The family in Norwegian
society
Anne Skevik Grødem,
NOVA – Norwegian Social
Research
What is “a family”?
• Blood relations,
• Legal relations (marriage)
• A set of functions
– Production
– Reproduction
• Distinguish between family and household
– Household: People who live in the same house, and
who regularly have meals together
Married women with children under
16 in the labour force, 1972-1999
90
85
80
75
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
72
9
1
74
9
1
76
9
1
78
9
1
80
9
1
82
9
1
84
9
1
86
9
1
88
9
1
90
9
1
92
9
1
94
9
1
96
9
1
98
9
1
What is ”the family?”
• A contested political question!
• ”Haven in a heartless world”
• A site of oppression and conflicting
interests
• The basic unit of society
• A changing institution
Family trends in Norway
• Delayed marriages
• Delayed childbearing
 extended youth period, singledom,
cohabitation
• Stable, comparatively high fertility
• High and stable rates of extra-marital birth
• High and stable divorce rates
 many lone parents, many non-resident
parents, many adults living alone
Cohabitation
• A ”paper-less” marriage or a modern form
of engagement?
• Illegal in Norway until 1972!
• Much less stable than marriage
Marriage in Norway
• Anyone who is over 18 and single is free
to marry
• Illegal to marry parents/ grandparents/
children/ grandchildren, and siblings
• Only valid if it is freely entered into
% who are cohabiting, married or living
alone, different age groups, 2002-2004
100
90
80
70
60
Cohabiting
50
Marrried
Living alone
40
30
20
10
0
16-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-69 70-79
% of women in different age groups
cohabiting, various years
45
40
35
30
20-24
25-29
25
30-34
20
35-39
40-44
15
10
5
0
1977
1988
1994
2002
% of women aged 25-29 who are
married or cohabiting, various years
90
80
70
60
50
Married
Cohabiting
40
30
20
10
0
1977
1988
1994
2002
20
01
20
02
20
03
19
61
-6
19 5
66
-7
19 0
71
-7
19 5
76
-8
19 0
81
-8
19 5
86
-9
19 0
91
-9
19
96 5
-2
00
0
Mean age at first marriage, men and
women, 1961-2003
35
30
25
20
Men
15
Women
10
5
0
% of marriages between previously
unmarried and previously married, early
1960s and 2003
1961-65
2003
Unmarried men to
unmarried w omen
Unmarried men to
divorced/ w idow ed
w omen
Divorced/ w idow ed
men to unmarried
w omen
Divorced/ w idow ed
men to divorced/
w idow ed w omen
w omen
Homosexual marriage
• “Registered partnerships” introduced in
1993
• Same-sex couples can register their
partnerships. This gives them all the same
rights and duties as married couples have,
except
– They cannot be married in a church ceremony
– They cannot adopt children together, or
legally be inseminated by a sperm donor
Numbers of registered
partnerships, 1993-2003
140
140
120
120
100
100
80
80
Two men
men
Two
Two women
women
Two
60
60
40
40
20
20
00
1993
1996 1996
1997 1998
2001 2000
2002 2003
2006
1993 1994
199419951995
1997 1999
199820001999
2001 2004
200220052003
Divorce
• Either party can apply for a formal
separation
• After one year of formal separation (or two
years of informal separation), either
partner can apply for divorce
• The parties do not have to agree, nor do
they have to give a reason for divorcing
Divorce
Divorcing couples who have joint children
under 16 are obliged to undergo
counselling. The aim of this counselling is
not to save the marriage, but to ensure that
the parents have reached a workable
agreement about arrangements for children.
This counselling is also mandatory for
cohabiting couples with joint children.
The divorce rate, 1959-2005
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1959-62
1969-72
1976-80
1981-85
1986-90
1991-95
1996-2000
2001-05
Divorce rates in selected European
countries and the USA, ca. 2002
4
3,5
3
2,5
2
1,5
1
0,5
0
l
d
y
n
e
d
d
k
a
n
e
d
y
A
ia
ly
a
a
s
an Ita pai e ec lan la n tuga a nc nd rwa stri an ed e a tv lan itain mar gium oni a ni US
l
e
t
l
u
S Gr Po Iec or Fr
L Fin Br n
s
rla No Au er m Sw
Ir
t De Be E Lith
P
he
a
G
t
re
Ne
G
e
th
To sum up:
• Family patterns are much more unstable than
they were only a generation ago
• People marry later. Cohabitation is the most
common way of living together among young
couples.
• The divorce rate has increased considerably
• More people are living alone
• Divorced men and women frequently marry new
partners – they do not lose faith in marriage!
