printScenarios of Young Mothers’ Re-Socialisation in Russia
Shvetsova A.V.
Cand. Sci. (Soc.), Senior Researcher, Ural State Pedagogical University, Yekaterinburg, Russia shvetsovaav@mail.ru
The research was supported by the RSF, project No. 22-28-00636 “Modern “non-maternal” practices of young mothers: repertoire, potential and social risk”
Shvetsova A.V. Scenarios of Young Mothers’ Re-Socialisation in Russia. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2023. No 12. P. 83-94
The article argues for the expediency of referring to the “resocialization” concept in motherhood sociological studies. Changes in a woman’s life associated with the appearance of children make significant adjustments in value attitudes and behavioral practices, form a new chronotrope and determine the order of decisions regarding the combination of role models. At the same time, these changes are not a popular topic of scholarly refleсtions, their depth and directions have a rather vague outline. The purpose of the study is to fill the gap in gender data regarding the practices of young mothers’ re-socialization by constructing key scenarios based on empirical research. The data were obtained in an online survey (N=471) and a series of in-depth interviews (respondents are women with preschool children, N=20). By “resocialization scenarios” we mean a set of worldview attitudes and social conditions that shape role model correlations in a situation of motherhood and identify five feasible scenarios: “Dissolving in motherhood”, “In search of balance”, “Keeping one’s boundaries”, “Overcoming circumstances” and “Abstracting from Motherhood”. It is worthy of special attention that under any scenario, the risks of young mothers depressive moods and anxiety are high. Sociological reflection in this case may help identify markers and factors negatively affecting the process of resocialization. It is shown that a significant factor of subjective well-being is the possibility of personal and professional development during parental leave, which allows overcome the social isolation of the first years of motherhood and outline the prospects for a shock-free exit from the “decree”.
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