The influence of the wider kin group on individual life-course transitions: results from the Pays de Herve (Belgium), 1846-1900; KIN GROUPS AND THE LIFE COURSE IN BELGIUM; MURIEL NEVEN

In this study an attempt is made to examine the influence of kinship on a series of individual transitions and behaviours that mark the life course (marriage, leaving home, out-migration and mortality). Moving beyond a 'traditional' view, in which kinship is restricted to the cohabitation group, the study tests both the effects of the household and of the family beyond the household in order to observe their independent, opposite, or complementary actions. All these issues must be considered within the more general context of the 'nuclear hardship hypothesis': should family links beyond the unit of cohabitation be taken into account? How far can family support isolated people? [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]