The crisis situation experienced by the Russian society stimulates the search for new sources of development. Both scientists and practitioners are beginning to recognize social capital as one of them. The discourse of the social capital defines the vision of horizontal structures forming and supporting social capital, which includes family. This concept has a significant heuristic potential, which makes it possible to analyze the social resources available in the society, including family resources. The theoretical model of studying the family’s resource potential is laid by the founders of the concept – J. Coleman and P. Bourdieu. A family – a basic institutional unit of the modern society – is considered as a social center of social capital formation of the society and the individual. According to the researchers, a modern family is pressured by a variety of factors leading to the destruction of family structures, which has a negative impact on the social capital. In this regard, the study of the resource potential of a modern Russian family in the social capital formation of future generations is of interest. The study performed in the Vologda Oblast in 2016 reveals the potential of families with under-age children to form the social capital of future generations. Empirical data obtained during the study bring us to the following conclusions. It has been found that most of under-age children are brought up in families where social capital structures remain, as well as the opportunities to invest in future generations. The study indicates that respondents who have under-age children possess quite extensive and diverse network resources in the form of connections, contacts. The respondents are engaged in participating in collective actions, as well as initiating them. The study concludes that the necessary resources are available in a Russian family to form the social capital of future generations. At the same time, there are factors limiting the family’s opportunities, forming a focus towards a limited range of ties and relations. Analytical insights and empirical data can have practical application in the development of certain aspects of the social policy focused on a family and the younger generation
Keywords
social capital, trust, resource-based approach, modern russian family, relations networks