Conference Agenda

This study examines the impact of normative and non-normative life course events on the personal networks of young adults. Non-normative life course events, especially interruptions after compulsory education, as well as their number and duration, disrupt chronological age norms. These disruptions, in turn, shape the composition and structure of personal networks in the long term.

Using data from the large-scale, nationally representative survey of young adults in Switzerland (ch-x), collected between 2020 and 2023, this study analyses ego-centered network data from the Personal Networks and Professional Aspirations module. Personal network methods are used to identify the main types of young adults' personal networks and assess their structural properties in relation to social capital.

The results show that young adults who experience normative life events are embedded in large personal networks, consisting of ties to peers and parents. They occupy a central position within these networks, which exhibit high levels of reciprocity and transitivity. In particular, young adults who follow a continuous path through upper secondary education tend to have personal networks with a strong presence of friends, while those following a vocational path are embedded in either family of origin or professional networks.

Conversely, young adults who experience interruptions after compulsory education are more likely to be involved in smaller networks in which they tend to occupy less central positions. These networks are either sparse or mainly composed of extended family members. The results are discussed in the context of cohort solidarity and young adults' collective action.

By conceptualizing migration as a dual-focus process, this presentation advances our understanding of how migrants actively manage relationships across borders, balancing opportunities, and constraints in both settings. Drawing on three datasets—the Catalonia Migrants Survey, the Madrid Ukrainian Panel, and the Normandy Panel—the study analyzes personal network changes over time, considering the interaction between life events and multiple foci of interaction across borders. The case studies presented illustrate the diversity of interactions and the multiple possible trajectories in migration while advocating for using mixed methods to address the phenomenon's complexity effectively.

The effects of biographical transitions on personal networks are most often studied for a single transition with a single survey. However, a comparative study of the effects of different transitions affecting different domains and stages of life (starting work, finding a partner, having a child, moving away, migrating, having a health problem, retiring...) can help to better identify the processes that are set in motion at the time of these transitions. These effects concern Ego's sociability, the number of alters cited, their roles, their characteristics, their similarity to Ego, the qualities of the relationships, as well as the overall structure of the network. These processes of network evolution - for example, the reduction or increase in its size, changes in its composition, the intensification of relationships, or the densification or centralization of its structure - are implemented by more precise mechanisms that constitute these processes at different levels. The aim here is to identify and compare these processes and mechanisms triggered by different transitions.

A team of 11 researchers from 6 countries has joined forces to produce a forthcoming book based on 13 surveys that allow both statistical and narrative analyses, with either a longitudinal or cross-sectional dimension. The idea is to build on the complementary nature of these surveys to identify recurrent processes and mechanisms typical of the 9 transitions studied. This presentation will describe the original approach of working together on a set of surveys subjected to mixed methods analysis, with common frameworks, concepts and objectives.

Background. Research on family relationships has primarily focused on solidarity exchanges between individuals, such as closeness, contact, and support, typically among relatives whom individuals know of. However, little attention has been given to ‘hidden’ kin - relatives whose existence is known to individuals’ but whose names or living status remain unknown, and with whom no solidarity is exchanged.

Objective. This study aims to a) identify the prevalence of ‘hidden’ kin across kin type (i.e., parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, half-siblings), and b) examine the socio-demographic factors predicting ‘hidden’ kin.

Method. We use data from the U.S. sample of the KINMATRIX survey, which includes N=4,933 anchors who reported on N=96,160 biological anchor-kin dyads. ‘Hidden’ kin were identified based on a) the unknown living status of kin and b) the unknown name of kin. We used descriptive methods to assess the prevalence of ‘hidden’ kin across kin and logistic regression to identify predictors of ‘hidden’ kin.

Results. Descriptive results show unknown living status in 0.3% of anchor-sister/mother dyads, rising to 7.6% for anchor-paternal grandfather dyads. Unknown names occur in 18.24% of anchor-paternal grandfather dyads but none in anchor-sibling dyads. Logistic regression showed that younger, male, less educated, and anchors with disrupted family biographies were more likely to report unknown living status of kin. This was also more likely for Black but less likely for Asian/Asian American anchors compared to White anchors. Unknown kin names followed similar patterns but were also more common among Asian/Asian American anchors and less common among hetero anchors.

Many young adults face conflicting demands and expectations regarding their identities as members of social categories whose status in society is debated and contested, while expressing anxiety about the ties that link them with other persons. This paper presents the IdNet research project, which offers an analysis of personal networks and social identities of young adults during the eventful 2020-2023 period in Switzerland. The basis and driving force of this research is the edition of the Swiss Federal Surveys of Adolescents (www.chx.ch) dedicated to personal networks of young adults. It includes near full coverage of young Swiss men (N approx. = 60’000), as well as a sample of about 15’000 Swiss women, most between 18 and 21-year-old. Based on data from this large-scale representative national youth survey, and combined with a longitudinal follow-up study and an Internet extension to be conducted, the project investigates the psychosocial processes that transform personal networks into social identities. It further identifies the contextual conditions under which personal networks give rise to psychologically meaningful identities. The presentation stresses some of the opportunities but also challenges that such an interdisciplinary project presents.