Introduction – Social Networks and Fertility

In this chapter we present a parallel mixed method research design applied in the field of fertility research. Our project aims at generating a comprehensive understanding of the network effects on fertility intentions and behavior. These effects have attracted the interest of researchers in demography and family sociology over the last 20 years (Bongaarts and Watkins 1996; Kohler 2001; Kohler and Bühler 2001; Bernardi and Klärner 2014). The central question of our research is how intimate life-course decisions of individuals and couples about becoming parents are influenced by social interactions with parents, siblings, relatives, friends, but also with colleagues as well as more contingent encounters that constitute individuals’ social networks.

Most research in this area has concentrated on providing evidence for social network effects measured at the macro-level, for example, for a significant relation between the geographical correlation of the diffusion of contraceptive knowledge and changes in fertility behavior. Researchers also have recorded social network effects on value change concerning gender roles, the role of women in society, the desired number of children, attitudes toward cohabitation, and so on (Kohler and Bühler 2001; Rindfuss et al. 2004). Central for this research are hypotheses involving the role of social learning and social norms (e.g., Montgomery and Casterline 1996; Casterline 2001; Kohler 2001) and social support (cf. Bühler 2007). Studies about network influence on fertility choices so far have been conducted mainly in developing countries (e.g., Kohler et al. 2001; Madhavan et al. 2003) or in post-socialist transformation societies (e.g., Philipov et al. 2006; Bühler and Philipov 2007; Bühler and Fratczak 2007), giving support to the thesis that better access to social support increases the likelihood to become parents. It is argued that in these countries traditional values and family and tribal structures are pre-dominant and therefore social networks serve as substitutes for malfunctioning or non-existent welfare-state institutions. Also, individualization and post-modern orientations – often considered as forces against social cohesion and therefore against effective and powerful influences by persons from the social network – are not so far spread in these countries. Yet, little is known about how social networks affect fertility intentions and behavior in western European societies that are characterized by individualization processes that tend to diminish the importance of traditional family bonds.