A three-volume work examined kin relationships in contemporary Europe. It considered the strengths and weaknesses of the systems found in different countries, and the extent to which each could be influenced – for better or worse – by the state.
Source: Hannes Grandits, Family, Kinship and State in Contemporary Europe (Volume 1): Century of Warfare – Eight Countries, Campus Verlag | Patrick Heady and Peter Schweitzer, Family, Kinship and State in Contemporary Europe (Volume 2): View from Below – Nineteen Localities, Campus Verlag | Patrick Heady and Martin Kohli, Family, Kinship and State in Contemporary Europe (Volume 3: Perspectives on Theory and Policy), Campus Verlag
Links: Summary (1) | Summary (2) | Summary (3)
Date: 2010-Dec
An article developed a typology of family change over the first five years of children's lives using data from the Millennium Cohort Study. It examined the changes over time of parental living arrangements and described a range of social, economic, and well-being indicators. It showed that nearly three-quarters of the sample of young children had not experienced changes in family structures. The most advantaged group appeared to be children living with continuously married parents, followed by those who lived with cohabiting parents who married. Using static or overly simplified measures of family structure hid important variations in the experiences of children.
Source: Lidia Panico, Mel Bartley, Yvonne Kelly, Anne McMunn and Amanda Sacker, 'Changes in family structure in early childhood in the Millennium Cohort Study', Population Trends 142, Winter 2010, Office for National Statistics
Links: Article
Date: 2010-Dec
An article examined the changing relationship between traditional legal definitions of parenthood and newer scientific definitions. The problem with knowledge about genetic links was that it was not mere 'information' – it was powerful knowledge that changed relationships regardless of the wishes of those involved. The fear of such changes might mean that families preferred to reject openness, especially if the risks of loss appeared too high.
Source: Carol Smart, 'Law and the regulation of family secrets', International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, Volume 24 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-Oct
An article used widow(er)hood statistics and Census data to examine changes in the circumstances of couples in England and Wales separated by death.
Source: Michael Hirst and Anne Corden, 'Change in living arrangements following death of a partner in England and Wales, 1971 to 2001', Population Trends 141, Winter 2010, Office for National Statistics
Links: Article
Date: 2010-Sep
An article examined the impact of childhood disability on brothers and sisters in the family. Siblings experienced 'disability by association' due to the interactive effect of living with a disabled brother or sister.
Source: Peter Burke, 'Brothers and sisters of disabled children: the experience of disability by association', British Journal of Social Work, Volume 40 Number 6
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-Sep
An article presented the findings of a survey on children with a non-resident parent, carried out in 2008-09. It estimated the number of children who had a non-resident parent, and compared it Labour Force Survey data. It also explored the direct contact arrangements between children and their non-resident parent, and the partnership status of resident and non-resident parents.
Source: Ben Wilson, 'Children with a non-resident parent', Population Trends 140, Summer 2010, Office for National Statistics
Links: Article | ONS press release
Date: 2010-Jun
A new book examined the mother's experience of separation from her child at the time of the latter's home-leaving.
Source: Trish Green, Motherhood, Absence and Transition: When adult children leave home, Ashgate Publications
Links: Summary
Date: 2010-May
A new book examined the complexities of family relations and practices in the recent past, and how these had been reflected in policy-making in Sweden, Denmark, and Britain. It considered how debates about responsibility, obligation, and rights had been 'gendered' in social policy and welfare practice. It focused on the intersections of family, gender, race, and ethnicity; and on the different ways in which legislation and policy had been used to regulate not only immigration but also the lives of migrant families.
Source: Janet Fink and Asa Lundqvist (eds.), Changing Relations of Welfare: Family, gender and migration in Britain and Scandinavia, Ashgate Publications
Links: Summary
Date: 2010-Apr
A new book examined new understandings of ethnicities, identities, and family forms across a number of ethnic groups, family types, and national boundaries. It was based on new empirical data from distinct sets of transnational family networks in minority communities. It used the concept of social capital to explore how these families managed to maintain close and meaningful links.
Source: Harry Goulbourne, Tracey Reynolds, John Solomos and Elisabetta Zontini, Transnational Families: Ethnicities, Identities and Social Capital, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2010-Apr
A paper said that idealized notions of personal relationships, for example about the 'proper' way to be a family or to be a friend, developed within particular cultures and contexts. In practice, however, these 'models-in-the-mind' might not correspond with the way people actually lived. It suggested the idea of a 'personal community' – the collection of 'important' personal ties in which people were embedded – as a practical schema. Through the lens of personal communities, different patterns of commitment to friends and family could be empirically observed.
Source: Ray Pahl and Liz Spencer, Family, friends and personal communities; changing models-in-the-mind, Working Paper 2010-01, Institute for Social and Economic Research/University of Essex
Links: Working paper | Abstract
Date: 2010-Feb
A new book examined ways in which raising questions about gender could help researchers and practitioners better understand family relationships and issues in children's development.
Source: Brid Featherstone, Carol-Ann Hooper, Jonathan Scourfield and Julie Taylor (eds.), Gender and Child Welfare in Society, Wiley
Links: Summary
Date: 2010-Jan