The role structure of the Russian family as a factor in the social activity of spouses

The article presents a sociological analysis of the family role structure as the involvement of spouses in various types of social activity. This problem is actualized among Russians under the change in the meanings of the family as an institution, the roles of redistribution between men and women. The novelty of the study is that the types of family role structure; reveals the connection of the combined role structure in a married couple with the social activity of the dyad; the relationship of the role structure of the family with the satisfaction of needs in various types of social activity was revealed. The purpose of the study is to identify the relationship between the role structure of the family and the degree of involvement of spouses in various types of social activity; to determine the mutual ideas of spouses on family roles; to establish the types of social activity that are infl uenced by the agreed and inconsistent family role structure to a greater and lesser extent. A qualitative sociological study was carried out by using the methods of in-depth interviews and semantic diff erential (A. I. Antonov's method), in which 13 married couples aged from 23 to 52 years took part. The role structures of the family that infl uence the social activity of the dyad are identifi ed: compatible and inconsistent role structures. Consistency of roles in a married couple has a positive eff ect on the following types of activity of spouses: labor, socio-economic, educational and developmental, socially useful, leisure activities. No connection was found between the consistency of spouses' ideas about the distribution of roles in the family and their activity in the socio-political sphere. In addition, the role consistency of marital relationships is associated with the degree of involvement and satisfaction of the husband and wife with participation in various types of social activity: spouses from “compatible” couples are more satisfi ed with participation in various types of social life, it is more diverse for them, and they devote more time to it. Marital compatibility is also associated with self-esteem of one's own life, satisfaction with the extra-family life of the spouses. The spouses from "compatible" families see their lives as full and satisfi ed; the positive impact of the quality of relationships on social activity was noted. The analysis of the results of an empirical study showed that the role structure of the family and the social activity of husband and wife are related: the greater the consistency of roles is observed in a married couple, the more socially active the spouses are. Mutual understanding and consistency of the role structure contributes to a more complete realization of the spouses, increasing satisfaction with their life in general and its family component.