Changes in partnership and family forms and arrangements from the life course perspective

In the last two decades, there have been major changes in the forms of private (partnership and family) life in the Czech Republic (CR). Several research projects focused on their patterns; we will add a life course perspective to perform their in-depth analysis. The aim is to explain the changes in partnership and family forms and identify problems and their causes in work-life balance in the contemporary CR in the view of life course. It will enable us to study private life and its combining with work life in terms of sequencing, timing, and meanings of life events in biographical, social, and historical times. Life course will be studied quantitatively (sequencing, timing) and qualitatively (meanings) with focus on the explanation of inter-generation differences and variations between socio-economically, demographically, culturally, regionally differentiated populations. The project will provide explanation of structurally and institutionally based diversification and of new norms on private life arrangements, combining of work and care, and of the resulting needs and risks.