www.jsser.org Journal of Social Studies Education Research Sosyal Bilgiler Eğitimi Araştırmaları Dergisi 2020:11 (3), 220-241 Influence of the Family on the Process of Forming a Child's Personality: Types of Families: A Case of Modern Youth Prose Galina Bozhkova1, Olga Shatunova2 & Elena Shastina3 Abstract The article is aimed at studying the types of modern families and identifying their influence on the formation of the younger generation, using the material of prose for children and adolescents. The novelty of the study is in the fact that there is not a single work studying the variety of families in modern literature. The nature of the work was determined by the method of content analysis, which allowed us to obtain reliable data from the literary context by studying its formal-substantive features. Тhe authors obtained interesting results. Modern books for children were analyzed in terms of age peculiarities and divided into two categories: texts for preschoolers and for young adolescents. In the works for preschoolers, dominant narratives are about child-centered and zoological families; this is explained by age specifics, since the texts are addressed specifically to children ages 3 to 7. The situation changes significantly in literature for teenagers, in which problems become global and insoluble; the proof is the replacement of the child-centered, multi- generational family with a personality-centered, incomplete, asocial one. These changes lead to misunderstandings between generations and to inevitable problems. Key words: types of families; children’s and youth literature; parenthood models; the role of family in the younger generation’s upbringing Introduction In addition to the educational function, children’s and youth literature has a therapeutic effect on both children and adults; the problems raised became extremely relevant in the digital era, which contributes to the separation of the younger generation not only from reading but from family members. In this regard, family relationships and the influence of the family on the formation of the personality of the child, which are of particular value in the era of globalization and computerization, are especially indicative (Curran et al., 2020; Johnson & Hinton, 2019; Karakus, 2018; Korableva et al., 2019; Lafer & Tarman, 2019; Yañez et al., 2020). This article is devoted 1 Dr.,Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University, Tatarstan, Elabuga, Russian Federation, bozhkova.galina@mail.ru 2 Dr.Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University, Tatarstan, Elabuga, Russian Federation, olgashat67@mail.ru 3 Dr., Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University, Tatarstan, Elabuga, Russian Federation, shastina@rambler.ru mailto:bozhkova.galina@mail.ru mailto:olgashat67@mail.ru mailto:shastina@rambler.ru Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2020: 11 (3), 220-241 221 to the study of family types in modern literature for children and adolescents. Despite scientists’ active interest in the influence of the family on the formation of the child’s personality, the issue of family types in literary materials is here considered for the first time. The authors reviewed the works of such writers as Anna Dewdney, Lisa Papp, Catherine Leblanc, Narine Abgaryan, Iva Procházková, Rose Lagercrantz, Marina Aromshtam, Daniel Pennac, Lygia Bojunga, Dina Sabitova, Stanislav Vostokov, Timothée de Fombelle, Irina Zartayskaya, and Beate Teresa Hanika. This study translates the writers’ views on the problem of the influence of the family, on the formation of the personality of the child. The opinion of the authors of works of art is new and original, and therefore it is impossible to neglect them; this argument allowed us to reinforce the importance of research, which reveals a new look at the problem: Modern authors claim that, being carried away by upbringing and the desire to grow a competitive, successful personality, parents forget about exhibiting a warm attitude to their children, instead focusing on the material, selfish good. They lose a full-fledged dialogue, turning family relationships into personality-centered ones. Parents exert a harmful influence on the children, destroying their identity with their edification. Moreover, modern prose for youths has not been studied. Children’s writers are trying not only to attract the readers’ attention with a book but also to help by solving private problems, including family ones (Akim et al., 2019; Camarero-Figuerola et al., 2020; Vural, 2019). The right to legitimacy is recognized for children’s literature in modern society. Modern children’s literature is modified, adapted to the signs of the new reality, supplemented by new family types, and reflects modern children and adolescent problems of personal and family life (Cáceres-Reche et al., 2019; Saenko et al., 2019). Research Objectives The purpose of the study is to analyze family types in the works of modern literature for children and adolescents and clarify family influences on the personalities of the younger generation. More specifically, this study aims to answer the following research questions: 1. What types of families dominate the works of modern prose for preschoolers and schoolchildren? 2. How do family behaviors affect the formation of a child’s personality? 