Is the second demographic transition the relevant concept for European countries?

The theory of second demographic transition is particularly unique in trying to capture both the transformation of reproductive behaviour and a change in the attitudes towards new forms of partnership life and a new reproductive pattern. This study has set as its target to find out to what degree second demographic transition can be used as an explanatory framework of the recent development of European reproductive behaviour and, in particular, what is its relevance when it comes to the post-Communist countries as a region with a specific development that has been an object of many discussions within this issue. Whether not only the transformation of reproductive behaviour, but also changes in the value orientation in post-Communist countries correspond with the assumptions and signs of the second demographic transition.