Intergenerational solidarity in a postmodern society

Čas postmoderne družbe je čas hitrih družbenih sprememb, tempa življenja ter številnih obveznosti, zaradi česar mlade generacije težko usklajujejo svoje obveznosti, starejše pa težko sledijo vsem novostim in spremembam, ki se dogajajo na področju družbenega, tehnološkega in mnogih drugih svetov. Kot posledica značilnosti življenja v tem času, medsebojni odnosi, podpora, solidarnost in sodelovanje še nikoli prej niso bili bolj na preizkušnji kot danes. Namen magistrske naloge je bil preučiti odnos medgeneracijske solidarnosti med otroki (ki se pojavljajo v vlogi staršev) ter njihovimi/partnerjevimi starši (ki se pojavljajo v vlogi starih staršev). V ospredju je vpliv oddaljenosti staršev, pogostost stikov med obema generacijama ter izobrazba staršev na emocionalno, funkcionalno ter strukturno solidarnost. Uporabili smo deskriptivno metodo ter kavzalno-neeksperimentalno metodo empiričnega raziskovanja. Anketo smo izvedli preko spleta (N = 502). Ugotovili smo, da oddaljenost otrok pomembno vpliva na pogostost nudenja pomoči staršem v obliki gospodinjske pomoči in nudenja prevozov ter prejemanja pomoči v obliki varstva otrok s strani staršev v prid tistim, ki so med seboj manj oddaljeni. Prav tako so stiki med otroki in starši zelo pogosti, saj so ti prisotni vsaj enkrat tedensko, pogostejši pa so s strani oseb moškega spola. Otroci od staršev najpogosteje dobivajo pomoč v obliki čustvene podpore, nanjo pa se pogosteje obračajo osebe ženskega spola. Raziskavo smo povezali z aktualnim družbenim dogajanjem – izbruhom epidemije koronavirusa ter ugotovili, da se medgeneracijska solidarnost v tem obdobju v obliki prejemanja in nudenja medsebojne pomoči ni povečala. Rezultati raziskave niso reprezentativni, lahko pa ugotovitve, ki izhajajo iz tega vzorca, uporabimo kot izhodišče za nadgradnjo ali poglobljeno raziskovanje tega področja.The time of postmodern society is a time of rapid social change, pace of life and many obligations, which makes it difficult for the younger generations to coordinate their obligations, and the older ones to keep up with all the innovations and changes in the social and technological world, as well as many others. As a result of the characteristics of life in the present, interpersonal relationships, support, solidarity and cooperation have never been more challenged than today. The purpose of the master\u27s thesis was to examine the relationship of intergenerational solidarity between children (in the role of parents) and their / partner\u27s parents (in the role of grandparents), where the impact of parental distance, frequency of contact between both generations and parental education on emotional, functional and structural solidarity are primarily analyzed. A descriptive method was used to study the facts and relationships between processes within the phenomenon of intergenerational solidarity. A causal-non-experimental method of empirical research was used to study explanations, as well as describe and check the dependent relationships between the phenomena. The survey was conducted online (N = 502). We found that the distance has a significant impact on the frequency of providing help to parents in the form of household assistance and transportation, and, in turn, receiving help in the form of childcare by parents in comparison to those who are less distant from each other. Contacts between children and parents are also very common, as they are present at least once a week, and more common in male respondents. Children most often receive help from their parents in the form of emotional support, and women turn to it more often. We linked the research with the current social events - the outbreak of the Covid-19 virus epidemic and found that intergenerational solidarity in the form of receiving and providing mutual assistance did not increase during this period. The results of the research are not representativehowever, the findings derived from this sample can be used as a starting point to upgrade and provide a more in-depth research in this area.