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Lithuania and less so in Switzerland in comparison with Portugal. As
with Standard-nuclear configurations, they are associated with the older
cohort. We also found an impact of education, similar to that in the
Standard-nuclear configuration in all three countries. Indeed, there is a
negative association with individuals with higher levels of educational
attainment in Switzerland and Lithuania, and a positive association with
individuals with lower levels of attainment in Portugal. This confirms
that nuclear configurations are more developed by individuals with fewer
socio-economic resources. Finally, regarding family structures, being cur-
rently in a partnership is also an explanatory factor in Switzerland and
Lithuania. The Narrow-nuclear configuration is illustrated in Fig. 5.2.
The focal person is a Lithuanian man belonging to the older cohort who
obtained an upper secondary degree and worked most of his life as a
qualified worker in the construction sector. He lives in a large city in
Lithuania. In his personal configuration he mentioned only his partner
and his two children, a daughter (aged 29) and a son (aged 24). He did
not mention his mother and brother even though they are alive. Figure 5.2
shows the interaction ties between ego and his configuration members.
Everyone in it interacts with each other. This focal person has a definition
of personal life overlapping with his family life, in which the association
between partners and their common offspring is the cornerstone.
Parent configurations are configurations centred on the parents of the
respondents. They are more developed by individuals living in Portugal,
but still are found in the three countries and account for around 15% of
Fig. 5.2 Interaction in a Narrow-nuclear configuration, Lithuania
G. Aeby et al.