EU project presents attitudes towards starting a family and ageing
In the context of similar demographic trends across Europe, including low fertility, a rising divorce rate, an increase in life expectancy and ageing of the population, all of which are posing new challenges for social security systems, researchers from 14 EU countries have investigated attitudes towards population change. The DIALOG project found that couples are having fewer children than they say they would like to have, that attitudes are changing towards cohabitation without marriage, and there are positive attitudes towards to contributions made to society by the elderly. Interestingly, more than half of those questioned for the project said that they would like to have at least two children. However, many couples are having fewer children due to concerns about the future and the cost of raising children. The biggest differences between the actual and the desired number of children are evident in Cyprus, Poland, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Hungary and the Netherlands. The project partners recommend that governments rethink their family policies in order to encourage people to have more children. However, expectations with regard to family policies vary across Europe, indicating that a single policy cannot be applied across the EU. For example, participants in Western Europe tended to be in favour of a combination of financial support and flexible working hours, while participants from Eastern Europe tended to favour combining full-time employment with having a family. The number of births does not however appear to be influenced by rising divorce rates or a decline in the importance attached to marriage: the ratio of children born to unmarried mothers has risen from 30 per cent to 40 per cent over the last ten years. Having children within a marriage, however, remains the preferred option in Southern and Eastern European countries. Attitudes towards demographic ageing were found to be overwhelmingly negative in all participating countries except Belgium. Asked about who should look after the elderly, all generations agreed that society should be responsible for care, providing proper institutions and services. While most accepted that children should also take care of their parents, they were given less responsibility than that awarded to society. Questioned over their willingness to have elderly parents live with them if the necessity arose, participants in Romania (85.9 per cent), Poland (85.1 per cent) and Lithuania (82.9 per cent) signalled their approval of such an arrangement. Approval was much lower in Germany (16.4 per cent) and Belgium (23.5 per cent). Respondents in all countries would prefer to retire before 60, with Slovenes and Poles wishing to retire the youngest at ages 52.3 and 53.5 respectively. The age at which people expect to retire was found to be higher in all countries involved. The final section in the project report deals with expectations as to governments' responsibilities. The State is primarily considered to be responsible for providing adequate health care for all, followed by providing jobs for young people. Also topping the list is care and assistance for elderly people, while some countries also expect the State to accept responsibility for issues such as the provision of adequate housing, enabling parents to reconcile family and work, and promoting the participation of women in the labour force. Respondents' expectations of the State were significantly higher in Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Romania and Cyprus than in the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Slovenia.
Countries
Belgium, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia