Conference Agenda

This study examines the subjective well-being (SWB) of single parents in Europe, a growing family structure linked to the Second Demographic Transition. Single parenthood often correlates with lower SWB due to economic hardship, social isolation, and caregiving stress. Employing data from the European Social Survey (2002–2022) across 16 countries, this research explores the SWB gap between single and coupled parents, focusing on individual and contextual factors, including national policies.

The study employs a three-level multilevel model, capturing individuals nested within country-waves, nested within countries. This approach enables an analysis of macro-level effects over time within the same country, revealing how policies such as childcare support, parental leave, housing subsidies, and allowances moderate SWB outcomes. Findings indicate that single parents consistently report lower SWB, with the gap moderated by financial stability and social support. Nordic countries with robust family benefits exhibit smaller disparities, while less generous policies in Southern Europe exacerbate the gap.

Results highlight the need for comprehensive, flexible policy measures addressing both economic and social challenges. Strengthening welfare systems and fostering social inclusion are essential to improve single parents’ well-being. This study provides valuable insights for policymakers aiming to mitigate the disadvantages faced by single-parent families.

Advancements in life expectancy have heightened the importance of understanding familial dynamics and social connections among older adults. In today's ageing societies, older individuals lead rich and diverse family and social lives.

The aim of this study is to offer an up-to-date demographic portrait of living arrangements and union formation dynamics in middle and older age in Italy. We do this by using data from the most updated nationally representative study available (Families and Social Subjects survey – FSS), carried out by the Italian Institute of Statistics in 2016.

Preliminary findings show that re-marriage, separation, and non-marital cohabitations start to become common life events among middle-aged and older adults, leading to varied family arrangements, with intriguing differences by sex. Recent trends suggest that this complexity will continue to grow among midlife and older Italians in the coming years, underscoring the importance of focusing on these evolving dynamics.

The increase in living alone has been one of the major demographic shifts of recent decades. Concurrently, there has been an alarming media coverage of a ‘loneliness epidemic’ as a serious public health concern affecting people’s health. However, the common conflation of loneliness, social isolation and living alone hampers our understanding of the implications of this major demographic trend. The physical distancing measures in the UK in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic provide a context in which we can study the role of living alone on loneliness without the confounding effect of different levels of social connectedness. The period of social restriction and quarantining may have contributed to feelings of loneliness differently for those living alone and those sharing a household with others. We investigate the association between living alone and loneliness using the COVID-19 surveys of three largescale nationally representative British cohort studies, and we study the role of economic activity, family relationships and interpersonal social support during the pandemic in explaining this association. Results indicate that those consistently living alone throughout the pandemic, compared to those who never lived alone, report a higher risk of lack of companionship, and of feeling isolated, left out, and lonely.

As LGBTQ+ rights expand globally, this research examines the representation of LGBTQ+ families in visual media and its role in cultural globalization. Despite legal advancements, the portrayal of LGBTQ+ families in visual culture remains underexplored. Using sales data from Getty Images (2005–2022), this study addresses three research questions: (1) How has LGBTQ+ family representation evolved over time? (2) Do patterns of image distribution reflect a West-to-Non-West model of cultural globalization? (3) How do these representations reflect diversity in gender and ethnicity? Findings show significant growth in LGBTQ+ family imagery, particularly following legislative changes recognizing LGBTQ+ unions. However, the analysis reveals biases in representation: women are more frequently portrayed than men, and white individuals are overrepresented compared to people of color. Furthermore, image production and sales data suggest a predominantly Western-centric distribution, with most images produced in Western countries and accessed in non-Western regions. These findings highlight how visual media not only reflects societal shifts but also perpetuates existing cultural and demographic biases. By analyzing these portrayals, this research contributes to understanding the role of visual culture in shaping norms around LGBTQ+ families within the context of global cultural flows.

The outmigration of Italians to foreign countries has been a persistent trend, reflecting broader socio-economic changes in Italy and the European context. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of Italian households with at least one family member living abroad. By examining household relationships in the Multiscopo Survey data, we provide new insights into migration patterns and the social impact of outmigration on family structures in Italy. More interestingly, we apply indirect demographic techniques to describe outmigration when information cannot be collected in the survey, for example, in cases when no siblings are alive. This project addresses important questions: how can indirect demographic techniques reveal migration-related behaviors, even among individuals without current direct family ties abroad? To what extent does outmigration affect Italian households, including intergenerational exchanges? And have these patterns changed over space and time?

Background: The introduction of medical abortion has transformed access to induced abortion in Italy, becoming the most widely used method by 2021, though regional disparities remain. This study explores four key areas: (i) whether the rise of medical abortion reduces the prevalence of conscientious objection, (ii) the relative impact of individual versus contextual factors on access, (iii) its effect on waiting times and out-of-region mobility, and (iv) the impact of Covid-19 lockdown measures on medical abortion use, comparing it to waiting times and mobility.

Methods: Using microlevel data on 853,608 induced abortions from 2010-2021, we performed pooled OLS, multilevel mixed effect and Poisson models, and RDD.

Results: Diffusion of medical abortion has no consistent effect on prevalence of conscientious objection but reduces waiting times. Individual and healthcare facility-level factors outweigh regional ones in predicting access, while no consistent link is found with out-of-region mobility. The Covid-19 lockdown led to a sharp rise in medical abortion use and a modest reduction in waiting times.

Contributions: This study provides critical insights into abortion access from a country traditionally characterized by limitations in availability of abortion services and contributes to broader debates on reproductive rights in advanced democracies facing challenges in abortion care.

Divorces have surged in Europe, particularly in Italy, over recent decades due to new laws making the process quicker and less costly. This increase has economic implications, especially regarding housing. When couples split, the common home is either retained by one partner or sold, necessitating new housing for at least one individual. This trend suggests that divorces elevate demand in the real estate market. Italian law terminates economic ties between spouses upon divorce but not separation. High taxes on second homes discourage former spouses from buying new homes before divorce, leading them to rent instead. This preference for renting is reinforced by the uncertainty of the post-separation period. Consequently, divorces impact housing demand more significantly than separations. This study examines the effect of divorces on housing transactions in Italy, focusing on the 2015 legal reform that accelerated and simplified the divorce process, leading to an increase in divorces and separations. Using municipal-level data on housing transactions and divorces, the study finds that divorce rates correlate with increased transactions in medium-small and medium-large housing categories. The analysis controls for various factors, including births, deaths, immigration, provincial income, and population size, and excludes municipalities with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants.