printDynamics of Russians' Parental Values
Okolskaya L.A.
Cand. Sci. (Sociol.), Leading Researcher, Institute of Sociology of FCTAS RAS, Russia okoli@yandex.ru
Okolskaya L.A. Dynamics of Russians' Parental Values. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2026. No 1. P. 88-101
The article analyzes changes in eleven parental values – qualities that people consider important to instill in children in the family 1990–2017. The empirical basis of the study is the combined data of the World Values Survey and the European Values Study – seven waves of surveys conducted in Russia. The main research method is regression analysis in two versions: with a discrete and with a continuous year indicator (controlling for gender, age, marital status, number of children, and employment). The main finding is that over 27 years of post-Soviet development, the importance of the values of vertical sociality – hard work, thrift, and obedience – has noticeably decreased in the minds of Russians. At the same time, the value of religiosity has considerably strengthened, although it remains at the very bottom of the hierarchy of parental values. It has also been found that Russians have begun to value some proactive individualistic qualities of children (independence and imagination) markedly more. Altruistic qualities – tolerance and respect for other people, selflessness and unselfishness – began to be considered significantly less important. At the same time, the demand for good manners in children increased. The directions of the evolution of parental values mainly coincide with the vectors of changes in the personal values of Russians.
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