Czech and Slovak Family Patterns and Family Values in Historical, Social and Cultural Context

NATALIYA PANASENKO, Department of British and American Studies, University of SS Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, nam. Jozefa Herdu, 2, Trnava, 917 01 Slovakia Czech and Slovak Family Patterns and Family Values in Historical, Social and Cultural Context Family as one of the social institutions may be considered as a psycho-physical, social, spiritual and cultural-historical phenomenon. The article presents the analysis of various perspectives on family development nowadays provided by psychologists, sociologists, social anthropologists, historians, journalists, and writers. This analysis is accompanied by some statistic data presented in the text, in the Tables, and Graphs. A brief outline of the history of family relations in former Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia facilitates the understanding of their family values and family lifestyle which are still preserved in modern families. An attempt is made to describe the place of these two countries in the system of Eastern and Western European civilizations. Special attention is devoted to the changes in political, economic and social life after the disintegration of Czechoslovakia in 1989, which had both positive and negative effects. On the one hand, because of the transition from a totalitarian to a democratic society and urbanization men have lost their function of bread-winners and women have won more political, social and economic freedom; on the other hand there appeared non-marital cohabitation, strong individualism and independence, which have led to a drop in birth rates and an increase in divorce rates. Despite the negative influence of these factors on their traditional lifestyle, Czechs and Slovaks still preserve their spiritual and moral values. The examples show how the major family problems raised and discussed by the Czech and Slovak scholars are reflected in projects, social. campaigns, mass media, and fiction.