3. Are there more similarities or differences in the descriptions of the types of families in the works for preschoolers and schoolchildren? Bozhkova et al. Literature Review Many scholars reflect on the influence of the family on morality in the modern digital world. For instance, the Guyana Ministry of Education (2018) website hosted an article titled “The Family Influence on Children's Morals,” which presented to the reading audience the principles of humane parenting in a modern family, such as justice, personal example, and understanding. According to Budzey (2019), there is a belief that it is necessary to develop the spiritual and moral component of the child’s personality not only in school but also in the family, but parental employment is deprived of the main thing: informal communication. The problem of the influence of family education is considered by Orlova (2017), who is convinced that conflicts can be avoided by using a democratic style of communication in families. Writers creating works for children and adolescents also enter the discussion about the role of the family in the formation of the younger generation. Authors such as Aromshtam (2010), de Fombelle (2017), Sabitova (2018), Vostokov (2014), Bojunga (2014), Hanika (2009), and Pennac (2004) argue that the personality is influenced by the style of communication in the family and the experience of married life, but they urge that special attention be paid not to the formation of adaptability, flexibility, branding, or non-standard attitudes in the child, but to the psychological health of the younger generation; this is the undeniable novelty of modern works. In this regard, they urge parents to abandon their own ambitions and strive to create child-centered families, live in the interests of children, forgive their mistakes, and accept them for who they are (Olalowo, 2020). World authors visualize the problems of interpersonal relationships and use a mirror technique, allowing readers to recognize themselves in the text and begin to change. Scientists such as Fitzpatrick (1998), Orlova (2017), and Korchagina (2017) proved that the family has uncompensated vital capabilities to create an adequate, cultural, competitive personality and provide it with social protection. Each individual family establishes its own rules, customs, and atmosphere, which completely affect the identification of a child’s personality via the law of intergenerational continuity. Fitzpatrick (1998) noted that full interaction between husband and wife primarily contributes to the creation of a harmonious family, and he considers verbal and non-verbal ways of couples reacting to each other. Farver et al. (2007) proved that the formation of a sustainable identity in migrants’ children is connected with the strategy and identity of parents; therefore, it is necessary to strive for a solidarity parenthood model focused on nationwide models. Umaña-Taylor et al. (2006) share this point of view. Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2020: 11 (3), 220-241 223 Zhukova et al.’s (2014) criteria of family typology classifies composition, number of children, characteristics of role distribution and nature of interaction, social homogeneity, value orientations of the family, age of family life, place and type of residence, professional employment of spouses, and the nature of sexual relations that directly affect the upbringing of the younger generations, with the following classifications: As for family composition, they distinguish between single-generation, nuclear, and multi-generation (traditional) families. As for the number of parents, families can be complete or incomplete. As for the number of children, families with one child, families with two or more children, and childless families (when a child is not born in a family during 8-10 years) are distinguished. As for kinship, families can include biological children, adopted children, and guardianship. As for family experience, the following types are distinguished: newlyweds (honeymoon families), young families (from six months to one and a half years before the birth of the first child), families expecting a child, families of middle matrimonial age (from 3 to 10 years), families of senior matrimonial age (from 10 to 20 years), and older married couples. By place of residence, there can be urban, rural, and remote families. By type of residence, families are divided into patrilocal (living in the husband’s house after marriage), matrilocal (living in the wife’s house), neolocal (living separately from relatives), and godwin-marriage (living apart together). In accordance with the characteristics of distribution of roles, there can be traditional families (characterized by the traditional distribution of male and female roles, the supremacy of an authoritarian spouse; such families can be both patriarchal and matriarchal), egalitarian or equal families (implying the primacy of both spouses or its absence, a clear distribution of roles with an uncertain, modifiable structure; these are mainly young couples without children, since the birth of children makes the spouses’ lifestyles well-ordered), and democratic, or partnership, families (determined by equal rights of both spouses, joint seniority, a changing and renewed role structure and responsibilities, taking into account common interests). As for spouses’ professional employment, they distinguish full-employment families, partial- employment families (where one of the spouses works), families of pensioners (where both spouses do not work), and two-career families (where career growth and well-being are more important for both spouses). According to the value orientation, the following can be distinguished: child-centered families (the priority value is attention and care for children), personality-centered families (in which the goal is to create conditions for achieving goals and ensuring the optimal personal growth for each family member), consumer families (orientation toward hoarding and Bozhkova et al. general satisfaction of personal needs), psychotherapeutic families (in which the goal is mutual understanding, emotional support, love, and safety), “healthy lifestyle” or wellness families (focusing on health, proper relaxation, sports, cleanliness, and order), and “intellectual” families (in which education, books, art, cognition, creativity are the priority). Depending on the type of sexual relationship that goes beyond the generally accepted standards, the following are distinguished: open families, i.e., the boundaries of sexual relations between spouses are free; and homosexual families, i.e., the long