Research Area: Family and Fertility
With total fertility rates of around 1.3 to 1.4, Germany is one of the countries with a very low birth rate. However, there have recently been significant trend reversals: While birth rates rose to between 1.5 and 1.6 in the 2010s, there has been a decline - across Europe - to around 1.4 children per woman since 2022. At the same time, families are experiencing an enormous change in lifestyles and work-sharing models. Current challenges such as the compatibility of work and family, the increased demands of parenthood or the realisation of children's wishes at an advanced age play a central role in this. The aim of the research area is to investigate cultural aspects of family life, for example the change in social values and the interactions between working and family life as well as their links to structural phenomena, such as those shaped by family policy.
Current Research Projects
Research Group: Family
The focus of the research group is on how cultural perceptions influence family life. They are analysed in the context of structural factors such as family policy. Thematic areas of emphasis include division of work, parenting, gender ideologies, and the work-family balance.
Recent Projects of the Research Group
The project looks at the cultural factors involved in fertility and family decisions. The focus is on norms regarding family and partnership, and their stability over time. more: Transformation of Parenthood …
Research Group: Fertility
The research group aims to describe and explain the birth rate in Germany in its chronological and historical course, in its difference to other societies, and in its disparities among different parts of the population.
Recent Projects of the Research Group
Research Group: FReDA – The Family Demography Panel
The research group is setting up a data infrastructure for family demography research in Germany. In cooperation with other research institutions, it collects its own survey data, links them with official data and data from other sources, and makes them available for academic research in the context of family and population. Its core consists of the Family Research and Demographic Analysis (FReDA) survey programme.
Recent Projects of the Research Group
The Family Research and Demographic Analysis (FReDA) project is a data collection programme that links Germany’s Generations and Gender Survey (GGS) with the Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics (pairfam). more: FReDA – The German Family Demography Panel Study …
The Generations & Gender Programme Preparatory Phase Project - "GGP-5D" for short - aims to develop the GGP from a cooperation of European research institutions into a "European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC)", i.e. a permanently established, European-funded research infrastructure with its own legal status. more: GGP-5D …
Completed Research Projects
Selected former Projects
The project analyses the causes and consequences of the decline in large families on a societal level as well as the personal motivations of people to have or not have a third child. more: Large Families and the Two-Child Norm …
This project addresses causes of permanent childlessness and its evolution in the life course. more: Childlessness …
This project examines the prevalence of “concepts of family”, their significance for family life and how they influence the development of relationships and families, particularly with regard to reproductive behaviour. more: Concepts of Family in Germany …
The prospective survey which is the centre of the project deals with different pathways into fertility treatment, decision processes and couples' situations during treatment. A special focus is on the emotional, financial and physical burdens in couples. more: Couples Undergoing Fertility Treatment (PinK) …
This project analyses aims, effects and the development of Germany's parental leave (Elterngeld). In particular, effects on fertility development, income and maternal employment are examined. more: Elterngeld: Germany's Parental Leave …
This project examines cultural conceptions of family with a method that accounts for the unreflected character of concepts of family. This way, participants draw a family and are interviewed afterwards regarding their drawing. more: Family in Pictures …
The Generations and Gender Programme (GGP) is a social science infrastructure programme for providing international data on family and demography. Within this framework, the Generation and Gender Survey (GGS) is conducted. more: Generations and Gender Programme …
This project tackles the question of how, on the one hand, the high life expectancy and, on the other, the increasing age of mothers at childbirth will impact the joint lifetime of three and four generations and will develop in future. more: Joint Lifetime of Family Generations …
This project examines the conditions which encourage or hinder people to have a third child. more: Large Families …
This project aims to ascertain the influence of different parities – i.e. 0, 1, 2 or 3 children – on fertility development. In addition, it examines what extent different factors play a role in the decision for first, second or third childbirth. more: Parity-Specific Fertility Analyses …
In this project, cohort fertility rates at the district level are measured for the first time. Furthermore, the causes of regional fertility differences are analysed. more: Regional Fertility Analyses …
