Family on the Edge: Current Contexts of Vulnerability and Transnational Family Transformations  

The research project’s central theme is the family’s vulnerability in the wake of societal transformations and their manifold impacts on family structures today. The research team will focus on selected family practices with a cross – cutting consideration of contexts of care and transnationality. The main aim is to deepen understanding of different forms of vulnerability (i.e., the capacity of individuals or groups to withstand risks (Albris, 2022)), explored across individuals’ life situations, life course, and structural disadvantage. Individuals and family members increasingly find themselves moving abroad temporarily or long-term, voluntarily or involuntarily. However, they are still linked to their birthplace by living ties, whether in terms of social and emotional relationships, material goods, or other objective or subjective contexts (Bryceson & Vuorela, 2002).

However, those who remain in their country of origin (left behind) are also part of the transnational family. These often fall into an imaginary “grey zone” in which society does not always consider their vulnerability or reflect their needs (Cienfuegos-Illanesy&Brandhorst, 2023; Giada Meda&Crespi, 2018). The project intends to focus on both groups of this current phenomenon, which has not received sufficient attention in the current social science discourse in Slovakia and is, therefore, not adequately empirically grounded.

Through in-depth qualitative probes, the project thematizes selected aspects of the social practices of transnational families in Slovakia:

1. families of Ukrainian refugees living in Slovakia and the phenomenon of their housing trajectories;
2. Slovak parents whose adult children live abroad;
3. spouses/partners of Slovak nannies working abroad.

The research is interdisciplinary and, through participatory and innovative methodological approaches, allows for a deeper dive into the experiences and challenges of transnational families in different contexts. The project not only maps the current form of family dynamics but also contributes to the broader scientific discussion on vulnerability in changing social and family structures.