Title:	Social Networks and Family Formation Processes Young Adults’ Decision Making About Parenthood
Authors:	Laura Bernardi Keim, Sylvia
Keywords:	Young Adults’ Decision Making About Parenthood
Issue Date:	2011
Publisher:	VS Verlag
Description:	Sociological analyses of contemporary Western societies often stress the relevance of individualization processes. As ambiguous as the term “individualization” is, it contains a clear underlying proposition. With the emergence of welfare states and market systems, familial bonds that formerly served as organizational principles have ceased to be relevant. Individual autonomy has increasingly corresponded to the well-known proverb that “every man is the architect of his own fortune”. Accordingly, some sociological theories have set out to focus on the individual, on his/her behavior, and treat social institutions and structures as external effects. These rational choice theories are well established, and have been successfully applied in various research fields, but they are also occasionally criticized as representing a rather “naive” concept of individual decisionmaking, especially when they presume that individuals act only based on their attitudes and interests, and neglect the impact of social structures (e.g., Burkart, 1994). Sociological analyses of contemporary Western societies often stress the relevance of individualization processes. As ambiguous as the term “individualization” is, it contains a clear underlying proposition. With the emergence of welfare states and market systems, familial bonds that formerly served as organizational principles have ceased to be relevant. Individual autonomy has increasingly corresponded to the well-known proverb that “every man is the architect of his own fortune”. Accordingly, some sociological theories have set out to focus on the individual, on his/her behavior, and treat social institutions and structures as external effects. These rational choice theories are well established, and have been successfully applied in various research fields, but they are also occasionally criticized as representing a rather “naive” concept of individual decisionmaking, especially when they presume that individuals act only based on their attitudes and interests, and neglect the impact of social structures
URI:	http://10.6.20.12:80/handle/123456789/21699
ISBN:	978-3-531-17784-7
Appears in Collections:	Gender

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