About FamiliesAndSocieties

Main objectives

  • To investigate the diversity of family forms, relationships, and life courses in Europe
  • To assess the compatibility of existing policies to family changes
  • To contribute to evidence-based policy-making

Our overall conceptual framework
is based on three key premises

  • Family life courses are becoming more diverse.
  • The interdependency of lives matters.
  • Social contexts and policies matter.

Building upon these premises we

  • Explore the growing complexity of family
    configurations and transitions.
  • Examine their implications for men, women
    and children with respect to inequalities
    in life chances, intergenerational relations
    and care arrangements.
  • Investigate how policies address family diversity.
  • Develop short- and longer-term projections.
  • Identify future policy needs.

figure1-1

Conceptual framework:
Social processes and social structures 

shaping inequalities and social well-being

Transversal dimensions

Four transversal dimensions are embedded in the conceptual framework:

  • Gender
  • Culture  (ethnic and cultural identities, sexual orientation)
  • Socioeconomic resources
  • Life stages

The interactions between these transversals with the fundamental processes shape the outcomes of the diversification of family life courses for individuals and societies; (re-)produce inequalities across the life course and across generations; and shape the policy responses that are appropriate in order to promote positive objectives.

Our work is organized in 12 work packages. Read more