Children in lone parent families typically experience not only parental absence but also sibling absence: they are more likely to be sole offspring or to have fewer siblings than children of stable unions. Previous research has looked at these factors separately and suggests that they might work...

This paper provides a general overview of trends and patterns in divorce in the present-day western world, focusing especially on the interaction between legal and behavioural aspects of union dissolution. The account is written from a sociological rather than a legal perspective. Its purpose is...

This paper seeks to test whether claims by Wilkinson and Pickett (2010) (W&P) on the negative effects of income inequality on social conditions in rich countries are borne out in the case of the family. The paper examines correlations between 13 family indicators and income inequality across...

<title>Abstract</title> Many scholars interpret the contraction in social housing and the expansion of home ownership as reflections of a reduced role for the state and an increase in the marketisation of housing. This paper challenges this interpretation by pointing to two weaknesses in its conceptual...

This study provides an overview of existing knowledge regarding the family in Ireland today. It focuses in particular on three major issues: the long-term decline in fertility, the growth and pattern of lone parenthood and changes in household and family size. It emphasises how poor the existing...

The purpose of the report is to provide a descriptive account of levels and patterns of sport and leisure-time activity in Ireland today, viewed from a health perspective, and to draw implications for policy on the promotion of sport and physical exercise for public health purposes. The report...