Families in Austria

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CHAPTER 9

Families in Austria

RUDOLF RICHTER

SANDRA KYTIR

1. INTRODUCTION War I, the Austrian-Hungarian monarchy disintegrated mainly as a result of forces of Austria is located in southern, central nationalist self-assertion and as a consequence Europe. Geographically, its territory encom- of the Versailles treaties. In 1918 Austria passes both the Eastern Alps and the Danube finally was proclaimed a republic. region and has a land surface of 83,858.3 Austria’s population is quite heteroge- sq km (32,369 sq miles). Located within a neous. Czechs, Slovaks, and Hungarians temperate climatic zone with influence of reside in eastern Austria and in the capital the moderate Atlantic climate in the west and of Vienna. There is also a small Croatian the influence of the continental climate in the and Slovenian minority around the southern east, Austria includes a wide variety of land- regions, but at present immigrants from the scapes and flora. About 46% of its surface former Yugoslavia and Turkey exceed these area is wooded. Austria’s landscapes range original minorities. About 10% of the from the mountain peaks of the Alps to hilly Austrian population are immigrants. landscapes and plains. The foothills of the There are six ethnic groups officially Alps and the Carpathians as well as the recognized in Austria. In terms of religious Vienna Basin in the east are the principal allegiances, 78% of Austrians are Roman areas of settlement and economic activity. Catholic, and 5% are Protestant. Some 4.5% According to census data for 2001, Austria of the population belong to another faith, has 8.1 million inhabitants, of whom approx- and 9% do not belong to any religious imately 98% speak German. Austria has group. common borders with eight other countries: While the alpine regions in the west Germany and the Czech Republic in the north, are agriculturally oriented, the eastern part Slovakia and Hungary in the east, Slovenia of Austria was urbanized and industrialized and Italy in the south, and Switzerland and early on. In 1995 Austria joined the European Liechtenstein in the west. At the end of World Union.

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Demographic Description the fertility rate will further decrease, and the decline will not be balanced by immigrant Austria is considered a typical social families living in Austria, who have more welfare state with low rates of infant children than Austrian families. mortality (0.5%), an extensive system of At this point we should say that reported social security, high quality of life, and high data and demographic developments in this life expectancy. In terms of demography, chapter refer mainly to data from the 1960s Austrian family patterns are quite characteris- and the 1970s. More recent figures show tic of advanced and modern industrialized more dramatic changes. societies. The number of marriages is declin- ing; at the same time, the number of divorces is rising. The fertility rate is rather low. In 2. PAIRING UP Austria about 2 million people are married or cohabiting. More than one-half of them It is remarkable that a relatively small (about 55%) have children. The number of amount of data exists about the process of single parents is steadily increasing and is pairing up or finding a partner in Austria. now up to about 400,000. Youth research in Austria suggests that While the importance of marriage has socializing mainly takes place in school and definitely decreased, one might say that the other educational institutions rather than in importance of family as an institution has cafes, discos, or in the street. increased. Family and children mean a lot In Austria during the 1950s and 1960s, it to Austrian people and more than 80% see was quite common for young people to be it as one of the most important aspects of their members of youth groups, such as voluntary life. This might explain why the number of associations, and political or religious institu- families, including cohabiting couples, with tions. However, since political and religious children, as well as single parents, has risen in institutions have been losing their credibility the last decades. While in 1971 there were during the last decades, they are now less about 2 million families, in 2001 there were important in the process of pairing up. 2.3 million families. Furthermore, the number Young people may also socialize with peers of families with children has also risen from in the context of sport activities, but few 1.3 million to 1.4 million. engage in a sports club. However, the fertility rate, in at 1.31 in Modern facilities such as the Internet are 2001, is quite low. In this context, it is inter- beginning to play an important role in the esting that although couples, and especially process of pairing up. However, it seems women, usually would like to have two that singles platforms are considered a game children or more, in most cases they have rather than a serious means of socializing only one. There is no real explanation for and pairing up among young people. Con- this gap between wishes and practice. It versely, the Internet seems increasingly to be is probably due to a combination of factors of use for people between 30 and 40 years such as the economic situation, individualis- of age to approach other people. However, tic values, and experiences with the first child there exist no representative studies dealing (first-child “shock,” according to Nave-Herz, with this phenomenon. 2002). Nevertheless, social scientists found In young people’s minds, values such that couples’ wish for children has decreased, as family and friends play an essential role and it has become normal to have one or and are of great importance for their well- even no child. If this development continues, being. According to the Vienna Youth Health 09-Adams.qxd 10/11/2004 11:30 AM Page 203

