Hungary

In Hungarian society in the 1990s, behavior moved away from the traditional family forms. Attitudes, in contrast, moved in the opposite direction in some areas (Tóth 2000). In 1994, the adult population valued the advantages of marriage more than they did in 1988. Significantly more adults found that the most important function of marriage was to ensure financial security. Significantly more men than women believe that married people are happier. What is becoming more important for women is that marriage serve as a secure framework for raising children. At the same time, however, young, highly qualified women believe substantially less both in the ability of marriages to create happiness automatically and in their function of childrearing. This is in comparison with men with similar qualifications, as well as compared with other women or with the 1988 data.

Given that Hungary lacks services and institutions to help couples resolve disputes, divorce is the most accepted way of treating martial conflict. Women—as the divorce statistics also show—are willing to accept divorce at a higher rate than are men. After the divorce, children usually stay with the mother; thus the role of the parent raising her child alone is known and accepted for women. Maintaining a deteriorated marriage relationship is not appealing to women, not even in the (eventual) interest of the child. In this area, attitudes and real demographic behavior are moving into the same direction.

The decrease in the number of children per family started decades ago in Hungarian society. In sharp contrast with their numbers, children held a high position in the society's value system, and their importance increased during the 1990s. Nevertheless, the stated love for children, documented by various surveys (Pongrácz and Molnár 1999), is contrary to other evidence. The adult population spends much time working, so they cannot interact with their children as much as they would like to. Parent-child relationships involve a lot of tension, and force and thrashing are accepted tools of raising children. An exception to this is the case of the youngest, most educated male and female classes; this group is less likely than average to place the raising of children above all other values. The temporary or permanent decision not to have children and the change of attitudes go together in the case of this group.