This book critically assesses the main features of the modernization of family life and personal relationships by examining and comparing three European countries with different social and political pathways: Portugal, Switzerland and Lithuania. Drawing on national surveys of family trajectories and social networks, the contributors highlight personal and family relationships through the lens of network and life course perspectives as well as gender and generational perspectives. Providing innovative, comparative findings on families and personal networks through the use of diverse methodologies, this edited collection will be of interest to scholars, students and policymakers across a range of social science disciplines.

Karin Wall is Research Professor at the Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon, Portugal. Eric D. Widmer is Professor at the Department of Sociology, University of Geneva, Switzerland. Jacques-Antoine Gauthier is Senior Lecturer at the Life Course and Social Inequality Research Centre, University of Lausanne, Switzerland. Vida Cesnuityte is Lecturer at Mykolas Romeris University, Lithuania. Rita Gouveia is Post-doctoral Fellow at the NCCR-LIVES, University of Geneva, Switzerland.