Project: Netherlands Kinship Panel Study (NKPS)

Eva-Maria Merz (project leader), Aat Liefbroer

This project has three goals: (a) describing the nature and strength of solidarity in kinship ties, (b) describing individual and socio-cultural differences in solidarity, and (c) studying the consequences of solidarity for individual well-being.

The fieldwork for the first wave of the NKPS took place between 2002 and 2004. The fieldwork for the second wave was conducted in 2006 and 2007 and the fieldwork for the third wave was conducted in 2010. NKPS has a prospective panel structure where families are followed through time in order to be able to measure and study the dynamics of family relationships and to gain more insight into the causes and consequences of changes in family relationships. Another specific characteristic of NKPS is its 'multi-method' approach where large-scale survey data are gathered alongside small-scale in-depth interviews, called mini-panels. The combination of these two methods offers unique opportunities to gain a better understanding of the nature and significance of family relationships.

NKPS is executed in cooperation with Erasmus University Rotterdam (Dykstra), Utrecht University (Komter), and Amsterdam University (Mulder). NIDI is responsible for coordination, administrative and secretarial services.

The data can be accessed via the NKPS website. There are now over 200 registered users of these data, about one fifth of whom are based outside the Netherlands. In 2007 NKPS joined the Generations and Gender Programme, a system of nationally comparative surveys and a contextual database, which aims to improve the knowledge base for policy-making in UNECE countries.

More information on the project is available on the project website www.nkps.nl.