Being “thirty-something” in Spain: new life and family patterns

Jimena Puy, Groningen University
Teresa Castro, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)

One of the most relevant findings from the Fertility and Family Survey, FFS (90's) was that southern countries like Spain had a "classical" way of emancipation characterized by leaving the parental home in order to form a new family via marriage. Spain had also the latest-late pattern of emancipation among all the European countries. Despite the tradition, the value system had already then sent enough signals of change reflecting a considerable acceptance to new life & family patterns. This poster wants to present what has happened in the last decade since FFS. What we can see is a new behavior characterized by a higher share of women living alone, single and divorced; and a modest but relevant increase of people living together, with and without relationship. The aim of this study is to document the new scenario in which “not so young” Spaniards adopt new life and family styles.