Introduction PART 1:THE CHANGING EUROPEAN FAMILY Family Patterns - Convergence or Divergence Explaining Family Changes PART 2:TOWARD THE CASE STUDIES Premises for Studying Finnish and Spanish Families The Making of Modern Finland and Spain PART 3:FAMILY IN FINLAND AND SPAIN On Family Ideology Family Values and Attitudes On Family Practices Family in Finland and Spain: The Focal Findings PART 4:FAMILY IN CONVERGING EUROPE Integration of European Societies and Family Patterns? The European Family - Made in the OECD?

This book examines common familial trends and differences throughout Europe from the 1960s onwards and discusses the most common theoretical explanations for convergence and divergence. Eriikka Oinonen reveals how structural factors such as the labour market, the welfare state and the EU affect Europeans' family related choices.

ERIIKKA OINONEN is Finnish Academy Research Fellow, Department of Sociology and Social Psychology, University of Tampere, Finland. She has worked extensively on issues related to cross-national comparison, family and social change.