Changes in the demographic characteristics of the Czech family in recent decades have resulting in radical changes in the family arrangements, which become dependent on individual life trajectories and choices instead of a biological kinship. Consequently, the roles of the individual family members are
losing their rigid definitions. Current sociological research on the family centers more and more often on children as active agents who are shaped by familial experiences, but also co-construct them (Milkie, Simon and Powell 1997). The aim of our project is to apply this perspective to research on the Czech family. We will ask what importance the family has for a child, how he/she defines it, with what relationships and activities the child associates it. By using multiple research methods we will analyze the position within the family the child assigns to its members and himself and influence of the gender of the child, his age, and various family arrangements on this perception.

Publications