Transformation of the institution of family in the regions of the south of Russia: factors, trends and specifics

The relevance of the research topic is due to the key role of the institution of family in preserving the integrity and vitality of society, especially during periods of radical transformations of the social system. The purpose of the study is to identify the main trends in the transformation of the basic characteristics of the family institution (sex and age hierarchy in the family, gender division of household labor, reproduction of norms of gender ethnoetiquette, gender roles) as the social order and sociocultural values in society change. The work makes an attempt to holistically comprehend sociocultural risks, challenges and prospects for the further evolution of family relationships in the context of changing technological and axiological structures of Russian society. The study was focused on the contradictions between the traditional and innovative models of organizing family and marriage relations, determined by the influence of such factors as globalization, urbanization, virtualization of social interactions, transformation of the value orientations of youth and emancipation of women. The article highlights discussion of the scientific community about the nature of the transformation of the family institution in modern Russia, and two main approaches are considered: the crisis approach which interprets changes as degradation of the traditional family model, and the evolutionary, which sees them as a natural adaptive process. The author notes the possibility of synthesizing the approaches within the framework of a synergetic paradigm that considers transformation of the family as a transitional process of an open, self-organizing system. An analysis of the characteristics of the transformation of gender behavior models in modern families of national regions of the South of Russia was carried out. Based on the comparative sociological studies of 2010 and 2023 there are considered the changes in gender attitudes and practices of the population in the field of family and marriage relations. The author revealed preservation of the traditional patriarchal type of gender culture in Dagestan and Ingushetia, formation of the transitional type in Kabardino-Balkaria and Adygea, dominance of the relatively egalitarian model in Rostov Oblast and Stavropol Krai. There is recorded a gradual weakening of the influence of ethno-cultural traditions and patriarchal norms on the regulation of gender interaction in the family, and a growing demand for parity among women. The conclusion is drawn about the heterogeneous, multifactor nature of the transformation of the gender order in typologically different sub-regions of the South of Russia.