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Objective: This article explores dilemmas related to contemporary fatherhood and discusses how theories of individualization enable the understanding of social change and family life. Background: Theories on modernization argue that ongoing processes of individualization challenge researchers to reinvent key concepts in family sociology. The concept of intimate fatherhood allows for the exploration of men’s family practices and presents a basis for understanding what modernization means for contemporary parenthood. Intimate fatherhood can be further theorized through empirically sensitive approaches in the study of everyday family life. Method: Drawing on data from a mixed-method longitudinal study comprising four waves of data from the 1968 cohort in Denmark (n = 1,414), the study analyzes qualitative interviews from the second and fourth waves. Social psychological discourse analysis of the interviews is used to explore the participants' family practices. Results: The analysis examines how caring intimacy in contemporary fatherhood is interwoven in a complex entanglement with other positions related to partnering and provision. Individualization is theorized as a mode of orientation in life with reference to oneself but not counterposed to social ties and family practices signified by solidarity and togetherness. Conclusion: Individualization theory can guide analytical attention when examining contemporary fatherhood, but such analyses must remain sensitive to the complex entanglement of everyday family life.

The aim of the thematic issue Family Supportive Networks and Practices in Vulnerable Contexts is to provide a cross‐national perspective on the current state of caregiving and support practices within family networks in Europe. The articles featured in this volume were selected from among the presentations made in 2021 at two conferences promoted by the research network Sociology of Families and Intimate Lives of the European Sociological Association (ESA RN13). Authors of the most promising, topical, and up‐to‐date research papers were invited to contribute to this thematic issue.

Objective: This study estimates how much of the differences by socioeconomic status (SES) in children's language development are mediated by parenting styles, parenting practices, and parental investments. Background: There are large differences in children's language development by parental socioeconomic status (SES). According to some studies, SES gaps in language skills among preschoolers could be reduced substantially by intervening in the parenting styles, practices, and parental investments of low-SES parents. However, the extent to which parenting mediates the effects on language skills of growing up in low-SES contexts is still unknown. Method: This paper uses data from the National Educational Panel Study starting cohort 1, a random sample of children born between 2012 and 2013 in Germany and employs interventional causal mediation analysis to estimate the mediated share of the total effect of SES on children's language that goes through parenting, broadly understood. Results: Parenting explains around one-third of the total effect of SES on early language skills, but close to nothing of the effect on later language skills. Conclusion: Although a share of the SES effect operates through parenting, and all parenting dimensions affect children's language skills, interventions in parenting would be limited in their ability to reduce the gap in substantial ways. Alternative pathways, through which inequality in language skills is reproduced, could potentially explain a larger share of this effect. Fragestellung: In dieser Studie wird geschätzt, inwieweit die Unterschiede in der Sprachentwicklung von Kindern je nach sozioökonomischem Status durch die elterliche Erziehungsstile, elterliche Erziehungspraktiken und elterliche Investitionen vermittelt werden. Hintergrund: Es gibt große Unterschiede in der Sprachentwicklung von Kindern je nach sozioökonomischem Status der Eltern. Einige Studien suggerieren, dass die sozioökonomischem Status -Unterschiede bei den Sprachkenntnissen von Vorschulkindern durch Intervention in den elterlichen Erziehungsstil, die elterliche Erziehungspraxis und die elterlichen Investitionen von Eltern mit niedrigem SES erheblich verringert werden. Es ist jedoch noch nicht bekannt, inwieweit die elterliche Erziehung die Auswirkungen des Aufwachsens in einem Umfeld mit niedrigem sozioökonomischem Status auf die Sprachkenntnisse zurückzuführen sind. Methode: In diesem Beitrag werden Daten aus der Startkohorte 1 des Nationalen Bildungspanels verwendet, einer Zufallsstichprobe von Kindern, die zwischen 2012 und 2013 in Deutschland geboren wurden, und es wird eine interventionelle kausale Mediationsanalyse eingesetzt, um den Mediationsanteil des Gesamteffekts von SES auf die Sprachkompetenz von Kindern zu schätzen, der auf die elterliche Erziehung im weitesten Sinne zurückzuführen ist. Ergebnisse: Die elterliche Erziehung erklärt etwa ein Drittel des Gesamteffekts des sozioökonomischen Status auf die frühen Sprachfähigkeiten der Kinder, jedoch sehr wenig des Effektes auf die späteren Sprachfähigkeiten. Schlussfolgerung: Auch wenn elterliche Erziehung einen Teil des sozioökonomischem Status-Effekts beeinflusst, sowie alle Dimensionen der elterlichen Erziehung sich auf die Sprachkenntnisse der Kinder auswirken, würden dennoch elterliche Interventionen nur einen begrenzten Anteil zur Überbrückung der Kluft beitragen. Alternative kausale Mechanismen, über die die Ungleichheit bei den Sprachkenntnissen reproduziert wird, könnten möglicherweise einen größeren Teil dieses Effekts erklären.

