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DOI: 10.18413/2408-9338-2026-12-1-0-3

Matrimonial strategies in the life planning system of youth

Zhanna Olegovna Blagorozheva (Belgorod state national research university)
Inna S. Shapovalova (Belgorod State National Research University, 308000, 78, Preobrazhenskaya St., Belgorod, Russia)

In the context of destandardised life paths, the transformation of the family institution, and the intensification of demographic challenges, the study of matrimonial strategies among today's youth is particularly important. The relevance of this article stems from the need to overcome the imbalance between the study of macrodemographic processes and micro-level life plans, as well as the need to identify the connection between private family attitudes and public strategies in the context of regional development. Understanding the value dispositions of young people as a system-forming factor in life planning is key to the development of targeted social and youth policies. Methods: The study is based on a quantitative analysis of data from the 2024 monitoring survey “Social Strategies of Regional Youth” (n=5,881, Belgorod region). The primary method is typological analysis. Based on matrimonial attitudes (attitudes toward marriage, childbearing, and family roles), four types of youth were identified and empirically validated: traditional (54.5%, focused on institutional marriage and child-centeredness), liberal (33.6%, reflective and optional attitudes toward family scenarios), egocentric (8.1%, prioritizing self-realization over family), and informal (3.8%, rejecting the traditional institution of family). This typology has become an analytical tool for comparative research of life strategies in the economic, career, political, social, migration, spiritual and moral, self-preservation, and self-realization spheres. Scientific results: It was established that matrimonial disposition acts as a fundamental sociocultural filter mediating the configuration of life plans in all key domains. Fundamentally different adaptation models were identified: solidary rootedness (traditional type), reflexive pragmatism (liberal), hyperindividualism (egocentric), and alternative sociality/asociality (informal type). The greatest complexity and social effectiveness were demonstrated by strategies of the traditional type. This type is characterized by maximum demographic potential (the imperative of marriage and childbearing), low migration mobility, which ensures the consolidation of human capital in the region, pronounced self-preservation practices, and a focus on intergenerational solidarity. Conclusions: matrimonial disposition is a reliable predictor of not only private but also public life trajectories of young people. Traditional strategies, dominant in the regional community, are most congruent with the strategic objectives of national and regional development in the areas of demographic reproduction, territorial sustainability, the preservation of social capital, and the health of the nation. The data obtained indicate the need for a transition from a unified to a differentiated youth and family policy, which, while recognizing value pluralism, will consider support for the traditional family in its modern, modernized version as a key priority for ensuring long-term socio-demographic sustainability.

Keywords: youth, matrimonial strategies, matrimonial dispositions, life plans, life strategies.

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Blagorozheva, J. O., Shapovalova, I. S. (2026), “Matrimonial strategies in the life planning system of youth”, Research Result. Sociology and Management, 12 (1), 45-76. DOI: 10.18413/2408-9338-2026-12-1-0-3

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