This book critically assesses the main features of the modernization of family life and personal relationships by examining and comparing three European countries with different social and political pathways: Portugal, Switzerland and Lithuania. Drawing on national surveys of family trajectories and social networks, the contributors highlight personal and family relationships through the lens of network and life course perspectives as well as gender and generational perspectives.

Providing innovative, comparative findings on families and personal networks through the use of diverse methodologies, this edited collection will be of interest to scholars, students and policymakers across a range of social science disciplines.

Autorentext

Karin Wall is Research Professor at the Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon, Portugal.

Eric D. Widmer is Professor at the Department of Sociology, University of Geneva, Switzerland.

JacquesAntoine Gauthier is Senior Lecturer at the Life Course and Social Inequality Research Centre, University of Lausanne, Switzerland. Vida esnuityt is Lecturer at Mykolas Romeris University, Lithuania.

Rita Gouveia is Postdoctoral Fellow at the NCCRLIVES, University of Geneva, Switzerland.

Inhalt
1. Introduction; Eric D. Widmer, JacquesAntoine Gauthier, Karin Wall, Vida esnuityt and Rita Gouveia.2. Contextualising Personal Networks Across Birth Cohorts and Countries; Vasco Ramos, Vida esnuityt, Karin Wall, and Dominique Joye.3. A First Portrait of Personal Networks in a Comparative Perspective; Rita Gouveia, Gaëlle Aeby, and Vida esnuityt.4. Changing Meanings of Family in Personal Relationships: a Comparative Perspective; Karin Wall, Rita Gouveia, Gaëlle Aeby, and Vida esnuityt. 5. Mapping the Plurality of Personal Configurations; Gaëlle Aeby, Eric D. Widmer, Vida esnuityt, and Rita Gouveia. 6. Understanding Personal Networks as Social Capital; Eric D. Widmer, Rita Gouveia, Gaëlle Aeby, and Vida esnuityt.7. Linking Family Trajectories and Personal Networks; JacquesAntoine Gauthier, Gaëlle Aeby, Vasco Ramos, and Vida esnuityt.8. Conclusions; Karin Wall, Vida esnuityt, Eric D. Widmer, and JacquesAntoine Gauthier.