Journal - Volume 1

FAMILYPLATFORM ONLINE JOURNAL VOLUME 1: FAMILY STRUCTURES & FORMS

Contents

1.  TOWARDS A DEFINITION OF THE FAMILY? - Leeni Hansson (Institute of International and Social Studies, Tallinn University)

2.  MAJOR TRENDS IN FAMILY BEHAVIOUR IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES - Leeni Hansson (Institute of International and Social Studies, Tallinn University)

3.  CHANGES IN FINNISH FAMILIES: TOWARDS FULL-TIME MOTHERHOOD AND A NEW FAMILIALISM? - Marjo Kuronen, Teppo Kröger & Kimmo Jokinen (Family Research Centre, University of Jyväskylä)

4.  SHORT ACCOUNT OF CHANGES IN THE FAMILY IN ITALY - Carmen Leccardi & Miriam Perego (The Department of Sociology and Social Research, University of Milan-Bicocca)

5.  TRENDS IN THE GERMAN FAMILY MODEL: PLURALISATION OF LIVING ARRANGEMENTS, AND DECREASE IN THE MIDDLE-CLASS NUCLEAR FAMILY - Ursula Adam, Loreen Beier, Dirk Hofaecker, Elisa Marchese, Marina Rupp (State Institute for Family Research, University of Bamberg)

6.  FAMILIES IN HUNGARY - Zsuzsa Blaskó (Demographic Research Institute, Hungary)

EDITORIAL

This is the first volume of the FAMILYPLATFORM Journal. The overall objective of the FAMILYPLATFORM project is to elaborate a research agenda that addresses fundamental research issues and key policy questions for future research and family policies in Europe. The aim of the project is to improve the well-being of families by understanding future challenges families in Europe will face. FAMILYPLATFORM is not a research project: it addresses research issues and policy questions by reviewing existing research, identifying significant trends and differences between countries, and by exposing research gaps and problems relating to methodology.

This volume, being the first, focusses on broad - but nevertheless - important issues relating to research on families.

The first paper addresses the difficulties of trying to define the family. In everyday life “family” is a commonly used word and everyone seems to understand what the word means. However, the second half of the twentieth century has witnessed major changes in family formation and family behaviour that have resulted in a diversification of family forms. Because of this, it has become more and more difficult to use a general and universally acceptable definition of the family. Concepts and definitions of the family have changed over time, and are used differently in policy formation and in academic literature. The article by Leeni Hansson Towards a Definition of the Family traces changes in the definition of the family both in academic literature as well as in policy formation.

The other purpose of this first volume of the journal, is to give an overview of the major trends in family behaviour in different European countries. In the article Major Trends in Family Behaviour in European Countries, Leeni Hansson addresses issues such as the child leaving the parental home, the choice between marriage and cohabitation, having children, family break-up and “living apart together”. Based on those developments three visions for the future of families are highlighted.

Leeni’s article is followed by short insights on family issues in four European countries that represent different paths and outcomes in the development of the family – Finland, Germany, Italy and Hungary. The article by Marjo Kuronen, Teppo Kröger and Kimmo Jokinen from Finland centres mainly on the drawbacks of the allegedly woman-friendly welfare state, where extensive public day-care is provided, offering possibilities to combine family life and paid work. Ursula Adam, Loreen Beier, Dirk Hofaecker, Elisa Marchese and Marina Rupp describe the incidence of the so-called “middle-class nuclear family”, and the developments leading to this concept in Germany. Carmen Leccardi and Miriam Perego from Italy write about changes in the prevalence of marriage and within the couple itself towards a more equal relationship of women and men. Last but not least, developments in the Hungarian family are described by Zsuzsa Blaskó with reference to other European countries.

We hope that the contributions presented in the first volume of our journal bring to your attention the complexity of issues related to families, and provide you with a better understanding of the similarities and differences in the developments in the institution of the family in different parts of Europe, which is ultimately the aim of our project.

Epp Reiska
Editor of FAMILYPLATFORM Online Journal Volume 1
The Institute for International and Social Studies of Tallinn University, Estonia

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