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Report in Austria (2002) aside from the 2 years later at the age of 22.5 (Pfeiffer & family, whose importance remains stable, Nowak, 2001). Figures from the Family and friends represent the most important social Fertility Survey (Doblhammer, Lutz, & reference group for young people. (See also Pfeiffer, 1996) show that 23% of men born Großegger, 2001.) between 1966 and 1970 had not moved out More than 50% of young people in Austria of their parents’ home by the age of 30. Some between the ages of 15 and 24, especially girls, young people return to their parental home wish for a permanent partnership and plan for later on as a consequence of separation or children in their 20s or 30s. Boys and some financial difficulties. girls in their teens prefer to enjoy youth before seriously pairing up and beginning a family. Generally speaking, young people connect 3. FERTILITY AND SOCIALIZATION partnership to faithfulness, trust, and having fun, but cohabiting seems unimportant to In Austria nearly all children (98.3%) are them at this time. born in a hospital. Austria has a very low Studies on adolescent sexuality indicate fertility rate. In 2001 it was at 1.31, corre- that most adolescents first have sexual inter- sponding to a reproduction rate of 0.63. course between ages 16 and 19. This has not This decline in population provokes severe changed noticeably during the last 25 years. sociopolitical problems, which at present At the age of 16, 50% of adolescents have are intensely discussed by politicians, social already had sexual intercourse, and about scientists, and other experts. 25% will first have intercourse after the age Although the fertility rate is higher among of 18. In Austria the number of teenage immigrants, who represent about 10% of the mothers is negligible and decreasing. Austrian population, this will not make up While in the late 1960s and early 1970s for the population loss within the scope of people married at the age of about 20, at the next generation. This development has present they marry closer to 30. Conse- far-reaching consequences for the pension quently, the mean age at the time of marriage schemes in Austria, which are based on the has risen considerably. This is due to the fact transfer of insurance contributions from the that people prefer to date someone without working population to retirees. On the other sharing a household or living together in hand, it can be argued that a smaller popula- nonmarital cohabitation or marrying right tion of young people would save expenses in after having met. The time delay of marriage relation to childcare or the educational creates a new phase in life, the so-called system. postadolescence or early adulthood that is Low fertility remains a fundamental very characteristic for young people in characteristic of the country’s family system, Austria between ages 20 and 30. They might and family policy consults fertility rates for have a partner, but they are not likely to live family-related decisions. Low fertility results together. Some cohabit, but this does not from multiple political, social, and eco- mean that they are getting married. They find nomic factors that have an important impact themselves in an ambivalent situation, trying on people’s preferences: the feasibility to to be independent while in constant touch combine work and family, financial circum- with their parents. stances, need for personal freedom, housing In Austria young women leave their conditions, and the perception of society parental home for the first time on average at as child-friendly. In Austria a large number the age of 20, and young men leave about of care institutions are available, and on 09-Adams.qxd 10/12/2004 10:55 AM Page 204

