The challenge of family: expectations, compatibility, well-being

What factors shape family life today? FReDA presented four current analyses from the field of family life: Researchers from the project presented the latest findings on the compatibility of family and career, the understanding of gender roles, the number of children and the well-being of the population. Around 70 participants attended the information event, which took place on November 14, 2023, both in person at the capital city office of the Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB) in Berlin and via video conference.

Four analyses from the field of family tension

Prof. Dr. Martin Bujard presented an analysis of the compatibility of family and career in his lecture "Desire and reality: employment potential in and after the rush hour of life". According to this analysis, people often have to manage two particularly energy- and time-consuming life projects almost simultaneously, especially between the ages of 25 and 35: starting a career and starting a family. When it comes to starting a family, people of both sexes imagine that men should reduce their working hours slightly and women somewhat more. In reality, however, women reduce their working hours much more than they consider desirable when starting a family. Later on, they increase their workload only gradually and to a lesser extent than originally planned. At this point, society is "giving away" a lot of potential. Particularly in view of the shortage of skilled workers, this is a lever that politicians could use, says Martin Bujard.

The study by Leonie Kleinschrot examined the "Differences and similarities in gender role perceptions in East and West Germany". According to the study, an egalitarian understanding of gender roles is widespread in contemporary Germany. However, there are still differences between East and West: people in the new federal states have a more egalitarian understanding of gender roles than people in the old federal states. In this context, the overlaps in beliefs about equality and children's well-being are striking. Overall, the results of Leonie Kleinschrot's analysis confirm the multidimensionality of gender role perceptions.

Kerstin Ruckdeschel looked at a group of people that rarely appears in media coverage: Families or partnerships with many children. The FReDA surveys with their comparatively large number of participants have opened up new research potential for science. In the study "Who are the child-rich? - A current survey", Ruckdeschel states that multi-child families, i.e. families with three or more children, are still a minority in Germany. Many people in Germany believe that the ideal number of children for a family is two. The majority of families with three or more children perceive social discrimination in this context. In addition, the analysis shows that families with many children are also more likely to have deviations in family composition and that the frequency of step-families and consecutive families increases. And depending on the family composition, there are also differences in well-being.

Prof. Dr. C. Katharina Spieß presents a new format of the Federal Institute for Population Research: the "BiB.Monitor Well-Being". This is a new FReDA-based BiB.product that is to be published annually and examines how satisfied the population in Germany is. After all, how satisfied people actually are with their lives depends not only on their state of health or income, but also on other demographic characteristics. The first edition of the "BiB.Monitor Well-Being" examines the extent to which life satisfaction is linked to indicators such as family situation, education, immigration history, relocation and commuting experiences or distance to the older generation. Subjective well-being is therefore one of the most comprehensive social indicators that assesses an individual's life, including the objective standard of living. The current BiB.Monitor shows, among other things, that life satisfaction can vary greatly depending on the composition of the household: For example, the proportion of people who are not very satisfied is particularly high in the group of singles with children. In contrast, people living in a couple household without children, for example, are comparatively satisfied with their lives. Further evaluations can be found in the "BiB.Monitor Well-Being", which you can download here.

Series of events offers up-to-date information on family

"FReDA informs" is an ongoing series of events in which researchers present their latest findings based on FReDA data. The speakers discuss the political implications and the need for action arising from their research. The series of events is aimed at representatives from politics, administration and civil society. In November 2022, the project reported on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in this series under the title "Families in the pandemic: stress, cohesion and attitudes" based on the first round of data collection.

The studies that the project is presenting to the interested public are based on an exceptionally broad database: the FReDA panel regularly surveys around 30,000 people in Germany and repeats these surveys every six months. On the one hand, this makes it possible to record very precisely how people live, what their life and family situation looks like and what their needs are, but also, for example, what attitudes, fears or worries they have. On the other hand, the regular surveys also allow us to observe developments and changes very closely - especially changes in the course of life and relationships. We will inform you in good time about the next "FReDA informs" event on our website and in our newsletter.