Lack of nuclear family ties and satisfaction with core discussion networks: A cross‐national examination of Europe

ABSTRACT Global shifts in longevity, fertility, and partnership have disrupted nuclear family relationships, resulting in a growing population who are unpartnered, childless, or who do not include their partners and children in their core discussion networks. Lacking nuclear family ties in a core discussion network could lead to lower satisfaction with one's network which, in turn, is associated with poorer health. Yet, it is unclear if being unpartnered and/or childless (family structure) or being partnered with children but not reporting them as members of your discussion network (network structure) are associated with lower network satisfaction and if these associations are contextualized by gender and global development. We examine the extent to which family structure and core discussion network structure are associated with network satisfaction by analyzing data from the 2015 (57,389 individuals in 18 countries) and 2021/2022 (64,934 individuals in 28 countries) waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Logistic regression results stratified by sex and level of country development indicate that lacking nuclear family ties in a core discussion network is associated with lower network satisfaction, with gendered patterns: men are more dissatisfied without partners, while women are more dissatisfied without children. These associations are consistent across countries but somewhat attenuated in highly developed contexts. As family structures continue to transform, we recommend an increased emphasis on nonnuclear family ties in research and policy to more effectively reduce risks of unmet social and emotional needs in aging populations.