THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTER OF THE SOCIAL ROLES OF YOUNG AND ELDERLY FAMILY MEMBERS

Abstract

The article highlights that the current psychological environment of young families is shaped by family roles and mutual relationships regulated through new traditions that arise from the variation between traditionalism and modernity. The role of the elderly in forming the family environment is mostly grounded in national customs, values, conventional interactions and ethnocultural perspectives. In contemporary young families, where the old and the new cultural elements are intertwined and mutual understanding between the generations is anticipated, the psychological atmosphere tends to be favorable. The author underlines that the psychological environment of a family is determined by the conditions created for social development of youth, children and the elderly, positive interpersonal relations within the family, the leadership style of the head of the family, hierarchical connections among members, individual character traits, behavioral norms, the extent to which role expectations are fulfilled and other factors. A favorable psychological atmosphere in a young family depends not only on the elderly but also on the young themselves. In families where young members openly express their inner emotions are able to voice and share their needs and desires, the interpersonal relations and consequently the psychological climate tend to be more harmonious. Likewise, whether a woman or a man, having the intention and ability to reflect on their behavior, thoughts, and the mistakes or correct actions within relationships plays a regulatory role in the social-psychological environment of the family. In such a context, mutual understanding, empathy and compromise emerge within the family, both parties become more reflective, tensions and conflicts decrease. Whether the psychological environment of young families is favorable also depends on whether the family is nuclear or extended. Psychological disruption may occur less frequently in nuclear families compared to extended ones, but this is not always the case. Some extended families may have a more favorable psychological atmosphere than nuclear ones. This implies that the factor regulating the psychological environment of a family does not necessarily stem from the direct presence of elderly individuals, but from the influence they exert.