Large Families in a Risk Society: from Normativity to Deviance

Abstract

The article examines the phenomenon of large families from the perspective of modernity, namely the transition of large families from the position of establishing social order, from the position of normativity to the position of deviation and the gradual reduction of this type of family. The theoretical basis of the work is the theory of social systems by Niklas Luhmann, which is used to analyze the large family as an element of the "family" system, as a process of communication "before" and "after", as an independent system. It is emphasized that a large family can be considered as a self-referential, autopoietic system. It is noted that communication is an operation of the social system. In view of the latter, the empirical part of the article analyzes the results of the sociological study "Modern Kharkiv Family in the Dimension of Sociology" conducted in May-July 2020 by the staff of the Faculty of Sociology of V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. Particular attention is paid to the processes of internal and external communication of representatives of large families. Based on the analysis of empirical information, it is proved that in a modern risk society, such as Ukrainian society, large families are an element of social risk. The author concludes that there is a possibility of a decrease in the number of large families, which will undoubtedly affect the deterioration of the already difficult demographic situation in modern Ukrainian society. The author identifies areas for further research and publications on the selected issues.