Data Resource Profile: The Age-It Family Demography Survey (Age-It FDS)

Area of Science:

• Demography
• Sociology
• Family Studies

Background:

• Contemporary Italy faces evolving family structures, including delayed unions and increased medically assisted reproduction (MAR).
• Existing datasets lack comprehensive data on modern family dynamics, online dating, and future expectations.
• The Age-It Family Demography Survey (Age-It FDS) addresses these critical data gaps.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce the Age-It FDS, a novel dataset capturing recent Italian family dynamics.
• To detail the survey's methodology, scope, and innovative features.
• To highlight the dataset's potential for future demographic and sociological research.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional survey of 9,004 individuals aged 18-45 in Italy.
• Quota-controlled sampling with stratification by age, sex, region, municipality size, education, and citizenship.
• Mixed-mode data collection (CAPI, CATI, CAWI) from May to July 2025.

Main Results:

• The dataset includes detailed union/childbearing histories, partner characteristics, and MAR experiences.
• Innovative inclusion of future-oriented narratives on economic, social, and environmental expectations.
• Robust data quality ensured through validation routines, piloting, and ex-post checks.

Conclusions:

• The Age-It FDS is a unique resource for studying contemporary fertility and family trends in Italy.
• It facilitates research on emerging family behaviors and individual life course expectations.
• Data are available for non-commercial scientific use upon request.