cohabitation of same-sex spouses (Zhukova et al., 2014). This research regards both Zhukova et al.’s (2014) typologies of families and the opinions of the authors of literary works, since in the 21st century there is a need not merely for upbringing but for the dialogue of parents with their children so that the child might quickly adapt to the realities of modern reality, become resilient, and increase their ability to learn; however, they deliberately avoid edification in their works, and this is a peculiar method of working with both parents and children. Modern writers offer the right to choose, portraying full-fledged families in works for preschool children and problematic ones in teenage prose. Method This study used qualitative and quantitative approaches. The main design involves content analysis and thematic analysis. Research design This article is an interdisciplinary study, the main task of which is to analyze the species factors of the family that affect the development of the younger generation. This design method involves the selection of literary texts by world contemporary authors, the main object of the image in which is the theme of the family. Thus, the study includes the following stages of work: 1. Selection of texts. We selected 14 modern works for children and youths highlighting the influence of the family on the formation of the younger generation. 2. Selection of classifications. In this case, we gave preference to the classifications of Zhukova et al. (2014). 3. Interpretation of modern literary texts. The quantitative method of content analysis made it possible to work with formal content units of the text and translate them into a percentage, reflecting the results in tables and diagrams. A qualitative figurative-thematic analysis made it possible to see the influence of types of families on the formation of the personality Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2020: 11 (3), 220-241 225 of the younger generation, as well as to see the similarities and differences in modern prose for preschoolers and adolescents. Such qualitative and quantitative approaches made it possible to identify the species characteristics of families and to prove the influence of family types on the formation of the personalities of the younger generation. This research reflects the contemporary social reality that is predicted in literary texts. Sources of data The source of the study was the corpus (the substantive-formal units of a literary text: the study of family images and the motives of the behavior of artistic images). The qualitative data included: 14 literary families, including 7 families of preschoolers and 7 families raising teenagers. This data is visualized in Table 1. Table 1 Sources of data № Author Title Literature for preschoolers 1. I. Zartayskaya “Nobody Loves Me” 2. C. Leblanc “Here She Is!” 3. A. Dewdney “Llama Llama: Time to Share” 4. L. Papp “Madeline Finn and the Library Dog” 5. R. Lagercrantz “My Happy Life” 6. N. Abgaryan “Manyunya” 7. I. Procházková “Elias and the Granny from the Egg” Literature for adolescents 1. M. Aromshtam “When the Angels Rest” 2. T. de Fombelle “Girl from Tower 330” 3. D. Sabitova “Your Three Names” 4. S. Vostokov “Frosya Korovina” 5. L. Bojunga “The Yellow Bag” 6. B. T. Hanika “Little Red Riding Hood Must Cry” 7. D. Pennac “Dog” Data collection procedure The data collection procedure involved the selection of factual material, the study of the theme of the family in contemporary works of authors who received literary awards, the analysis of family types, and revealing their role in shaping the personality of the younger generation. For this, we chose an equal number of families in prose for preschool children and adolescents. When classifying families in texts, we relied on the study by Zhukova et al. (2014), which focuses on composition (complete/incomplete), number of children (large, without children, with 1-2 children), emphasis on health and cleanliness in the house, etc. We were more interested in the Bozhkova et al. value orientation when working with families (child-centric; in crisis, experiencing divorce, conflicting; problematic, asocial, having bad habits, health problems, etc.); Zhukova unites these types of families with the term personality-centric. We found that: 1. In works for preschoolers, children-centered families dominate, and in works for teenagers, families are in crisis, problematic, and incomplete. 2. Family behavior is crucial in personality formation; therefore, in children's prose, children are happy and open to friendship and communication, and in teenage prose, heroes are vulnerable, lonely, depressed, and suicidal (Table 3). 3. In the analyzed families, there are more differences for preschool children and adolescents. From the point of view of value orientations in children's literature, six families are child-centered, although there is one family in crisis, and all families are young (living together for no more than 5 years). Families in adolescent prose, on the other hand, are in crisis and problematic, only one family is child-centered, and all the families are of older marital age (from 10-20 years of cohabitation). The difference is as follows: Families in prose are idealized for preschoolers (this is a call for correction), young families are in front of the reader, and families in youth literature are recited by the eyes of adolescents themselves, which makes it possible to see a crisis in relations. Data analysis techniques To analyze the data, this study used a summative content analysis (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005; Zhang & Barbara, 2016) and applied an inductive analysis (Patton, 2002). The summative content analysis examined the quantitative data at the beginning, then went to the qualitative data that involved themes and inferences of the whole data. The analysis process included seven steps, with transforming data into written text as the first step. Second, the unit of analysis