115Switzerland, and 51.3% in Lithuania), there are two important differ-
ences: in Switzerland, compared to the other two countries, the Couple
type of family network is overrepresented, revealing the underlying focus
on partnership in this country. Secondly, the Friendship-origin cluster,
which was identified above as the modal cluster, is only highly repre-
sented in Portugal and in Switzerland; in contrast, in Lithuania, given the
low integration of friends in personal and family networks in comparison
with the other two countries, the types of network related to nuclear fam-
ily structures (couples and couples with children) are overrepresented.
Third, the Siblings type of network has similar proportions across the
three national contexts, revealing the significant, even if secondary (when
compared to partnership and filiation), role of brothers and sisters in
family relationships across the life course. On the other hand, the Beanpole
type of network is overrepresented in Portugal and Lithuania, due to
earlier transitions to parenthood and grandparenthood in these countries
but also to a weaker focus on intergenerational family bonds and support
in Switzerland, where the welfare state and family obligations have tradi-
tionally underlined strong obligations within the nuclear family rather
than across extended kinship relationships. The last and fifth trend that
stands out is the lower proportion of the No-family network in Portugal,
pointing to an underlying strong process of suffusion between personal
and family networks in this country as well as the potential influence of
a longstanding familialistic culture which contributes to this process,
Table 4.6 Distribution of as-family networks within each country (%)
Portugal Switzerland Lithuania Total
Couple 4.0 16.2 7.7 8.6
Friendship-origin 36.5 34.0 18.9 29.6
No-family 2.8 7.7 8.9 6.3
Siblings 11.7 13.4 11.8 12.2
Beanpole-down 10.6 1.6 10.1 8.0
Nuclear-daughter 14.6 10.7 17.5 14.6
Nuclear-son 14.9 13.0 18.3 15.6
Restricted nuclear 4.9 3.4 6.9 5.2
χ^2 255.57
Notes: p < 0.001; the numbers in bold correspond to the overrepresented
types of as-family networks
Changing Meanings of Family in Personal Relationships...