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Potential and effective support network of young Italian adults
Viviana Amati
Giulia Rivellini
Susanna Zaccarin
2014-01-20
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 defne two kinds of support networks
- the potential support ego network and the efective family network - with the aim of
analyzing the efects of network characteristics (size and composition) on the probability of receiving help. Our findings show that couples received more support 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 diferences provide evidence of distinct behavior
between partners in activating their network for (family) support.
Series
DEAMS Research Paper Series 2013, 6
Source
Viviana Amati, Giulia Rivellini, Susanna Zaccarin, "Potential and effective support network of young Italian adults", DEAMS Research Paper Series 2013, N° 6, Trieste, Edizioni Università di Trieste, pp. 31.
Languages
en