Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) has become a key response to rising infertility, particularly due to delayed childbearing across Europe. In Italy, ART use is growing but access remains limited to heterosexual couples with diagnosed infertility, excluding same-sex couples and single individuals. Despite legal reforms such as the 2014 legalization of gamete donation and expanded public funding under the 2025 Essential Levels of Assistance (LEA), restrictions persist—particularly regarding non-medical fertility preservation. This study investigates public attitudes toward ART in Italy through a nationally representative survey of reproductive-age heterosexual couples, exploring both the level of support for various ART treatments and the demographic factors that shape these views. Findings aim to inform policy and healthcare planning by linking public opinion with evolving family norms and ART demand.

This paper presents preliminary findings from an ongoing quantitative survey involving a sample of workers aged over 55, aimed at analyzing the relational determinants that influence retirement decisions and trajectories. The study focuses on the role of family expectations, social capital, and work-life balance (WLB), within a broader mixed-method research design that conceptualizes retirement as a relational, multi-level, and context-dependent process. Preliminary data indicate that higher attention to family expectations is significantly associated with greater bonding social capital and stronger family networks, but also with lower levels of WLB. This suggests a potential trade-off between caregiving responsibilities and individual well-being. Conversely, respondents who assign lower importance to family expectations tend to report higher WLB scores, while maintaining sufficient bridging social capital. Initial analyses also show that the intention to remain active through paid work or volunteering after retirement is positively correlated with bridging social capital and reflects a proactive orientation. Engagement in sports, travel, and lifelong learning is associated with higher levels of subjective well-being, whereas intensive grandparenting, despite reinforcing family ties, appears linked to lower WLB. These early findings underscore the importance of integrating the relational dimension into retirement and ageing policies, supporting not only individual choices but also the quality of social and intergenerational ties that shape retirement trajectories.

Over the past century, individuals’ family trajectories have become more differentiated, dramatically changing their prevalence, timing, and complexity. Extensive literature has documented how family trajectories have changed over time, however, very few studies have analyzed the impact of these trajectories on different health outcomes. No study has checked whether more differentiated family formation trajectories are associated with varying levels of mid-life mental health outcomes and whether there are gender and cohort effects in this association. In the current study, we aim to fill these gaps. Using data from the British Cohort Study, and adopting a holistic approach, we implement sequence analysis to measure individual family trajectories. Thus, we analyze the impact of different family trajectories on the mental health for men and women born in 1958 and 1970, respectively. In line with previous literature, women display a higher likelihood of experiencing mental health issues than men. Over cohorts, we find a generalized decline in mental health for more recent cohorts. Furthermore, more complex family trajectories such as multiple partnerships or single parenthood. As well as trajectories of childlessness are persistently associated with mental health issues net of both gender and cohorts’ effects.

Background: Quantitative research on families and couples has introduced a new category of relationships, known as stable relationships without cohabitation (Living Apart Together, LAT). Purpose: This study aims to verify whether the LAT relationship is able to improve the sexuality of subjects affected by erectile dysfunction.

Materials and methods: This study was divided into a cross-sectional analysis (N=4852) and a longitudinal one (N=1402). The first one explored the psychobiological, relational and hormonal correlates through the Structured Interview on Erectile Dysfunction (SIEDY). The second one evaluated the occurrence of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in a subset of patients followed for 4.3±2.59 years.

Results: Compared to patients in cohabiting relationships, patients in LAT relationships were younger, had healthier lifestyles (in terms of smoking and alcohol consumption), had higher levels of education (all, p<0.001), and had a lower burden of comorbidities (p<0.001). After adjusting for these factors, LATs showed greater penetration, autoeroticism, more frequent spontaneous erections, and greater sexual desire (all p<0.005). Partners of patients in LAT relationships were younger with greater sexual desire and ability to achieve orgasm (all p<0.01). Consequently, the LAT cohort reported more sexual intercourse (p<0.001) but the relationship was often a source of conflict within the family context and of shorter duration (all p<0.05). Total testosterone (T) was higher in the LAT group (p<0.001). When this parameter was introduced into an adjusted ANCOVA model, the difference in achieving a full erection between LAT and cohabiting couples lost its significance (p=0.086), suggesting a hormonal influence on erectile dysfunction. In the longitudinal analysis, Cox models adjusted for the aforementioned confounders show that LAT relationships are characterized by a two-fold increased risk of MACE, independent of other factors, including T levels, lifestyle, and pathological penile color Doppler ultrasound.

Conclusions: The present results show that the type of relationship can influence partners' sexual interest and sexual complaints. Although men involved in LAT relationships show an apparently healthier phenotype, higher T levels, and more fulfilling sexual relationships, they develop more MACE than their cohabiting counterparts.