107country), and siblings (10% in Portugal; 13.2% in Switzerland; 11.3% in
Lithuania).
Beyond these common trends, there are some differences between the
three countries. In Switzerland, partnership clearly stands out in the attri-
bution of family meaning: both partners and ex-partners have higher per-
centages than in the other two countries; on the other hand, in-laws and
grandchildren, but especially children-in-law and parents-in-law, are less
perceived as family than in the other two countries, thereby pointing to a
specific focus on the nuclear family (the conjugal dyad, parent–child and
sibling relationships) in this country rather than on extended or intergen-
erational relationships. In Portugal and Lithuania kin in both descending
line (children, children in-law, and grandchildren) and ascending line
(parents and parents in-law) feature more clearly than in Switzerland;
however, we must keep in mind that the higher proportions of grandchil-
Table 4.3 Types of ties cited in as-family networks. Frequency of alters in absolute
numbers and percentage
Portugal Switzerland Lithuania
N % N % N %
Partner 800 19.4 539 26.6 642 20.9
Ex-partner 14 0.3 23 1.1 6 0.2
Father 242 5.9 100 4.9 161 5.2
Mother 348 8.4 170 8.4 333 10.8
Son 657 15.9 303 14.9 591 19.2
Daughter 697 16.9 301 14.8 578 18.8
Brother 178 4.3 119 5.9 145 4.7
Sister 237 5.7 149 7.3 203 6.6
Grandparent 15 0.4 6 0.3 19 0.6
Parents-in-law 117 2.8 24 1.2 43 1.4
Grandchildren 185 4.5 11 0.5 124 4.0
Step-family 25 0.6 21 1.0 17 0.6
Children-in-law 93 2.3 11 0.5 90 2.9
Siblings-in-law 72 1.7 30 1.5 32 1.0
Collateral 127 3.1 69 3.4 49 1.6
Fictive kin 15 0.4 7 0.3 4 0.1
Male friends 92 2.2 36 1.8 8 0.1
Female friends 168 4.1 94 4.6 16 0.3
Colleague 28 0.7 3 0.1 8 0.3
Other non-kin 23 0.6 13 0.6 8 0.6
Total 4133 100 2029 100 3086 100Changing Meanings of Family in Personal Relationships...