Abstract
International literature on individual behavior has shown the importance of the
network of relationships binding individuals to the people who are close to them in
everyday life. Family and other role relations are important sources of emotional and
instrumental support, as well as social companionship. For the Italian scenario, the 2003
Generations and Gender Survey offers some challenges for constructing ego-centered
support networks based on reasonable assumptions of the frequency of contacts and residential
proximity of respondents with kin, friends and neighbors. Focusing on young
Italian adults aged 18–34 years who are single or have a partner, we define two kinds of
support networks—the potential support ego network and the effective support family
network—with the aim of analyzing the effects of network characteristics (size and
composition) on the probability of receiving help. Our findings show that couples received
more support and more often than singles. Although singles’ potential support networks
were more characterized by no family ties than the ones of partners, the availability of a
‘‘comprehensive’’ network or a network not ‘‘encapsulated’’ only in the family increased
the probability of receiving help in both groups. Moreover, gender differences provide
evidence of distinct behavior between partners in activating their network for (family)
support.
Lingua originale | English |
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pagine (da-a) | N/A-N/A |
Rivista | Social Indicators Research |
DOI | |
Stato di pubblicazione | Pubblicato - 2014 |
Keywords
- Effective support family network
- Potential support ego network
- Support
- Young Italian adults