Chapter 11: Families and Family Values in Society and Culture: Country Report of Hungary¹

Starting in 1989/90 Hungary underwent a political-economic transition process—from communism to democracy and market economy—which resulted in the accession to the European Union in 2004. This process has not come about without sacrifices, however. The GDP level of 1989 was not reached until 2000, and between 1992–2000, the income differences between the lowest and the highest income deciles doubled. The severe socioeconomic transition effects and related—belt-tightening social and family policies had long-lasting effects on changing demographic behavior, union and family formations, depending on the social status of the individuals. During the past three decades Hungarian society has been characterized by declining and ageing population. In Hungary, for many decades there has been a very rich and extended research related to families and intergenerational family relations covering various fields of social sciences (demography, family sociology, family psychology, pedagogy, economics). The scope of main research fields and questions is very wide. Results of many studies have confirmed, however, that despite modernization, individualization and transition, traditional family values and attitudes are strongly embedded in the Hungarian society. Results of comparative research on intergenerational functional solidarity are in line with this picture: Hungarians show relatively high involvement in intensive care and help to elderly parents. Research however also points to cases when there is a discrepancy between the attitudes towards family and the observed behavior of the present young generations (e.g., in case of fertility).