Familienpolitik und Familienentwicklung in Italien: unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Entscheidungsmöglichkeiten und Entscheidungskonsequenzen für Frauen

Compared to other Western European countries, family formation in Italy is still shaped by traditional norms and values. Modern living arrangements such as cohabitation, single households, or lone parenthood are of little importance and marriage is seen as the prevailing pattern of family formation. It is very surprising, then, that the fertility behavior of Italian women has been changing dramatically since the past few decades. Fertility decreased continuously to reach an all-time low in 1996 when the Apennine peninsula witnessed the lowest national total fertility rate ever recorded in human history. In order to explain the two contrary trends of family and fertility behavior, we analyze the development of the Italian welfare state, its family policy, and the dominant socio-economic characteristics of present-day Italy. Further, contemporary family and fertility behaviors such as the postponement of home leaving and of birth and marriage, and the link between child birth and entry into formal union are examined. We argue that the structural conditions of the Mediterranean welfare state have a major influence on prevailing family formation patterns. In view of this impact, decision-making options for women are analyzed as well. The findings confirm that strong economic interdependencies within the family together with a polarized welfare system and high rates of unemployment lead to conditions that induce individuals, and especially women, to choose traditional living arrangements. Women tend to be better protected against social risks within marriage than cohabitation or any other type of living arrangement. Furthermore, the lack of state social security and assistance complicates the compatibility between work and family life. As a result, women opt to limit the number of children they want to bear