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average 80% of children between 3 and 6 number of men living in single households years old attend kindergarten. during the last decades, and also, of course, Socialization mainly takes place in the by the increasing number of men partici- family and in school. School is obligatory pating in the doing of chores. for 9 years. After 4 years of primary school, The Family and Fertility Survey (Dobl- secondary schools, vocational schools, or hammer et al., 1996) shows age differences in grammar schools are available. Most children this matter. Young men are more willing to attend school for a total of 12 years and in so do household chores than older men. doing obtain a general qualification for college Furthermore, it is indicated that the portion or university entrance. of work done by men may be overestimated. In Austria education is marked by toler- For example, 50% to 75% of men report that ance and cooperation between children and their spouse does the cooking, while 70% to their parents. Parents feel that it is important 90% of women say they do the cooking. to make their children responsible, indepen- Therefore, percentages based on question- dent, and tolerant persons having good man- naires rather than on daily protocols are quite ners. However, only one-quarter believe that imprecise, though they may indicate trends children’s obedience is crucial to child-rearing. concerning the distribution of housework. The general findings are quite stable: House- hold chores are mainly done by women, and 4. GENDER ROLES young men do significantly more chores than older men. Shopping, for example, seems to Gender roles and gender differences in society be done equally by men and women between constitute an important research topic. Let us 30 and 39 years old. summarize some crucial points. At present It is remarkable that the distribution of 15% of children below 15 live in single-parent household chores significantly changes after households. In 93% of the cases, children live birth of the first child. Men do fewer house- with their mother. hold chores than before, neglecting activities Although women tend to search for a man such as cooking, shopping, cleaning, washing, with an equal or higher level of education, and ironing. Marital satisfaction of both they increasingly marry men with lower lev- men and women decreases when children els of education. This is due to the increasing are born (Rollet & Werneck, 2001, p. 132). number of women in the tertiary educational Although these data are from 1992, they have system, which exceeds that of men (Schwarz not lost their timeliness and the results still & Spielauer, 2002). hold today. Considering job and housework The distribution of household chores is together, women work on average 1 hour considered one of the most useful indicators more than men regardless of how many hours of the disparities between men and women. they work in paid labor. In the 1970s the Austrian government Childcare requires a lot of time, and argued that household chores should be dis- usually women care for their children. Most tributed equally between partners. However, men are only periodically involved and household chores are still mainly done by play, dress, or swaddle their children on an women, even though changes have taken irregular basis. Because of this irregularity, place. While in 1983 about 75% of men men spend less absolute time in childcare reported that they would not do any chores, than women do. And, as we have said, in 1995 it was down to 60%. This change young men care more for their children than can partly be explained by the increasing older men. 09-Adams.qxd 10/11/2004 11:30 AM Page 205

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Parental leave is mainly claimed by partner to come off well in comparison to mothers. Although 19% of men can imagine other men—and the better he performs, the taking leave at least for a short time, only more women are comfortable with the actual about 2% actually do. As a new qualitative division. study indicates (Gräfinger, 2001), there are Marital status and income also contribute several social factors having a significant to the evaluation of equity. In comparison to impact on men’s attitudes toward parental unmarried women, married women feel the leave. Most men argue that the main reason division of chores to be more unjust, and the for not taking parental leave is their substantial lower their income, the more dissatisfied they income and the risk of being considered a are. Therefore, the perception of equity or loser. Most men feel that their employer would inequity strongly depends on women’s social not embrace their parental leave. However, relations and their social network rather than men who did take parental leave report that on real differences and inequalities. However, they surprisingly had far fewer difficulties than in most partnerships the distribution of they had expected. In addition, it is interesting household chores does not lead to any fun- that men’s parents and parents-in-law do not damental conflicts. want their son or son-in-law to stay at home One of the most essential functions of the and care for his children. Sisters-in-law are modern family is the care of its members, more agreeable to the idea, and when men take especially of children and the elderly. In 1999 parental leave, they are surprised by how many it was estimated that this work would be household chores have to be done. valued at ¤ 58 billion if counted as wages, Such results are beginning to lead to public including hours of overtime. About 80% of debate, and while most studies researching this work is done by women. In contrast to the combination of family and work focus other European countries, it is remarkable on women’s perspectives, recent studies are that women in Austria and Germany find it taking into consideration men and their particularly difficult to combine work and points of view. family, although modern childcare facilities Although Austrian law allows parents a are available and family policies are among maximum of 3 years of parental leave on the most advanced in Europe (European condition that men take at least 6 months, Commission, 1996). only very few men take this opportunity. This result might be due to the prevailing As a result hardly any family utilizes the full idea that children have to be cared for by their 3 years of leave. mother—and only by their mother. Because As part of the discussion of the division of of this social norm, most women feel con- household chores, family research also deals strained to care for their children and stay at with the question of how partners negotiate home—at least as long as their children are the division of work. Mikula and Freuden- below 3 years of age. Value studies research- thaler (2002) researched the distribution of ing people’s opinions about how women’s household chores from a psychological point professional life affects the well-being of their of view. His secondary analysis of data of children found that the majority of men and the Family and Fertility Survey (Doblhammer women living in a partnership think that the et al., 1996) shows that about one-third of relationship between the mother and her women perceive the division of household children is not affected unfavorably by occu- chores as unjust. This feeling strongly pation. In 1996, 75% of women and 66% of relates to the time spent on chores by women men agreed with this. However, by contrast, themselves. Furthermore, women desire their 71% of men and 65% of women are of 09-Adams.qxd 10/11/2004 11:30 AM Page 206

