1 Legal separation impact on individuals’ social networks in Italy Evidences from the European Community Household Panel Lorenzo Todesco Department of Social Sciences University of Turin Turin, 28th april 2005

2 Main features of this study: Using a dynamic perspective. Adopting a quantitative approach. Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.

3 Why legal separation and not divorce? The peculiar italian way to end a marriage. Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.

4 Defining the problem: the literature Features of the available literature: It is not very large and quite dated. It adopts usually a more psychological perspective –Based on in depth interviews. –Very small samples. –Often different findings on the same matter. Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.

5 Help and services from a social network Emotional support. Financial support. Services.

6 Some information on social networks and marital dissolution Few data on italian situation The presence of a network is useful in stressful events. The separation has a more limitated effects in couples who have individual social network segregated from the marital relationship. The role of geographical closeness. Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.

7 The disagreements The amount of changes in separated people social network.The amount of changes in separated people social network. The utility of a dense social network.The utility of a dense social network. The social support is bound to the approvation for the decision?The social support is bound to the approvation for the decision? Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.

8 Some more issues on social networks and marital disruption The concept of strenght of a tie.The concept of strenght of a tie. Supportive and non supportive ties.Supportive and non supportive ties. Voluntaristic and non voluntaristic tiesVoluntaristic and non voluntaristic ties The presence of other separated peoople in the network.The presence of other separated peoople in the network.

9 The impact of separation on social networks and vice versa The parents’reaction. –Failure about their parenting experiences. –Envy and anger. –The loss of the grandparents’ role. –No gender differences. –The four patterns of parental support.

10 The parents’ in-law reaction. –Often they are lost by the separated person. –Form of help: moral support. More for women then men. –Gender differences.

11 The friends’ reaction. –The influence of the friends’group. –The essential friends’support. –The friends’ reaction. Anxiety and fear. Shame. Surprise Pleasure –The redistribution of alliances.

12 Sample Sample characteristic: Echp A longitudinal database that covers 15 different european countries. 8 waves of this dataset are avaible. Total sample: households and people. –For Italy, people in the first wave, in the last one. The problem of attrition. Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.

13 Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin. The variables used as proxies of the frequency of contacts within the social networks Var1: Are you a member of any club, such as a sport or entertainment club, a local or neighbourhood group, a party, etc.? Var2: How often do you talk to any of your neighbours? Var3: How often do you meet friends or relatives not living with you, whether here at home or elsewhere?.

14 Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin. The sample size Var1: 82 cases. Var2: 110 cases. Var3: 110 cases.

15 Procedures The one pre test – post test design.The one group pre test – post test design. Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.

16 The sequences 5 new variables computed. –Var1_2b, var1_1b, var1_ys, var1_1a, var1_2a … –For each individual i, multiplied… the value of i on var1_2b * the state of var1_1b * 1000 the state of var1_ys * 100 the state of var1_1a * 10 the state of var1_2a * 1 –All five values summed i=1….N Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.

The value of i on var1 2 years before separation. The value of i on var1 1 year before separation The value of i on var1 the year of the separation The value of i on var1 1 year after the separation The value of i on var1 2 years after the separation Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.

18 The sequence: Year of separation Trend post separation Trend pre separation Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.

19 The sequences have been broken, excluding the value of the year of separation. The trend before and after the separation has been trichotomized as follows: –Stable, followed by the state of the variable. –Increasing intensity. –Decreasing intensity. Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.

20 Some limits of this study The problem of the sample size. The threats to internal validity: –The effect of history. –The effect of maturation. Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.

21 Table 1. Separated or divorced and married individuals who declare that they are little or not at all satisfied with their economic situation, their family relationships, the relationships with friends, the way they spend their free time and their job, by gender and family status. Mean years 2001 – (The total sample of the survey, not only separated and divorced people, is more or less people) Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.

22 Table 2. Are you a member of any club, such as a sport or entertainment club, a local or neighbourhood group, a party, etc.? Trend 2 years pre – separation and 2 years post – separation. Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.

23 Table 3. How often do you talk to any of your neighbours? Trend 2 years pre – separation and 2 years post – separation. Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.

24 Gender differences Men are more able to conserve a stable relationship with neighbours rather than females after the separation. From a prior situation of increasing intensity, men are more able than females to build a new situation of stability of contacts. Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.

25 Table 4. Trend pre – separation and post – separation of frequency of contacts with neighbours breakdown by gender. Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.

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27 Education Education differentiation. People with a low level of education tend to conserve more a stable number of contacts with neighbours rather than ones with a high level after the separation. Lower educated people tend to rely more on spatially near networks than higher educated, who have usually a wider and more differentiated social network. Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.

28 Employment status differentiation. People who have never had a job since separation tend to have more frequent contacts with neighbours than employed people. Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.

29 Table 6. How often do you meet friends or relatives not living with you, whether here at home or elsewhere? Trend 2 years pre – separation and 2 years post – separation. Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.

30 Gender differentiations. Men tend to maintain the same amount of contact with friends and relatives to a higher degree than women Men reach a more stable network after the separation than females if there was a prior increase in trend. Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.

31 Table 7. Trend pre – separation and post – separation of frequency of contacts with friends and relatives breakdown by gender. Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.

32 Education differences Lower educated people tend to maintain their prior stable frequence of contacts with friends and relatives to a larger degree than the higher educated. The higher educated people are more likely to stabilize a previously fluctuating pattern of contacts. Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.

33 Employment status differences People without employment are less able to conserve a prior stable number of contacts with friends and relatives than employed ones. Unemployed people tend to decrease contacts with friends and relatives more than employed ones.. Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.

34 Age differences For people under forty years of age it is easier to conserve a stable number of contacts with friends and relatives than for older people. In case of a previous increasing or decreasing trend, people under forty years of age are more able to stabilize a previously fluctuating pattern of contacts. Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.

35 Conclusion The event of legal separation has only a low influence on stable and frequent relationships existing before. In spite of this, separated and divorced people are less satisfied than married ones about their relationships with friends. Males are more able than females to conserve and increase the frequence of their contacts with neighbours, friends and relatives. Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.

36 A high level of education brings people to increase their frequence of contact with friends and relatives after the separation, while low level people are more able to conserve the previous stable frequency. The employment has a positive role in the relationships with friends and relatives, and also the youth. Lorenzo Todesco, Department of Social Sciences, University of Turin.