Family transformation in Lithuania: features and factors

From the beginning of the 1990s the Lithuanian family has experienced intense changes. Traditional family features are vanishing, and the modern family is gaining ground. Analogous family changes in Western countries have persisted for almost four decades and have been labeled family transformation or the second demographic transition. The first part of the paper presents an overview of the development of the second demographic transition in postindustrial countries, discusses the nature, major prerequisites and characteristics of the process. The second part, in an attempt of searching for parallels with the tendencies evolving in Western countries, gives an analysis of family transformation in Lithuania, the forces that stand behind it, its advancement the attitude of society towards these changes