Introduction. The relevance of the present research is determined by the need to create a system of measures to support and develop the institution of fatherhood, the formation of parental competence, effective models of paternal behaviour among modern youth and insufficient study of this phenomenon from psychological positions. The problem of the research is to resolve the contradiction between the requirement of modern society to form a value-positive attitude towards fatherhood among students’ youth and the need to identify psychological factors in the formation of ideas about fatherhood, parental attitudes, motivation for parenthood, and acceptance of the father’s role at the stage of entering adulthood.The aim of the research is to reveal the interrelation of ideas about fatherhood (“ideal father”, “I am an expectant father”) with gender, age and structure of valuable orientations among modern students.Methodology and research methods. The theoretical and methodological framework of the research is based on cultural-historical theory of development of the psyche and the doctrine of psychological age by L. S. Vygotsky; age-psychological approach to the analysis of mental development in ontogenesis (by L. S. Vygotsky, D. B. Elkonin, L. I. Bozhovich, O. A. Karabanova,E. I. Zakharova, G. V. Burmenskaya, et al.); the doctrine of the indicative activities by P. Y. Galperin. The research methods involve theoretical-methodological literature analysis, questionnaire method, psycho-diagnostic methods, and mathematical and statistical data processing methods.Results. The authors described and compared the content of ideas about fatherhood among young men and young women depending on the structure of valuable orientations at different stages of age development. Three homogeneous clusters  were  identifi      using  divisive  clustering  of  an  empirical  sample:1)  orientation towards the values of professional self-realisation (193 respondents, 17.8%); 2) orientation towards gnostic and aesthetic values (274 respondents, 25.2%); 3) orientation towards the values of personal life (619 respondents, 57%). The interrelation of ideas about fatherhood (“ideal father”, “I am an expectant father”) with gender, age, and structure of valuable orientations of modern students is revealed. The image of the ideal father is generally characterised by fragmentary and incomplete representations, and, in some cases, by cognitive distortions.Scientific novelty of the research is to reveal the interrelation of ideas about fatherhood with the structure of valuable orientations of young men and women in adolescence and early adulthood.Practical significance. The obtained results actualise the importance and necessity of psychological and pedagogical support of the process of family self-determination of students, the formation of complete and adequate ideas about fatherhood allowing for the development of its educational potential in the conditions of the educational environment of the university.

The problem of forming ideas about an ideal marriage partner is addressed in the context of studying the influence of the moral orientation of the personality of modern young men and women. Ideas about marriage perform a guiding function in mastering the social role of the spouse. The purpose of the study is to identify the features of ideas about an ideal marriage partner (ideal husband, ideal wife) depending on the moral orientation of the personality of young men and women. Theoretical and methodological literature analysis, questionnaire, psycho-diagnostic methods (the methodology of "Personal Moral Self-determination" by A. E. Vorobieva, A. B. Kupreichenko, the method of Semantic Differential, developed by Charles E. Osgood, projective technique of "Incomplete Sentences", the questionnaire "Role Expectations and Claims in Marriage" by A. N. Volkova); mathematical and statistical data processing methods. The study involved 490 students. The moral orientation of the personality (egocentric, group-centric, humanistic, world-creating) is an individual factor that determines the originality of ideas about an ideal marriage partner among young men and women. Young women with a humanistic personality orientation are distinguished by the formation of cognitive, emotional and behavioral component in the images of "ideal husband" and "ideal wife". In the ideas about an ideal marriage partner, young men and women with a world-creating personality orientation record the greatest number of content characteristics.

Background. Th e urge to solve practical problems of overcoming family and demographic crisis, of increasing the authority of parenthood in modern society evokes the relevance of research on socio-psychological factors determining the development of marriage and family concepts in the framework of information socialization of young people. Objective. Current research aims to analyze the characteristics of the concept about motherhood among young men and women who diff er in the structure of moral orientation of personality. Design. An empirical study involved 490 students (126 young men, 364 young women). It was conducted with the use of a set of psychological assessment methods: “Th e Moral Self-Determination” by A.E. Vorobieva, A.B. Kupreychenko, a modifi ed version of the semantic diff erential method by I.L. Solomin, projective techniques “Incomplete Sentences”, the questionnaire “Role Expectations and Claims in Marriage” by A.N. Volkova. On the basis of the correlational analysis with the subsequent ranking the hierarchy of content characteristics in the concept of motherhood among young men and women diff ering in the moral structure of the personality was determined. Results. It has been shown that moral structure of personality is a signifi cant diff erentiating factor in the development of concepts about motherhood among young men and women. Th e image of the ideal mother is distinguished by cognitive distortions among young women with egocentric (negative attitude towards joint family recreation: r = –0.46 at p = 0.009) and group-centered (setting for low activity in taking up household responsibilities in the family: r = –0.425 at p = 0.012) orientations. Conclusion. Th e materials of the conducted research indicate the need for changes in the concepts of marriage and family and for promotion of a positive moral position among students. Th e development of a humanistic and worldcreating orientation of the personality will contribute to the development of complete, adequate and harmonious ideas about the concepts of parenthood in modern young men and women.