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the opinion that it is better that men are affection, good communication, love, and the breadwinners and women care for the tenderness as well as sexuality are very children (Bacher & Wilk, 1996, pp. 175f). important for childless partnerships. On the Although gender roles have begun to change other hand, young couples in particular try fundamentally during the last decades—in to maintain their individuality and freedom some families both parents work part-time or to pursue professional goals and other activ- the father even cares for the children and the ities advancing their personal development. mother works—it is still widely expected that women care for their children while men go to work. This is why most women feel guilty 6. FAMILY STRESSES when trying to combine work and family if AND VIOLENCE their child is in a childcare institution. Partnerships perpetually have to meet new challenges in their everyday lives. Numerous 5. MARITAL RELATIONSHIPS studies indicate that children constitute an important stress factor, in particular for Traditional roles lose their importance and women who try to combine work and partners continually have to negotiate and family, job and childcare. Depending on arrange their relationship in everyday life. the availability of part-time jobs and child- Emotional closeness and mutual understand- care facilities, the effort to combine work ing are found to be of great importance for and family can be a very stressful task. successful partnerships. At present there exist numerous childcare Although violence in families can be facilities in Austria for children over 3 years found, it is not common. In most cases, of age, but very few institutions that care even separations and divorces are consen- for children under the age of 3. sual and are accomplished deliberately and In Austria, children go to school in in a rational way. the morning and in the early afternoon. Marital satisfaction changes in the course Consequently, childcare after school requires of marriage, usually resembling a U-curve. deliberate time management in families At the beginning, marital satisfaction, mutual where both parents are working full-time. love, and affection are very high. At the time Some schools offer after-school day care, of childbirth, partners’ contentment with which, however, is difficult for low-income their marriage significantly declines. This is families to afford. Children’s school achieve- partly due to the fact that men desist from ments represent another possible stressor. doing household chores. When the second In fact, many pupils find studying rather child is born, men work longer and spend demanding and Austrian families spend a lot even less time at home with their family. of money for private tutorials. When children reach puberty, satisfaction Discrepancies between parents on how to falls to the lowest point. Bit by bit satisfac- bring up their children might also represent tion rises again and marital relationships an important stress factor, though no rele- reach a high level of intimacy and common vant studies yet exist. understanding again in the empty-nest stage Recapitulating, stress may cause domestic (Austrian Family Report, 1999). violence, though not always. In the majority Couples without children face a similar of cases, violent hands are laid on children pattern. However, childlessness sometimes and women, although men are sometimes causes severe conflicts. On the one hand, mistreated. 09-Adams.qxd 10/11/2004 11:30 AM Page 207

