Family attitudes of university students in terms of extremism risks

Abstract

Youth extremism continues to be relevant considering the fluid and changeable character of the contemporary world: new risk factors emerge while social institutions designed to provide social stability malfunction. The article aims at presenting the family attitudes among the youth which are connected to the problem of infantilism (social-psychological maturity), the attitude towards non-traditional gender relations, to the infidelity in romantic relationships, and how the media and TV series may contribute to an increased risk of extremism among the younger generations. The article is based on the data from six original studies on the above-mentioned issues conducted at the RUDN University in 2017–2019 with different sociological methods (questionnaire survey, focus groups and content analysis): a 2017 survey of RUDN students titled “Personal freedom through the eyes of young people” (N = 470); content analysis of four episodes of four Russian TV series in 2017; validation results for the method “Diagnostics of social immaturity in young people” (N = 500); four focus groups on the “Transformation of the contemporary social image of the Russian woman” in 2019; two focus groups with female students on the “Infidelity in romantic relationships” in 2021, and a 2021 survey of Moscow university students on extremism. The broad scope of topics covered in the study in the frame of up-to-date relevant research allowed for several findings which clarified the aspects that should be stressed when implementing the youth and family policy: the conscious parenting training for young families, systematic monitoring of social immaturity of young people in family and everyday life, restoration of the educational system to its former esteem as a counter to the present service sector. Some gradual changes can already be observed in the clear policy on same-sex relationships and attention to the media content at the government level.