Minguez A.M. (Ed.) Family Well-Being. European Perspectives

Springer Science+Business Media B.V., 2013. — 306 p. — (Series Social Indicators Research. V.49).This book collects the studies made in Europe on family well-being comparing family change and well-being in different institutional and cultural contexts. This book takes a deeper look at early evidence of family well-being and a compilation of findings from the main researches on this topic. In this book, we present reasoned arguments on the need to focus upon much more than simply economic interpretations of well-being. Thus, this book covers a broad range of topics, from the theorising of children’s well-being to the development of specific measures of family well-being and quality of life.
The book has therefore been structured around three major objectives. In the first place, it introduces and presents the concept of family well-being as a central study objective in economic theory, as people’s individual well-being is in part dependent on the well-being of the family. The book thus seeks to de fi ne and delimit the term ‘family well-being’ from a variety of viewpoints in order to be of use in future empirical research. Hence, one of the most important contributions of this book is that it incorporates family well-being into the scientific debate.
In the second place, the book presents the results of the most important current European research into the subject of well-being of individuals at different stages of the family cycle (childhood, adolescence, family formation and the elderly). This family perspective is examined throughout the whole of the life cycle of the family in order to highlight the most significant research currently underway into the well-being of individuals and families in today’s society, within a climate of increasing risk and uncertainty.
In the third place, the book takes a look at the effects produced by factors such as immigration and the new family dynamics and structures on people’s well-being and quality of life. This is a multidisciplinary approach which is designed to integrate the analysis of family changes with the well-being and satisfaction of the individuals who are themselves the main protagonists of these family changes.
The book also dedicates particular attention to gender issues deriving from the impact of women’s entry into the workplace on questions, such as the division of labour within the home, and policies designed to address the work-life balance from a comparative European point of view.