Der Beitrag betrachtet die Bedeutung von Generationenbeziehungen von als sozial benachteiligt geltenden Eltern und Jugendlichen im Kontext der Übergangsgestaltung von der Schule ins nachschulische Leben. Mittels eines biografischen Forschungsansatzes wird danach gefragt, welche (un-)bewältigten biografischen Themen der Eltern sich in expliziten oder impliziten Delegationsaufträgen niederschlagen und wie diese die Übergangsgestaltung ihrer Kinder beeinflussen. This article examines the importance of generational relationships between parents and adolescents who are considered socially in the context of transitions from school to post-school life. Using a biographical research approach, I ask which (un-)mastered biographical issues of parents influence the transition of their children and how these are reflected in explicit or implicit delegation orders.

Objective: This study tests the effects of work-family conflict, in both directions, on partners' agreement on fertility preferences among dual-earner couples, as well as whether this relationship varies by women's employment status. Background: Few studies have examined the relationship between work-family conflict and fertility preferences. Given the high percentages of women working part-time in Germany, it is important to investigate the role working women’s employment status plays to further understand this relationship. Method: Using data from 716 dual-earner couples in Wave 10 of the German Family Panel (pairfam), we use dyadic data analysis to test whether work-family conflict impacts one’s own ("actor effects") and/or one’s partner’s ("partner effects") reports of agreement on fertility preferences. We also run multi-group analyses to compare whether these effects vary in "full-time dual-earner" versus "modernized male breadwinner" couples. Results: There are significant actor effects for family-to-work conflict in both types of couples, and for work-to-family conflict in modernized male breadwinner couples only. Partner effects for family-to-work conflict exist only among modernized male breadwinner couples. While there are no gender differences in actor or partner effects, results suggest differences in the partner effect (for family-to-work conflict only) between these two couple types. Conclusion: These findings indicate that work-family conflict is associated with greater partner disagreement on fertility preferences and highlight the differential impact incompatible work and family responsibilities have on fertility decisions when women work full-time versus part-time. Fragestellung: Die Studie untersucht die Auswirkungen des work-family conflict auf die Einigkeit der Partner im Hinblick auf die Anzahl gemeinsamer Kinder in Doppelverdiener-Paaren und ob dieser Zusammenhang vom Erwerbsstatus der Frau abhängt. Hintergrund: Der Zusammenhang zwischen work-family conflict und dem Kinderwunsch wurde bisher kaum untersucht. Da ein hoher Anteil der Frauen in Deutschland teilzeitbeschäftigt ist, sollte der Erwerbsstatus von Frauen berücksichtigt werden, um den Zusammenhang besser zu verstehen. Methode: Mit dyadischen Analysen wurde für 716 Doppelverdiener-Paare aus der 10. Welle des Beziehungs- und Familienpanels (pairfam) untersucht, inwiefern der work-family conflict sich auf die eigene („Akteureffekt“) Bewertung und/oder auf die des Partners ("Partnereffekt") bezüglich der Einigkeit im Hinblick auf die Anzahl der gewünschten Kinder auswirkt. Mit einer Mehrgruppenanalyse wurde außerdem untersucht, ob sich diese Effekte unterscheiden zwischen Paaren, in denen beide Partner in Vollzeit arbeiten und Paaren, in denen der Mann in Vollzeit und die Frau in Teilzeit arbeitet. Ergebnisse: Für beide Paarformen gibt es signifikante Akteurseffekte des family-to-work conflict, des work-to-family conflict jedoch nur bei Paaren des modernisierten Ernährermodells. Partnereffekte von family-to-work conflict lassen sich nur in den Paaren des modernisierten Ernährermodells identifizieren. Während es keine Geschlechterunterschiede in Akteurs- oder Partnereffekten gibt, deuten die Ergebnisse auf Unterschiede im Partner-Effekt (nur für family-to-work conflict) zwischen den beiden Paarformen an. Schlussfolgerung: Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass work-family conflict mit Unterschieden zwischen Partnern bezüglich der gewünschten Kinderanzahl zusammenhängen und dass die widersprüchlichen Anforderungen zwischen Arbeit und Familienleben sich auf den Kinderwunsch auswirkt, wenn Frauen in Vollzeit statt Teilzeit arbeiten.

