LIBRI DI DONATELLA BRAMANTI

Il volume propone la prima ricerca a livello nazionale sulle comunità familiari, collocandole, dal punto di vista sociologico, all’interno del processo di morfogenesi familiare in atto nel nostro Paese. Il testo analizza gli aspetti distintivi delle realtà comunitarie, prendendo in esame tematiche quali: la specificità dell’essere famiglia, la relazione di coppia, il legame tra generazioni, la produzione di capitale sociale, il nesso tra comunità di famiglie e buone pratiche per i minori.

In questi ultimi anni entro il frame della sociologia relazionale si è sviluppato un filone di studi e ricerche finalizzati a mostrare la validità dei modelli di politiche sociali e di servizi alla persona family-friendly fossero: il familiare è diventato poco per volta una peculiarità dell’approccio relazionale allo studio del welfare. Nei servizi familiari il destinatario non è l’individuo, ma un soggetto con la rete di relazioni in cui è inserito, innanzitutto quelle familiari, primo provider del benessere delle persone: nella famiglia avviene la massima personalizzazione delle prestazioni, in quanto luogo primario della cura della persona. In questo senso, il livello più elevato di personalizzazione è la familiarizzazione. Nel presente contributo, le autrici danno conto sinteticamente del percorso in cui, a partire dalla fine degli anni ’90, hanno approfondito il concetto di qualità familiare, dei diversi contesti in cui l’hanno utilizzato e dei significati che gli hanno attributo.

Population ages, yet many older adults today enjoy good health conditions and continue playing an active role in their social networks and in society. At the same time, there is growing attention of researchers and policy makers, also in terms of prevention, about the older adults’ well-being as a protective factor against early withdrawal, physical and cognitive decline, social isolation. The purpose of this work is to present the results of an empirical research aimed at highlighting (a) the role that social and health services, (b) the use of PC and Internet for health-related issues and (c) the presence of support networks play in promoting and maintaining the well-being in the population of young-elderly Italians, suffering from chronic or long-term illness (with or without limitation) (N = 371). Statistical analyzes show that the relation between well-being, health and active aging is not unidirectional, that the perception of self as old has a significant impact on the well-being and self-perception is determined by health conditions. In general, the healthier the subjects, the more satisfied, more engaged in relational networks, more physically and culturally active and more predisposed to engage themselves in various fields of activity.

In this paper, I present analytically some findings from the Survey "Aspects of daily life", conducted by ISTAT in 2012, which included a section dedicated specifically to families with children aged 0 to 13 years (3?745 families). Theoretically, the study refers to social capital, a key concept in relational sociology. Social capital is understood as the set of cooperative and trust-worthy relationships promoted by the families for their own wellbeing. Social capital may be present to different degrees depending on a number of variables that refer to both the structural level (resources and constraints) and the referential level (values and goals of wellbeing). In this work, through a number of multivariate analyses, I present the analytical framework for the characteristics of the Italian families in different areas of life, which are found to be more or less friendly toward the needs of the families with respect to social capital.

The present work proposes, from the data of a survey conducted at national level, in 2013-14, with 900 seniors between 65 and 74 years old, an exploration of active ageing dimensions. In the concept of activity, applied to the condition of the elderly, can be found both an individual dimension, and a social dimension. As regards to the first, the elders choose to play an active role as a subjective option, which brings into play the whole spectrum of physical, psychological, relational, ethical resources of the individual. This option then assumes, however, a specific relevance in society because, through the activity, it is possible for the elderly people to experience a inter and prosocial dimension, crucial for a successful social role. In this paper we propose to explore which elements are relevant in maintaining an active lifestyle for elderly Italians with particular attention to the reconstruction of the morphology of networks, to various levels of intergenerational exchanges and to orientations and values.

Il termine cohousing è utilizzato, a livello internazionale, per indicare le forme di co-abitazione che rispondono essenzialmente a strategie di tipo elettivo da parte di nuclei familiari e/o singoli che decidono di stabilire la propria residenza stabile in strutture abitative pensate per offrire oltre che spazi di vita privati anche luoghi di condivisione. Diverse sono le forme e, ancor più, i significati, che a questo particolare tipo di convivenza le persone attribuiscono: solidarietà, scambievolezza, comunità di vita. Il contributo propone una piccola ricognizione dei principali modelli presenti oggi in Italia

This paper adopts a relational perspective as an appropriate framework for understanding the true nature of the mediation paths activated in communities. Mediation processes should be seen as a specific form of social relations, capable of expressing the generative dimension of society. The explicit purpose of community mediation is both to reduce conflicts among groups, and to improve the relational quality of welfare. These goals can be achieved in the conflict process itself, through the adoption of a frame that allows for working on each sides’ reasons, making both positions valuable, while searching for a new balance.