The Psychological Aspects of Contemporary Families, Marriages and Partnerships

Abstract

The theme of this issue, entitled The Psychological Aspects of Contemporary Families, Marriages and Partnerships, focuses on research in the field of family, marriage and partnership across the world and in Croatia. Although partnership, marriage and family have been perpetual themes of importance in each historical epoch, they are even more relevant today. Marital and family crises as well as the emotional life of families are investigated, and alternative forms of cohabitation, determinants of parenting and support to parenting are discussed. Statistical data clearly indicate that interest in marriage is declining each year, especially among the young population. On the other hand, the data show an increase in the number of divorces and a decrease in the number of children born into marriages. All the mentioned structural changes in the family probably result from a great number of factors that have not yet been sufficiently investigated. In many families, the current economic crisis, unemployment and feelings of insecurity create a specific marital and family atmosphere as well as specific forms of behaviour among partners and/or family members. In these circumstances, the family system may play both a protective and risk role in a child's development. Therefore, recent models and concepts in psychology examine the parent–child relationship specifically in the contextof different systems that directly or indirectly affect a child's development.