Are Italians and Spaniards Rethinking the “Traditional Family”?
Italy and Spain have routinely been portrayed as the stronghold of the so-called Southern European family model: marriage-centered, strongly family-oriented, and marked by traditional gender roles. This image has shaped how scholars, policymakers and the public interpret low fertility, late parenthood and women’s unequal position in the labor market.
A new study by Arnstein Aassve and Letizia Mencarini (both of Department of Social and Political Sciences, Carlo F. Dondena Centre for Research on Social Dynamics and Public Policy, Bocconi University), together with Elena Bastianelli (postdoc researcher at Bocconi) and Alícia Adserà (Princeton University), offers a rather different picture: family ideals in Italy and Spain are far more modern than commonly assumed.
Published in the European Sociological Review, the article examines what people in the two countries consider an “ideal” or “successful” family, and whether these ideals still align with the traditional Southern European model.
How do people define a “successful family”?
Individuals do not evaluate family attributes in isolation, but assess a comprehensive description of a family
Instead of relying on abstract survey questions, the researchers used a factorial survey experiment. Thousands of respondents (to be precise 2,760 for Italy and 2,741 for Spain) aged 25-50 were asked to evaluate realistic family scenarios that varied across multiple dimensions at once: marriage or cohabitation, number of children, income, quality of communication, division of paid and unpaid work, and work-life balance.
This method makes it possible to see which characteristics really matter when people assess families. As the authors note, “individuals do not evaluate family attributes in isolation, but assess a comprehensive description of a family.”
Communication and equality come first
The results are striking. In both countries, good communication within the family is the strongest predictor of perceived family success. “Effective communication among family members is not only significantly but strongly associated with a more successful family in both countries.”
Gender equality is almost as important. Families where partners share paid and unpaid work more equally are rated far more positively than those following traditional male-breadwinner arrangements or where women shoulder a double burden.
Marriage, by contrast, plays a smaller role than expected. Cohabitation is generally viewed as just as successful, except in Italy when children are involved. Divorce is still seen negatively, but much more so in Italy than in Spain.
Spain ahead, women driving change
Across nearly all dimensions, Spain appears further along the path away from traditional family ideals. Egalitarian divisions of labor and emotional quality weigh more heavily there than in Italy.
Gender differences are also clear. Women—particularly in Spain—attach greater importance to communication and equality. As the authors observe, “effective communication is especially crucial for women in both countries.”
Children still matter, but the meaning of parenthood is changing. While the two-child ideal remains symbolically important, many respondents are willing to trade off family size for better work-life balance, stronger relationships and greater equality.
Beyond the Southern European family model
Both countries are now gradually aligning with broader European trends, moving away from traditional family models towards more egalitarian family dynamics
Overall, the study suggests that the traditional Southern European family model no longer describes how people in Italy and Spain imagine family life. As the authors conclude, “both countries are now gradually aligning with broader European trends, moving away from traditional family models towards more egalitarian family dynamics.”
For Italy, the shift is slower but visible. For Spain, it is already well advanced. Either way, the idea of what makes a family “ideal” is quietly but unquestionably being rewritten.
