Modern Rural Family and Household in Yugoslavia

Abstract

The paper analyzes modern rural household in Yugoslavia, both by region and at the level of the country as a whole. The author begins by providing a statistical and sociological definition of basic terms, and proceeds with a combination of social and demographic analysis. The basic criterion used is the residential status of the population (permanent residence) based on the administrative distribution of settlements with the non-city ("other") population treated as part of rural population. The descriptive basis was formed on the basis of two types of sources: population census data and relevant studies, on the one hand, and comprehensive researches of rural family in the 1990s, on the other.

The modernization theory has provided the basic framework for the analysis of the state and movement in rural households in Yugoslavia since the beginning of the 20th century, but the paper deals mainly with social and economic developments following the Second World War. The following components of the rural households are analyzed: dynamics and average size, as well as composition of households. With reference to the level of the social change they had undergone and some demographic special features, rural households are classified into four main types: 1) purely agricultural; 2) mixed (with income earned from agricultural and non-agricultural activities); 3) non-agricultural; and 4) households of elderly people.

The appearance and growth of mixed households during the pest-war period, following adoption of the socialistic command economy, came as a result of objective contradictions in transformation of an individual agricultural household into a modern market-oriented holding, and its cooperation with the state-owned cooperative sector. Since early 1980s, however, with deterioration in its position, agricultural production is gradually given up or maintained at the subsistence level, while most family members earn their living from the non-agricultural sector. These tendencies were most rapidly observed in Vojvodina, which is the most fertile region of the country, and most slowly in central Serbia. As a result of the above social and economic transformation the village was also exposed to a strong demographic transformation, which was most readily observed in ageing and feminization of population and its labor force and narrowing down of family structure to conjugal family united through marriage, which is made up of aged parents without an heir.

The rural household and/or family have undergone crucial changes in respect of three main segments: 1) size; 2) structure; and 3) position and role of family members. This last aspect has been the subject of numerous comprehensive studies into the way of life in villages. The analysis of family relations in a village was conducted in two segments: intra-generation (between spouses and between children, especially of different gender) and inter-generation (parent – children relations). Segregation of roles by gender is still characterized by male domination, husband – head of the family, and son – the heir. Housework, parenthood, and the homestead itself (due to the increased engagement of the husband in non-agricultural activities) are the main sources of self-realization of women. Marriage and bearing children (especially male children) represent the main social promotion channel for young girls in a village environment, while education and earning income from work outside the village do not ensure a significant role in making decisions on family life in general, children's future or even personal destiny. Incidence of conflict in marriage is rare. Satisfaction with a twofold role of the mother and housekeeper is very high as well as understanding for tl1e difficulties of the social position of a man – the "bread winner" in the current social crisis and disintegration.

The author points to the lack of data on rural households in Kosovo and Metohia caused by the boycott of the latest census by the majority, ethnic Albanian population. An attempt was hence made to compensate for the lack of quantitative information by presenting results of representative investigation of Albanian zadrugas in Kosovo and Metohia.