The aim of my article is to present and analyse ethnographic data on the transformation of the concept of family in contemporary Polish society. In order to understand this contemporaneity it is necessary to refer to the past. I will show the changes in the various stages of family life formation by outlining three phases of social development: pre-industrial, industrial and post-industrial. This procedure will contribute to the interpretation of the issue I am interested in concerning the influence of childhood experiences on the creation of the family in adult life. My conclusions may serve to create a new definition of the family, which will be open to the changes taking place in the understanding of the family in the 21st century.
English
Język Polski