was set, identifying messages in the units, where each unit was coded (De Wever et al., 2006). In the third step, categories were developed and a coding scheme was administered to involve category names, definitions or rules for assigning codes, and examples (Weber, 1990). The fourth step was to test the coding scheme by checking the coding on a sample text, checking coding consistency, and revising coding rules in an iterative process until sufficient coding consistency was achieved (Weber, 1990). Fifth, the entire corpus of the text was coded until sufficient consistency had been achieved. Sixth, assessing the coding consistency involved rechecking the coding of the entire data Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2020: 11 (3), 220-241 227 set. The seventh step involved drawing conclusions from the coded data by making sense of the themes or categories and their attributes, and making inferences and presenting reconstruction of meaning derived from the data. Operationally, this study analyzed the data by preparing scores obtained from impressionistic and in-depth evaluation into the narrative texts (Zhang & Barbara, 2016). Each point in the checklist was identified by score and the overall attributes were narrated in the written text. In addition, results of interviews in the FGD, field notes, and memos that supplemented the results of checklist were drawn in the narrative texts. Based on the narrative texts obtained from the transformation of the checklist into narrative text and the results of interviews, field notes and memos, the unit of analysis was identified. The identification represented the items of impressionistic evaluation as well as the in-depth evaluation. Respectively, the unit of analysis was coded, and the coding was tested for consistency, until all texts received their own coding. Verification of the final coding was confirmed whether the analysis was confirmed to answer the research questions of this study (Kulm et al., 1999; Sahim, 2020; Zhang and Barbara, 2016). To answer the research questions, the socio-philosophical and pedagogical literature on the problem of the article were analyzed to ensure that there is not a single study that gives an idea of the types of families in modern prose for youths, especially comparing families in prose for preschool children and schoolchildren and establishing their influence on the formation of the personality of the child, although contemporary authors are included in the discussion and cover similar problems in fiction. Answering the first research question, we analyzed the images of families in literary texts for preschool children, and after that we paid attention to the value orientations in families for teenagers. “Krippendorf’s content analysis method” (Krippendorff, 2009) and quantitative approach made it possible to visualize qualitative data using numerical values, to fix text content elements (in our case, the frequency of occurrence of different types of families), followed by quantification of the data obtained. The data obtained made it possible to answer the second research question to see the dominant types of families in children's and teenage prose and the influence of the species characteristics of the family on the younger generation. We chose the unit for the spread “analysis of Spreadley” (Weber, 1990) to answer the third research question. The most common thematic analysis of Spreadley in socio-literary studies was Bozhkova et al. used. We applied its comparative aspect, which made it possible to make qualitative observations: to interpret and compare families in works for different age groups of readers (7-10 years old and 11-16 years old). Results and Discussion Research Question 1. What types of families dominate the works of modern prose for preschoolers and schoolchildren? Having ascertained what types of families prevail in works for different age groups, we can see the reasons for both the negative and positive influence of parents on the formation of the personalities of the younger generation. To confirm these comparisons, we analyzed the images of families first in works for children 3-7 years old. Families in literary works for preschoolers are harmonious, for they are created to fulfill therapeutic functions (Shastina, 2019). Figure 1. The percentage of different family types in modern literary works for preschoolers and primary schoolchildren The authors analyzed seven families in literary works for preschoolers and primary schoolchildren, of which three (42%) are zoological families; this is explained by the use of allegory by the authors, and the life of animals is much more interesting and understandable to preschoolers. Six families are child-centered (86%); it can be assumed that children’s authors refuse to injure young readers and strive to form a morally healthy person. The fact that many families decide to give birth to only one child is evidenced by both statistics and the facts reflected in a literary work, as only two families (28%) have more than one child. The number of multi-generational families (three; 42%) is decreasing, as grandparents either cannot look after their grandchildren or there are no grandparents. The number of single-parent families is growing; there are three of them in the study (42%). The number of crisis-ridden families is disappointingly increasing as well (28%) (see Figure 1). The transition from a child-centered to personality-centered family and from a complete to incomplete, crisis-ridden family is most intensively manifested in literary works for adolescents. Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2020: 11 (3), 220-241 229 Having studied works for preschoolers, the works for adolescents were analyzed. The family loses its paramount importance as a social unit, the basis of spiritual, moral principles; this fact is obvious in modern prose for teens. The authors of the article analyzed seven families in the works of teenage prose and drew attention to the large percentage of problematic and crisis-ridden families. The number of single- parent families did not decrease (three; 42%), asocial families appear (two; 28%), and families with one or two children (five; 71%) are still more numerous than multi-child families (two; 28%) (see Figure 2). Figure 2. The percentage of different family types in modern teenage prose The meaning of this conclusion is that in families with teenagers, the number of personality- centered, crisis families that are indifferent to the problems of children is growing. The contrast between families in preschool and adolescent prose is obvious and is also related to the fact that in preschool prose, families are young and unburdened by interpersonal and social problems, and in adolescent prose, families have experience and are tired of problems, so they either abuse alcohol, are overworked, or frustrate children. In works for teenagers, parents focus only on their interests, and depressed, lonely teenagers grow up unable to adapt to the conditions of complex reality. We will talk about the qualities that form these or other types of families in children in the conclusion. Research Question 2. How do family behaviors affect the formation of a child’s personality? We managed not only to see the types of families but to observe how family behavior affects the formation of the child’s personality: In families where parents are attentive to the problems of their children (child-centered), full-fledged life-resistant personalities are formed. Bozhkova et al. Table 2 Personal qualities formed in child-centric families № Author Title Family-formed qualities Hero 1. I. Zartayskaya “Nobody Loves Me” Love for loved ones Wolf Cub 2. A. Dewdney “Llama Llama: Time to Share” The ability to be friends, sympathy for people Llama Llama 3. L. Papp “Madeline Finn and the Library Dog” Ability to achieve goals, resilience Madeline Finn 4. C. Leblanc “Here She Is!” Mindfulness, sacrifice Little Bear 5. N. Abgaryan “Manyunya” Friendship, philanthropy, devotion, hard work Manyunya, Nara 6. R. Lagercrantz “My Happy Life” Friendship, philanthropy, devotion, hard work Dani 7. D. Pennac “Dog” Sacrifice, love for animals, determination Dog Such families are mainly in works for preschoolers, since the authors idealize reality, fearing to hurt young readers; but, according to children's writers, it is necessary to strive for a similar model of relationships based on mutual understanding, since problem and crisis families in teenage prose bring personality to the formation of the following qualities: Table 3 Personal qualities formed in crisis and problematic (personality-centered) families № Author Title Family-formed qualities Hero 1. I. Procházková “Elias and the Granny from the Egg” Loneliness, indecision Elias 2. M. Aromshtam “When the Angels Rest” Loneliness, indecision Alina 3. T. de Fombelle “Girl from Tower 330” Irritability, suicidal tendency, need for love Teenager 4. D. Sabitova “Your Three Names” Secretiveness, bashfulness, loneliness, distrust Margot 5. S. Vostokov “Frosya Korovina” Early adulthood, irritability Frosya 6. L. Bojunga “The Yellow Bag” Loneliness, the need to change gender roles Raquel 7. B. T. Hanika “Little Red Riding Hood Must Cry” Depression, unwillingness to live Malvina Research Question 3. Are there more similarities or differences in the descriptions of the types of families in the works for preschoolers and schoolchildren? After becoming acquainted with fiction, we juxtaposed works for preschool children and adolescents in order to comprehend the spectrum of interpersonal relationships and problems. In works for preschoolers, child-centric families dominate (six out of seven); in texts for adolescents, crisis and problem families are widespread (we combined two close species in the classification of Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2020: 11 (3), 220-241 231 Zhukova et al. (2014)). This data difference is due to the fact that the reader looks at the family in works for preschool children through the eyes of a small child, and in youthful prose, through the eyes of a hero experiencing the difficulties of puberty. Table 4 Comparison of the types of families in works for preschoolers and schoolchildren Child-centric families in the literature for preschoolers (young families) № Author Title Relationship basis 1. I. Zartayskaya “Nobody Loves Me” Endless love 2. C. Leblanc “Here She Is!” Trust, love 3. A. Dewdney “Llama Llama: Time to Share” Tolerance, love 4. L. Papp “Madeline Finn and the Library Dog” Tolerance, love 5. R. Lagercrantz “My Happy Life” Tolerance, love, understanding 6. N. Abgaryan “Manyunya” Tolerance, love, understanding Crisis, problem families in works for preschoolers (young families) 1. I. Procházková “Elias and the Granny from the Egg” Selfishness, careerism Crisis, problem families in works for teenagers (older marriages) 1. M. Aromshtam “When the Angels Rest” Selfishness, careerism 2. T. de Fombelle “Girl from Tower 330” Selfishness, careerism 3. D. Sabitova “Your Three Names” Selfishness, careerism 4. S. Vostokov “Frosya Korovina” Selfishness, careerism, indifference 5. L. Bojunga “The Yellow Bag” Selfishness, careerism, indifference 6. B. T. Hanika “Little Red Riding Hood Must Cry” Irritability, selfishness, detachment Child-centric families in works for teens (older marriages) 1 D. Pennac “Dog” Love, patience The meaning of this conclusion is to make sure that families in works for teenagers and preschoolers are different. This allows us to conclude that young families are stronger, therefore they are child-centric in works for kids; additionally, it is easier to love young children because they are obedient, not having their own ideas about life, and adolescents are already vulnerable, trying to understand themselves and society, and are forced to observe the crisis relations of parents. Zhukova et al. (2014) suggest that the crisis of married life is imposed at the beginning of the puberty of children, and