In my diploma thesis I write about the reasons why young women in today's society decide to start a family and marry early. In the theoretical introduction, I describe the concepts of life course and social change and their effects. I then describe the changes in the importance of marriage and parenthood and discuss the increase in the age at which women give birth to first child and the increase in the age at which women marry. In the last part of the theoretical section, I describe the phenomenon of prolonged youth and discuss the factors that influence the decision to become parents and the factors that influ-ence the decision to marry. In the empirical section, I present the qualitative and exploratory research in which I conducted the interviews. Using an interview guide, I interviewed six women between the ages of 20 and 29, three of whom had decided to marry in their early twenties and three of whom had decided to start a family or become a mother. They gave me insights into their decision to marry and start a family, and also talked about the support they needed or would need to do so. The population of my research consisted of all young mothers and young married or engaged women aged betwen 20 and 29 living in Slovenia in 2023/24. The sample is non-random and convenient, as I interviewed women who were easiest for me to reach. In the empirical section, I also answered the following research questions: what factors influence young women's decision to start a family or get married, what role do economic stability and financial situation play, how do the perceptions of family, friends and partners influence the decision, what role does social support play, how do personal experiences influence young women's decision to start a family and get mar-ried, and did young women's decision to start a family and get married have an impact on their education and career. I also looked at what kind of support women say they need from both society and institutions when they decide to get married and start a family, for which I made some suggestions at the end. The results of the study are not only relevant for myself, but also for social workers and other professionals working in the field of family or youth work.
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