157the sample. Parent configurations are mainly found among younger indi-
viduals belonging to the 1970–1975 birth cohort in all three countries.
This is related to the demographic reservoir as explained before, as many
parents of the older individuals may be deceased. Nevertheless, the prom-
inence of this configuration in Portugal shows that some contexts favour
intergenerational relationships more than others. This may be related to
the need for continuous support from parents to children even in adult-
hood due to economic hardship or the promotion of social mobility, but
it is also related to strong intergenerational norms and values. Women in
Switzerland are more likely to develop these configurations, and this
points to the role of women in family life. Lower educational attainment
levels (primary and lower secondary) in Portugal are negatively associated
with them. This may be related to a higher probability that individuals
with lower educational attainment will make early transitions to grand-
parenthood (and therefore build up Beanpole configurations), but we
might also consider that lower educational attainment levels decrease
functional dependencies between parents and adult children, who
become financially independent from their parents sooner, or that par-
ents holding similar socio-economic positions do not have much to give.
Finally, the absence of siblings is also related to the development of such
configurations in Portugal and Lithuania. This would indicate a strong
bond between an only child and his/her parents.
Beanpole configurations are three-generation family configurations:
respondents include grandparents, their children, and their grandchildren.
These individuals have experienced not only the transition to parenthood,
but to grandparenthood as well. While they represent around one-tenth of
the sample in Lithuania and Portugal, they are almost absent in Switzerland
(2%). They are over-represented in Lithuania and underrepresented in
Switzerland in comparison with Portugal. They are also more developed by
individuals belonging to the older birth cohort, a trend which is related to
their demographic reservoir, as younger individuals do not yet have grand-
children. At the country level, individuals with lower levels of educational
attainment in Portugal and Switzerland are more likely to develop Beanpole
configurations, indicating potential support from grandparents. In
Lithuania, women are slightly more likely to develop Beanpole configura-
tions, showing the role of women in intergenerational solidarity.
Mapping the Plurality of Personal Configurations