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Im Mittelpunkt des Beitrages steht die subjektive Bedeutung von Erwerbsverläufen und -erfahrungen für die Frage der Familiengründung bei Frauen in Ost- und Westdeutschland. Es werden exemplarisch vier Fallgeschichten von höher ausgebildeten und in Vollzeit erwerbstätigen Frauen im Alter von 30 Jahren aus Rostock und Lübeck vorgestellt, die, obwohl sie sich Kinder wünschen, noch kinderlos sind. Im Rahmen von qualitativen Interviews wurde danach gefragt, welchen Weg der Familiengründung diese jungen Frauen einschlagen möchten, warum sie bisher kinderlos geblieben sind und welche Rolle die Vereinbarkeit von Mutterschaft und Beruf spielt. Trotz vergleichbarer materieller und wirtschaftlicher Lebenssituationen und Rahmenbedingungen zeigen sich deutliche Unterschiede zwischen den Frauen bei den subjektiven Familienmodellen, den Verhaltensstrategien und Vorstellungen in Bezug auf die Voraussetzungen von Kindern und Familiengründung sowie beim Planungsgrad der Familiengründung. Dies belegt die Vermutung, dass nicht nur die aktuellen Lebensumstände, sondern in hohem Maße auch inkorporierte und habituelle, d.h. tradierte und als selbstverständlich erlebte Unterschiede für das Projekt Elternschaft von Bedeutung sind. (ICI2)

Compared to non-migrant mothers in couples, migrant lone mothers face a much higher risk of being out of the labour market, given that both lone motherhood and international migration have been shown to be strongly related to non-employment. In this chapter, we analyse the labour force participation of immigrant women and non-migrants living in Switzerland, and compare them by distinguishing between mothers in couples and lone mothers. We use data from the Swiss Labour Force Survey (wave 2008; N = 6814). These data allow us to account for intra-group variation among the immigrants by distinguishing them by their migrant generation and their country of origin. The analyses include women aged 20–54 who were living with at least one child under age 18. The dependent variable in the multinomial regression analyses is employment status, differentiating between full-time employment, long and short part-time employment, and non-employment. Results indicate that lone motherhood prevalence is similar among migrant and Swiss mothers (11%). In both groups, lone mothers are less likely to be in employment than mothers in couples. However, we find variation among lone mothers by migrant status: migrants have a higher non-employment rate overall. Among the employed women, migrant lone mothers tend to work full time, whereas non-migrant lone mothers tend to work part time. For lone mothers being an international migrant is therefore associated with an increased risk not only of being out of the labour force, but also of facing difficulties linked to work-family reconciliation. These results are relevant for the design of appropriate policies for migrants, lone parents, and work-family reconciliation, particularly in a societal context like Switzerland, where child care services are insufficient and the number of mothers who work full time is relatively small.

AbstractBoth public social assistance and private child and spousal support reduce the poverty risks of single parent households. However, research on system interactions has highlighted that social assistance eligibility is often denied for households that have a private support order. Such public‐private substitution reduces social expenditures but undermines poverty reduction and prolongs economic dependency in separated couples. Using Swiss administrative data on ex‐spouse income and social assistance take‐up after divorce, this study develops an empirical approach to quantify public‐private substitution. We have found that marital separation increased a mother's probability of receiving social assistance by 19 percentage points if both her own and her ex‐spouse's income were in the bottom 30% of the distribution. This probability was reduced to 1 percentage point for low‐income mothers whose ex‐spouses had top‐30% incomes. This strict public‐private substitution could partially account for child poverty and reflects the traditional gender regime in Switzerland.

Using a mixed-method design, this study explores the heterogeneity in employment trajectories before and after the transition to lone parenthood in Switzerland. First, we perform sequence and cluster analysis on data from the Swiss Household panel to identify typical employment trajectories around the transition to lone parenthood, and then estimate their association with individual and household characteristics (N=462). Finally, we contrast these results with findings from a content analysis of narrative interviews with lone mothers residing in Switzerland (N=38), focusing on values and norms concerning work and care. We identify five employment patterns characterized by either an increase in labor supply (especially for those with more/older children) or by stability in or outside the labor market (for highly educated or younger mothers respectively). The analyses of the interviews provide insights on how employment opportunities and decisions differ by entry mode into lone parenthood, the post-separation relationship with the children's father, and the ability to mobilize individual, social and institutional resources. The heterogeneity of employment trajectories calls for more attention to within-group differences rather than focusing exclusively on the divide between lone and coupled mothers. By identifying the multiplicity of factors shaping lone mothers' decisions on their labor market participation, this work feeds into the literature suggesting that effective policies encouraging lone mothers' labor-market participation should consider: (i) their normative priorities when facing work and care trade-offs, and (ii) the availability of informal and formal support.

