districts, cities, settlements and capitals, but even more greatly between parents belonging to different professional groups. A trend of several practices by mothers and fathers over a five-year period (2011–2016) was uncovered. Optimism holds an increasing share among young mothers and fathers who take part in sport, and the proportion of young parents who take tourist trips increased among all professional groups. At the same time, it should be noted that the percentage of parents (over 40%), who do not work in the specialty, did not decrease appreciably. There was no change in the average amount of parent's time spent with their children. Alcohol consumption and smoking remained at their previous levels among mothers, irrespective of professional group, though there was a decrease in the proportion of smokers among young fathers. Unfortunately, the data used did not allow for a link to be made between the lifestyles of mothers and fathers and the quality of parenting among various professional groups. This may become the subject of a specialized study.
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