In my thesis I am concentrating on family policy in relation to families after divorce or separation. I am focusing on problems which single-parent families have to deal with. Specifically, I am analysing current forms of child custody of under-aged children after the divorce. I have examined circumstances which lead to award the custody of the child and risks of these arrangements. Every single form of child custody is enriched by a case study. In connection with maintenance obligation I have investigated latest political instruments which are used for maintenance order. Furthermore I have looked into newly emerging policy of the maintenance backup plan. The aim of the thesis was accomplished by desk research and primarily evaluation of data which I collected by qualitative research interview, concretely semi-structured interviews with experts in this field. Based on main theoretical ground my research I concluded that single-parent families are considered as group of "dependents". Another theory I have worked with in my thesis is the theory of material and psychological deprivation. Material deprivation is related to not paying maintenance by a parent. This is causing that single-parent families, typically single mothers, find themselves in suffer hardship which can endanger the life and...

At the same time as the European Union’s (EU) influence has grown, path-breaking changes in Sweden’s social policy characteristics have appeared. Previous research gives contradictory evidence on whether and how these developments relate, and it remains unknown to what extent the EU contributed to the changes observed in Sweden.  By operationalising four theories on the mechanisms of social policy change (institutionalism, power resources approach, new politics, and new social risks), using the EU as a driving force, and two diverging policy developments as outcomes, this thesis cast the net wider than previous research and applies process tracing methods to a selection of 339 policy documents to answer: (i) How has Europeanisation affected unemployment policy and family policy in Sweden, 1990- 2019? (ii) To what extent can Europeanisation sufficiently explain the retrenchment in unemployment policy while family policies were expanded in the same period of time?  I find no support for the mechanisms of institutionalism and new politics, limited support for new social risk, and mixed support for the power resource approach explaining the Europeanisation of Swedish social policy. Although I found empirical support for parts of several, I conclude that no theory can sufficiently explain the complete causal chain of how the EU influence the two Swedish policy outcomes.

Yes / In this paper we examine empirically a key element of individualisation theory - the democratic family. We do so using the 'acid test' of family policy, and family practice, in Sweden. First we review the progress of family policy in Sweden since the 1960s, which has expressly promoted an agenda of gender equality and democracy in families, with individual autonomy for both adults and children as one key element. We then turn to family practice, looking particularly at negotiation and adult equality, lifelong parenting after separation, and children's autonomy. While Swedish policy makers and shapers seem to have developed the idea of the democratic family long before the sociologist Anthony Giddens, the results in practice have been more ambivalent. While there has been change, there is more adaptation to pre-existing gender and generational norms.

Declining fertility rates are an increasingly important topic in today’s Europe. Fertility rates play a significant role in sustaining a stable population and ensuring economic growth and innovation. The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the effectiveness of CSOK, a Hungarian housing policy specifically aimed at increasing fertility rates. The research relies on theories such as Becker’s new home economics theory, Quantity-quality trade-off theory, and Willis’s economic theory of family. The study of housing prices and fertility is also provided to understand the relationship between housing and fertility better. The benchmark country for this thesis is Hungary. Using the Synthetic Control Method (SCM), we construct a synthetic Hungary to match pretreatment outcomes closely. The findings of this thesis show that the policy has no positive effect on fertility rates and is inefficient in spending government resources. The study highlights the significance of governmental trust, emphasizing the importance of stable economic conditions and a family-friendly environment to effectively increase fertility rates.

This thesis explores how traditional ideological and normative values are expressed and embedded within the formulation of Russian pronatalist family policy. By examining the main policy documents which conceptualise fertility and family as a demographic issue and as of 2021 a security issue, this thesis strives to highlight the process in which the state tries to establish a new order between the nation, family, and gender. Using the WPR policy analysis method and the concept of power, this thesis presents two main discourses within Russian family policy: preservation of the people and the traditional family. These discourses constitute high fertility as a condition for national survival and conceptualise the traditional family constellation as the only societal organisation that stimulates reproduction. Further, motherhood is therefore presented as “natural” as well as “patriotic” which binds women into two contracts: the gender contract and as a server to the Motherland – only through the male can the female achieve her societal role as a “mother” and fulfil her duties to the nation by contributing to the conservation of the Russian people. These normative and ideological appearances in Russian family policy may result in problematic policy actions which sanction people who fall outside of the discursive limits thus, must be viewed as inherently problematic.

