Did Societal Transformation Destroy the Social Networks of Families in East Germany?

Abstract

Two sets of survey data from East and West Germany in 1988 to 1990 and in 1996, containing information about the structure of ego-centered networks of parents living together with at least one child, are used to test empirically whether the structure of the social networks have changed during the transformation period. Contrary to what is commonly believed by the East German population and what is a main theme in the public discourse, where both a feeling of network erosion and of collapsing social relationships prevails, the empirical findings show (a) only slight differences between East and West Germany and (b) a simultaneous change in the network structure in both parts of Germany, which can thus not be attributed to the political transformation process. The results demonstrate the need for a comparative approach in transformation research and support previous findings from family research on the disintegration of family microstructures from political systems.

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