ABSTRACT
The configurational perspective on families traces complex patterns of emotional, cognitive and practical interdependencies among large numbers of family members beyond the nuclear family. It focuses on interdependencies between partners, children and other individuals such as relatives and friends. The concept of configuration as it relates to networks was developed from the 1930's to the 1990's by German sociologist Norbert Elias, who contributed greatly to various fields of sociology. Interdependencies are not dyadic in nature, Elias stated, but rather organized in large networks. The patterns of interdependencies that characterize configurations, therefore, are commonly unintended. They, in turn, shape the cooperation strategies and the conflicts that occur in each dyad belonging to them. The large increase of non-marital cohabitation, divorce and serial remarriages in recent decades have lead several prominent sociologists to question the ability of families to provide care and meaning to their members in late modernity. Finally, a configurational perspective on the Family emphasizes its temporal and spatial nature.
