Defining the Concept of Family through the Lens of Fertile-Aged Women in Bucharest, Romania—between Traditionalism and Inclusion

Abstract

Family is a notion that societies are consistently trying to define and redefine nowadays, according to various interest groups. It also represents a variable functioning within conditions of population aging, especially in developing countries. An analysis of what family means must consider all the factors that influence it both structurally and in terms of size. The main objectives were to identify the perception of fertile-aged women about the notion of family and to measure its possible influence on the target group’s demographic behavior. The inquiry method was part of the research methodology with 499 face-to-face, semi-structured interviews done of a sample size population (women aged 15 to 49) living in Bucharest, Romania and supplemented by an SPSS analysis of the data gathered. The main results show that regardless of their education or income level, the interviewed target group declared that starting a new family or enlarging the current one is mostly correlated with financial aspects, and also that a pregnancy early in a woman’s career is viewed as an obstacle to her future development, even though when asked about the ideal family the financial aspect was rarely mentioned. The authors concluded that respondents’ mental attitude and reproductive behavior are undergoing a transitory phase. As such in Romania there is a need for sustainable demographic measures to tackle fertility issues. Several aspects support this: birth rates in the country have been consistently decreasing; the country’s economy is declining; and the interviewed target group conditioned starting a family or enlarging their current one on having sufficient financial resources.

Determinants of Fertility Intentions of the Women in Bosnia and Herzegovina—An Example from the Semberija Region

“…Future social and demographic policies ought to consider these changing trends in population demographic behavior and attempt to envision a number of actions that should address fertility and family issues in a sustainable, collaborative way, conveyed within a regional as well as a global scope [42]. Overall, the findings show that fertility intention is not a simple idea.…”

Modelling Potential Geographical Access of the Population to Public Hospitals and Quality Health Care in Romania

“…Thus, people living in small towns or isolated rural areas have to travel or drive, for about 308 min, to reach the closest hospital able to deliver multiple services. This perhaps explains the higher share of the population (4.9%) in Romania with self-declared unmet needs for health care services due to either ‘financial barriers, waiting times or travelling distances’, compared to the EU average (1.8%) [ 79 , 80 ]. The share of the population reporting unmet needs for a medical examination because ‘it was too far to travel’ in EU28 (2018) was around 0.1%; Romania, with 0.5%, was in the third position after Estonia and Croatia.…”

How Do the New Residential Areas in Bucharest Satisfy Population Demands, and Where Do They Fall Short?

“…Its area of influence stretches primarily toward the north (Baneasa-Otopeni), (Chiajna village), and, in later years, south (Berceni village), the development of th translating into an extension to the outer rural area, interspersing in all directions u spaces with areas with rural characteristics [56]. Young families also fed the high demand for new housing, because, in Rom society, having a home is an important criterion when getting married and starting a family [57]. In order to meet this social constraint, a governmental program Young families also fed the high demand for new housing, because, in Romanian society, having a home is an important criterion when getting married and starting a new family [57].…”