1. Family relations. A strong orientation toward the family and life within the family is typical among the people of Slovakia. Much as in other countries, however, there has been an erosion of traditional family life in recent years. Today, young people are less likely to care for their elderly parents. On the other hand, decades of poor economic performance have strengthened support among extended-family members to help each other. Parents are more likely to supply long-term assistance to off-spring who have reached adulthood. Surveys report that getting married and having children are among the most generally shared "values" in Slovakia, being most important for 61 percent of adult respondents (FOCUS, 1995).

A rigid approach toward childraising that fails to allow for the individuality of each child still prevails among parents. According to interviews, this can be attributed to the influence on society of an authoritarian regime during the forty years of Communist rule and, paradoxically, to a largely Catholic tradition.

2. Parents. "The biggest problem of children," according to one observer (Alexandra Krý&##154;lova, Psychologist), "is their parents. If you want to help the children, you need to help the parents." Parents lack parenting skills. Their own experience has revolved around an authoritarian model of education. When facing even trivial problems in educating their children, they often resort to harsh, unbending disciplinary strategies. This has to do with the long absence of a democratic environment. Social psychologists interviewed view the reproduction of this type of education as a significant cause of the success enjoyed by politicians who favor authoritarian methods. Missing is a pattern of concern for close relationships within the family and, especially, education to foster such a pattern of concern. Physicians and psychologists interviewed for this report believe that the social immaturity of parents, along with the general increase in violence in society, finds its most tragic manifestation in the rising number of children who are abused by their parents.

The long-term economic dependence of children on their parents tended to render society ever more infantile. Under "real socialism," higher wages, salaries and, hence, living standards were not readily available to young families, which stood little chance of gaining economic independence. This anomaly became a standard to such an extent that, given the change in the economic situation, elderly parents frequently felt qualms about not being able to use their pensions to provide for their children's families. The sense of responsibility toward one's parents is nowadays relatively weak among persons in their 30s and 40s.

Today's adolescents seem to embody a positive shift. The times seem to favor greater flexibility and self-reliance. The environment is changing for childraising. Mothers are choosing to stay home with their babies for longer periods for two reasons: First, transition from a centrally-planned system and state's economic restraints have caused the once broad network of crèches to be virtually dismantled.

Many kindergartens are being closed, and the services offered by the remaining few are becoming prohibitively expensive. Second, mothers are choosing to stay home in order to provide a higher quality of care to their children.

3. Early marriage. Under the law, men and women may marry after they have reached 18 years of age. A court may allow an exemption by granting a 16 or 17-year-old the right to marry. In such cases, those who marry are officially recognized as having come of age. Heterosexual intercourse with an under 15-year-old and homosexual intercourse with an under 18-year-old are criminal offenses. This distinction in age is viewed by homosexuals as discriminatory. The average age at which sexual activity begins among the population of Slovakia&##151;just under 16&##151;is somewhat earlier than it is among the populations in more developed European countries. Five years ago the average age in Slovakia was 17 (Source: G. Bianci, I. Luksik, M. Pooper, V. Mayer: Results of Research of Sexual Behavior and Knowledge About AIDS Among Slovak Youth. Institute of Social Communication and Biocommunication, Slovak Academy of Sciences, November 1993.)

Over recent decades early marriages prompted by pregnancy have become common in Slovakia, although the trend has been diminishing since 1989. In 1989 about 49 percent of all brides were already pregnant at marriage; in 1990, the figure was 45 percent. The average age among those entering a first marriage is 24 for men and 22 for women. The young age at marriage is a cause of the low average age among people divorcing (divorces are concentrated in the 25- to 30-year age group). Early marriages are often associated with problem children, growing numbers of broken and one-parent families, and the younger age of grandparents.

The high number of unwanted pregnancies, which frequently lead to early marriage or abortion, can be related to inadequate education in family planning and to inadequate sexual education. Abortion is still being employed as though it were a contraceptive. The Abortion Act is liberal. Before legal changes were adopted in the beginning of 1995, surgical intervention was offered free until the eighth week of pregnancy, and 500 crowns was charged thereafter until the 12th week. Recent changes have been made in abortion fees. There were 38,302 abortions in Slovakia in 1993.

4. Family time. A lack of time for communication among family members has accompanied the transition to the market economy. The burden of school assignments can become much heavier on children if parents are too busy to help. Today, parents must frequently make a choice between devoting almost all their time and energy to their jobs&##151;which have now become associated with unprecedented opportunities for advancement&##151;or lagging behind and wasting the chance to provide for the material well-being of their families. Especially in well-to-do families, parents tend to overcompensate for the fact that they are not spending enough time with their children by furnishing material goods and money, which can be a source of still other social pathologies.

The time spent in the family fold is also limited by the usually high labor force participation rate among mothers. According to the 1991 Census, of the 724,199 women with children under 15 years of age, 661,363, or 91.3 percent, were economically active (Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic, 1994). Two incomes are in most cases essential if a family is to maintain at least a moderate standard of living. Under "real socialism," the high labor force participation of mothers was heralded as an achievement in the liberation of women, and this perception has become internalized within society. The high participation rate has also been due to the relatively sophisticated job skills among women and the fact that a long-term interruption of the professional career of a skilled individual is viewed as a loss.

5. The economic situation of families. Failure to find a job and failure in business are becoming ever more frequent. Professionals who work with children and with young people have been observing distinct signs of the pauperization of society.

According to the Slovak Statistical Office, 41 percent of all households in October 1993 were officially considered low-income households, that is, these households were living close to or below the poverty line. The overall economic situation among families deteriorated in 1990-93.

By the end of 1993, purchasing power had dropped to 73 percent of the level at which it had been at the beginning of 1990 (Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic, 1994).

In 1994 this negative trend was halted, and conditions are expected to remain stable over the next several years. On the other hand, the economic transition is creating an environment, although on a limited scale, that is favoring the emergence of a more well off middle class. Slovak society is not accustomed to deal with differences in wealth; it is markedly oriented toward egalitarian attitudes. Thus, children are sometimes finding it difficult to communicate with peers who are obviously from more well off families.

6. The family and the state. Since June 1992 family issues have been the responsibility of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, which at that time was renamed the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Family.

The Family Act was promulgated in 1964. It is marked by the Communist philosophy that the family is subordinate to social interests. The Family Act contains no provision for review or enforcement, nor does it define the precise responsibilities of the family and the state. It does not tolerate individualistic approaches to family life, providing support as it does only to families deriving from a marriage bond. The emphasis in the Family Act is on the relationship of marriage and not on the link between parent and child.

The fact that in divorce cases the courts tend to grant the custody of children to the mothers is frequently criticized. The Union of Slovak Men, which brings together men who have been affected by such decisions, believe that the courts rule in favor of women because there is higher percentage of female judges in Slovak courts. Current legislation inadequately regulates the right of parents to contact their children after divorce. The parent who has not been awarded custody typically has only limited power to prevent being excluded from the upbringing of the children.

Slovakia is among the nations which have signed the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child. This document has become a valid part of the legal system of the country.

7. Where should the effort be focused? Various forms of support for parents might be helpful. So might the screening of high-risk families and high-risk parents, the establishment of hotlines and parent counseling, social work with the children of divorced and divorcing parents, more sexual education, and early informal education for family planning.