Changing Patterns Of European Family Life
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The European Family
Author: Jacques Commaille
language: en
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Release Date: 1997-10-31
Will the European Union have its ¿single family - a ¿European family - as it will have a single currency? This is the question at the origin of this book. Studies of family behavior and the organization of private life among European citizens, as well as of family member social status (children in relation to adults/parents, women in relation to men), and of social functions of the family, for example social reproduction, reveal so much convergence among European families that the reality of a ¿European family seems inevitable, and more so if one looks at foreign studies done - in Australia, the United States or Japan - of the family in Europe. However, studies of the different judicial and public policy laws in the different European Union member countries lead one to refine this first impression. The family does not have the same legal meaning in all places, and the ways in which it is defined by law and public policy continue to differ strongly, due in particular to historical factors, cultural traditions, and conceptions of the role of the State. In order for the family to be part of the construction of a European citizenship, the pluralistic nature of its political definitions will have to be recognized. Putting the family into the context of evolving European integration has never been done before. It was made possible in this study thanks to the joint efforts of two editors with long experience in social science studies of the family and as expert advisors to the European Commission, and by the work of the best international specialists in the field. This is a book intended for specialists working in the social sciences, for social and government policy-makers in the fields of family and social policy, and for all those interested in European integration.
Changing Patterns of European Family Life
Originally published in 1989, this cross-national study investigates the role and pattern of family life in fourteen countries in contemporary Europe. Providing a wealth of information on European families, it is a key source for anyone wishing to understand the changes in the family at that time. The contributors argue that, far from withering away, the family remained a very important social unit which continued to have considerable influence on other social institutions such as the state and the labour market. The central theme is the interrelation between changes in production and working life on one hand, and changes in family life and reproduction on the other. The contributors focus on the pressures and contradictions produced by the division of functions between family and work, and on problems which have arisen as a consequence of the sometimes incompatible and even conflicting demands of the two institutions. They show that the evolution of the nuclear family model in Europe had led to a great diversity of family patterns, and conclude that the family in modern European societies still had a contribution to make which no other institution could provide.
Family Life and Family Policies in Europe
This volume is a comparative study of family change in Europe and its dependency on social policy regimes. The authors explore family discourse, family law, single parents, gender relations, the "new fathers", divorce, and abortion within the framework of national policies vis-a-vis the family. Conventional wisdom assumes that policy decisions affecting the life situation of a population shape different opportunities for private living, particularly in relation to children and the family. But, the authors argue, it would be too simplistic to assume a direct causal link between welfare policies for the family and developments in the family sector. Family change is in fact mediated by institutional factors as well as by cultural traditions and political intervention. The chapters in this volume deal with the substantial and methodological problems of ascertaining the impact of different national policy regimes on family change.