Abstract: The key goals of this research consists in assessment and comparative analysis of the help of family in large postindustrial societies. For this purpose, the author carries out a cross-cultural comparative study of the frequency of family contacts in the three countries: Russia, the United States, and Brazil. Based on the 2019 online survey, the author collected quantitative data on the involvement of grandparents into upbringing process of their grandchildren in Russia (N=620), USA (N=308) and Brazil (N=603). In addition to the basic biosocial demographic parameters, the survey included two target questions on the frequency of communication between grandparents and grandchildren. Intensive migration processes and the resulting distance of households between the two generations in the indicated countries substantially reduces the traditional help of grandparents in upbringing the younger generation. The acquired data demonstrate the significant differences that take place in these three countries, and their correlation with the peculiarities of the family lifestyle in other countries. For example, the help of grandparents in Brazil is much lower than in Russia. Comprehensive analysis is also conducted on the factors that reduce the involvement of grandparents in upbringing of their grandchildren in Brazil. The decrease in the frequency of family contacts may be associated with the intensive urbanization processes unfolding in Brazil over the few recent decades. At the same time, the acquired data may reflect the in-depth processes of feminization of migration from less developed regions of the world to more economically prosperous countries. The analysis of the observed consequences of accelerated urbanization in Brazil is of applied importance for understanding the future prospects for the development of modern family.

Abstract: This article presents a brief overview of the modern concept of gender selection and theory of parental investments, according to which the ration of genders in society manifests as a key forecaster of the level of polygyny on the marital market. The theory predicts that in shifting of the models of marital behavior from monogamous and polygamous, the level of matrimonial investment can decrease. The authors suggest that such targeted decrease of resources in the regions with low coefficient of genders can exert negative impact on the economic parameters of household in these regions. This research provides quantitative assessment of subjective satisfaction with financial position of the members of households in populated areas (N=10385) with various levels of coefficient of genders. The statistical analysis was conducted using the IBM SPSS software with application of the following methods: Pearson's χ2 criterion, Goodman and Kruskal's gamma (γ) criterion, and dispersion analysis. The acquired results confirm the presence of positive interconnection between the level of coefficient of genders in the region and financial wellbeing households. It was determined that in the regions of the Russian Federation with equal ration of male and female population, as well as in regions with predominant male population, the subjective assessment of own financial wellbeing was higher among both, men and women. The factor of sustained imbalance in the ratio of genders represents one of the relevant questions of Russian demography, but this phenomenon is rarely taken into consideration in quantitative research within social sciences.

Abstract: Understanding the nature of birth rate decline in the postindustrial world is a crucial task for a broad range of experts. It remains unclear what became the major motive for the switch of reproductive models in the highly urbanized world: the growing role of economic expenditure in a competitive urban environment or the result of manifestation of the new cultural norms of reproductive behavior via diffusion changing the modern demographic landscape. The theoretical part of the work familiarizes the audience with the main conclusions of the two competing hypotheses: the impact of economic versus of cultural factors upon the current birth rate. The practical part represents a quantitative study. As a result of application of the statistical methods of analysis in interviewing the Russian citizens, the author assesses the impact of economic and cultural factors upon birth rate, considering the factor of increasing urbanization. The article applies an interdisciplinary approach, as well as introduces into the scientific discourse the new materials of evolutionary ecology as one of the bases of human reproductive behavior. The analytical part focuses on the questions of population density (urbanization), its influence on birth rate in the observed cultures, taking into account the economic parameters.