[2] Spain is categorized within the Southern European social model, due largely in part to its strong dependence on family assistance and support.
[3] Rather than promoting state reliance, the predominance of the male breadwinner model and the family-oriented nature of social measures in Spain has hindered the development of effective family policies, according to the South European Society and Politics journal.
[1]: 364 After Spain became a democracy and established its Constitution in 1978, family policy profoundly changed to reflect a new emphasis on promoting work-life balance.
[1]: 360 [6]: 103 For employed individuals, the main benefit was payments transferred monthly for those with dependent children, as well as various extensions of maternity leave and childcare provisions.
[9] These measures were meant to curtail the ill effects of the economic downturn, however, they also worked to instigate a resurgence of the belief that family life is a private, rather than a public, matter.