Perceptions of parenthood in the structure of matrimonial behavior of modern students

The article analyzes the perception of parenthood by students. According to the results, the majority of students are well aware of the concept and essence of parenthood; the respondents define it as ‘the birth of children, responsible education, care, love for children, procreation, and the extension of family’. In the hierarchy of youth values, ‘family and children are dominant’, and the partner distribution of parental roles, when ‘both work, both deal with children’, is the most acceptable. There is a discrepancy between the desired and expected number of children, so most students would like to have three children, but in fact, they plan to have only two kids. This is primarily due to the financial and housing difficulties of modern youth. The hypothesis of an increase in the average age of planned maternity/paternity, which is 24-26 years old, has been confirmed. The creative model of parenthood is the most suitable for students. In the view of young people, the main factors influencing the attitudes toward parenting are the parent family, the relationship between husband and wife, and the age of acceptance of the parental role. The students disapprove of parenthood in the same-sex marriages and the ideology of the child-free movement; none of the respondents wants to join it in future. The results of the study show that young people have clear plans and attitudes toward parenthood; most of the respondents are attuned to a two-child family model.