Social Support Networks of Italian Couples

International research on individual behaviour has shown the importance of the network of relationships that bind the individuals to the people who are close to them.
Mainly in those countries, such as Italy, where the welfare system and the national agencies are weak and unable to suitably support people facing difficulties, the network’s role can be substantial.
For the Italian scenario, the 2003 and 2009 Multipurpose survey, “Famiglia e Soggetti Sociali” (FSS), carried out by ISTAT offers some challenges to measure the ego-centered social support networks of Italian couples along the different phases of family formation.
Focusing on individuals aged between 18 to 44 years old living as couples, our research questions concern:
• the characteristics of partners’ ego-social support networks;
• the types of help couples receive from people outside the immediate family;
• the effect of network typologies on the probability of receiving help in the household life course.
First results show a narrow social support network. Slight differences in partners’ availability of resources also emerge. The couple’s network size or even only the female’s network size has a significant positive effect on the probability of receiving help. Nevertheless, relying on the male social support network reduces this probability.