Over the last 10 years at-risk-of-poverty rates across Europe have been rather stable or rising only slightly. However, certain demographic groups face comparatively high poverty risks. Lone mothers belong usually to the most affected groups by income poverty - but variations are striking. Though, still little research has been done for explaining this vast variation across Europe. It is argued that institutional arrangements in the labor market and the welfare state shaped by existing gender inequalities have an impact on lone mothers' poverty risks. For instance, in countries where women's access to (full time) paid work is low and/or the gender pay gap is high, lone mothers are particularly disadvantaged due to the absent (male) partner. Furthermore, the lack of public childcare and a gendered eligibility to social benefits aggravate lone mothers' poverty risk. I also hypothesize that gendered institutional arrangements mediate the effect of individual characteristics on lone mothers' poverty risks - namely the poverty-reducing effect of employment and the poverty-enhancing effect of children. To prove these hypotheses empirically, I compare 25 European countries running several multi-level models based on pooled EU-SILC data (2009-2012). Results show that existing gender inequalities - particularly the access to full time employment for women and gender-specific welfare eligibility - indeed account for country differences in the level of lone mothers' poverty risk. Furthermore, there is empirical evidence that gender inequalities in the labor market shape the poverty-reducing effect of full time employment. Other specific mechanisms modeled in form of cross-level interactions cannot be supported by the data.

Les mères sans conjoint et avec des enfants à charge sont plus susceptibles d'être sans emploi et pauvres, deux facteurs qui augmentent les risques d'être en mauvaise santé. En Suisse, l'insuffisance des politiques de conciliation entre travail et famille et une fiscalité qui avantage les couples mariés adoptant une division traditionnelle du travail se traduisent par de faibles taux de participation des mères au marché du travail. Pour le cas particulier des mères seules vivant avec leurs enfants, l'emploi peut être associé à une meilleure santé parce qu'il atténue les difficultés économiques liées au fait d'être le seul pourvoyeur de ressources du foyer. Cependant, le travail peut représenter un facteur de stress supplémentaire étant donné que les mères assument désormais seules la majeure partie des soins aux enfants. Comment l'état de santé autodéclaré est-il associé à la situation familiale et le statut d'activité en Suisse ? Les analyses du Panel suisse de ménages (vagues 1999-2011) montrent que les mères seules qui sont hors du marché du travail présentent plus de risques de déclarer un mauvais état de santé, en particulier si elles disposent d'un diplôme du secondaire supérieur. En revanche, les mères seules se déclarent en meilleure santé si elles travaillent à temps plein plutôt qu'à temps partiel, alors que c'est l'inverse pour les mères en couple.

AbstractOn the basis of the analysis of qualitative interviews in Western Germany, it has been argued that personal relationships have a strong impact on individuals' family formation processes and childbearing intentions. Persons who influence individuals' childbearing choices were identified. Strong ties, such as among core family members (i.e., parents and siblings), are an important contributing factor, but the authors are also able to show that weak ties, such as those among colleagues and acquaintances, need to be considered when examining social influence on family formation processes. Apart from single network partners, influential groups of persons have been identified. Such groups serve as a comparative standard regarding the timing of having one's first child and subsequent children.

A typical trajectory continues to dominate the life course in Switzerland: most people marry, have children, and adopt an unequal division of work between spouses. How can we understand this (relatively) weak diversity in family forms? Swiss institutions remain largely conceived in reference to the "Male Breadwinner" model: do individuals who do family in alternative ways encounter specific difficulties, which encourage conformity? Researchers from the National Centre for Competence in Research LIVES test this hypothesis with data from the families and generations Surveys collected in 2013 and 2018 by the Federal Statistical Office. Do parents who cohabit, are both fully employed, get separated, adopt shared custody, remain without children or have migrated, encounter economic, relational, or day-to-day management disadvantages which affect their health and life satisfaction?