Objective: This study investigates the extent to which employed mothers and fathers scale back on working hours or job pressures in response to work-to-family conflicts (WFC). Background: Drawing on the concept of adaptive family strategies, it is assumed that WFC is an antecedent to a reduction in work demands. Considering partners’ gender ideology net of other resources and characteristics, we can expect to see gender differences in the adoption of this strategy. Relatively little research has been conducted on associations among WFC, gender ideology, gender, and work-related coping strategies. Method: We use six waves of the German Family Panel (pairfam, release 11.0), covering the survey years 2012-2019, to examine the effect of WFC and gender ideology on employed mothers’ and fathers’ work-related coping strategies (N=791 mothers and N=1292 fathers). OLS regression is used to estimate the effect of WFC at and gender ideology on changes in job pressure and working hours between and . Results: Parents who experience WFC are more likely to reduce their job pressure and less likely to scale back on working hours. Gender differences in the reaction between mothers and fathers on WFC only occur in connection with traditional gender ideology. Conclusion: Scaling back seems not to be a commonly used strategy to react to WFC. Die Studie untersucht den Umfang, zu dem erwerbstätige Mütter und Väter als Reaktion auf work-to-family conflicts (WFC) ihre Arbeitsstunden oder ihren beruflichen Druck reduzieren. Hintergrund: Gemäß dem Konzept adaptiver Familienstrategien kann angenommen werden, dass WFC ein Grund für die Reduzierung von Arbeitsanforderungen ist. Bei der Adaption dieser Strategien erwarten wir geschlechtsspezifische Unterschiede in Abhängigkeit der Geschlechterideologie des Paares, unabhängig von anderen Charakteristika. Bisher gibt es nur wenig Forschung zur Beziehung zwischen WFC, Geschlechterideologie, Gender und berufsbezogener Bewältigungsstrategien. Wir verwenden sechs Wellen des Deutschen Familienpanels (pairfam, 11.0), die die Surveyjahre 2012 bis 2019 umfassen, um den Effekt von WFC und Geschlechterideologie auf die berufsbezogenen Bewältigungsstrategien erwerbstätiger Mütter und Väter zu ermitteln (N=791 Mütter und N= 1292 Väter).

Anhand von Paarinterviews zur Struktur und Genese ihrer Haushalte werden die Ernährung und deren Herstellungsbedingungen im familienhäuslichen Alltag untersucht. Dabei werden die Bedeutung der Familienmahlzeiten, die Wertschätzung der dafür notwendigen Herstellungsleistungen und die dabei sichtbar werdende Verteilung der haushälterischen Aufgaben aufgezeigt. Dies wird als Widerspruch zwischen der romantischen Liebe als Gründungsmoment der Intimbeziehung und deren dauerhafter Bewährung im zweckhaft rollenspezifischen Familienhaushalt diskutiert. Anhand der Genese des Haushalts wird deutlich, wie sich diese Strukturen des Familienalltags als praktische Arrangements eher einstellten als von den Partner*innen ausgehandelt wurden. This article examines nutrition and its production conditions in everyday family life based on interviews with couples on the structure and genesis of their households. It shows up the importance of family meals, an appreciation of the necessary household work and the distribution of household tasks that is thus revealed. This is discussed as a contradiction between romantic love as the founding moment of an intimate relationship and its durability in a purposeful role-specific family household. Based on a household’s genesis it becomes clear how these structures of everyday family life emerge as practical arrangements rather than being negotiated by the partners.

Objective: In this study, we investigate the effect of flexible working time arrangements and parental leave experiences on the actual working and childcare hours of men. Background: Many fathers want to spend more time with their children and actively participate in family life, but, after becoming a parent, most work even more hours than before. To better combine work and family, the possibility of flexible working time arrangements might play a crucial role for fathers, also to become more involved in childcare activities. Method: We use longitudinal data of the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) to examine how flexible working time arrangements, parental leave experiences, working hours, and childcare hours are related. Based on data between 2013 and 2019, panel regression models were estimated. Results: The results show that a change from fixed to flexible working time regulations leads to an increase in working hours for men and fathers. The longer working hours of fathers go hand in hand with a reduction in the time spent on childcare activities when switching to flexible working time arrangements. However, experiences with parental leave in connection with flexible working hours show a change in the use of time. Conclusion: Flexible working time regulations prove to be ambivalent for fathers: On the one hand, they offer fathers new leeway, on the other hand, due to traditional role models, they lead to longer working hours and thus less participation in childcare; but parental leave experiences make a difference, which indicates the importance of these regulations for fathers. Fragestellung: In dieser Studie untersuchen wir den Einfluss von flexiblen Arbeitszeitregelungen und Elternzeiterfahrungen auf die tatsächlichen Arbeits- und Kinderbetreuungszeiten von Männern. Hintergrund: Viele Väter möchten mehr Zeit mit ihren Kindern verbringen und aktiv am Familienleben teilnehmen, aber die meisten arbeiten nach der Geburt eines Kindes noch mehr Stunden als zuvor. Zur besseren Vereinbarkeit von Beruf und Familie könnte die Möglichkeit flexibler Arbeitszeitregelungen für Väter eine entscheidende Rolle spielen, auch um sich stärker in die Kinderbetreuung einzubringen. Methode: Anhand von Längsschnittdaten des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP) untersuchen wir den Zusammenhang zwischen flexiblen Arbeitszeitregelungen, Elternzeiterfahrungen, Arbeitszeiten und Kinderbetreuungszeiten. Basierend auf Daten zwischen 2013 und 2019 wurden Panel-Regressionsmodelle geschätzt. Ergebnisse: Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass der Wechsel von festen zu flexiblen Arbeitszeitregelungen zu einer Erhöhung der Arbeitszeit bei Männern und Vätern führt. Diese längeren Arbeitszeiten gehen bei Vätern mit einer Verkürzung des Zeitaufwands für Kinderbetreuungsaktivitäten einher, wenn auf flexible Arbeitszeitregelungen umgestellt wird. Väter mit Elternzeiterfahrung zeigen jedoch eine veränderte Zeitnutzung, wenn sie zu flexiblen Arbeitszeiten wechseln. Schlussfolgerung: Flexible Arbeitszeitregelungen erweisen sich für Väter als ambivalent: Einerseits bieten sie Vätern neue Spielräume, andererseits führen sie aufgrund traditioneller Rollenmodelle zu längeren Arbeitszeiten und damit weniger Beteiligung an der Kinderbetreuung; aber Elternzeiterfahrungen machen einen Unterschied, was die Bedeutung dieser Regelungen für Väter betont.

