145available grandchildren. In Lithuania individuals are also less likely to
develop Mixed configurations than their counterparts in the other two
countries. Extended conjugal configurations are more often present in
Portugal, suggesting a more inclusive attitude towards in-laws and collat-
erals, whereas they are less present in Switzerland. One striking difference
is the prominent position of Friendship configurations in Switzerland, in
particular when contrasted to Lithuania, where this type of configuration
is almost non-existent. In Portugal, the Friendship configuration (11.9%)
is almost as significant as in the total sample (11.4%). Besides Friendship
configurations, Work-oriented configurations are also more common in
Switzerland, emphasizing the prominence of non-kin in Swiss configura-
tions and the centrality of the work sphere in this country.
After this first look at personal configurations across countries, we
investigate whether the impact of the macro context remains when add-
ing the impact of individuals’ positions in social and family structures.^3
The main finding is that the impact of the macro context is maintained
and even reinforced when controlling for structural and family structures
(see Table 5.3). Individuals in Switzerland develop more Alone, Friendship,
Work-oriented, and Sibling-oriented configurations than their counterparts
in Portugal. Individuals in Lithuania develop more Beanpole, Narrow-
nuclear, Alone, and Sibling-oriented configurations than Portuguese peo-
ple. Correlatively, individuals in Portugal have more Extended conjugal,
Parent, Beanpole, and Narrow-nuclear configurations than individuals in
Switzerland, and more Friendship, Parent, Mixed, and Extended conjugal
than individuals in Lithuania. Country specificities are high.
In summary, individuals in Switzerland align themselves either with
the nuclear family (family of procreation and family of origin, the latter
being restricted to parents rather than branching out to parents-in-law)
or, and this is a significant finding, beyond close kinship, with a stronger
emphasis on friends and paid work. They are also more likely to be alone,
with no network of personal relationships. Thus, the social and economic
pathway of the country is reflected in the way its personal networks are
constituted. On the one hand, it reflects the sociability practices
characterizing Liberal welfare regimes, with a focus on the individual’s
work and associational activities or even a lack of sociability, given the
importance of individual self-reliance (Ganjour and Widmer 2016 ). On
the other hand, it reveals the conservative element of the Swiss welfare
Mapping the Plurality of Personal Configurations