As part of the DJI survey “Growing up in Germany” (AID:A), the Adults/Family Competence Team researches the life situations, lifestyles and wellbeing of and in families. The theoretical framework is provided by the concept of family lifestyles. It is assumed that the intertwining of everyday practices and meaning-making processes constitutes the special quality of the family for its members and maintains the social functioning for society. This results in interactions between lifestyle and wellbeing in families, which differ according to life situations and risk situations. 

The aim of the Competence Team's research is to describe and explain everyday activities in families, their position in specific life situations and implications for wellbeing. The focus is on key areas of family life: partnership, parenting, work, leisure time, division of labor, family routines and quality of life. Social disparities (particularly according to gender, family constellations, living and risk situations) and changes over time are analysed.

Based on the AID:A panel data collected since 2019, the core topics of the Competence Team are analysed longitudinally. In terms of content, the Competence Team specifically addresses the following topics: 

(1) Family forms, care and coparenting in post-separation families,

(2) Social situation of families,

(3) Family - place of (in-)formal education and learning support,

(4) Digitalisation in everyday family life,

(5) Home office use, division of labor and reconciliation of work and family,

(6) Parenthood, education and the family-related commitment of fathers, and 

(7) Social and welfare state framework conditions.