Child-bearing
• Fertility rates have fallen, but are still
higher in the Nordic countries than in most
other European countries
• Many children are born to cohabiting
parents
• Many children are living with lone parents,
mainly lone mothers
Fertility rates: Norway, and the
reproduction level
3
2,5
2
1,5
1
0,5
0
1970
1980
1990
1995
2000
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
Fertility rates: Norway, and the
reproduction level
3
2,5
2
1,5
1
0,5
0
1970
1980
1990
1995
2000
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
It a
ul ly
ga
ria
La
Li t via
th
ua
n
P ia
ol
an
d
S
pa
G in
re
ec
e
C
r
R ot i
om a
an
R ia
us
G sia
er
m
an
A y
us
t
E ria
st
o
P nia
or
tu
B gal
G elg
re iu
at m
B
rit
S ain
w
ed
e
Fi n
n
th D lan
e e d
N nm
et
he ar
rla k
nd
N s
or
w
a
Ic y
el
an
Fr d
an
c
Ire e
la
nd
B
European fertility rates (selected
countries)
2,5
2
1,5
1
0,5
0
Mean age at first birth
29
28
27
26
25
24
23
22
21
19711975
19761980
19811985
19861990
19911995
19962000
20012005
Mean age at first birth
29
28
27
26
25
24
23
22
21
1946- 1951- 1956- 1961- 1966- 1971- 1976- 1981- 1986- 1991- 1996- 20011950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005
30
30
29
29
28
28
27
27
26
26
Firstfirst
marriage
Mean age
marriage
Firstfirst
birthbirth
Mean age
25
25
24
24
23
23
22
22
21
21
1961-
1966-
1971-
1976-
1981-
1986-
1991-
1996-
19611996- 2000
2002
65 196670 197175 1976-80 1981-851986- 901991- 95
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
2000
2002
% of live births outside marriage
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1961-65
1966-70
1971-75
1976-80
1981-85
1986-90
1991-95
19962000
2001-04
Children at different ages, by parents’
marital status. 2006
100
90
80
70
60
One parent
50
Cohabiting
Married
40
30
20
10
0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
Children in different family forms,
2005
Married parents
Cohabiting parents
Mother only
Mother and stepfather
Father only
Father and step-mother
Non-resident fathers’ contact with their children
% of non-resident fathers
Has had contact with the
child since birth
Has had contact last 12
months
96
92
Has had contact last 30 days 81
Has spoken on the phone
60
last 30 days
Has spent at least one
87
holiday together during the
last year
The family and the welfare state
• Division of labour
• Increased demand for work/ family
reconciliation policies
• Increased demand for social care services
(child-care, care for the elderly)
• ”Child-centred social investment strategy”
and policies to combat child poverty
Main elements of present
Norwegian family policies
• Universal child benefit
• Parental leave
– 44 weeks with full wage replacement or 54 weeks
with 80% wage replacement (up to a ceiling)
– 9 weeks are reserved for the mother, 6 weeks
reserved for the father
•
•
•
•
Benefits for lone parents
Child-care services
Cash-for-childcare
Care services for the elderly
Figure 2. Pare ntal le av e arrange me nts 1985-1997,
2007. We e ks at 100% wage re place me nt.
50
45
40
35
30
Reserved for father
25
May be shared
Reserved for mother
20
Must be taken before birth
15
10
5
20
07
19
96
19
94
19
95
19
93
19
91
19
92
19
90
19
88
19
89
19
87
19
86
0
Proportions and numbers of fathers taking parental
leave, Norway, 1991-2006
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
06
05
04
03
02
01
00
99
98
97
96
95
94
93
92
91
Proportions and numbers of fathers taking
parental leave, Norway, 1991-2006
40000
90
35000
80
70
30000
60
25000
50
20000
40
15000
30
10000
20
5000
10
0
0
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Proportion of children in different age groups in kindergartens,
Norway 1975-2004
90
80
70
60
50
Children 1-5
40
Children 1-2
30
20
10
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1985
0
The division of labour between
families and welfare states
•
•
•
•
Crowding out?
Crowding in?
No influence?
Division of work?
“Can’t each and every person, also in
Norway, take on some responsibility for
their parents who have given birth to them
and raised them? This idea is seen as
primitive and anti-freedom in present-day
Norway. And it does not match the
individualistic and selfish direction
Norwegians in some ways have moved,
there the only emphasis is on selfactualisation and the fulfilment of one’s
own needs”.
Attiq Ahmad Sohail, medical student, Aftenposten 18th
April 2008)
“It is well documented that Norwegian family
members take a high degree of responsibility for
their elderly and disabled, and this activity is not
declining, quite the opposite…. Sohail also
claims that the idea of caring for elderly parents
“is seen as primitive and anti-freedom in
present-day Norway”. Where did he get that
idea? The claim is entirely unsubstantiated, the
opposite is well documented. Moreover, his
claim is an insult to all those who spend
enormous time and energy in the best interest of
frail elderly parents – year after year. … It is
disappointing, even frightening, to read such
nonsense from a University student”.
Tor Inge Romøren, professor in ageing research, NOVA,
Aftenposten 22th April 2008
Forms of help to the frail elderly,
different countries
Norway
England
Only family
Family and welfare
state
Only welfare state
Germany
Others
Spain
Israel
0
20
40
60
80
100
Quotes from Norwegian respondents
(source: Daatland and Herlofson 2004)
• “Society has the main responsibility, but the family can step
up with other forms of help”.
(son of a frail elderly parent)
• “The family must be there and provide support, but not as an
obligation or a job. The main responsibility should be on the
public and on professionals”.
(daughter of a frail elderly parent)
• “You should not expect care and nursing from your children,
but of course that they should support you, come to visit and
so on”.
(frail elderly Norwegian mother)
To sum up:
• Norwegian fertility rates are below replacement level, but
above the European average. People have children later
in life.
• Increasing proportions of children are living with only
one of their biological parents, usually the mother, but
• Almost all these children have some contact with their
fathers, and the majority have frequent and regular
contact.
• The welfare state is an active partner for Norwegian
families
• Still, there is a lot of informal support – both in cash and
in kind – between young adults and their parents, and
between frail elderly parents and their children/
grandchildren