Description
Book SynopsisExploring how family life has radically changed in recent decades, this comprehensive Research Handbook tracks the latest developments and trends in scholarly work on the family. With a particular focus on the European context, it addresses current debates and offers insights into key topics including: the division of housework, family forms and living arrangements, intergenerational relationships, partner choice, divorce and fertility behaviour.
Bringing together contributions from leading family sociologists, the Research Handbook examines important questions: have family patterns across different countries become more similar, or have differences between countries and social groups increased over time? How diverse are family forms across different countries? How do conventional theories explain these patterns? And what are the major innovations in theorising and describing family behaviour? In order to resolve these key points, the chapters provide an overview of past and present developments in scholarly work on European families. They also present concise overviews of theories, methods, critical debates, empirical findings and pathways for future research.
Its analysis of important areas of research in the field will make this Research Handbook a valuable resource for scholars and students of sociology, demography, and family and gender policy. It will also be beneficial for policy experts in these fields.
Trade Review'The Research Handbook brings together contributions from leading international experts within the field of the sociology of the family, drawing on disciplinary backgrounds in theoretical and empirical sociology, demography, economics, political science and wider social sciences. By providing a comprehensive overview of the key issues and debates within contemporary European family sociology, ranging from the gendered division of work within families, intimate and intergenerational relationships, through to the role of family policies and different welfare regimes, it will be critical reading for all scholars interested in how families are coping and how they are evolving. The list of contributors reads like a ''who’s who'' and the book will rightly gain a place on the bookshelves of family researchers, practitioners and policy makers across the globe.' -- Jane Falkingham, University of Southampton, UK
'The contributors to this book are an impressive group of scholars who have conducted leading research on European families. Individual chapters provide clear and comprehensive roadmaps to an extensive variety of topics in family research. Especially impressive are several thoughtful discussions of classic and emerging theory that should be required reading for anyone embarking on a sociological study of family life. A particular strength of the theoretical discussions and research reviews is their engagement with innovative understandings of gender in families and societies.' -- Elizabeth Thomson, Stockholm University, Sweden and University of Wisconsin-Madison, US
Table of ContentsContents: Preface xv PART I INTRODUCTION 1 Introduction: The sociology of the family – towards a European perspective 2 Norbert F. Schneider and Michaela Kreyenfeld PART II THEORETICAL ADVANCES IN FAMILY RESEARCH 2 Welfare state regimes, family policies, and family behaviour 22 Gerda Neyer 3 Cross-cultural perspectives in family research 42 Bernhard Nauck 4 Family diversity in a configurational perspective 60 Eric D. Widmer 5 Life course sociology: Key concepts and applications in family sociology 73 Dirk Konietzka and Michaela Kreyenfeld PART III NEW PERSPECTIVES IN FAMILY RESEARCH 6 Digital family research 89 Nicolas M. Legewie and Anette E. Fasang 7 Qualitative longitudinal research in family sociology 107 Laura Bernardi 8 Families from a network perspective 125 Gil Viry and Andreas Herz PART IV FAMILY DIVERSITY AND FAMILY CHANGE 9 A historical perspective on family change in Europe 143 Josef Ehmer 10 Demography of family change in Europe 162 Tomáš Sobotka and Caroline Berghammer 11 Living arrangements across households in Europe 187 Chia Liu and Albert Esteve 12 Living arrangements in later life 205 Pearl A. Dykstra PART V FAMILY TRANSITIONS IN THE LIFE COURSE 13 Partner choice and partner markets 219 Jan Van Bavel 14 Causes and consequences of family dissolution in Europe and post-divorce families 232 Dimitri Mortelmans 15 Fertility desires, intentions, and behaviour 248 Ann Berrington 16 Family behaviour of migrants 263 Gunnar Andersson PART VI INTIMATE AND INTERGENERATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS 17 Grandparent status and multigenerational relationships 278 Jan Skopek 18 Children and parents after separation 300 Ulrike Zartler 19 Emotions, love, and sexuality in committed relationships 314 Karl Lenz and Marina A. Adler PART VII NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE DIVISION OF WORK IN FAMILIES 20 Gender and labour market outcomes 329 Anna Matysiak and Ewa Cukrowska-Torzewska 21 The gender division of housework and child care 342 Oriel Sullivan 22 Couples’ transitions to parenthood: Why the female partner’s earnings advantage fails to predict efficient specialisation 355 Daniela Grunow 23 Family sociological theories questioned: Same-sex parent families sharing work and care 373 Marie Evertsson, Madeleine Eriksson Kirsch, and Allison Geerts 24 ‘Plus ça change’? The gendered legacies of mid-twentieth-century conceptualisations of the form and function of the family 386 Wendy Sigle 25 Poverty and the family in Europe 400 Jonathan Bradshaw and Rense Nieuwenhuis 26 Medically assisted reproduction in developed countries: Overview and societal challenges 417 Jasmin Passet-Wittig and Martin Bujard 27 Key developments and future prospects in the study of transnational families 439 Laura Merla, Majella Kilkey, Raelene Wilding, and Loretta Baldassar Index
