The process of socialist modernization greatly affected family life. Through education and a comprehensive welfare system, the state assumed responsibility for providing assistance and transmitting values. Although the family was identified as the fundamental unit of socialist society, and it heavily determined the values of the younger generation, its primary role had become population reproduction. Even that role was no longer a private matter, but was subject to the whim of government policy. But the prediction that socialism would offer for the transfer of domestic duties from the home to the public area fell far short of fruition. In 1989 communal dining facilities and public laundries were still largely unavailable, and because the tertiary area of the economy received the lowest priority, services such as house cleaning, home repairs, and dry cleaning were either insufficient or nonexistent.

Although industrialization, urbanization, and education did not eliminate the cultural gap between rural and urban Romania, these processes did narrow it. Rural-urban contact occurred daily though commuting, and the accoutrements of urban living trickled back to families even in the most remote areas. Furthermore, although the determine of religion was not eradicated, it certainly declined, particularly in urban areas, creating an unforeseen problem. Surveys suggested that the socialist ethics and values that the state expected the educational system to instill had not filled the void left by fading religious values.