Family institute: concept, constituent elements

Abstract

This article focuses on the current topic – the Family Institute. The family institute in the modern world has undergone major changes. Divorce has become so common in our life that virtually every third marriage ends in divorce, and the number of so-called «civil marriages» increases, which indicates a frivolous attitude to family bonds and marriage and does not contribute to the stability of the marriage union.
The article identifies the signs of the «nuclear family», that is, the family in its narrow sense, which includes the classical triad: mother-child-father. Each member of this family is endowed with certain functions that can be clearly seen in this particular composition. In addition, the article analyzes the concept and role of the family as the main social element, also analyzes the functions of motherhood and fatherhood from the point of view of sociologists and psychologists.
The practical significance of the article lies in the possibility of using the obtained results to improve the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as far as the legislation does not contain the concept of paternity as a legal category, only certain features of its legal status are revealed.
Key words: nuclear family, motherhood, fatherhood, civil marriage, family structure.