This study investigates housing conditions of single mothers in the context of housing policies. We study single mothers' probability to experience housing deprivation, overcrowded housing, overburdening costs of housing, and neighbourhood problems across European countries. We consider the structural consequences of home ownership rates, and policies related to regulation of rental markets, housing benefits and housing prices. We apply a multi-level framework to EU-SILC data on 21,937 single mothers, from 195 country-years and covering 21 European countries from 2008 to 2017. First, we find a trade-off in the provision of free housing or housing at reduced rents, that helps to reduce housing cost overburden for single mothers, but is also associated with higher rates of housing deprivation, overcrowding and neighbourhood problems. Next, in contexts with stricter rental market regulation, single mothers' housing deprivation is lower. Higher housing benefits reduce the risk of housing deprivation as well as overcrowding, but in contexts where home ownership is common, single mothers tend to experience more overcrowding. Single mothers are more likely to report neighbourhood problems in societies where housing prices are high. Our findings suggest that factors within the control of policy makers can be beneficial to the housing conditions of single mothers.

The primary goal of this article was to analyse the welfare attitudes of people self‐declaring as childless by choice alongside the exploration of their social experience as childfree persons in the context of a rapid increase in the generosity of pro‐natalist public policies in Poland. The analysis is based on semi‐structured interviews conducted with 19 respondents recruited via Facebook network groups. Thematic analysis was applied identifying six general themes: “satisfied and never had the need”; “dealing with social pressure”; “family measures—yes, but not this way”; “unfair treatment of the childfree”; “towards welfare state for all”; and “change my mind? Never, even if offered one million dollars.” The research demonstrated that childfree persons present favourable views on state support for families with children. While critical of cash‐based family support, respondents have a clear preference for investing in services enabling women to participate in the labour market. Finally, if public policies aimed at removing barriers to parenthood were strengthened, this would not change the respondents’ minds about procreation.

Der Beitrag analysiert am Beispiel des Phänomens 'Aftercare' das Verhältnis von Fürsorge und Männlichkeit im Kontext schmerz- und machterotischer Begehrensweisen. Anhand von qualitativen Leitfadeninterviews wird rekonstruiert, wie Männlichkeit von BDSM-Praktizierenden im Kontext der Nachsorge gedeutet und hergestellt wird. Aus einer praxistheoretischen Perspektive und vor dem Hintergrund des Modells der caring masculinity nach Karla Elliott, das um den Bereich von Intimität und Sexualität erweitert wird, werden die Fürsorgepraktiken theoretisiert. Der Beitrag zeigt auf, dass Aftercare einen Baustein innerhalb einer Reihe körperlich-affektiver und verbalkommunikativer Praktiken bildet, mit denen Konsens her- und sichergestellt werden soll. Eingeübt werden fürsorgliche Werthaltungen, wobei ein Orientierungsdilemma im Hinblick auf einen mit Männlichkeit verknüpften Autonomieanspruch sichtbar wird. The article analyses the relationship between care and masculinity in the context of BDSM in the framework of 'aftercare'. Using guided qualitative interviews, the article reconstructs how masculinity is construed and produced by BDSM practitioners in the context of aftercare. I theorise care practices from a practicetheoretical perspective and against the backdrop of Karla Elliott's model of 'caring masculinity' - that is extended to include the realm of intimacy and sexuality. The article shows that aftercare is one of a number of bodily-affective and verbal-communicative practices that are intended to establish and ensure consensus. Caring values are practised, and a dilemma emerges in respect of the claim to autonomy associated with masculinity.

Eltern standen während der COVID-19-Pandemie vor vielfältigen Herausforderungen. Dieser Beitrag untersucht anhand des pairfam-Panels für 609 Mütter und 339 Väter Veränderungen im Erleben in der Elternrolle zwischen 2019 und Sommer 2020 und prüft mögliche Risikofaktoren für ein vermehrtes Belastungs- und Inkompetenzerleben. Bei Müttern und Vätern nahm Hilflosigkeit in der Elternrolle zwischen den Messzeitpunkten zu, während das Gefühl, den Bedürfnissen der Kinder gerecht werden zu können, abnahm. Vermehrte Hilflosigkeit erlebten Mütter, wenn mindestens ein Kita-Kind im Haushalt lebte. Mütter, die neben der Arbeit Kinder zu betreuen hatten, waren hinsichtlich der Erfüllung kindlicher Bedürfnisse im Nachteil. Parents faced multiple challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data from the pairfam panel for 609 mothers and 339 fathers, we investigated changes in experiences in the parenting role between 2019 and summer 2020 and examined risk factors for an increased experience of stress and incompetence. Mothers' and fathers' helplessness in the parenting role increased, and both felt less able to meet children’s needs. Maternal helplessness increased if at least one child in the household was normally supervised in a day care center. Mothers who had to care for children while working were at increased disadvantage in meeting children's needs.

