Ukrainian family in the conditions of war and forced migration

Abstract

In recent decades, the form and structure of family associations have been transformed in Ukraine. The war of Russia against Ukraine interrupted the natural process of development of the Ukrainian family. However, family practices in this difficult period testify to powerful family ties and their particular importance in times of war danger. In conditions of war and economic problems, the family becomes a support: family solidarity, mutual assistance, care, the exchange of activities and material resources between family members allows establish life, and sometimes survive. At the same time, the war exacerbated the problems of the Ukrainian family and provoked new risks due to the deformation of the living conditions of the population and negative changes in the marriage and family structure of the population. The result of a full-scale war was: an increase in the number of widows; an increase in the number of single-parent families and families where children live without parents with relatives; weakening of marital ties and in the future there may be an increase in the number of divorces; an increase in the number of lonely older people who do not receive the necessary instrumental support from children and relatives; aggravation of gender problems. The study is based on materials from a sample survey of forced migrants in the city of Ternopil, information from open sources, expert assessments, and data from the State Statistics Service.