Here are some older research themes I remain fond of.
Baby fever
I pioneered the study of ‘baby fever’, or the strong longing to have a child of one’s own, using survey and qualitative data. The first article is ’All that she wants is another baby?’ Longing for children as a fertility incentive of growing importance (2007). A focus on male experiences in ‘Baby longing and men’s reproductive motivation’.
Book chapters include ‘Baby fever and longing for children’ in Fertility Rates and Population Change: No Time for Children?, and ‘What is “baby fever”? Contrasting evolutionary explanations of proceptive behavior’ in The New Evolutionary Social Science, 2008).
Family relations
Together with professor Ann Buchanan, I edited the books Brothers and Sisters. Sibling Relationships across the Life Course (2020), Grandfathers: Global perspectives (2016) and Fertility trends and population change: No time for children? (2012), all published by Palgrave.
In 2013-2016 our fertility research included studies of childlessness and ART in Europe within the FamiliesAndSocieties ERC research consortium.
Experiences of oocyte donors
Our survey of the experiences of oocyte donators in Finland´ resulted in two articles in Human Reproduction: Short-and long-term health consequences and current satisfaction levels for altruistic anonymous, identity-release and known oocyte donors and Attitudes of anonymous and identity-release oocyte donors towards future contact with donor offspring.
Friendship
The Friendship Fraternity Study follows young people’s close friendship groups.
Russian family studies
With my St Petersburg colleagues Anna Temkina, Elena Zdravomyslova and others we have studied Russian gender relations, with publications about the commercialisation of everyday life, paid domestic workers in Russia, the practices and values of Russian sexual therapists, and the reception of the maternity capital programme (see Articles ).
Feminist history of ideas
Essays on the life and loves of Alexandra Kollontay were published in Finnish in Naisia Venäjän kulttuurihistoriassa, in Swedish in a Scandinavian anthology as well as in a Kollontay-Colette comparison.