Family Research and Demographic Analysis (FReDA): Evolution, Framework, Objectives, and Design of “The German Family-Demographic Panel Study”

This article introduces the evolution, framework, objectives, and design of the new data infrastructure “FReDA – The German Family-Demographic Panel Study”, which has been funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) since 2020. FReDA is rooted in the Generation and Gender Survey (GGS) and the German Family Panel (pairfam). FReDA was initiated to facilitate research on family and demography by providing a comprehensive panel study allowing for international comparisons as well as dyadic analyses through a multi-actor design. The survey covers major fields of family research, such as fertility behaviour, reproductive health, work-family conflict, dyadic division of work, gender roles, intimate relations, separation and divorce, parenting and intergenerational relations, social inequalities, family attitudes, and well-being. FReDA interviews are conducted in a self-administered web-based (CAWI) or paper-based (PAPI) manner. The infrastructure consists of two different samples. First, the new FReDA-GGS survey started in early 2021, with a wave 1 study population of individuals aged 18 to 49 years and their partners. Second, the FReDA-pairfam survey will continue the 14-wave pairfam sample from 2022 onwards. The questionnaires of both samples will be harmonised as FReDA evolves. Data accessibility, organisation, and future perspectives of the data infrastructure are described and discussed in the paper’s conclusions.

Does Parental Investment Shape Adult Children’s Fertility Intentions? Findings From a German Family Panel

Parents can play an important role in the childbearing plans of adult children. However, studies testing whether changes in parental investment are associated with subsequent changes in fertility intentions over time are lacking. We investigated whether parental investment, measured as contact frequency, emotional closeness, financial support, and childcare, is associated with adult children’s intentions to have a first and a second, or subsequent, child within the next 2 years. These associations were studied in four different parent-adult child dyads based on the sex of parents and adult children (i.e, mother-daughter, mother-son, father-daughter, father-son). The participants are from the German Family Panel, which is a longitudinal survey of younger and middle-aged adults with eight follow-up waves. We exploited within-person (or fixed-effect) regression models, which concentrated an individual’s variation over time (i.e., whether changes in parental investment frequencies are associated with subsequent changes in adult children’s fertility intentions). It was detected that increased emotional closeness between fathers and daughters was associated with increased adult daughter’s intentions to have a first child but father-daughter contact decreased daughter’s intentions to have another child, and maternal financial support decreased son’s intentions to have a first child. Overall, statistically nonsignificant associations outweighed significant ones. Although it is often assumed that parental investment is an important factor influencing the childbearing decisions of adult children, the present findings indicate that parental investment may not increase adult children’s intentions to have a/another child in Germany.

German Family Policy in the Context of Solving Demographic Problems

The demographic change in Germany brings about diverse challenges and burdens. Family policy has the potential to play a special, formative role in influencing and shaping demographic development. This raises the question of how family policy is determined within its current demographic context. To answer it, this article lays out the fundamental goals, schemes and responsibilities of present-day family policy in Germany a striking feature of which is that its task is cross-sectional in nature. The example of old-age provisions shows how far-reaching family policy schemes are, and how they are gaining in importance given the current demographic context.

Muslimische Migrantenfamilien im deutschen Sorge- und Umgangsverfahren

Family law cases involving Muslim migrant families play an increasingly important role in German family courts. Due to many obstacles and cultural prejudices, judges and law practitioners often struggle with a lack of information about the families and the cases. This can lead to difficult proceedings and unsatisfactory decisions. The study examines and compares the German and the Islamic family law, focusing on the laws of Syria and Afghanistan. Based on the results, the study tries to develop viable and child-oriented solutions to the problems.