The families in households typology: searching for families in social surveys

Studying families with social surveys is not always as straightforward as it may seem. The reasons for the challenges are both conceptual and methodological, stemming from the specificity of the data collection process. We explored several international social surveys in Europe to identify how they measure family relationships. We found that standard classification of families rarely use the full information of family relations available in surveys. This obstructs the identification of family types in households (e.g. multigenerational households). The shortcomings in identification of family relations between household members have consequences for our better understanding of interdependencies, the burden and consequences of informal care, and people’s abilities to cope with adverse circumstances. To address these issues, we propose a family-centred household typology – the Families in Households Typology (FHT) – which helps to uncover the complexity of European households.