Social Representation of Family: A Comparative Study on Italian Young and Older Adults

Abstract

In Italian society, known for the massive presence of so-called traditional families, different forms of it are nowadays spreading. The scientific and political debates on this issue are very intense and the common view of family is changing. Taking as a reference the theory of social representations and in particular the central nucleus theory, the present study aims to evoke the social representation (SR) of family in two different Italian groups: 220 young adults and 83 older adults. A semi-structured questionnaire divided into two sections was used: an open question (content) and a task of free associations, based on the technique of hierarchical evocations (structure). A content analysis and a representational structure analysis were applied. Comparing the SRs emerged among the two groups, young adults evoking family as an entity connoted predominantly in an affective way, while older adults evoking positive values declined in a more concrete and pragmatic way.