In the 20th century, we faced a crisis of marriage and the family in the classical tradition, say the researchers. «Among the numerous revolutions that mark the 20th century, the most significant one concerns the family, marriage and the relationships between parents and children». We are now witnessing «a radical change of culture and customs. This concerns not only family Law, but primarily the prevailing conception of the family, of its sociological role». There is, in short, a real “crisis of the family», with the appearance of new social models of the family: the recomposed family, the single-parent family, the amplified family, the adoptive family, the family with custody, the regimented family, the office family, the digital family. In any case, «in Europe, the family continues to be the most important institution for common life in society, for coexistence and integration among people».

In this research, reference is made to the sociological study of the Pontifical Council for the Family, which was initiated at the VII World Meeting of Families in Milan, by a scientific committee, under the leadership of Prof. Pierpaolo Donati and composed of experts of Italian nationality. This team’s work has been of use—write the Spanish scholars—to international research groups, and in particular for the research of the Institute of Family Sciences of Navarre, which, on the basis of the document endorsed by our Dicastery, has now published research adjusted to the Spanish context. The results of this research were presented to the Pontifical Council for the Family in March 2012. The main objective is «to show the family’s social value».