Family image, cultural values, and family policy from a global perspective

Abstract

The creation, design, and implementation of state policies for families vary across different country contexts. Our focus is on the diverse cultural conditions that can subtly influence the perception, acceptance, or dismissal of specific policy measures. The ways in which states invest in families, and whether and how they consider normative and moral aspects, as well as the roles and behaviors of family members, can differ significantly across societies, even if they are at the same stage of economic development. While this article does not directly establish a causal link between cultural conditions and family policy instruments, we leverage survey data from the World Values Survey and other supplementary information sources to examine attitudes and cultural conceptions of the family, along with broader cultural conditions worldwide. Our descriptive analysis of values and attitudes covers key dimensions, including familiarization/defamiliarization, secularization and emancipative values, gender roles, and openness toward diverse family forms. In addition, we examine societal attitudes toward demographic developments and demonstrate that cultural divisions align to a considerable extent with societal attitudes and governmental views on fertility levels. Importantly, our findings reveal systematic disparities among world regions, emphasizing the idea that distinct cultural traditions and values may be intertwined with specific policy configurations.