New Book • 02.07.2021On the Current Status of European Family Sociology

Some megatrends determine changes to families in Europe, such as the partly rapid increase in births outside marriage, while at the same time existing differences in the European regions are becoming entrenched. The consequences of these family changes as a research subject for research in family sociology are shown in the handbook, to which 41 researchers from more than 10 countries have contributed, among them BiB staff members.

Linking Traditional and New Research Approaches

The volume deals with traditional topics, such as changes in living arrangements and family relations, and presents new and innovative approaches, such as the integration of the consequences of reproductive medicine into family sociological issues.

The book is divided into eight parts, with the first three providing an overview of traditional and new theoretical approaches in family sociology, in addition to an introduction. Part 4 is devoted to the growing diversity of the family in the course of its development, Part 5 looks at family transitions in the life course, while Part 6 focuses on intimate and intergenerational relationships in the family. New insights into the distribution of housework and the problem of family and work compatibility are provided by the analyses in Part 7. In Part 8, the inclusion of the family in the social context comes into focus. Here, topics such as the regulation of medically assisted reproduction, child poverty and the organisation of family life across national borders are dealt with.

From “Being Family” to “Doing Family”

“For some time now, we have been observing a change in the ‘idea’ of family and an expansion of the concept of family,” emphasises the co-editor of the volume, family sociologist Norbert F. Schneider. Today, family is no longer understood as the classic nuclear family with mother, father and children (“being family”), but as a living arrangement that can be shaped according to individual lifestyles and lived in many different ways (“doing family”). The largely static view of family as a structural form has evolved in research in favour of the perception of a more dynamic course of development.

Rapid Progress in Methodology – But Not in Theory

European family sociology has also taken these trends into account, as the 27 articles make clear. In particular, further developments in methods and advances in the availability and quality of data have had a beneficial effect on research. “The improved usability of large amounts of data through new methods of collection and analysis has created completely new possibilities for comparative studies with many participants,” says Schneider. The establishment of online-supported surveys, which can be conducted cheaply and quickly and are increasingly replacing traditional survey methods such as face-to-face surveys, has contributed to this. While the development of the methodology is taking place at a rapid pace, there is often a lack of accompanying theory. In addition, the importance of designs that involve not only one but several actors in the family environment in empirical questions has so far only been partially recognised and applied. One conclusion of the volume is that a stronger dyadic orientation and an even stronger inclusion of the life course perspective in family research is necessary.

Interdisciplinarity in Family Research Is an Asset

In addition, the inclusion of other disciplines and research areas, such as family demography and ageing or health research, has proven to be profitable for the further development of family sociology. This interdisciplinarity can help to close existing research gaps. These include, for example, the relationships of family members to each other (uncles, aunts, siblings) or the situation of family members in separated families. In addition, the perspective of the children will gain in importance. Against the backdrop of an ageing society, intergenerational relationships in old age are also an increasingly important object of research. In the course of global migration, the topic of migration and family will also have to be given greater attention in future, especially with regard to family relationships across national borders.

Overall, the articles demonstrate how much comparative family research has gained in importance in recent years, also in an internationally oriented sociology of the family, and has led to a better understanding of change and the situation of families in Europe.

The handbook is aimed at researchers and students of sociology, demography, family and gender policy. It can certainly also be useful for practitioners and policy experts in these fields.

Schneider, Norbert F.; Kreyenfeld, Michaela (eds.) (2021): Research Handbook on the Sociology of the Family (Research Handbooks in Sociology series). Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.