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The Vienna Youth Health Report (2002), an effective rise of violent crimes, and there a representative study of young people is a law in process that will define sexual between ages 15 and 24 living in Vienna, harassment within marriage as a crime. This indicates that 11% of young girls and boys will have significant consequences on crimi- experience physical violence. However, nal proceedings. there exist significant gender differences. Whereas boys are more often physically 7. DIVORCE, SEPARATION, attacked, girls rather experience verbal and AND REMARRIAGE psychic violence. Furthermore, boys report that two-thirds of violence originates from Divorce: Data and Development their father. Conversely, girls experience 58% of violence from their mother. Ten In Austria the rate of divorces has consid- percent of both boys and girls report having erably risen during recent decades. Actually been threatened with being sent to an the divorce rate is at 46% and is expected “approved” school. However, more than to remain stable at this level. However, this 50% say they are allowed to criticize their does not mean that 46% of marriages are parents, and one-third of the interviewed going to end in divorce. The divorce rate boys and 44% of the girls say that their takes into account the number of divorces parents allow contradiction. and the number of marriages and relates The data on violence differs in various them to each other. Therefore, the divorce studies. Depending on the definition of vio- rate automatically rises as the marriage lence, the number of people having experi- rate falls. This is exactly what has happened enced violence (at least in the form of slaps) during the last three decades. is as high as 80%. Psychic violence is very Divorced families have become a natural difficult to measure. constituent part of Austrian society. While Newspapers and other media increasingly only 1.1 of 1,000 inhabitants divorced in report sexual harassment. Out of 622 reported 1961, at the turn of the 21st century, 2.5 of cases of physical violence against children 1,000 inhabitants were divorcing in a single within 1 recent year, 259 were sexual. In most year. In absolute numbers, this meant 8,000 cases, the abused children are below 10 or 11, divorces in 1961 and 20,600 in 2001. meaning below puberty. These data were The typical age at the time of divorce has collected from doctors in 1994. There is no risen from the early 30s to the late 30s. This clear profile of the abuser. Therefore, violent can largely be explained by the higher age of behavior and sexual harassment might relate people at the time of marriage and by the in part to the attitude toward sexuality rather increasing duration of marriages. At present, than to social milieus. marriages in Austria last an average 9.5 Concerning violence against women, it is years. However, we find that most divorces estimated that 5% to 10% of women experi- take place within the first years of marriage ence violence in their partnership. Major and that the number of divorces reaches its crimes against women are often committed peak in the fourth year. out of jealousy. Low income, financial diffi- Many people who divorce marry again. culties, and alcohol abuse also play a sig- About 60% of divorced people under the nificant role in such crimes. The increasing age of 30 remarry. However, after the age of number of reported cases in recent years can 30 years, there are significant gender differ- presumably be explained by the greater will- ences: Fifty-five percent of divorced men but ingness of women to report them, rather than only 46% of divorced women marry again 09-Adams.qxd 10/11/2004 11:30 AM Page 208

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within 10 years after divorce. Generally, could only marry when their parents’ property partnerships after remarriage are lifelong, and house were handed down to them. This and very few people divorce a second time. was usually at the age of 30, when the old farmer was about to die. Thus, the age at the time of marriage was the same as nowadays. Separation of Unmarried Couples Furthermore, marriage was strongly con- Whereas the number of marriages has nected to income and property. This is why declined, nonmarital cohabitation has maidens and farm laborers of the lower become more and more popular. However, classes could not marry. However, they had it is very difficult to give exact figures children and consequently the rate of extra- and to analyze the quality and duration of marital births was rather high—even though these relationships. People living together for different reasons than these days. in cohabitation are for the most part in In many ways, cohabiting couples resem- their 20s. Following the definition of ble married people in sharing similar values cohabitation as living together and sharing such as fidelity. However, the risk of separa- a household with a partner over months, tion is higher than among married couples. the number of unmarried people living The Austrian law still differs for married together is in all probability underesti- couples and couples living together in non- mated. Furthermore, there exist various marital cohabitation. Consequently, different forms of cohabitation, since both partners legal obligations and rights apply. However, can live in one household during the week the law that applies in the case of divorce/ but can visit their parents separately or separation of families and cohabitors has together on weekends. They can also live largely been equalized concerning the main- together in one household, but one or both tenance obligation, the amount of alimony partners can still officially live in their for children, and the custody of children. parents’ household. In this way nonmarital cohabitation precedes marital cohabitation New Forms of Living Together rather than replacing it. The Family and as a Consequence of Divorce Fertility Survey (Doblhammer et al., 1996) shows that more than 50% of cohabiting As a consequence of numerous patterns couples marry after 6 years of cohabitation. of cohabitation and the increasing number In the context of these developments, the of divorced families, new forms of family number of nonmarital births has risen con- structure are emerging. These are the single- siderably since the late 20th century. While parent family, the stepfamily, and the patch- in 1960 13% of children were born out of work family. wedlock, in 2001 33% of children were born Single-parent families may be the result to an unmarried mother. In contrast to the of separation of unmarried or of divorced former practice that couples married when couples. At a young age it often happens they were expecting a child, it is common at that men leave their partner because of an present that they remain unmarried or marry unintentional pregnancy and the woman’s later on. decision to give birth to their child. At higher At this point it might be interesting to ages single parents are mostly an outcome go back about 100 years. During the 19th of divorce. While young single mothers are century, Austria was an agricultural society, often financially suffering and on the verge with more than 70% of the population of poverty, single parents in their 40s are involved in agriculture. At that time men self-supporting and better off. 09-Adams.qxd 10/11/2004 11:30 AM Page 209

