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models. In addition to Beanpole configurations, other configurations are
influenced by the presence of children, especially the Sibling-oriented
type, which childless individuals in all three countries are more likely to
develop. In Portugal, the transition to parenthood is positively associated
with Extended conjugal configurations, while the association is negative in
Switzerland. This positive association in Portugal may be linked to the
fact that the birth of a child strengthens the bonds between the couple
and the parents from both sides, as they are key actors in care and mate-
rial support during this transition. Childless individuals more often have
non-kinship configurations, like Work-oriented configurations in Portugal
and Friendship configurations in Switzerland.
Finally, as Sibling-oriented configurations are developed only by respon-
dents who have siblings, we have to drop having siblings to predict them.
Besides Sibling-oriented configurations, individuals who have siblings
tend to develop fewer Parent configurations in Portugal and Lithuania
and Friendship configurations in Lithuania and, to a lesser extent, in
Switzerland. In Portugal, individuals with siblings also have fewer Mixed
configurations.
In summary, aspects related to family structures are important.
Parenthood has a very strong impact and creates important cleavages:
on the one hand, individuals without children who develop configura-
tions centred on siblings or configurations oriented towards non-kin
and, on the other hand, individuals with children who develop nuclear
or Beanpole configurations. Being currently in a conjugal relationship
and living together is the second strong differentiating factor. Single
individuals have configurations developed around siblings and non-
kin, whereas non-single individuals have configurations developed
around children. In adulthood, sibling relationships come in second or
third place in the hierarchy of family relationships (Rossi and Rossi
1990 ), after the partner and even more after children. Coming back to
the concept of circles of closeness (Kahn and Antonucci 1980 ), sib-
lings are pushed away to the second circle when children enter the first.
Chapter 7 examines in depth the impact of biographical factors by tak-
ing into consideration whole trajectories of co-residence stages, events,
and transitions. We will therefore not elaborate further on this in the
present chapter.
G. Aeby et al.