printParental Involvement in Adult Children’s Lives
Gurko T.A.
Dr. Sci. (Sociol.), Chief Researcher, Institute of Sociology of FCTAS RAS, Moscow, Russia tgurko@yandex.ru
Gurko T.A. Parental Involvement in Adult Children’s Lives. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2025. No 3. P. 105-117
According to the system approach, the balance of intimacy and autonomy in relationships with parents contributes to successful development of personality. In the context of the diversification of the family institution, the question of the structure impact by the parental family on the well-being of children, including adult children, remains relevant. The results of an online study of 500 residents of Moscow and the Moscow region, citizens aged 18–34 who are not married and have no children, are presented. Less than a third of the respondents live with their parents, and for the majority this is rather a forced option. According to two thirds of adult children, parents participate in their lives as much as they would like. However, one third of fathers are not involved enough in their children’s daily lives. Pressure, excessive control of mothers, imposition of their opinions, desire to dictate, misunderstandings, indifference and even infantilism of fathers were noted among the causes of conflicts. Disagreements with parents also arise in the normative sphere. Parents expect the marriage of adult children and the birth of grandchildren earlier than their children are ready for this. Living with their parents is an additional source of conflict for young women with their mothers, and for young men with their fathers. Subjective psychological well-being is operationalized in the context of hedonistic and eudaimonistic approaches. The indicator of subjective well-being is based on indicators of life satisfaction, locus of control and self-esteem. Statistically significantly more young women and men with low levels of well-being believe that their father is not involved enough in their daily lives. There were more young women with a low well-being index among those who lived only with their mother during the graduation period and did not know their father, and more young men with a low index among those who lived with their stepfathers during this period. The necessity of attracting state information and financial resources for the timely separation of adult children from their parents is substantiated.
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