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Remarriage often results in stepfamilies, but conflict-filled partnership on a child. which represent about 6% of the Austrian Furthermore, we might also consider the population. Patchwork families are families economic effect of separation or divorce. in which children of previous and present Children raised by single parents have a marriages live together. Unfortunately, there higher risk of poverty. However, this risk are no statistical data on the number of step- strongly relates to the age and employment or patchwork families in Austria. of the single parent. It can also be argued that divorce and remarriage extend the children’s social networks. LATs as “Separated Marriage”? The right of custody, which allows Whereas remarriage was the common courts to decide on the basis of specific practice when divorce rates were beginning criteria with whom the child will live, con- to increase, at present a new kind of partner- stitutes an essential but often contentious ship is seemingly about to emerge—so-called issue in the course of divorce. Before joint LATs (living apart together relationships). custody of children was adopted in 2001, Couples are living in different households, only one parent was entitled to have custody. regardless of whether they are married or not. Joint custody certainly allows children to This might be for professional or for personal more easily maintain a good relationship reasons. They might think that living in sepa- with both parents after divorce. Consistent rate households will strengthen their partner- with Haller (1998), who focused on the risk ship rather than weaken it. It is very difficult of separation and divorce among people to figure out how many people are living in whose parents divorced, the quality of the such an arrangement. This is especially true relationship between parents and children when young people forming a couple but after divorce is crucial for the well-being of living in their parents’ homes are counted children and their later partnerships. among LATs. However, these young couples do not represent the typical LATs. LATs are rather a form of partnership at a higher age 8. KINSHIP when both partners follow individual careers, or other biographical experiences have led to In Austria, the word family usually refers this form of living apart together. to nuclear families consisting of parents and their children, or single parents and their child or children. How Children Are Affected In Austria, relatives have no legal obliga- About 20% of children up to the age of 19 tions and hardly play any role in the education are affected by the divorce of their parents. of children. In most families relatives apart There is a multiplicity of recent studies deal- from grandparents only meet occasionally at ing with long-term consequences of divorce. momentous occasions, such as birthdays or However, many studies interpret the data Christmas. However, the frequency of family from an ideological point of view, focusing reunions depends on the quality of relation- on either the disadvantages or advantages of ships as well as spatial distance. Living more divorce, while neglecting the other aspects. than 30 minutes travel time apart lowers the In the first place, it is quite evident that chance of meeting frequently. children suffer after divorce for several Kinship and its minor role in Austria can months or even years. However, we also be demonstrated by considering the law of have to question the impact of an existing succession. Generally speaking the nearest 09-Adams.qxd 10/11/2004 11:30 AM Page 210

