Źródła ambiwalencji emocji w relacjach rodzinnych – sposoby ich rozumienia i doświadczania

The aim of this article is to analyze the determinants of structural ambivalence experienced in family relationships. The first part presents, based on a review of the existing literature, the ways in which ambivalence is understood, the types of family relationships particularly prone to the occurrence of ambivalence, and its determinants. This article is based on data collected from 21 individual in-depth interviews with individuals experiencing emotional ambivalence in at least one intra- or intergenerational family relationship. The analysis focuses on how areas across different levels of social reality, from the individual to the macro-social, are understood, experienced, and interconnected. Respondents identified health, work, family obligations, and family role patterns/expectations as having the greatest impact on ambivalence in family relationships. The analysis allowed for the categorization of different domains of social life into two groups: triggering domains and sustaining domains of ambivalence. Triggering domains, such as health, work, or differences in worldview, are crucial for the emergence of relational tensions with relatives, while sustaining domains, such as family role patterns/expectations and social expectations towards women/men, contribute to the persistence of ambivalent relationships.