About the project FAMOD
The project "Family Models in Germany" (FAMOD)
The interdisciplinary research project “Family Models in Germany” (FAMOD) was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). It was carried out by sociologists of the University of Duisburg-Essen and jurists of the University of Marburg. PIs were Prof. Dr. Anja Steinbach (Duisburg) and Prof. Dr. Tobias Helms (Marburg).
From a sociological and legal point of view, the primary focus of the project was on the diversity of existing family models. The project’s aim was to find out more about the living environments of mothers, fathers, and children in different family configurations. To account for this plurality, the study not only included married couples but also unmarried couples with minor children. In this respect, the survey closely examined the well-being of the individual family members in order to identify specific potentials and challenges practiced within a specific family form.
At the beginning of the project, a nationwide survey was prepared and conducted. The collected data are being analyzed regarding their implications for life in society, and the findings will be discussed with experts from science and practice.
Duration of the project: 2018-2023
Research design
Within the standardized part of the survey, members of 1,554 families were included. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with both parents and children living in different family models. The focus was on nuclear families as well as on post-separation families practicing either joint physical custody or sole physical custody. In joint physical custody arrangements, children live alternately with both the mother and the father. In contrast, children who live in a sole physical custody arrangement spend most of their time with only one parent.
The basis for these interviews were questionnaires that contained questions about different topics of family lives, e.g., housing conditions. In case of a parental separation or divorce, both biological parents were asked to fill out a questionnaire, including those parents who did not live in the same household as their children. Furthermore, the new partners of the separated or divorced mothers and fathers were included in the study, given that they were living in the children’s household. This nationwide survey was conducted between July 2019 and January 2020, and the findings allow an insight into the diverse family models throughout Germany.
Data and documentation
The collected data of the research project "Family Models in Germany" (FAMOD) and all documentation are now available at GESIS Data Archive:
Press
Official press releases of the University of Duisburg-Essen and the University Marburg about the project "Family Models in Germany" (FAMOD) from 17 May 2021.
Official press releases of the University of Duisburg-Essen and the University Marburg about the project "Family Models in Germany: The well-being of children and parents in joint physical custody" (FAMOD) from 2 February 2022.
A summary of the first results of the study "Family Models in Germany" (FAMOD) is available here.
Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung (WAZ), 12 March 2021, Trennung der Eltern: Das Pendeln schadet den Kindern nicht
Bayerischer Rundfunk B5, 18 May 2021, Report in the programme "Wissenschaftsnachrichten auf B5 aktuell"
Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR), 25 May 2021, Wie viel Mama, wie viel Papa ist gut fürs Kind?
Brigitte, 31 May 2021, Wie Trennungskinder am glücklichsten leben
WDR 5 Neugier genügt - das Feature, 16 June 2021, Trennungskinder – zwischen den Eltern
Quarks – Wissenschaft und mehr (WDR 5), 11 August 2021, Was ist das beste Betreuungsmodell für Trennungskinder?
Freundin, 29 June 2022, Zeitgespräch: War das Wechselmodell gut für meine Familie? Eine Soziologie-Professorin über geteilte Betreuung der Kinder in Trennungsfamilien
Steinbach, Anja: Participation in the podcast "Welches Betreuungsmodell für Trennungskinder?". Podcast #192, 2022, Schwungmasse - Der finanz-heldinnen Podcast.
WDR 5 Neugier genügt - Freifläche, 2 March 2023, Wechselmodell: Wie gelingt gemeinsame Erziehung?
Magazin SCHULE, 17 March 2023, Das Wechselmodell lohnt sich – für manche Eltern
Steinbach, Anja: Participation in the FamRZ-Podcast familiensachen "Elternwohl und Wechselmodell". Podcast 14/2023.