67factors. The unit of analysis will be the network and, with the exception
of network size, we will use the same measure to assess the salience of all
the compositional features: the proportion of alters with each of these
characteristics by network, that is, relative representativeness.^1
Composition of Personal Networks: Who Is Included?
As stated in the Introduction, we adopted the Family Network Method
(FNM) to map individuals’ personal networks. Therefore, as name-
generator, we used the following question: “who are the persons who,
over the past year, have been very important to you, even if you do not
get along well with them”. After listing all the network members (alters),
the respondents were asked to provide information about the alters, such
as the nature of the tie (e.g., mother, cousin, friend, etc.), whether they
have ever co-resided with ego at some point of his/her life, the duration
of the relationship, and the sex of each alter. With these questions, we
were able to capture some compositional properties of personal networks,
which will be the focus of this chapter.
If we look at the size, networks are larger in Portugal (M = 4.35;
SD = 2.42), followed by Switzerland (M = 3.74; SD = 2.24), and Lithuania
(M = 3.44; SD = 1.86). Indeed, the average sizes are all statistically differ-
ent (F = 45.55; p < 0.001), with Portugal standing out with almost one
more network member on average than Lithuania. If we take an in-depth
look at the distribution of the different categories of size, some relevant
findings come into view (Table 3.1).
One finds 2.2% of empty networks in the total sample. Switzerland is
the country that presents a higher percentage of individuals with such
networks (3.9%), followed by Lithuania (2.5%) and Portugal (0.5%).
Networks with only one alter are overrepresented in Lithuania (13.0%
compared to 9.6% in the total sample), as well as networks with two
alters (17.5% compared to 15.4% in the total sample), and with three
alters (24.6% compared to 22% in the total sample). By contrast, net-
works of four alters are more frequent in Switzerland, at 22.1% (18.9%
in the total sample). Portugal stands out as the country with the largest
networks, as there is an overrepresentation of individuals who mentioned
A First Portrait of Personal Networks in a Comparative...