When the Family Occupies the Future – Self-Processes and Well-Being of Kyrgyz Children and Young People

Abstract

The paper focuses on the question of how young people in the post-Soviet country of Kyrgyzstan deal with the structural and cultural demands of a society characterized by strong obligations of intergenerational solidarity and the normative pattern of submission under the authority of elders. Based on three preponderantly qualitative empirical studies on kindergarten children, teenagers and young adults, young people’s commitment to that order is mapped out, defining their reasons for acceptance on the one hand and the limits of their acceptance on the other hand. Concerning the latter, a special focus is laid on processes of the “self” as well as notions of a “generation gap”. We can then deduce what the hierarchical age order means for the well-being of young people.

Sociomaterial Analysis of Azerbaijani Children’s Smartphone Use: Generational Ordering Through User-Technology Interactions

“…heteronormative) family environments have also shown that children rarely question their parents' parenting strategies and generally agree with the expectations and demands set for them (Hunner-Kreisel, Nasrullayeva et al, 2022). Similar findings were published on other Muslim-majority post-Soviet States such as Kyrgyzstan (B ühler-Niederberger & Schwittek, 2022). In part, this is interpreted as a legacy of Soviet educational doctrines, which did not make domestic violence an issue, but warned against 'too much coddling' (Huseynli & Jonson-Reid, 2022).…”