Social Risks for Families With Children in Romania
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Jun 29, 2026
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Abstract
Currently, in Romania, many families with children are under the pressure of some disrupting factors which decrease quite seriously the well-being of their members. In this study, I will focus on the statistics dimensions of the most frequent of these social factors – as they have been identified in the public discourse on the Romanian media (March 2025, evening News, TVR 1), as follows: precarious economic situation of families with children, negative consequences of adult emigration in search of a better-paid job on children left at home, the influences of adults separation/divorce on the life of their minor descendants, the education deficit of the children in the adulthood stage of life, drugs use or alcohol addiction, high social incidence of the premature motherhood and its social consequences. Such factors with major impact on social disintegration and on quality of family life reduction require the initiation of some specific social policies to prevent and mitigate their effects. The latest available and relevant data were gathered from the publications of the national/international statistics, which address this kind of problems and life difficulties of the families with children from Romania and EU countries, in order to formulate some pertinent policies for alleviating the associated social risks.
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How to Cite
STANCIU, M. (2026). Social Risks for Families With Children in Romania. Sociologie Românească, 24(1), 87-115. https://doi.org/10.33788/sr.24.1.4
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Eurostat. (2020). European Health Interview Survey.
Eurostat (2024). People at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2023. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20240612-1
Eurostat (2024a). At-risk-of-poverty rate by poverty threshold, age and sex - EU-SILC and ECHP surveys, ilc_li02.
Eurostat (2024). Crude divorce rate, selected years, 1964–2023 (per 1,000 persons, (demo_ndivind).
Eurostat (2024). Crude marriage rate, selected years, 1964–2023 (per 1,000 persons), (demo_nind).
Eurostat (2025). edat_lfse_14.
Eurostat (2024). [isoc_sk_dskl_i21__custom_11612258].
FRA (Fundamental Rights Agency) (2022). Key indicators for the EU strategic framework for Roma equality, inclusion and participation 2020-2030. Available at http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files /fra_uploads/fra-2022-roma-survey-2021-main-results2_en.pdf.
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NARPDCA. (2024). Save the Children. Available at https://www.salvaticopiii.ro/ce-facem/protectie/copii-cu-parinti-plecati-la-munca-in-strainatate.
National Anti-drug Agency, Romania 2013-2020 (2013).
National Institute of Public Health (INSP) (2024). National Month of Information on the Effects of Alcohol Consumption, Situation Analysis June, 2024. Available at https://insp.gov.ro/wp-content/uploads/ 2024/06/Analiza-de-situatie-alcool-2024.pdf.
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NIS (2024b). NIS Press Release 85/2024.
NIS (2025). Statistical Yearbook of Romania, 2025. Bucharest: NIS.
OECD (2020). Preventing Harmful Alcohol Use, OECD Health Policy Studies. Paris: OECD Publishing. Available at https://doi.org/10.1787/6e4b4ffb-en, 6. Policies and best practices for reducing the harmful consumption 2025, DE.
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OECD (2023). PISA 2022 Results (Volume I): The State of Learning and Equity in Education, [Resultatele PISA din 2022 (vol. I): situația în în educație].
OECD (2024). Education at a Glance Report, 2024.
Pisică S. (coord. ed.) (2022). Demographic events in 2021, NIS Bucharest.
Pleteriu, R. (2025). The effects of divorce on children, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy.
Available at https://www.pleteriu.ro/articol/efectele-divortului-asupra-copiilor.
PNAS (2024). Families will change dramatically, 2024, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research.
Popa. D. (2024) Romania - 17th place in the world in emigration. Almost 6 million Romanians have chosen to work and settle abroad. For every 6 Romanians who emigrate, we bring an immigrant (analysis). Available at https://hotnews.ro/romnia-locul-17-n-lume-la-emigrare-aproape-6-milioane-de-romni-au-ales-sa-lucreze-si-sa-se-stabileasca-n-strainatate-la-6-romni-care-emigreaza-aducem-un-imigra-14982.
Porthan, E., Lindberg, M., Ekholm, E., Scheinin, N.M., Karlsson, L., Karlsson, H., & Härkönen, J., (2020). Parental divorce in childhood does not independently predict maternal depressive symptoms during pregnancy. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth.
Psychology Monitor (2023). Inspirational Minute: Alcoholism in the Family, 23 Apr. Available at https://monitorulpsihologiei. com/minutul-de-inspiratie-alcoolismul-in-familie/ of alcohol Preventing Harmful Alcohol Use | OECD iLibrary (oecd-ilibrary.org).
Romania Journal (2026). Nearly Half of Parents Working Abroad Won’t Spend Easter with Kids, April 7. Available at https://www.romaniajournal.ro/society-people/nearly-half-of-parents-working-abroad-wont-spend-easter-with-kids/.
Roșu, R. (2024). Children's Day in statistics: The number of children in Romania has decreased by 80,700 in the last year, and the number of children born in 2023 is the lowest since 1930. Only 70% of school-age children are enrolled in education. Available at https://www.zf.ro/zf-24/ziua-copilului-statistici-numarul-copiilor-romania-s-redus-ultimul-22393128.
RPL (20l1). Population and Housing Census (Recensământul Populației și Locuințelor).
RPL (2021). Population and Housing Census (Recensământul Populației și Locuințelor).
Save the Children, Romania (2025). Available at https://www.salvaticopiii.ro/sites/ro/files/2024-04/36-dintre-copiii-cu-parintii-plecati-au-si-mama-plecata.-studiu-regiunea-sud-vest-oltenia.pdf.
SOEC (2017). Statistical Office of the European Commission.
SOEC (2019). Statistical Office of the European Commission.
Stan, V. (2024). Children transformed into drug traffickers. How they ended up in the hands of networks in Romania. Prison interview with a former drug dealer. Available at https://www.digi24.ro/stiri/actualitate/ copii-transformati-in-traficanti-de-droguri-cum-au-ajuns-pe-mainile-retelelor-din-romania-interviu-in-inchisoare-cu-un-fost-traficant-2989237.
UN (United Nations) (2016). Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division.
UNICEF (2025). The State of the World's Children 2024, The future of childhood in a changing world
UNODC (2025). World Drug Report 2025, UN Office on Drugs and Crime, quoted by EFE.
WHO (2025). Available at https://www.who.int/health-topics/alcohol #tab=tab_1.
WOM (2024). World Organization for Migration, Bucharest Center for Economy & Society.
World Vision Romania (2024). Well-being of children in rural areas (WHO), Available at https://www.who.int/health-topics/alcohol#tab=tab_1.