it is especially difficult for adolescents: they lack love, understanding, and sometimes they consider themselves to blame for adult quarrels and separations. The authors argue that parents need to give up their own comforts—careers, alcohol, the desire for a personal life, a selfish race for material values—in order to educate a healthy moral person. If adults can overcome personal temptations, the crisis of married life can also be avoided. Families in children's prose are examples, and in teenagers' prose are an anti-example. Bozhkova et al. A discussion of the influence of families on the personality of the child, as well as a diverse palette of types of families, is present in the texts we have outlined, so we pay special attention to this discussion so that the results of our interpretations are understandable. First we turn to the texts of works for preschoolers. All the books are united by problems any parent can face. For example, in “Here She Is!” French author Catherine Leblanc considers the crisis of older children after the birth of younger ones; the author suggests that young parents trust the older children to care for the new baby, and thus, the children become friends and parents have more free time. Every second modern family has 2 to 3 children, so the problem raised by Leblanc in the book is very relevant. The first children are often spoiled by young parents and grandparents, so it is difficult for them to cope or put up with a new family drama. The book is recommended for family reading, as it describes situations in which both a child and an adult can recognize themselves. Leblanc is a child psychologist who subtly conveys children’s experiences and emotions in her books. The family in the book is zoological, complete, nuclear, child-centered, a family with two children, and neolocal. American writer Anna Dewdney addresses the common problem of childish greed in “Llama Llama: Time to Share.” In a family of llamas, a little boy does not want to share his toys with anyone, but when a family of cows comes to visit him, he goes through three stages: At first, he does not share, then he gives away the toys he does not play with, and soon he easily comes to an understanding with the little guests. This family is zoological, complete, child-centered, neolocal, with one child. This story is very useful to be read by parents of children ages 2 to 7. It prepares for growing up, the ability to overcome difficulties, and trusting relationships in the family. Russian author Irina Zartayskaya’s story “Nobody Loves Me” centers a family of wolves, answers the eternal children’s protest “nobody loves me,” and opposes parental punishments. In families with a small child, this phrase can often be heard, and parents often get tired of it; therefore, the author explains that children are never unloved in the family. Children do not understand that parents’ prohibitions and punishments come from a place of love. Zartayskaya describes a zoological, complete, child-centered family, with one child and multi-generational (traditional). It is worth noting that families with grandparents or great-grandparents are better in educational terms, since in such families they always have time for the child, who feels more protected and needed but is not always independent and responsible. Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2020: 11 (3), 220-241 233 The role of the family in addressing the issue of children’s reading is considered by American writer Lisa Papp in “Madeline Finn and the Library Dog.” The author addresses canistherapy, a type of animal therapy in which specially trained dogs undergo treatment and rehabilitation with patients. In the book, the “library” dog helps little Madeline overcome her fear of failure and achieve the desired learning outcome. Patient dogs are best suited for the role of listeners for small patients. It is important to note that the girl’s family is neolocal, incomplete, and child-centered. Despite the fact that there is no grandmother, grandfather, or father, the mother does not despair, and her love and attentiveness help to reveal Madeline’s depression and constraint, which prevented her from learning to read. A loving mother will remove the psychological barrier by means such as animal therapy; this method not only helped the girl, but made her more confident and made it possible to find a real friend. The family from “My Happy Life” by Swedish author Rose Lagercrantz seems the opposite. It is worth noting that this literary work is addressed to younger students, and the range of problems is much wider. Dani, who lost her mother in early childhood, is experiencing a family crisis calmly thanks to the efforts of her single father. Dani’s dad tries to be both parents and supports Dani in everything. Dani calls this period “happy.” This is probably because she notices the efforts of her father, feels loved, and meets her best friend. Dani’s family is incomplete, neolocal, child-centered, and crisis-ridden, as the girl grows up without a mother and none of her relatives are available to help. Armenian writer Narine Abgaryan, in the humorous trilogy “Manyunya,” presents the Abgaryan and Shatz families. The autobiographical novel is filled with vivid memories of the writer’s childhood and the people who played important roles in forming the personality of little Narine. The main characters are the girls, Nara and her friend Manyunya, and a terrific grandmother, Gran. Manyunya’s grandmother is the very strict yet friendly head of the Shatz family, consisting of Manyunya, grandmother, and father. The Abgaryan family consists of Nara’s mother, father, and her three sisters. The family compositions are different, but the author says that their families were united, and they were brought together by love. For Nara, Gran became her own grandmother, and Nara’s mother replaced Manyunya’s mother. Thus, readers can see a complex phenomenon: two families as one