Crossover effects of parental unemployment on wellbeing of children attract growing attention in research on social inequalities. Recent economic crises call for identifying policies that mitigate the adverse effects of unemployment. Building on the theoretical insights from Capability Approach, we examine the relationship between parental unemployment and wellbeing of adolescents across countries with different educational policies. We use multilevel modelling and microdata on economic and subjective wellbeing of household members from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC). We combine microdata on 45,992 adolescents in 32 countries with macro-level indicators of educational policies. We find that parental unemployment is associated with lower adolescent wellbeing, but the magnitude of this association varies depending on access to financial support for participation in education. Adolescents who receive educational allowances and who live in countries with broader access to such support are less harmed by parental unemployment. ; Sidnumrering saknas / Pagination missing. ; HEALFAM

En Suisse comme dans les autres pays européens, les formes des familles se sont diversifiées. La littérature suggère que le bien-être des individus dans différentes configurations familiales dépend étroitement du contexte institutionnel : plus les institutions sont adaptées à cette diversité, plus les déficits de bien-être rencontrés par des individus dans des formes atypiques seront faibles. Or, en Suisse, les institutions encadrant la famille restent fortement structurées autour du modèle de Monsieur Gagne-Pain. Dans ce numéro spécial, nous nous interrogeons sur le bien-être des individus dans différentes formes de famille atypiques ou minoritaires en Suisse. Dans ce cadre introductif, nous soulignons les spécificités de la diversification de la famille en Suisse et faisons un point sur la littérature traitant du bien-être dans diverses formes familiales. Nous décrivons ensuite le système de politiques familiale et de genre suisse, qui, nous en faisons l'hypothèse, médiatise le lien entre bien-être et structure familiale. Nous définissons la notion de bien-être et discutons de ses différentes mesures, avant de détailler l'Enquête des Familles et des Générations (2013) qui a permis les analyses présentées ici. Nous terminons par un résumé des différents articles qui forment ce numéro groupé.

Intro -- Blurb Text -- Contents -- Chapter 1: Introduction: Situating Children of Migrants Across Borders and Origins -- 1.1 Introduction -- 1.2 Comparison as a Key Methodological Tool and a Challenging Perspective in the Study of the Children of Migrants -- 1.2.1 Children of Immigrants: A Challenging Definition -- 1.2.2 Comparative Designs -- 1.3 Life Course Perspective and Mixed-Methods Approaches in the Study of Children of Migrants -- 1.3.1 The Life Course Paradigm -- 1.3.2 Life Course Designs -- 1.3.3 Data Collection to Analyze the Life Courses of Children of Migrants -- 1.4 The Biography and Identity of Second-Generation Residents as a Negotiation Process -- 1.5 Transnational Approach and the Second Generation: Beyond Methodological Nationalism -- 1.5.1 Beyond Methodological Nationalism -- 1.5.2 Transnational Designs -- 1.6 Future Research -- References -- Part I: Comparison as Key Methodological Tool and Challenging Perspective in the Study of the Children of Migrants -- Chapter 2: Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't: The Challenges of Including and Comparing the Children of Immigrants in European Survey Data -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Defining the Children of Immigrants in Survey Data: Who Are We Talking About? -- 2.3 Levels of Analysis -- 2.4 Benchmarking the Comparisons -- 2.4.1 The Majority/Minority Dichotomy -- 2.4.2 Intergenerational Comparisons -- 2.4.3 Comparisons Between and Within Groups -- 2.5 Choices and Their Implications for Research -- 2.6 Conclusions -- References -- Chapter 3: Risk Factors of Labor-Market Insertion for Children of Immigrants in Switzerland -- 3.1 Background and Research Questions -- 3.1.1 Second-Generation Residents' Access to the Labor Market -- 3.1.2 Second-Generation Residents in Switzerland -- 3.1.3 Research Questions -- 3.2 Data and Methods -- 3.2.1 Data -- 3.2.2 Sample -- 3.2.3 Variables.

intergenerational relations; transfer behaviour; migration; multicultural; religious identity; research methods; second generation

Objective: This article shows the analytical value of an approach that integrates theoretical elaborations about the temporal orientations of different types of agency (pragmatic, identity, and life course) and uncertainty management, to analyse how families dealt with the challenges emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Background: The pandemic has been a major shock that has seriously challenged families' ability to adapt to sudden changes affecting multiple domains of life. Switzerland established a low-intensity lockdown in the spring of 2020, with social-distancing measures based on official recommendations. Changes in employment situations and school closures resulted in significant alterations to family life. This study examines how individuals with a trajectory of lone parenthood dealt with the increased uncertainties generated by this novel context. Method: Empirical data stems from the fourth wave of fieldwork of the longitudinal project "The multiple paths of lone parenthood", ongoing in French-speaking Switzerland since 2012-2013. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 participants between April and June 2020. Results: The emergence of novel situations, the ambiguity of social-distancing measures, and the breakdown of routines accentuated pragmatic agency for most families. With the chronification of uncertainty, parents sought to regain identity agency by restabilising everyday routines. Uncertainty about future developments diminished life course agency, especially for parents in more insecure situations. Conclusion: The study offers an original perspective on the challenges of living through increased uncertainty and changing environments triggered by the pandemic, by highlighting the relevance of temporalities for understanding agency within life course processes.