Magyar_Ifjusag_2012_tanulmanykotet

Summary of the volume of studiesII. Starting a family and the decision to have childrenZsuzsanna Makay: Relationship behaviour and attitudestowards starting a family among young peopleZsuzsanna Makay’s study reveals that today’s young people form cohabitationalrelationships later and with less intensity than previous generations.Although they typically enter into a relationship early in life, the majoritycompletes their studies before deciding to move in together with their partner,meaning that the proportion of cohabitational relationships only beginsto increase at 23-24 years of age. At the same time, the proportion of thosewho have never had a relationship reaches forty per cent even among 25 to29-year-old respondents.It is important to emphasise that the majority of respondents not onlywants to live in a relationship but also attributes great importance to marriage,which is a clear indication that the figures do not reflect a desire towardsa deliberate “single” lifestyle. The examination of plans and trendsin relation to having children also produces a similar conclusion, as only sixper cent of young people unwilling to have a child. However, even in the 25to 29-year-old age group, seventy per cent of respondents (sixty per cent of29-year-olds) are still childless. Thirteen per cent of interviewees betweenthe age of 25 and 29 years of age explain the reasons for not planning to havea child earlier by the absence of a partner. Other reasons include the lack ofsufficient income (55 per cent), problems related to accomodation (32 percent), “work” (15 per cent) and being too young (16 per cent).The concept of the “traditional” two-child Hungarian family model liveson vividly in today’s youth, with over half of respondents wishing to have twochildren. A relatively low proportion would like to have a large family (19 percent) and a comparable number (18 per cent) wishes to have only one child.Only six per cent of young people would be unwilling to have any children.A major part of young people have an attitude of uncertainty in connectionwith their ideas on starting a family. Around 18 per cent are undecidedon whether they would like to marry and 15 per cent were unable to say howmany children they wish to have.347