complete, multi-child, child-centered, neolocal, multi- generational family. After all, the main goal of upbringing is the formation of a competitive personality capable of overcoming difficulties and knowing the needs of the modern world. In Bozhkova et al. Soviet Russia, such friendly family unification was common and brought good educational results; in Narine’s memoirs, childhood was the happiest time, and the girls achieved a lot in life. The story “Elias and the Granny from the Egg” by Czech author Iva Procházková touches upon an equally important and widespread problem in families with children. Seven-year-old Elias dreams of his busy parents finding time to play with him. The boy considers the absence of grandparents to be a misfortune because “... they always have time for you” (Procházková, 2013). The tale is also interesting because Elias’s dream comes true, and a grandmother with wings, mentally similar to a child, hatches from an egg. Elias has to take care of his grandmother, as she is still learning and growing. Changing roles, Elias becomes a little father, but when his grandmother grows up, she becomes Elias’s friend. One cannot help but notice the absent grandparents, whose love the child found in a fictional world. This is a crisis-ridden, complete family, which becomes multi-generational in the finale. We can see how families and attitudes change in works for teens. Russian writer Marina Aromshtam, in the story “When the Angels Rest,” describes a typical situation of suppressing the talents of a child at school. The main character, Alina, is in a class headed by a strict teacher with traditional attitudes. Alina’s family consists of a mother, grandfather, and grandmother, and although she does not know her father, she really wants him to return. Alina’s mother does not care about her daughter’s problems at school; only the grandparents are concerned about this. The grandfather does not like the lifestyle of the girl’s mother, so Alina becomes a constant witness to their quarrels. Aromshtam also shows Alina’s attitude to her mother’s lover. The girl becomes jealous of a potential family member, and she feels rejection and even hatred. She often asks about her father and when he will return to the family; it is obvious that the teenager lacks fatherly love. The girl’s family is incomplete, complex, crisis-ridden, with one child. An incomplete, problematic family is also depicted in the story “Girl from Tower 330” by French author Timothée de Fombelle. The mother of a teenager is sure that the ideal upbringing is to dress and feed the child. The narrator admits that his mother is never at home: “She worked tremendously a lot and constantly went on business trips. I saw her once a month. She wanted me to have everything I need. The delivery man rang at the door at ten in the evening. I received a large amount of everything: eight boxes every Monday. I managed to eat three eggs, a few jars of paste and some broccoli in a week” (de Fombelle, 2017). Even in a difficult time, the main character cannot get through to his mother. Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2020: 11 (3), 220-241 235 Russian author Dina Sabitova’s striking story “Your Three Names” is about the difficult fate of a girl who lost her parents in a fire. At the beginning of the book, Sabitova tells Margarita’s story before the tragedy. This is a vivid example of a problematic family: “Mom and Dad are arguing all the time. Sometimes they fight. Rita and Gelya then hide in the entrance hall or on the stove. They sit quietly, because Tatka [her father] can hit them – when angry, it’s all the same to him: Mom, Rita or the cat can run into him in the heat of the moment” (Sabitova, 2018). The girl and her mother, father, and sister Gelya live in a village. The girls’ parents invite guests very often and drink alcohol. The father often beats his daughters, but Rita does not cease to love him and justifies him in the story. Thus, the girl took responsibility for household chores. The girls’ parents, although irresponsible and unbearable, do not cease to be parents and take care of them. The children grow up, afraid of their mother but respecting and loving her. The need to love and idealize parents is an indisputable fact. Rita is unable to live in well-to-do families after the loss of her parents. Her family is complete, problematic, crisis-ridden, neolocal, asocial, rural, with two children. Independent children grow up in such families if they do not live to their parents’ example. Rita is different from her parents, reading all the books written by their neighbor and decorating her room with her own art. It can be assumed that the parents will not be an example but an anti-example for the young character. Another rural family is shown in the humorous novel “Frosya Korovina” by Russian author Stanislav Vostokov. The main character Frosya comes from a family of wealthy peasants and lives in a modern-day village. Frosya is an interesting person, identifying herself as a village woman, talking to everyone as an adult, and helping her grandmother in everything. The character appears to the reader as a very serious, courageous, and independent girl who looks like a teenager. Frosya’s parents are geologists who are rarely at home. Her grandmother pities her and reports that her parents love geology more than their own daughter. But Frosya has long accepted this situation and behaves like an adult. This family is complete, distant, neolocal, rural, crisis-ridden, two- career, one-child, multi-generational. One can see the motives of loneliness and orphanhood with living parents. Frosya lives as the mistress of the house with a pet chicken as her only friend, and her elderly grandmother strives to teach Frosya to survive. French writer Daniel Pennac, in the story “Dog,” has an original approach to depicting the family, telling the tale from the point of view of a homeless dog. The author raises exciting questions about responsibility for those whom we domesticated. The