TRANSFORMATIONS OF FAMILY STRUCTURES: PERCEPTION OF NEW FAMILY MODELS IN THE REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA

Abstract

Historical and demographic processes have significantly influenced the transformation
from traditional to modern family, changing its structure, functions, partnerships,
as well as parenting and child rearing, perceptions of marriage, divorce,
birth-rates, etc. After the Industrial revolution, the nuclear family became the dominant
model of family in Europe and it is still prevailing in the Macedonian contemporary
society.
Social changes such as globalization, individualization, secularization, and the
dynamics of modern living have led to new family forms that reflect modern societies.
This paper will present a brief analysis of family structures, the transformation from
traditional to modern family and it will discuss new family models. Particularly, it will
focus on cohabitation, multi-ethnic families and same-sex relationships in the Republic
of North Macedonia by presenting the results of a qualitative research on perception of
new family models in North Macedonia conducted during 2019.