While most Western and Chinese scholars emphasize the success of Chinese family planning programs, this dissertation focuses on fertility behavior which violates family planning regulations in China. The study contributes to a better understanding of the Chinese "deviant" fertility by conceptualizing the phenomenon in a theoretical framework and conducting an empirical investigation of the issue. In this dissertation, the concept of "deviant fertility" is defined as reproductive behavior that violates current family size norms in terms of having more than the accepted number of children. An approach that bridges the sociology of fertility and the sociology of deviance is established. Specifically, the theoretical framework is based on the cultural conflict perspective of deviance, developed by Thorsten Sellin. The normative conflict concerning fertility in general and the confrontation between the traditional Chinese large family norms and current family planning rules are explicated. Three major data sets are used: the Chinese In-Depth Fertility Survey, with a sample of 6,654 Chinese ever married women aged 49 or younger, the Old-Age Security Survey of 220 married Chinese couples, and the Records of County Family Planning Commissions. More than 50 variables and a number of measurement scales are defined and measured. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's r and analysis of variance, multiple regression, and path analysis are employed in the analysis. Findings from multivariate analyses indicate that a number of factors are significantly related to deviant fertility in China. They are: (1) ideal of large family size, (2) son preference, (3) socioeconomic development, (4) type of employment, (5) area of residence, (6) failed pregnancy, and (7) fertility discussions between a husband and a wife. In addition, the analyses reveal different patterns between rural and urban samples in terms of the impact of individual variables on deviant fertility and different explanatory power of the models. Path analysis further enriches the knowledge of deviant fertility by identifying a number of particular paths through which deviant fertility is influenced. by the selected factors. Several relevant issues drawn from the findings are addressed, including relationships between deviant fertility and Chinese women's status, prevalence of son preference, rural-urban differences, and normative conflicts of fertility in China. Policy implications are also indicated. / Ph. D.

This Master's thesis on 'Family policy towards multiple children' addresses the current issue of Czech family policy towards families with special needs using the example of family policy towards multiple children. The objective of the thesis is to identify the living conditions of families with multiple children in the Czech Republic and to find out how family policy and other related policies reflect the needs of such families, analyze state support for families and support structures involved in this area of family support, to identify possible defects and then propose possible changes in this area. This thesis works with theoretical concepts: the theory of poverty, the theory of social exclusion , the theory of the welfare state, the human capital theory and the concept of public interest. This thesis employs the following methods: semi-structured interviews with actors, analysis of secondary data or stakeholder's analysis, problem tree analysis and formulation of variants. The conclusion of the work is that, despite the existing measures in the field of family policy, the concept of family policy has not yet taken into account families with multiple children and the support structures examined in this thesis are not yet sufficient in the case of families with multiple children. This thesis...

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

Active fatherhood as a part of family policy in EU Abstract The main objective of this thesis is to explore the conditions that determine the active involvement of men in the care of children in European Union member states and to analyze the impact of active fatherhood on the economic activity of women and fertility. A part of this study is a typology of family leaves with regard to the possibilities of fulfilling nature of active fatherhood, analysis of legislative conditions connected to paternity and parental leave as well as analysis of the Eurobarometer 59.1 survey dealing with the attitudes of men to use parental leave and the circumstances of these attitudes. The relationships between the main factors that influence the decision making of men about their participation in the care of the youngest children are analyzed and there is also tested the effect of this decision. In conclusion, the study outlines the development of conditions of childcare by men and summarizes proposals of legislative changes in conjunction of the studied issue in the Czech Republic.

This thesis is focused on the situation of women - mothers in the Czech labor market as a vulnerable population groups. The work comprehensively analyzes the current system of support for women on maternity leave and subsequent return to the labor market. The theoretical part provides basic concepts and institutions associated with the harmonization of work and family life of women. The analytical part is focused on the causes of insecure women, which are captured from different angles: women, employers, and experts such as sociologists and psychologists. The analysis also provides a comparison of the CR family policy with selected European countries. To better illustrate, the work included a survey that was conducted in the South Region by the questionnaire method. In conclusion this thesis, there are summarizes most important findings detected during processing of the topic.