Family values and well-being of adolescents in two-parent and divorced Russian families: A study in a small town and a metropolis

The article considers family values and subjective well-being of adolescents in divorced and two-parent families, based on the survey of 14-17-year-olds in Saint Petersburg and the city of Tosno in the Leningrad Region. The study showed that adolescents’ family attitudes are contradictory: having children is not necessary for them, while the desired parenting is rather egalitarian; boys more often plan to start a family and have (many) children (higher reproductive aspirations), while girls express higher educational, career and prosocial aspirations. Adolescents in divorced families face significant risks in creating stable families, having children and achieving subjective well-being; they are more likely to have reduced parenting potential and low reproductive aspirations. The authors suggest a “phenomenon of intergenerational transmission of divorce”: adolescents from divorced families are more likely to accept divorce in families with children (90 % of girls and 70 % of boys). Moreover, adolescents in the large city report higher levels of satisfaction with various aspects of life, which proves a better social environment of growing up compared to small towns. Adolescents in large cities are more likely to support values of individualism and personal rights and to accept new family practices, such as paternity leave and shared parenting after divorce, while adolescents in small towns express more traditional views on starting a family and having children.