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Social Sciences and Childhood
2026. Vol. 7, no. 1, 26–43
doi:10.17759/ssc.2026070102
ISSN: 2713-0584 (online)

Childhood and growing up in a situation of social vulnerability: the external environment and subjective assessments

 
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Abstract

Context and relevance. Modern childhood is undergoing large-scale institutional and social transformations. Despite a substantial body of research, there remains a lack of comprehensive empirical studies that juxtapose the macro-level of institutional change with the micro-level of subjective experiences of children and parents. Objective. This study draws on an institutional approach to the analysis of childhood and a socio-constructivist understanding of growing up as a process shaped by the interaction of structural conditions and subjective experience. The aim is to identify key trends reflecting structural transformations in the inclusive education system and subjective assessments of growing up. Hypothesis. Social position (parent vs. child) and the experience of vulnerability are significant factors that differentiate the assessment of the growing-up process. Methods and materials. The empirical data was derived from an all-Russian online survey of children and young adults (N = 2279), parents (N = 1011), and specialists (N = 324) conducted in May—June 2025, as well as official statistics from the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation and the Federal State Statistics Service for 2020—2025. The study employs descriptive and comparative analysis. Results. Statistical analysis reveals an increase in the number of children with disabilities amid an overall decline in the child population, the expansion of inclusive education models, and a shift in the structure of specialized educational institutions. The findings indicate that children's perception of growing up is emotionally ambiguous, while parents demonstrate higher levels of anxiety. Conclusions. The results highlight the need for a comprehensive analysis of childhood that integrates both institutional and subjective levels. These findings provide a foundation for future research and can inform the development of support measures for children and families.

General Information

Keywords: childhood, growing up, inclusive education, children with disabilities and special educational needs, parental anxiety, empirical research

Journal rubric: Social Psychology

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/ssc.2026070102

Funding. The study was carried out with financial support from the Absolute-Help Charitable Foundation and within the framework of the HSE University Basic Research Program.

Acknowledgements. The authors express their gratitude to the Uchi.ru educational platform and the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts for their assistance in conducting the survey.

Received 04.02.2026

Revised 17.03.2026

Accepted

Published

For citation: Garifulina, E.Sh., Novikova, S.E., Telitsyna, A.Yu. (2026). Childhood and growing up in a situation of social vulnerability: the external environment and subjective assessments. Social Sciences and Childhood, 7(1), 26–43. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17759/ssc.2026070102

© Garifulina E.Sh., Novikova S.E., Telitsyna A.Yu., 2026

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

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Information About the Authors

Elvira S. Garifulina, Candidate of Science (Sociology), Associate Professor, Department of Legal and Forensic Psychology and Law, Faculty of Legal and Forensic Psychology, Moscow State University of Psychology & Education, Executive Director, “Absolute-Help” Charity Foundation, Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4306-3899, e-mail: egarifulina@timchenkofoundation.org

Svetlana E. Novikova, Head of Analytics and Research, Absolute-Help Charity Foundation, Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0762-0555, e-mail: s.novikova@absolute-help.ru

Aleksandra Y. Telitsyna, Candidate of Science (Biology), Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Studies of Civil Society and Nonprofit Sector, Associate Professor of the Department of Economics and Man-agement in NGOs National Research University, Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0186-3989, e-mail: atelitsyna@hse.ru

Contribution of the authors

Elvira Sh. Garifulina — planning, organizing, and supervising the research; collecting and analyzing data; writing the manuscript.

Svetlana E. Novikova — research ideas; annotation; conducting the experiment; collecting and analyzing data, writing the manuscript.

Aleksandra Yu. Telitsyna — application of statistical methods to data analysis; visualization of research results; writing and formatting of the manuscript.

All authors participated in the discussion of the results and approved the final text of the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Ethics statement

The research was conducted in strict accordance with ethical standards outlined in the Helsinki Declaration (1964).

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