Objective: This paper analyses intergenerational relationships in Sweden during the corona pandemic, with a special focus on practices of care. The research question is: How is care between generations - between grandparents, adult children and grandchildren - done during pandemic conditions? Background: In Sweden, where an extensive welfare state provides affordable child- and eldercare, the corona strategy of generational separation has still affected family practices of care between generations. In this article we analyse narratives of intergenerational care, taking our point of departure in theories of personal life (Smart 2007), relationality (Mason 2004), and care as sentient activity (Mason 1996). Method: The paper draws on a qualitative interview study with grandparents (n=30), adult children (n=12) and grandchildren (n=12), with data collection taking place shortly before and during the coronavirus pandemic. Results: The study detects the reciprocal and complex ways in which care between generations takes place. When people relate their experiences, strategies for new ways of doing care are at the centre, involving creative ways of negotiating distance and risk, all marked by both worry and relief. Conclusion: The pandemic condition becomes a "filter" affecting and leading to a reformulation of practices of care, from taken-for-granted co-presence narratives, into narratives of relational participation resulting in an overall heightened awareness of the importance and difficulties of intergenerational care practices. The study concludes that a strong welfare state does not translate into complete autonomy or independence; rather, people continue to live "linked lives". Fragestellung: Dieser Beitrag analysiert intergenerationale Beziehungen in Schweden während der Coronavirus Pandemie und legt einen besonderen Fokus auf Care Praktiken. Die Forschungsfrage lautet: Wie wird Care zwischen den Generationen - d.h. zwischen Großeltern, erwachsenen Kindern und Enkelkindern - unter pandemischen Bedingungen hergestellt? Hintergrund: In Schweden, wo ein extensiver Wohlfahrtsstaat leistbare Betreuung und Pflege von Kindern und älteren Menschen bereitstellt, hat die Corona-Strategie der Generationentrennung Auswirkungen auf familiale Praktiken der Sorge. In diesem Beitrag analysieren wir Narrative der intergenerationalen Sorge, basierend auf den theoretischen Konzepten von personal life (Smart 2007), relationality (Mason 2004) und Fürsorge als sentient activity (Mason 1996). Methode: Datenbasis des Artikels ist eine qualitative Studie mit Großeltern (n=30), erwachsenen Kindern (n=12) und Enkelkindern (n=12). Die Datenerhebung fand kurz vor sowie während der Corona Pandemie statt. Ergebnisse: Die Studie verweist auf die Wechselseitigkeit und Komplexität von Care Tätigkeiten zwischen den Generationen. Werden die Erfahrungen aufeinander bezogen, so stehen Strategien für neue Arten des Doing Care im Mittelpunkt, und es zeigen sich kreative Methoden, Distanz und Risiko zu verhandeln. Diese sind jeweils sowohl mit Besorgnis als auch mit Entlastung verbunden. Schlussfolgerung: Die Bedingungen der Pandemie erweisen sich als "Filter" und führen damit zu einer Neuformulierung von Care Praktiken und als selbstverständlich betrachteten Narrativen der Co-Präsenz hin zu Narrativen relationaler Partizipation. Dies führt zu einer erhöhten Aufmerksamkeit für die Bedeutung und die Schwierigkeiten intergenerationaler Care Praktiken. Die Studie kommt zum Schluss, dass ein starker Wohlfahrtsstaat nicht unbedingt völlige Autonomie oder Unabhängigkeit bedeutet; vielmehr führen die Menschen weiterhin stark verbundene 'linked lives'.

Objective: We explore gender differences in support of the norm that children must provide care for their parents. Background: Society's values and norms play a crucial role in deciding whether to provide family care. We investigate these values and norms on family care by analyzing which individual and country level factors affect them. Method: We use data from the European Values Study wave 5 and multilevel regression techniques. The question, "Adult children have the duty to provide long-term care for their parents", serves as our dependent variable. The explanatory variables at the individual level are gender and further socio-demographic variables. At the country level, we include expenditures on health care, and the female labor force participation rate. Results: The results show that women, as well as those living in countries with high expenditure on health care and high female labor force participation rates, are less supportive of the norm that children have an obligation to provide care for their parents. Furthermore, the gender effect is stronger in countries with a higher female labor force participation rate. Conclusion: Norms and values on family care are not fixed and can change, as suggested by the differences between countries. They are also not shared by all social groups equally, as the differences between women and men and along other socio-demographics show. Replication files: https://ubp.uni-bamberg.de/jfr/index.php/jfr/article/view/854/704.