family with whom Dog lives Bozhkova et al. is ordinary, urban, and modern. A girl had long dreamed of caring for a dog, but her parents do not want to be responsible for the pet; the measure of their parenting is selfish, equating “well-fed” and “clothed” with “happy.” Many parents demonstrate to their children that one can treat any living being poorly if they get bored. But still, the dog’s loyalty and friendship change all the characters. The family described by the author is complete, nuclear, urban, child-centered, and one-child. One-child families often raise selfish children, consumers of life; statistics confirm that in one-child families, children who dream of friends often get pets instead and, unfortunately, cannot become good guardians for pets. A different family is depicted by Brazilian writer Lygia Bojunga in the novel “The Yellow Bag.” Raquel admits that it is difficult to be a child; she wants to grow up soon and be a boy, because she is an unwanted child in the family, born out of place and by mistake. Deprived of attention and care, Raquel lives in her dreams. She endows an ordinary yellow bag with magical properties and stores her secret diaries in it for safekeeping. An object expressive element—a yellow bag—is an imitation of happy reality, warmth, and friendly communication. She is convinced that if she had been born a boy, an heir, everyone would cherish and love her, so she writes in her diary using a boy’s name and dreams of becoming a boy; she is persecuted by her sisters, who steal her yellow bag. The family is complete, multi-child, problematic, and nuclear. In multi-child families, parents very often assume no responsibility for raising children by transferring it to older children, but the fragile psyche of adolescents cannot perceive such injustice. The family in “Little Red Riding Hood Must Cry” by German author Beate Teresa Hanika is also problematic, crisis-ridden, multi-children, and asocial. The story calls for frankness and attempts to interpret a well-known folk tale based on family problems. In Malvina’s family, the parents refuse to address the children’s problems; only a comfortable existence is important for them. The senior family members escape their duties to the children in predictable ways—the mother has migraines, the father is at work all day—and only their hatred for the grandfather brings them together. At the behest of her parents, Malvina becomes a victim of her grandfather’s violence; she must visit him daily and bring him cheese and wine, and her complaints are dismissed. Unfortunately, this incident is not unique either in life or in the literary work. We analyzed the types of families in previously unexplored works of children's and youth prose, and received the following meanings: the dominant type of family is personality-centered Journal of Social Studies Education Research 2020: 11 (3), 220-241 237 (its varieties are crisis, problematic), the model of behavior that forms a huge number of ailments in the younger generation. Unlike many researchers, the authors of all works are sure that it is necessary to strive for the formation of a healthy personality, and not a competitive and multitasking one. This can be achieved through a dialogue between parents and children, a return to the methods of upbringing of the past, while adopting some convenient forms of upbringing proposed by modern reality. Conclusion The current study examines the impact of the specific characteristics of families on the formation of the child’s personality. The authors made their conclusions by analyzing 14 families in modern children's literature. The authors were able to prove that the opinion of modern authors involved in the discussion should not be neglected. The three research questions were answered according to the classifications of Zhukova et al. (2014): 1. In works for preschool children, child-centric families dominate; this contributes to the full formation of children 5-7 years old. Puberty problems are aggravated in troubled families, and older children feel lonely, defenseless, and commit irreparable acts. If in children’s prose, wealthy families are faced with temporary minor difficulties, such as the birth of the second child, egoism of spoiled children, or unwillingness of children to learn, attention is concentrated not on the interpersonal relationships of adults but on the problems of life perception in children. The situation changes dramatically in prose for teens: The analyzed texts include instances of loneliness, divorce, scandal, drunkenness, careerism, and incest. 2. The authors have shown that families in works for preschool children form such qualities in children as love for family members, compassion, philanthropy, and hard work; families in works for teenagers develop irritability, loneliness, and suicidality. The reasons are that for young families, the center is the child, and in adult families, the parents are paramount. 3. Based on this, in families in literary works for adolescents and children, there are more differences. Young families in prose for children manage to keep calm, have fresh feelings for each other, and the main goal of life remains raising toddlers. In adolescent literature about adult families, parents are experiencing a crisis of life and material difficulties, so there is less time for raising children, and adolescents require a special attitude. According to the authors, parents need to be aware of this and strive for dialogue with their children rather than authoritarian behavior. Bozhkova et al. Limitations and Directions for Future Research This study has limitations because its subject is the family in modern prose for children. Future research should therefore look at family influence on the personality of the younger generation in broader terms and consider the influence of families on the growing personality in the literature of previous eras, as well as in prose for adults. 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