Family in experience of young people in secondary school in the context of transformations of the contemporary family – theoretical reflection and empirical exemplifications

The authors present the analysis of the structure of the family environment as the primary agent of socialization- education in theoretical and empirical terms. They describe its significance for the development of the younger generation, showing basic mechanisms (social, cultural and psychological) that determine its functions. The analysis of the family is carried out from the systemic perspective. The results of research conducted among secondary school youth on the perception of the family of origin are presented – features and behaviors of parents attributed to them by young people. The analysis showed the dominance of normal family structure and the family types indicating its dysfunctionality include: overprotective family, family of power, entangled and chaotic family. There was also a discrepancy between the different types of families: mothers significantly more frequently exhibit features characteristic for the proper and overprotective family; fathers – for a chaotic family