ABSTRACT
Changes in the social status of women have a varied impact on the structure, functions, and social role of the family. Especially important is the impact of the new status of women on the process of formation of the family, its development, and its breakup. This chapter explores the materials of concrete sociodemographic surveys to show how changes in the social status of women are reflected in the demographic characteristics and demographic development of the family. In its demographic development the family passes through three stages: formation of the family, its growth with the birth of children, and its breakup, when the departure of grown children from the parental family marks the start of a new family. The "natural" function of bearing children is increasingly influenced by social factors, and the demographic function of the family is influenced by such functions as specialization, social intercourse and consumption.