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relative inherits. In most cases these are of pension depends on a person’s profession spouses and children or their descendants. and former income. Therefore, people with If there are no near relatives to whom the low income such as unskilled workers, inheritance can be handed down, the dece- women, and the self-employed have a higher dent’s siblings, nephews, or nieces will risk of poverty. In Austria about 17% of inherit. If they are not available, the grand- all households live at the poverty level. parents or their descendants will inherit. Forty-two percent of these households are Partners, parents-in-law, brothers-in-law, households of old people. and sisters-in-law have no right to inherit by It might be interesting to note that people law. However, this only applies if there is no reach their highest level of income between last will and testament in which the descen- ages 50 and 60, by which time they have dant explicitly expresses his wishes for the worked for many years and their children inheritance. Finally, although law of succes- have moved out. It is worth mentioning sion differs between spouses and nonmarried that the transfer of social and economic partners, this has no consequences for their resources from aging people to the young children, who are in any case inheritors. generation is higher than the other way Concerning marriage there are some rules around, even when the necessary care of that are mainly meant to prevent incestuous older people is taken into consideration. (See relationships between relatives. Consequently Rosenmayr, 2000, p. 236.) the marriage of relatives by blood is prohib- Elderly people are embedded in genera- ited, which means that father and daughter, tional relationships and are therefore seldom grandparent and grandchild, siblings, and isolated. About 50% of families consist of stepsiblings are not allowed to marry. three generations, and 27% of four generations. In many families, grandparents actively take part in family life and some 40% of the 9. AGING AND DEATH elderly live with their children or children-in- law, and another 23% live nearby. Aging The relationship between grandparents In Austria most elderly are in good health and grandchildren is reportedly very good, and until about age 75. Demographics indicate even better than between grandparents and gender differences in life expectancy. While their own children. At this point, it is worth women’s life expectancy has been about mentioning that individuals tend to rate their 82 since the beginning of the 21st century, men personal relationship to other generations are expected to live 76 years. As a result of this better than they perceive intergenerational difference, the proportion of widowed women relationships between young and old people is higher than that of widowed men. While in general. A total of 38% of Austrians about 51% of women aged over 75 live fear that intergenerational relationships will alone, only 17% of men at the same age out- decline. Pessimism prevails particularly among live their wives. Consequently, there are more the age-group of 46- to 60-year-olds, 48% of elderly women than men who require continu- whom fear that the situation will deteriorate, ous healthcare. In many cases their daughters, as compared with 32% of those 45 and under. 20 to 30 years younger, take on their care. Over the last decade, public opinion The majority of elderly are not affected has changed considerably with regard to by poverty because of the Austrian pension old people. In 1989, only 35% called on old scheme, which allows people to receive people to renounce their rights and interests an adequate pension. However, the amount and to make way for young people. Ten 09-Adams.qxd 10/11/2004 11:30 AM Page 211

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years later 53% had the same opinion. Even people (66%) dying in a hospital is highest older people support this idea, at least at the in the 70- to 74-year-old age group. With a verbal level. further increase in age, the proportion of At the macro level the proportion of the people dying in a hospital decreases so that total national payroll redistributed to the among people aged 95 and above only about parents’ and children’s generations is a useful 40% die in a hospital, and nearly as many indicator for the quality of intergenerational (38%) die at home. The number of people relations. In Austria, some 22.8% of the total aged 75 and above dying in nursing homes payroll, plus a substantial contribution from has risen significantly since 1990. the federal budget, is paid as old-age pensions The process of dying is much more institu- to the retired. Only 3% of the total payroll is tionalized in urban areas than in rural areas, spent on family allowance to children. and it is considered “advanced” to leave In most cases, the elderly can expect dying people to caring institutions, where it emotional, social, or material help from their is assumed that they will receive adequate family. Old people are usually cared for by help and support. Consequently, families their daughters. Employment is the main rea- often exclude old family members because son (far more frequently than any other) why they feel they do not know how to cope people do not want to or are not able to care with the process of dying. Therefore, many for their parents. Incidentally, this is cited families avoid facing death, which means more often by employed women than by that dying persons often experience fear and men. isolation. The hospice movement tries to If children care for their elderly parents, offer emotional support and professional care they do so for reasons of gratitude or obliga- so that those dying away from home and tion rather than for the abstract reason of family will have some sense of dignity. family solidarity. It seems that the more It is internationally accepted that women parents helped their children, the more they deal better with their partner’s death than do can count on their children’s help later on. men, whose mortality risk increases signifi- Looking at all age-groups in society, cantly after the death of their wife/partner. young people experience more situations In most cases women regain a reasonably that require help than do elderly. They need normal life after shock, grief, and mourning. someone to talk to, to do housework and However, it often takes longer than a year repairs, to look out for each other in case of to accept one’s partner’s death and to adapt illness, and so on. The Generations Study of to the new situation. 1998 concluded that conflict between generations is more apparent in the public media and social policy discourses than in the 10. FAMILY AND family sphere itself (Majce, 2000). OTHER INSTITUTIONS

Family policy is one of the central political Death issues in Austria. Within the European Cancer and diseases of the cardiovascular Union, it is assigned to the individual coun- system are the main causes of death in tries and not under the responsibility of Austria these days. The process of dying the European Commission. We will discuss mainly takes place in hospitals, nursing some crucial developments of the Austrian homes, and other institutions, though about family policy since the Year of the Family one-third die at home. The percentage of in 1994. 09-Adams.qxd 10/11/2004 11:30 AM Page 212

