233networks, which is in line with what is traditionally depicted as a south-
ern European profile, where previous and recent generations have been
constrained by difficult living conditions, a weak or (more recently)
austerity- driven welfare state, and strong family solidarities. On the other
hand, Portugal stands out as the country with a more diversified palette
of kin and non-kin ties and better gender balance in terms of the propor-
tion of male and female alters. This means that regardless of the salience
of the family of procreation, personal networks also include members of
the family of origin, collaterals, and in-laws in combination with friends.
The importance of in-laws alongside grandchildren shows the perma-
nence of strong intergenerational relationships in Portuguese society, as
parents-in-law are important caregivers for their grandchildren. At the
same time, the opposite is also true, as children-in-law, particularly
daughters-in-law, are also providers of care and support.
A second set of results concerning contextual effects shows that the
mechanisms which generate family meaning operate in different ways in
the three national scenarios. In Switzerland, there is little overlap between
personal and family ties, mainly linked to the fact that non-kin members,
in particular friends (who are frequently cited by Swiss respondents), are
less likely to be perceived as family compared with Portugal and Lithuania.
In this country, family meaning thus emerges as driven by blood and alli-
ance principles as well as some electivity within close kinship ties, mean-
ing that even parents and children, usually given family relationships in
the traditional components of kinship in Western societies, may some-
times be excluded from family meaning. Family networks in Switzerland
also reveal two other important trends: the couple type of family network
based on partnership is largely overrepresented, and respondents are more
restrictive with regard to in-laws, and also to intergenerational relation-
ships in descending and ascending line.
In contrast, in Portugal and Lithuania, there is a tendency for indi-
viduals to perceive important personal ties overwhelmingly as family and
to branch out more frequently towards intergenerational ties and in-laws;
this would point, in these countries, to a process of overlap whereby close
personal relationships are imbued with family meaning and easily
absorbed into the realm of the family. However, in Portugal, even those
that are non-kin tend to be imbued with family meaning, driven by a
Conclusions