Introduction. The relevance of the present research is determined by the need to create a system of measures to support and develop the institution of fatherhood, the formation of parental competence, effective models of paternal behaviour among modern youth and insufficient study of this phenomenon from psychological positions. The problem of the research is to resolve the contradiction between the requirement of modern society to form a value-positive attitude towards fatherhood among students’ youth and the need to identify psychological factors in the formation of ideas about fatherhood, parental attitudes, motivation for parenthood, and acceptance of the father’s role at the stage of entering adulthood.The aim of the research is to reveal the interrelation of ideas about fatherhood (“ideal father”, “I am an expectant father”) with gender, age and structure of valuable orientations among modern students.Methodology and research methods. The theoretical and methodological framework of the research is based on cultural-historical theory of development of the psyche and the doctrine of psychological age by L. S. Vygotsky; age-psychological approach to the analysis of mental development in ontogenesis (by L. S. Vygotsky, D. B. Elkonin, L. I. Bozhovich, O. A. Karabanova,E. I. Zakharova, G. V. Burmenskaya, et al.); the doctrine of the indicative activities by P. Y. Galperin. The research methods involve theoretical-methodological literature analysis, questionnaire method, psycho-diagnostic methods, and mathematical and statistical data processing methods.Results. The authors described and compared the content of ideas about fatherhood among young men and young women depending on the structure of valuable orientations at different stages of age development. Three homogeneous clusters  were  identifi      using  divisive  clustering  of  an  empirical  sample:1)  orientation towards the values of professional self-realisation (193 respondents, 17.8%); 2) orientation towards gnostic and aesthetic values (274 respondents, 25.2%); 3) orientation towards the values of personal life (619 respondents, 57%). The interrelation of ideas about fatherhood (“ideal father”, “I am an expectant father”) with gender, age, and structure of valuable orientations of modern students is revealed. The image of the ideal father is generally characterised by fragmentary and incomplete representations, and, in some cases, by cognitive distortions.Scientific novelty of the research is to reveal the interrelation of ideas about fatherhood with the structure of valuable orientations of young men and women in adolescence and early adulthood.Practical significance. The obtained results actualise the importance and necessity of psychological and pedagogical support of the process of family self-determination of students, the formation of complete and adequate ideas about fatherhood allowing for the development of its educational potential in the conditions of the educational environment of the university.

Background. National policies and laws determine the speci_cs of family relationship and marriage in di`erent countries. Traditional norms and values that determine the marital and family behavior of young people are weakening with the rapid change in political and economic situation and with the digitalization of society. In this regard it is urgent to study the socio-psychological factors that determine the process of family self-determination in the youth of digital generation. Objective. ae study aims to analyze structural and meaningful characteristics of family self-determination depending on the degree of responsibility among students in adolescence. Sample. ae study involved 326 students of Astrakhan State University aged from 17 to 19 years. aese included 47 (14.4%) male and 279 (85.6%) female students of humanities programmes. Methods. Empirical research was conducted with the use of psychodiagnostic techniques: a modi_ed version of the semantic di`erential methodology by I.L. Solomin, the “Test of life orientations” by D.A. Leontiev, the questionnaire “ae level of the ratio of “value” to “accessibility” in various spheres of life” by E.B. Fantalova, the projective technique “Incomplete sentences”, the questionnaire “Role expectations and claims in marriage” by A.N. Volkova, multidimensional functional diagnostics of responsibility by V.P. Pryadein. Regression analysis made it possible to assess the impact of responsibility on indicators of family self-determination. Results. It is shown that responsibility determines the development of cognitive, value-emotional, regulatory-behavioral, motivational and rebexive components of family self-determination in adolescence. Responsibility has been found to have the greatest impact on the meaningfulness of life (determination coeccient R2 = 0.203) as well as on role claims in the sphere of social activity (R2 = 0.179). Conclusion. Responsibility is a signi_cant micro-level factor determining the process of family self-determination in adolescence. ae development of responsibility among students will allow to form a holistic image “Me as a family person”, to cultivate the values of marriage and family relations and life orientations, to integrate ideas on the time perspective, to reduce the number of extramarital births as a result of the actualization of parenthood as an important marriage motive. Practical application of the results. ae materials of the conducted research can be used in the development and implementation of educational programmes at institutions of higher education. aey can also be used to promote psychological and pedagogical conditions for self-determination in the sphere of marital and family relations through the development of responsibility among modern students.