printStructural Differences in Perceptions of the Normative Age of First Birth in Modern Russia
Voronina N.S.
Cand. Sci. (Sociol.), Leading Researcher, Institute of Sociology of FCTAS RAS, Moscow, Russia navor@bk.ru
Epikhina Yu.B.
Cand. Sci. (Sociol.), Leading Researcher, Institute of Sociology of FCTAS RAS, Moscow, Russia epikhina@gmail.com
Work on this paper was supported by Russian Science Foundation Project No. 24-18-00450.
Voronina N.S., Epikhina Yu.B. Structural Differences in Perceptions of the Normative Age of First Birth in Modern Russia. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2026. No 8. P. 129-142
This article analyzes Russians’ perceptions of the normative age of first birth based on data from the “Quantitative and Qualitative Changes in Social Structure in the Post-Soviet Period” project, conducted in 2024. Russians perceive the average age of entry into motherhood as 23 years and the into fatherhood as 27 years. Furthermore, perceptions of the normative age of first birth are genderdifferentiated: women support a later normative age for both motherhood and fatherhood (+1 year compared to men). A regression analysis was conducted for structural patterns in perceptions of the normative age of fatherhood/motherhood. These perceptions of the degree of autonomy of the current structural position indicate the low explanatory power of the regression models (R2 = 6–9%). A system of general and specific factors associated with parenthood age norms was identified. Normative beliefs about earlier motherhood is associated with the age of respondents (older generations), housing conditions, and marital status are influenced by various predictors of the normative age of motherhood, including age and, for fatherhood, living in the same living space as one’s spouse. Normative beliefs about later motherhood and are determined by the volume of cultural and social capital, female gender, marital status, and the respondents’ current absence of children. Normative beliefs about later fatherhood are characterized by respondents’ current absence of children and female gender: women are more likely to believe that it is better to become a father at a mature age.
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