The configurational approach to families: methodological suggestions

This chapter provides insights into addressing empirical research on families as configurations in which neither the family’s boundaries nor the set of roles under consideration is taken for granted (Jallinoja and Widmer 2008). From this perspective, families are analysed as large networks of interdependencies that extend well beyond households or the roles and statuses associated with the nuclear family. The following pages contain some methodological suggestions that can be applied to advance the understanding of family configurations. The importance of using dilemmas to uncovering the logics behind family identification and functional interdependences among family members is emphasised