Suchergebnisse

All of the sociological surveys of Estonians carried out after the Second World War have highlighted family life and children as the main values for Estonians. Family and children were also the values that survived the transition from the Soviet to the post-Soviet system, becoming even higher ranked in Estonians' value priorities. Other rising values during the transitional period were health, close friends, self-education, and a pollution-free environment. Among those aspects suffering considerable decline were participation in social as well as in cultural activities (visiting cultural institutions, reading books,etc.),professional work, and taking care of one's own physical well-being. The rural lifestyle together with Lutheran religious values, which emphasize the family and a "good mother," have been the main cultural orientations handed down through generations of Estonian families. Even the Soviet period with its forced industrialization, collectivization and political terror did not break this value-system but, quite the opposite, often meant that the family became a place that provided "refuge, and temporary escape" from these pressures, thereby preserving important elements of an earlier cultural orientation. Through its ideologically restricted social studies and deformed official statistics, which left people without reliable information about reality, the Soviet system managed to preserve the relatively strong impact of cultural traditions on people's behavior.

The status of the family in Estonia is examined through analysis of data from the Estonia 93: Work, Family & Leisure survey & secondary source survey data, 1978 & 1985. Analysis reveals a declining birth rate, family size, & family stability, & increasing divorce rate & number of single-parent families & children born out of wedlock. In 1992, there were 783 more Estonia deaths than births. Increasing numbers of Estonians are living below minimum social standards of employment, housing, & health services. Vertical & horizontal sex segregation of the labor market still exists & longer maternity leaves & increasing unemployment have resulted in a decrease in the numbers of working women. Women earn 72%-79% of the wage of men. Traditional female roles appeared to be embedded in Estonian society. Family policy in Estonia is also discussed. 3 Tables. D. Generoli