Social Networks and Family Formation Processes: Young Adults' Decision Making about Parenthood

ISBN-13: 9783531177847 / Angielski / Miękka / 2011 / 274 str.

Sylvia Keim

Opis

Although the relevance of social interactions for fertility research has been increasingly acknowledged in recent years, little is known about how social influences on individuals fertility decision making are exerted and the social network structures involved. Using a mixed-methods design, this study combines problem-centred interviews and network data collected among young adults in western Germany. The author shows that personal relations strongly influence the perceptions, meanings and plans individuals express concerning parenthood and identifies basic mechanisms and channels of social influence as well as relevant network structures. The study shows how the network perspective can increase our knowledge on processes of individualization- and modernization and their effects on fertility behaviour. This book is valuable reading for academics, students and policy makers interested in family research, the network perspective, mixed-methods research.

Spis treści

The Social Network Perspective - Fertility and Family Formation - Making Decisions about Parenthood - Personal Relations, Social Influences, and Social Networks - Fertility Decline, Social Networks, and Individualization

O autorze

Dr. Sylvia Keim completed her doctoral studies at the Institute for Sociology and Demographic Research at the University of Rostock, Germany. Her research interests focus on social networks, sociology of the life course, and family research.

Blurb

How do young adults decide to become parents or to remain childless? Is this an individual choice, a couple’s decision or are there other social influences involved, such as social networks? Using a mixed-methods design, Sylvia Keim combines problem-centred interviews and network data collected among young adults in western Germany. The author shows that personal relations strongly influence the perceptions, attitudes, and plans individuals express concerning parenthood. She identifies basic mechanisms and channels of social influence as well as relevant network structures.

This book is valuable reading for academics, students, and policy makers interested in family research, the network perspective, and mixed-methods research.