Once I Have a Family … Children's Constructions of Their Own Future Families in the Light of Their Present Family Forms

Existing research on children’s depictions of their future families has primarily focused on gender aspects. In contrast, this study highlights children’s family structures as an arena of differentiation. The research is based on qualitative interviews with 50 ten-year-old Austrian children and relies on a social constructionist approach. Results indicate considerable differences with regard to family structure: Children living in non-nuclear families emphasized their wish to correspond to the norm, presented less detailed ideas about future partnerships, ascribed more agency to children and constructed parental roles differently from those living in nuclear families. However, distinctions were less pronounced in terms of gender roles.