REPRODUCTIVE ORIENTATIONS OF KYIV STUDENTS

Abstract

Formulation of the problem. Prolonged absence of births in the population of a certain area threatens its existence. Surveys of various groups of the population are used to identify trends that are negative for the demographic development of society in a timely manner. Analysis of recent research and publications. Deformations have formed in the formation of the generativeness of modern young people, in particular the strengthening of child-free tendencies, which increase the risks for the reproduction of the population. Formulation of the purpose of the article. The aim is to investigate the reproductive orientations of Kyiv students, to establish the dominant views on marriage and its forms, to identify the motives "for" and "against" the birth of children. Presenting main material. The randomized sample was 316 students of both sexes. The results showed that a third of respondents confidently acknowledged that the refusal of reproductively healthy couples to have children was "completely justified", while another third "rather agreed" to it. Only 8.6% of respondents indicated the complete unacceptability of such behavior. Students with better financial status of the family were more likely to condemn voluntary childlessness. The leader among the factors of reluctance to have children was the "priority of development in the professional sphere", in second place was "dislike of children", the third place was taken by psychological factors, and for the childfree group "difficult financial situation" was less important than the desire for more time to pursue a hobby. Students who indicated that they were childfree generally reported that "there is no motive for them to have a child." However, in general, the survey confirmed the value of children in the family, as 55% of girls and almost 40% of boys indicated that it is thanks to the birth of a child that they will have a full-fledged family. 44% of surveyed students perceived abortion negatively and rather negatively, 33% had a positive and rather positive attitude, and such answers were more often chosen by boys. One in five respondents could not clearly identify their attitudes toward abortion. The fact of conception as the beginning of a new life was considered only by about 31% of respondents, which indicates a lack of public awareness of bioethics. Conclusions and prospects for further research. In Ukraine, it is impossible to provide accurate statistics on the number of child-free followers, firstly, because so far no large-scale targeted survey has been conducted on this issue, which would cover different segments and groups of the population, and secondly, due to that most Ukrainians who deliberately refuse to have a child do not yet fully identify with childfree and do not declare it publicly. However, in the second decade of the XXI century in our country the interest in this subculture is constantly growing, the intention to find out the factors of such behavior, which occurs against the background of the formation of a tolerant attitude to any model of reproductive behavior. Conducting special targeted research will contribute to the development of effective youth policy aimed at overcoming the psychological, social and other problems faced by young people, especially family planning and reproductive function, which is important not only in the context of improving the demographic situation in the country. but also, which is no less important, in relation to self- realization and self-actualization of the individual, the formation of its full maturity.