Network configurations, conjugal and parent-child relationships

Jean-Marie Le Goff, Université de Lausanne
Eric D. Widmer, Université de Lausanne
Jean Kellerhals

This paper examines how various configurations of network characteristics affect conjugal and parent-child relationships. To investigate this issue, we use data from a large survey on family functioning in Switzerland. We explore the extent to which various types of conjugal networks affect several crucial dimensions of conjugal and parent-child relationships, such as conjugal problems, conjugal satisfaction, divorce propensity, problems in the assumption of parental roles, parent-child disagreements, quality of parent-child relationships and concern for the child. When investigating the distinction between direct, indirect and buffering effects, we find that network types have significant direct and indirect effects on parent-child relationships but no significant buffering effect. We further discuss the importance of our results for the understanding of nuclear family relationships and structures within larger relational contexts.