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The Family Fund (FLAF) child benefit is allocated for a further 6 months. For additional income, a ceiling of The Family Fund, which was introduced about ¤1,136 per month has been intro- in 1954, constitutes an effective tool to sup- duced. Although the childcare benefit is very port families by financing specific family- controversial and holds the risk that women policy measures at the federal level. Family are likely not to work anymore, at present allowance, for example, is intended to cover there is no political party pleading for its the maintenance costs of children. Over the abolishment. Besides, evaluations have past 20 years, the Family Fund has increas- shown so far that the childcare benefit has ingly developed into an instrument to finance only minor effects on women’s participation an even greater range of family policy mea- in the workforce, while it reduces poverty. sures, but has failed to tap new financial In 2003 a new pension scheme was resources. Its main resource is a payroll tax established that implies substantive changes of 4.5%1 (6% before 1980). to both the private insurance system and In 1999, 60% of the Family Fund’s expen- the state-run insurance system. In Austria ditures were designed for family allowance the central problem is that many employees (compared with some 88% in 1970). Another retire quite early. Consequently, only one- 20% was primarily intended to be used for third of people between 55 and 65 who are other measures such as parental leave and the able to work actually are working. The new mother–child booklet scheme of payments in scheme envisages a continual rise in the return for medical checkups (compared with retirement age, and will not allow people to 2.8% in 1975). Finally, 9% is intended for go on early pension. In addition, the years children’s free travel to school and free women spend caring for their children are schoolbooks. Since 2001 the Family Fund counted among preretirement years. also covers family-related research studies. Depending on the individual’s income, a Counseling and Parental Education specific percentage of payroll tax is trans- ferred to the FLAF. The fund’s distributive These days families and family members effect includes a strong vertical component: face changes that frequently exhaust their up to the sixth income decile, households capacities. Therefore, a supportive and pre- with children are the net recipients. The low- ventive backup system is of great importance. est quarter contributes 9.8% of the fund’s Family-counseling and parental-education revenues and receives 29% of its expendi- systems currently in place undertake this task tures; the top quarter contributes 44.7% and of supporting families. Counseling is pro- receives 19.2%. vided in accordance with the 1974 Act to In 2001 the Austrian government enacted Promote Family Counselling. In 2000 there a law that transformed the previous child were about 305 family-counseling centers benefit, which was intended to support with a staff of about 2,000 counselors parents who worked before parenthood, into available in Austria. a general benefit payable to all parents Over time most centers have become spe- regardless of whether they were employed or cialized, focusing on specific target groups and not. Consequently, students may receive the specific contents. They range from educational child benefit. counseling to marriage counseling and their At present the child benefit is at ¤430 per work concentrates on problematic issues month for up to 30 months. In case the related to relationships, separation/divorce, father also takes a leave for 6 months, the and education. In many cases, interdisciplinary 09-Adams.qxd 10/11/2004 11:30 AM Page 213

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teams have been very successful. As a Family Audit was intended to analyze firms consequence, many counselors dream of with regard to their family friendliness and so-called multifunctional centers that offer later on it was extended to communities and a variety of different psychological and social villages. services. These “one-stop shops” could pro- The priority objective with regard to vide help for many family-related problems. firms is the improvement of the work and At the federal level, parental education family interface. Firms that participated and has been neglected so far, although there has reached a high standard of family friendli- been some improvement since the Year of ness were honored by the government, which the Family in 1994. Finally, the federal gov- labeled them “family-friendly firms.” ernment substantially increased funding for Communities are also subject to extensive parental education from ¤0.22 to 2.2 million analysis of their family and child friendli- in 2000. ness. Following such analysis, programs for improvement are implemented. The participation of inhabitants and children in partic- Family Audit ular is essential to ensure success. In 2003 the In Austria the government encourages the first family-friendly community was honored so-called Family Audit. At the beginning, the by the Austrian government.

NOTE

1. For 2001, revenues under this title are expected to be ¤3.2 billion, out of total fund revenues of ¤4.4 billion.

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