Modern parenthood: new research approaches

Abstract

The article is a review of modern foreign psychological and sociological studies of parenthood, the relevance of which is associated with those significant changes that have occurred in recent decades in the conditions of parenthood and in the very ideas about parental functions in relation to children. The widest palette of research questions raised in the works on parenthood is demonstrated. Particular attention is paid to two problems that are especially discussed in foreign scientific literature: 1) the relationship between parenthood and work, especially at the stage of transition to parenthood; 2) the relationship of parenthood and the psychological well-being of the individual. Approaches to the formation of the parental sphere based on the theory of roles and on the theory of identity are analyzed. Perspective directions and methods for further research into motherhood and new, “involved” fatherhood are outlined.