237absorb all relationships into a dense network of bonding social capital.
Lastly, personal networks in Lithuania may be seen to reflect the overrid-
ing difficulties and uncertainties experienced by the former Soviet-
occupied Baltic countries: a totalitarian past which undermined
commitment and trust, political instability, and economic upheaval in
the early twenty-first century, leading to mass migration and difficult liv-
ing conditions, and a new normative frame centred on pro-traditional
family values and policies. These historical and social factors seem to have
made it more difficult for individuals to exercise autonomy in personal
relationships or to be freed of past constraints linked, as in Portugal, to
socio-economic hardship and lack of opportunities for individual auton-
omy and self-reliance. Personal networks in Lithuania are smaller, less
open to non-kin relationships than in Switzerland and Portugal, and also
less cohesive, since emotional support is weaker in spite of the smaller
size and strong kin orientation of personal bonds.
Acknowledgement The authors of the chapter wish to acknowledge sponsors
that made it possible to carry out this investigation, the results of which are
presented in the chapter. In Switzerland, the research was supported by the Swiss
National Science Foundation and the Swiss National Centre of Competence in
Research LIVES Overcoming Vulnerability: Life-Course Perspectives. In
Portugal, the research was carried out within the national survey, “Family
Trajectories and Social Networks”, coordinated by Professor K. Wall from the
Institute of Social Sciences (ICS) from the University of Lisbon. In Lithuania,
the research was carried out based on data collected within the research project,
“Trajectories of Family Models and Personal Networks: Intergenerational
Perspective”, coordinated by Professor V. Kanopiené from Mykolas Romeris
University (Lithuania) and funded by the Research Council of Lithuania.
Notes
- Ethnicity was not considered in this book because of the sample limita-
tions. We of course consider it as another critical factor for personal net-
works, the effects of which should be considered in future configurational
studies.
Conclusions