Janus–faced helping. Parental help as intervention

Abstract

From the perspective of mental health studies it is very important that family members could reflect on the ways they relate to their families and on the ways they can rely on each other as the quality of family life affects its members` health. The current study offers a comprehensive view on how parents relate to and support young families in contemporary Transylvanian society. Support and help are interpreted both as material goods and relational values, referring to the consequences of the Janus-faced nature of help. The study focuses on the quality of relation to the original family, on the characteristics of relations within the family and on the nature and various forms of supporting and helping the new family.