Kinship networks, kinlessness and friendship at different ages. An extensive analysis of the Italian case over a 20–year period

Kinship networks are a key informal infrastructure of support, yet demographic change is reshaping how many and which relatives people can rely on. Some people may lack kin completely or in part. Thus, we also consider friendship ties as potential compensatory sources of support. Using nationally representative surveys from 1998 and 2016, we describe age-specific configurations of close kin and friends among Italian adults. We measure the availability of close kin (partner, children, parents, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren), kinlessness, kinship size and diversity, and generational positioning. In 2016, complete kinlessness remains rare (about 1%) but is concentrated at older ages, whereas small, vertically “thinned” networks are more common. Kin availability peaks in midlife and declines at older ages. Between 1998 and 2016, the average number and diversity of kin decreased and generational profiles increasingly feature ascendants without descendants and a group of “generational solos.” Friendship ties are widespread and more prevalent among those with fewer kin, but they do not fully offset emerging inequalities in kinship resources. These findings show how the changes occurred in longevity, low fertility, and partnership reconfigured informal support bases in an ageing, strong-family context.