Objective: The aim of this study was to estimate the relevance
of the family of choice hypothesis in family networks
of lesbian and gay individuals living in Switzerland
and its implications for their social capital.
Background: Over the past three decades, family scholars
have paid more attention to the emergence of family configurations
of LGBTQ+ people that extend beyond the
nuclear family and blood kin, with voluntary kin and family
of choice playing a key role. However, family networks
of lesbian and gay individuals remain an unexplored topic
in Switzerland, a country that has taken an extended
period to implement institutional acknowledgment of lesbian
and gay family rights.
Method: Personal network methods were used to map the
main types of family networks of lesbian and gay individuals.
In collaboration with an association advocating for
lesbian and gay families in Switzerland, the study collected
ego-centered network data on their family.
Results: The results reveal that the nuclear family holds
prominence in many family networks of lesbian and gay
people included in the sample, with limited involvement of
either blood kin or voluntary kin, which has consequences
for their family-based social capital.
Conclusion: The family of choice hypothesis is largely
rejected. The focus on the nuclear family is consistent with
the late legal recognition of same-sex marriage and parenthood
in Switzerland.