Analysis of the orientations of the students of the Belgorod state national research university when choosing a marriage partner

Abstract. The article presents the results of the analysis of students' orientations in marriage choice (on the example of the Belgorod National Research University).

Keywords: marriage choice, marriage, cohabitation, family.

The marriage of young people is one of the main events in the life of every person, so making the right decisions related to the creation of a family is the key to family well-being and stability.

The institution of family and marriage is currently undergoing significant changes, including changes in the orientation of young people when choosing a marriage partner.

In modern conditions, the preparation of young people for marriage is a very important social problem. Marriage and family relations are currently experiencing a crisis, as the number of divorces increases, the birth rate decreases, and the institution of family and marriage is being transformed. At the same time, the society is interested in the stability of the family being created. Here, the issues of the marriage choice of young people and the factors influencing this choice are significant.

All these negative trends in the development of the institution of family and marriage suggest that it is necessary to study the motives and orientations of young people when choosing a marriage partner.

For a detailed study of the orientations of young people when choosing a marriage partner, an analysis of the orientations of students in the marriage choice was carried out on the example of the Belgorod State National Research University.

To obtain the results of the study, a survey was conducted among the students of the Belgorod State National Research University. The questionnaire included 19 questions, including passport questions, which helped us to consider the peculiarities of students ' orientations in the marriage choice. A total of 100 people took part in the study, including 56 women and 44 men. The age of respondents is limited to the range from 17 to 30 years. Most of them are in the age group from 19 to 20 years.

As part of the study, we identified the most preferred and categorically unacceptable qualities of a marriage partner. For the majority of respondents, the priority qualities are good manners (59%) and loyalty (58%). The next important qualities were intelligence (37%), attractive appearance (30%), responsibility (29%), kindness (28%) and neatness (21%). The same shares, 17% each, scored such qualities as financial security and a sense of humor. The least respondents chose generosity (16%), communicability (10%) and athletic build (8%) (see Chart 1). The majority of respondents chose rudeness as a categorically unacceptable quality in a marriage partner (58%). Dishonesty (46%), hypocrisy (44%), and selfishness (40%) are also considered unacceptable qualities of a marriage partner. Almost a third of respondents chose windiness (33%) and laziness (30%) as categorically unacceptable qualities. Such unacceptable qualities in a marriage partner as irresponsibility, greed, and cowardice scored 17%, 16%, and 11%, respectively (see Chart 2).

Chart 1. Distribution of respondents’ responses to the question: «Choose the most preferred qualities that you would like to see in a marriage partner»

Chart 2. Distribution of respondents answers to the question: "Choose categorically unacceptable qualities in a marriage partner»

The conducted research allowed us to determine what the student youth is guided by when choosing a marriage partner. The results of the study showed the importance of studying the orientations of young people when choosing a marriage partner. The success and stability of the family being created will depend on the correctness of the choice made.