Mitchell Centre Seminar Series
| Dates: | 30 November 2016 |
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| Times: | 16:00 - 17:30 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | School of Social Sciences |
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Gaelle Aeby, University of Manchester
Pluralization of personal networks across three European countries
This presentation investigates the diversity of personal networks across three countries characterized by contrasted welfare regimes: Liberal in Switzerland, Mediterranean in Portugal, and Post-socialist in Lithuania. We present a typology of personal networks based on: the combination of kin and non-kin; the ascending or descending genealogical orientation (e.g., oriented upwards to parents or downwards to grandchildren); the inclusion of extended kin (e.g., aunts, uncles, in-laws); the inclusion of different types of non-kin (e.g., work colleagues, friends); the focus on the nuclear family. As personal networks are an important source of social capital, we also aim to understand the type of social capital provided by personal configurations, by focusing on exchanges of emotional support. Data come from national representative samples (project: Life course and Personal Networks). Results show that, while partners, children and parents are overall important and provide bonding social capital, there are different patterns of sociability across countries: more inclusive of extended kin in Portugal, more inclusive of non-kin in Switzerland, and more focused on the nuclear family in Lithuania. In addition, while configurations including non-kin tend to produce bridging social capital in Switzerland and Lithuania, it is not the case in Portugal. We discuss the results in light of the network approach and the life-course perspective.
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4.8
Roscoe Building
Manchester
