Family ideals in Italy and Spain: towards the end of the traditional Southern European family model?
2025-11-27
This study explores what constitutes an ideal family in Italy and Spain, questioning the prevailing view that they are homogenous and traditional family-oriented countries. Specifically, it investigates whether family ideals in Italy and Spain can be characterized as ‘traditional’ (i); whether family ideals are similar in the two counties (ii); and whether these ideals vary across gender and educational backgrounds (iii). To capture the multidimensional nature of family ideals, we employed a factorial survey experiment in which respondents evaluated a set of family scenarios. This approach enables an assessment of the relative importance of the factors shaping individuals’ perceptions of the ideal family. The findings unveil a significantly modern picture of family ideals, where good communication and gender equality play a key role in positive family evaluations. However, cross-country comparisons reveal a greater prevalence of postmodern family ideals in Spain than in Italy, with a few, but notable differences across gender and education.