BACKGROUNDThe fields of demography, sociology, and socio-psychology have been increasingly drawing on social network theories, which posit that individual fertility decisionmaking depends in part on the fertility behavior of other members of the population, and on the structure of the interactions between individuals. After reviewing this literature, we highlight the benefits of taking a social network perspective on fertility and family research. OBJECTIVEWe review the literature that addresses the extent to which social mechanisms, such as social learning, social pressure, social contagion, and social support, influence childbearing decisions. CONCLUSIONSWe find that all of the social mechanisms reviewed influence the beliefs and norms individuals hold regarding childbearing, their perceptions of having children, and the context of opportunities and constraints in which childbearing choices are made. The actual impact of these mechanisms on fertility tempo and quantum strongly depends on the structure of social interaction.

This article contributes to the ongoing debate on the economic determinants of fertility behavior by addressing the role of job insecurity in couples' intentions concerning parenthood and its timing. It starts from the hypothesis that cultural values moderate individuals' reactions to job insecurity and the way it is related to family formation. With a systematic thematic content analysis of a set of semi-structured interviews with childless men and women around the age of 30 in eastern and western Germany, we are able to show that there are substantial differences in the consequences of job insecurity on intentions to have a first child. In western Germany, a relatively secure job career is expected to precede family formation, and this sequence of transitions is rather rigid, whereas in eastern Germany job security and family formation are thought of and practiced as parallel investments. We suggest that the lack of convergence in family formation patterns between eastern and western Germany after the unification of the country in 1990 is partially related to different attitudes toward job insecurity in the two contexts.

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Although the relevance of social interactions or social networks for fertility research has been increasingly acknowledged in recent years, little is known about the channels and mechanisms of social influences on individuals’ fertility decision-making. Drawing on problem-centred interviews and network data collected among young adults in western Germany, the authors show that qualitative methods broaden our understanding of social and contextual influences on couples’ fertility intentions, by exploring the phenomenon, taking subjective perceptions into account, analysing interactions within networks as well as the dynamics of networks. Qualitative methods allow for the collection and analysis of rich retrospective information on network dynamics in relation to life course events. This can also be helpful both to complement the still rare longitudinal data on social networks and to develop parsimonious and efficient survey instruments to collect such information in a standardized way.

On the basis of the analysis of qualitative interviews in Western Germany, it has been argued that personal relationships have a strong impact on individuals' family formation processes and childbearing intentions. Persons who influence individuals' childbearing choices were identified. Strong ties, such as among core family members (i.e., parents and siblings), are an important contributing factor, but the authors are also able to show that weak ties, such as those among colleagues and acquaintances, need to be considered when examining social influence on family formation processes. Apart from single network partners, influential groups of persons have been identified. Such groups serve as a comparative standard regarding the timing of having one's first child and subsequent children.

This article draws attention to the spatial dimensions of poverty and the importance of social networks as coping resources for the rural poor. We analyse data from an explorative, mixed‐methods study conducted in rural and urban areas in north‐eastern Germany, and show that spatial contexts shape poor people's social networks. Our quantitative analyses indicate that compared to the urban networks, the rural networks in our sample are smaller, and include more family members and fewer supportive relationships. Our analysis of qualitative interviews with rural poor people yields a typology of strategies for coping with poverty. It also shows that while social networks represent important resources for coping with poverty in rural areas, the support capacities of these networks are weakened by structural changes, the selective out‐migration of younger and better educated individuals, and by the ageing and shrinking of the population.

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