Butmanowicz-Dębicka, Iwona (Wydawnictwo Naukowe Papieskiej Akademii Teologicznej w Krakowie, 2006)
A lot of articles devoted to the family and to the issues connected with various social problems related to this multidimensional social phenomenon have appeared in recent years in sociological publications in Poland and all over the world. The vast majority of studies focus on transformations, which the family as a social grroup or as an institution, undergoes. The studies also show a number of processes which are a derivative of structural changes, evolution or regression in morality or mentality, lostness in the world of values or axiological vacuum and many, many more. The majority of researchers perceive social facts and tendencies which somehow endanger the family, such as poverty, lack of perspectives for the future, breaking ties within the family, demoralization and all kinds of social pathologies. Indeed, these phenomena seem to be worryingly frequent and contribute to a rather gloomy picture of today's social world, making us feel uneasy about the future of the family and its ability to fulfil social functions.
