Switzerland
Conclusion
Changes related to the family and the household composition in Switzerland remain moderate. Many of the relevant shifts in behavior and attitudes are comparable with experiences in other European countries. However, Switzerland is distinctive in some notable ways. On the one hand, Switzerland was an early adopter of modern lifestyles (e.g., demographic transition, decline of fertility, nuclearization, increase in divorce, and in unmarried cohabitation). On the other, what also remain are more traditional aspects, such as the low proportions of extramarital births and few single parents, as well as women's comparatively slow entrance into the labor force, and the persistence of such values and attitudes as a high appreciation of marriage and parenting.
These diverging trends highlight differences between liberal and more conservative forces within the country. Explanations for this polarization are twofold. First, Switzerland is a highly segmented society (in terms of its economic, cultural, religious, and linguistic conditions). Second, Swiss families are confronted with comparatively high thresholds due to important deficiencies in the country's family policy. The latter cause influences the strong postponement in the age of marriage and first births, and the increase in childlessness.
See also: GERMANY
Bibliography
Coenen-Huther, J.; Kellerhals, J.; and von Allmen, Malik. (1994). Les réseaux de solidarité dans la famille. Lausanne: Réalités sociales.
Dorbritz, J., and Fux, B., eds. (1997). Einstellungen zur Familienpolitik in Europa. Ergebnisse eines vergleichenden Surveys in den Ländern des "European Comparative Survey on Population Policy Acceptance" (PPA). Schriftenreihe des Bundesinstituts für Bevölkerungsforschung Bd. 24. München: Harald Boldt Verlag im R. Oldenbourg Verlag.
Fux, B. (1994). Der familienpolitische Diskurs. Eine theoretische und empirische Untersuchung über das Zusammenwirken und den Wandel von Familienpolitik, Fertilität und Familie. Sozialpolitische Schriften, Heft 64. Berlin: Duncker and Humblot.
Fux, B. (1997). "Switzerland: The Family Neglected by the State." In Family Life and Family Policies in Europe, Vol. 1: Structures and Trends in the 1980s, ed. F.-X. Kaufmann, A. Kuijsten, H.-J. Schulze, and K. P. Strohmeier. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Fux, B. (2002a). "Family Change and Family Policy in Switzerland." In Family Change and Family Policies in Consociational Democracies: Belgium, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, Vol. 2, ed. P. Flora. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Fux, B. (2002b). "Which Models of the Family are En- or Discouraged by Different Family Policies?" In Family Life and Family Policies in Europe, Vol. 2: Comparative Analyses, ed. F.-X. Kaufmann, H.-J. Schulze, et al. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Fux, B., and Baumgartner, A. D. (1998). Wandel von familialen Lebensformen: Lebensverläufe—Lebensentwürfe. Materialienband 3. Zürich: Schlussbericht an den schweizerischen Nationalfonds.
Fux, B., and Baumgartner, A.D. (2000). "Ein Baby? Eher nicht. Die neue Kinderlosigkeit—ein gesellschaftlicher Trend und dessen Hintergründe." Neue Zürcher Zeitung 123(27/28):101–102.
Fux, B., and Baumgartner, A. D. (2002). "Impact of Population Related Policies on Selected Living Arrangements. Comparative Analyses on Regional Level in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland." In Comparative Analyses on the Basis of Family and Fertility Surveys (FFS), Vol. 2, ed. UN-ECE, Genf 2001.
Fux, B.; Bösch, A.; Gisler, P.; and Baumgartner, A. D. (1997). Bevölkerung-und eine Prise Politik. Die schweizerische Migrations-, Familien-und Alterspolitik im Fadenkreuz von Einstellungen und Bewertungen. Zürich: Seismo Verlag.
Fux, B., and Pfeiffer, C. (1999). "Ehe, Familie, Kinderzahl: Gesellschaftliche Normen und individuelle Zielvorstellungen." In Bericht über die Situation der Familie in Österreich 1999, ed. Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Jugend und Familie. Wien: BMUJF.
Gabadinho, A., and Wanner, P. (1999). Fertility and Family Surveys in Countries of the ECE Region, Standard Country Report: Switzerland. Geneva: UN-ECE.
Hoffmann-Nowotny, H.-J.; Höhn, C.; and Fux, B. (1992). Kinderzahl und Familienpolitik im Drei-Länder-Vergleich. Schriftenreihe des Bundesinstituts für Bevölkerungsforschung. Boppard a.Rh.: Boldt Verlag.
Hoffmann-Nowotny, H.-J.; Höpflinger, F.; et al. (1984). Planspiel Familie. Familie, Kinderwunsch und Familienplanung in der Schweiz. Diessenhofen: Rüegger.
Höpflinger, F., and Erni-Schneuwly, D., eds. (1989). Weichenstellungen-Lebensformen im Wandel und Lebenslage junger Frauen. Bern: Haupt.
Kellerhals, J. (1992). Microsociologie de la famille. 2nd edition. Paris: PUF.
Kellerhals, J., and Montandon, C. (1991). Les stratégies éducatives des familles : milieu social, dynamique familiale et éducation des pré-adolescents. Lausanne et Neuch‚tel: Delachaux et Niestlé.
Lüscher, K., and Engstler, H. (1991). Formen der Familiengründung in der Schweiz. Bern: Bundesamt für Statistik.
Melich, Anna, et al., eds. (1991). Les valeurs des Suisses. Bern: Lang.
Sommer, J. H., and Höpflinger, F. (1989). Wandel der Lebensformen und soziale Sicherheit. Forschungs-stand und Wissenslücken. Chur: Rüegger.
BEAT FUX
Additional topics
Marriage and Family EncyclopediaMarriage: Cultural AspectsSwitzerland - Households And Families, Attitudes, Conclusion