Thies Hansen: Die neue Ordnung der Liebe: Liebesformen unter den Bedingungen von Kontingenzkultur und Konkurrenzgesellschaft. Weinheim/Basel: Beltz Juventa 2022. 978-3-7799-6989-1

Objective: To introduce the readers to the Journal of Family Research's Special Collection about fatherhood -related political frameworks, social constructions of fatherhood and masculinity, and practices of fathers in Europe. Background: Fatherhood research has proliferated in recent decades and reflects that paternal involvement is closely linked to national policies, to prevailing social normative understandings of fatherhood, and also varies in practice. Method: Except for the review article, the contributions of this Special Collection draw on empirical data, including quantitative analyses of large-scale data, such as the European Social Survey, the QUIDAN-Survey, and the DJI "Growing up in Germany" survey, and qualitative analyses of in-depth interviews. Results: The six contributions vary in focus and illustrate a wide range of approaches to the understanding of fatherhood constructions and practices as well as the political frameworks that shape contemporary fatherhood in Europe. The contributions study fatherhood in the context of the transition to parenthood, parenting practices, the composition of working environments as well as in social work practice. Conclusion: The discussion of fatherhood constructions and practices as well as related political frameworks is crucial to understanding which social conditions facilitate and hinder father involvement in Europe., JFR-JOURNAL OF FAMILY RESEARCH, 35

This article presents findings about the impact of the first Covid‐related lockdown on the face‐to‐face (FTF) interpersonal contact networks of the Hungarian adult population. Our primary objective is to understand how the size, composition, and quality of such networks have changed. We base our analysis on the contact‐diary method. Our data were collected from two representative surveys of the Hungarian adult population: one in 2015 (N = 372) and one in May 2020 (N = 1001) during the first wave of the Covid‐19 epidemic. No decline in the overall bonding social capital can be detected; however, social isolation has increased. A restructuring has occurred: a considerable increase manifests in the proportion of kin ties, especially children, and a decrease in the importance of non‐kin ties, with a particularly sharp decline in friendships. FTF contacts indicate an increased emotional intensity (except for non‐kin, non‐household members) and an increase in the length of conversations, but there is a decrease in the frequency of meeting alters. The changes wrought different effects on different age groups, with the restrictions most negatively affecting the size of FTF contact networks for respondents aged 60 years or older. Our findings point to the stability and resilience of close family relations, yet the doubling of social isolation as early as May 2020 underlines fears about the pandemic’s potentially detrimental effects on social connectedness. The decline in friendship ties (and most probably in other weak ties) may lead to a reduction not only in the amount and scope of accessible social capital but also to a weakening social integration.

Rosemarie Nave-Herz: Die Ehe in Deutschland: Eine soziologische Analyse über Wandel, Kontinuität und Zukunft. Opladen: Verlag Barbara Budrich 2022. 978-3-8474-2655-4

Sophie Lewis: Die Familie abschaffen: Wie wir Care-Arbeit und Verwandtschaft neu erfinden. Frankfurt am Main: S. Fischer 2022. 978-3-10-397504-8

Romy Simon: Doing Mehrkindfamilie: Familienalltag, Erwerbsarrangement und soziale Unterstützung. Weinheim: Beltz Juventa 2022. 978-3-7799-6794-1

Reinhard Winter: Porno, Sex und Männlichkeit - Wie junge Männer ihre Sexualität schaffen. Weinheim: Beltz 2022. 978-3-779-96893-1

Before vaccinations against the Corona virus were widely available for at-risk groups, older people were a particular focus of infection protection. Due to the higher risk of severe disease, contact between grandchildren and grandparents was discouraged. At the same time, families required extra support due to closed schools and day-care centres. This chapter examines how the proportion of grandparents caring for their grandchildren - and the amount of time spent caring for them - changed during the pandemic.

Viele Asexuelle finden erst spät zu ihrer Identität. Austausch mit Gleichgesinnten hilft ein Vokabular für eigene Erfahrungen zu finden. Soziale Medien mit hoher Anonymität bieten Raum zur Entfaltung von Identitäten und Gemeinschaft (Carrasco, 2017). Abweichende Diskriminierungserfahrungen führen zu Hierarchien zwischen den sozialen Gruppen der GSRM Community. Um die Gruppenverhältnisse sichtbar zu machen, untersuchte diese Studie inhaltsanalytisch Beiträge zu Asexualität und Pride auf Twitter und Tumblr (n=1.000). Analysiert wurden die Inhalte und Nutzer*innendaten. Die Ergebnisse stützen die vermuteten Hierarchien. Heteroromantische Asexuelle, die gegen Normen von sowohl der GSRM Community aber auch der asexuellen Gruppe verstoßen, erfahren häufiger Ausgrenzung, nicht zuletzt durch andere Asexuelle. Weitere Forschung ist nötig, um die Ergebnisse für andere GSRM Gruppen zu prüfen. Mehr Verständnis für die intra- und intergruppalen Beziehungen der GSRM Community kann zu höherer Sichtbarkeit und Akzeptanz zwischen den Gruppen führen., Many asexuals come to their identity late in life. An exchange with like-minded people helps to find vocabulary for one's own experiences. Social media sites with a high level of anonymity offer space to experience identity and community (Carrasco, 2017). Divergent experiences of discrimination lead to hierarchies between social groups in the GSRM community. To make group relations visible, this study analyzed posts and user data in the discourses around asexuality and Pride during Pride Month on Twitter and Tumblr (n=1.000). The results support the hypothesized hierarchies. Heteroromantic asexuals who violate norms of both the GSRM community and the asexual group are more likely to experience exclusion, not least by other asexuals. Further research is needed to test the findings for other GSRM groups. A better understanding of the intra- and intergroup relationships of the GSRM community may lead to a greater visibility and acceptance between groups., Medien und Ungleichheiten (Trans-)nationale Perspektiven auf Geschlecht, Diversität und Identität

Objective: This article explores care for older immigrants from Turkey, particularly with regard to receiving support from their family in a welfare state such as Denmark. Background: The first labour migrants to Europe are currently entering old age in growing numbers. While research on the intersection between immigration and aging is expanding, knowledge about how older immigrants receive care is still limited, making this a timely study. Method: The article draws on interviews with 30 individuals – older parents, children and grandchildren – from 22 families both with and without pressing care needs. Two of the families utilized a Danish care policy where a family member is remunerated by the municipality for carrying out specified care tasks. Results: The data show that, in many families, both older and younger family members consider providing family care very important. The needs for such provisions are deepened due to the older immigrants’ often limited command of the Danish language, which makes them unable to communicate with Danish care workers. In some families, older members refuse to receive public help, increasing the need for support from their next of kin. Conclusion: While the existence of large family networks can facilitate provisions of family care through sharing, family responsibilities can also be stressful in a dual-earner society such as Denmark. Primary caretakers are often female, and such women’s engagement in providing family care may lead already vulnerable individuals to become further marginalized in society.

The family is the oldest human institution. Modernity began by replacing family-based organization with bureaucracy. The core of the family has become personal and sexual rather than political and economic. What is personal and sexual has become more a matter of individual choice than in the era of kinship politics; at the same time sexual behavior has become subject to state regulation, either restricting or permitting. From the early 20th century onwards, there have been increasingly militant social movements on one side or another of what is sexually permitted, encouraged, or prohibited. This paper reviews the sexual revolution in non-marital sex; the history of abortion struggles; mobilization of homosexual and transgender movements; and the battle of pronouns. Anti-abortion politics today is a counter-movement in identity politics, in response to the perceived threat to the traditional male/female family. Nevertheless, with a growing number of persons living alone and substituting electronic media for embodied social interaction, the family will likely survive as a privileged enclave of emotional solidarity and shared economic success., Historical Social Research Vol. 48, No. 1 (2023)

Objective: This study investigates (a) whether job commitment and family commitment moderate the positive association between flexible working-time arrangements and work hours, and (b) whether childless women and men and mothers and fathers with the same levels of job and family commitment work equally long hours with flexible working-time arrangements. Background: As working-time flexibility increases at many workplaces due to digital technologies and work overload, so too does the risk of working longer hours. Although previous research has neglected job and family commitment as potential moderators of the relationship between working-time flexibility and long working hours, it has found gender inequalities in working hours among employees with flexible working-time arrangements, which have been attributed inter alia to men’s higher commitment to work and lower commitment to family. Method: Multivariate analyses were conducted based on German Family Panel (pairfam) data for 2018, 2019, and 2020. The sample comprised data from 4,568 employee-years, 1,666 part-time employee-years, and 2,902 full-time employee-years. Results: Among full-time employees, only those with high job commitment and low family commitment worked longer hours with employer-driven flexibility and working-time autonomy. Mothers with these arrangements worked fewer hours than childless women, childless men, and fathers, unless they had the same levels of job and family commitment as the latter three groups. Conclusion: These results suggest, first, that among full-time employees with flexible working-time arrangements, job and family commitment are driving factors for working long hours; second, that gender differences in work hours are shaped by parental status; and third, that these differences are due, at least in part, to differences in connectedness to job and family roles.

The initial aim of this article is to analyze the clash between everyday family practices and parents’ normative images of perfect children. I identified five sets of features and behaviors of the actual child that mirror daily parents–children interactions (including parental socialization strategies) and three sets of features and behaviors that reflect parents’ perceptions of a perfect child. The analysis revealed two “dimensions of contradiction”: egoism vs. empathy and obedience vs. independence. Investigating how family practices combine with parents’ normative images results in insights into parents’ ambivalent attitudes toward children. The second aim is to identify the social sources of these clashes. The Polish case appears to be intriguing due to a particularly rapid systemic transformation, resulting in overlapping patterns of everyday practices, divergent social norms, variant meanings, and contradictory discourses. This article’s contribution is to illustrate the hypothesis that systemic transformation might have a more immediate effect on changing social norms, meanings, and discourses on parenthood and childhood (and thus change parents’ normative images of children), while family practices are transformed with parents’ resistance. The concept of family practices developed by David H. Morgan is employed as a theoretical framework and starting point for the study. The analysis draws on qualitative data and in‐depth interviews with 24 couples of parents and six single parents.

