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About Love and More: Students on Family and Marriage

Irina B. Britvina, Ekaterina V. Zaitseva

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RAR (Research Article Report)

JEL J12, J13, Z13

https://doi.org/10.52180/1999-9836_2026_22_2_1_198_210

AUTHORS

Irina B. Britvina

Ural Federal University named after the First President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin, Yekaterinburg, Russia

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2862-4408

SPIN-code: 8650-6509

ResearcherID: N-9616-2013

Scopus Author ID: 56766050400

Ekaterina V. Zaitseva

Ural Federal University named after the First President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin, Yekaterinburg, Russia

E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2112-3029

SPIN-code: 8618-6729

ResearcherID: AAD-7875-2019

Scopus Author ID: 57220778399

FOR CITATION

Britvina I.B., Zaitseva E.V. About Love and More: Students on Family and Marriage. Uroven' Zhizni Naseleniya Regionov Rossii=Living Standards of the Population in the Regions of Russia. 2026;22(2):198-210. https://doi.org/10.52180/1999-9836_2026_22_2_1_198_210 (In Russ.)

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this article is to analyze the phenomenon of value dualism in the consciousness of modern students, manifested in the priority of emotional and psychological aspects of marriage (love, trust) with the simultaneous growth of subjective barriers and fears of the socio-economic uncertainty of the future. The empirical base draws on the results of a formalized survey of students from six major universities in Yekaterinburg (N=1188). The theoretical framework of the study is based on the synthesis of the concepts of «pure relationships» by E. Giddens, «liquid modernity» by Z. Bauman, and the theory of intergenerational value shift by R. Inglehart. The study revealed a contradiction between the preservation of the family as the highest terminal value and the degradation of the instrumental conditions for its creation. It was found that the key barriers to marriage are the economic crisis (67,7%) and uncertainty about the future (65,6%). A significant gender gap has been identified: women are three times more likely than men to view family as a tool for ensuring existential security. Special attention is paid to the factor of mediatization: it has been shown that the dominant influence of social media (80%) contributes to the construction of family as a «visual project of success», which artificially increases the material threshold for young people's readiness for marriage. The study concludes that the transformation of the life strategy of students: the transition to the model of «delayed adulthood» transforms marriage from the starting point of adult life into a «result and reward» for achieved social success. In conclusion, the paper provides recommendations for improving demographic policy, justifying the need to switch from direct payments to creating an «infrastructure of confidence».

KEYWORDS

marriage and family attitudes, barriers, value dualism, transformation, the institution of the family, gender asymmetry, students, survey, Yekaterinburg

INFORMATION ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Irina B. Britvina

Doctor of Sociology, Professor of the Department of Integrated Marketing Communications and Branding, Institute of Economics and Management, Ural Federal University named after the First President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin.

Ekaterina V. Zaitseva

PhD in Sociology, Associate Professor of the Department of Theory, Methodology and Legal Support of State and Municipal Administration, Institute of Economics and Management, Ural Federal University named after the First President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin.

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