The growing numbers of Lithuanian families living across borders have prompted the reflection on family relations through the lens of the need for care and support of dependent children and elderly parents. The authors of this article expand the analysis of family lives in the migration context beyond child–parent relationships and shift the attention to understudied areas where sibling relationships are located. Sibling relationships are considered embedded within the family and the wider network of personal relationships. This article builds on the personal networks approach to examine the position of siblings in the personal networks of Lithuanian family members and draws on a toolbox of analytical concepts provided by the solidarity approach to disclose how sibling relationships could come into play in the case of need. The analysis of statistical data and two surveys carried out in Lithuania as part of the research project funded by the Research Council of Lithuania enabled the authors to uncover different layers of involvement of siblings in “doing families” across households and borders and to highlight the gendered patterns of support expectations towards siblings if/when the need of elderly or child care would arise in the migration context. The research data provide empirical evidence that sibling relationships could be affected by differentiated mobility experiences of family members and the re‐definition of family roles due to newly emerging multi‐local interactions. Cross‐border family practices create new patterns of family relationships and an “intimate, but different” type of solidarity, common to Lithuanian residents with prior migration experience.

Objective: The aim of this paper is to develop an understanding of how child-perceived parental support and knowledge among children in Sweden differ across ten forms of residential arrangement. Background: Shared physical custody has become an increasingly common arrangement for children in separated families in many European countries. In an international comparison, Sweden has a high rate of parental union dissolution but also the highest prevalence of shared physical custody arrangements following divorce or separation. Over a third of all children with divorced or separated parents spend an equal amount of time living in both parental households. Method: We used data from the Swedish HBSC survey from 2013/14, which are focused on children in grades 5, 7 and 9 in the Swedish comprehensive school system (n=7360) and used perceived parental support and perceived parental knowledge scales as dependent variables in multiple ordered logistic regressions conducted separately by the sex of the parent. Results: The results show that children in shared physical custody report higher levels of parental support and knowledge than children in sole physical custody and equally high as those who live in a two-parent family. Children living in non-symmetrical physical custody arrangements report lower levels of paternal support and knowledge than children whose parents share physical custody equally. Maternal support and knowledge does not differ between children living in symmetrical and non-symmetrical shared physical custody arrangements, whereas paternal support and knowledge is lower in families where the child lives in an unequal residential sharing arrangement with the mother as the main co-residential parent. Conclusion: Post-divorce living arrangements are clearly associated with the relationship between parents and children, with children in shared physical custody reporting stronger relationships than children in sole physical custody. The cross-sectional nature of the data prevents us from drawing conclusions on causality, however. Fragestellung: Ziel dieses Beitrags ist es, ein Verständnis dafür zu entwickeln, wie sich im schwedischen Kontext die elterliche Unterstützung und Wissen aus der Perspektive der Kinder in zehn verschiedenen Wohnformen unterscheiden. Hintergrund: Gemeinsames physisches Sorgerecht ist in vielen europäischen Ländern eine gewöhnliche Regelung für Kinder in getrennten Familien geworden. Im internationalen Vergleich hat Schweden eine hohe Scheidungs- und Trennungsrate, sowie das höchste Vorkommen an gemeinsamen Sorgerechtsregelungen nach einer Scheidung oder Trennung. Mehr als ein Drittel aller Kinder mit geschiedenen oder getrennten Eltern leben gleich viel in den Haushalten beider Elternteile. Methode: Wir verwendeten Daten aus der schwedischen HBSC-Erhebung von 2013/14, die sich auf Kinder der Klassenstufen 5, 7 und 9 im schwedischen Grundschulsystem konzentrieren (n=7360). Zudem bedienten wir uns Skalen zur wahrgenommenen elterlichen Unterstützung und zum wahrgenommenen elterlichen Wissen als abhängige Variablen in mehrfach geordneten logistischen Regressionen, die getrennt nach dem Geschlecht der Eltern durchgeführt wurden. Ergebnisse: Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Kinder, die das gemeinsame physische Sorgerecht haben, ein höheres Maß an elterlicher Unterstützung und elterlichem Wissen angeben als Kinder, die das alleinige physische Sorgerecht haben, und ein ebenso hohes Maß wie Kinder, die in einer Zwei-Eltern-Familie leben. Kinder, die in nicht-symmetrischen Sorgerechtsverhältnissen leben, berichten über ein geringeres Maß an väterlicher Unterstützung und Wissen als Kinder, deren Eltern sich das Sorgerecht gleichermaßen teilen. Mütterliche Unterstützung und Wissen unterscheiden sich nicht zwischen Kindern, die in symmetrischen und nicht-symmetrischen physisches Sorgerechtsvereinbarungen leben, wohingegen väterliche Unterstützung und Wissen in Familien geringer sind, in denen das Kind hauptsächlich bei der Mutter wohnt. Schlussfolgerung: Die Wohnform nach der Scheidung hängt eindeutig mit der Beziehung zwischen Eltern und Kindern zusammen, wobei Kinder, die das gemeinsame physische Sorgerecht haben, über stärkere Beziehungen berichten als Kinder, die das alleinige physische Sorgerecht haben. Aufgrund des Querschnittscharakters der Daten ist es jedoch nicht möglich, kausale Schlussfolgerungen zu ziehen.