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Subjective well-being research increasingly uses web surveys to understand how subjective well-being indicators are related to other concepts of interest. Although we know that mean scores on these indicators may differ between modes, we know little about whether a move to web will influence the conclusions we draw about our conceptual models. This study uses data from a unique mixed-mode survey collected in Croatia and Germany as part of the Generations and Gender Programme to examine whether the relationships between a range of subjective well-being indicators and a set of objective and subjective determinants differ between respondents answering these questions in face-to-face or web mode. Although respondents report lower subjective well-being in web than in face-to-face mode, the relationships between these variables and a range of objective and subjective indicators are relatively stable across modes. This suggests that substantive conclusions about antecedents of subjective well-being do not depend on whether data are collected via a face-to-face interview or through web survey.

Purpose Evidence suggests an increase of depression and anxiety symptoms during the Covid-19 pandemic but most studies relied on cross-sectional designs and/or small samples, and they often overlooked subgroup effects in the impact of the lockdown. We investigated the effect of the pandemic on depression and anxiety symptoms, and whether it differed by employment situation and alcohol consumption. Methods This longitudinal study used 23 waves of the Covid-Questionnaire (April 2020—July 2021), within the Lifelines cohort from the Netherlands (n = 76,254). Depression and anxiety symptoms were combined in a “mental health score”. Linear fixed-effects models were fitted to analyse trends in mental health throughout the observation period. The moderating role of pre-existing mental health, employment situation, and alcohol consumption was tested. Results Depression and anxiety symptoms fluctuated considerably during the observation period, with clear peaks in winter 2021, during the strictest lockdown period. Moreover, temporal patterns differed by employment situation and alcohol consumption patterns, suggesting that various subgroups reacted to the pandemic and the lockdown in different ways. Conclusion Lockdowns increased depression and anxiety symptoms in the Netherlands. The effect was particularly strong for unemployed individuals, those with risky alcohol consumption patterns and those with pre-existing mental health disorders.

Background The aim of this study was to identify the main trends in terms of changes in body mass index (BMI) during the Covid-19 pandemic in the Netherlands. Moreover, we aimed to investigate whether work- and health-related disruptive events triggered by the pandemic, such as job insecurity or mental health issues, were associated with such changes in BMI. Methods Longitudinal data from the Lifelines Covid Questionnaire was used (21 waves between April 2020 and July 2021; n=64,630). Overall BMI trends were analysed using growth curve modelling. Different trajectories were identified using group-based trajectory models. Multinomial regression models were fitted to analyse the main determinants of experiencing changes in BMI during the pandemic. Results Experiencing disruptive work-related events (e.g. being laid-off or having a temporary contract) and health-related events (e.g. anxiety or depression) during the pandemic were associated with changes in BMI, particularly weight gain. Conclusions Work- and health-related events were strongly associated with changes in BMI during the Covid-19 pandemic. Although such changes may be partly explained by lifestyle factors, such as diet or physical activity, this study aligns with the existing evidence on the embodiment of stress, suggesting a strong association between disruptive events and changes in body weight.

Additional file 1: Countries represented in each of the migrant categories

Additional file 2: Interaction analyses

The presentation, prepared for the ODISSEI Task Insights meeting of September 29th, 2022,outlines the key challenges and next steps with the Dutch implementation of the European Social Survey (ESS) and the Generations and Gender Survey (GGS)

Background Educational inequalities in major depressive disorder (MDD) pose a major challenge. Tackling this issue requires evidence on the long-term impact of intervening on modifiable factors, e.g. behavioural and psychosocial factors. Therefore, we aim to simulate the development of educational inequalities in MDD across the life course, and to assess the impact of intervening on the modifiable factors that contribute to these inequalities. Methods We used data from the prospective Dutch Lifelines Cohort Study to estimate the required input for a continuous-time microsimulation. The microsimulation allowed us to estimate the development of educational inequalities in MDD with a synthetic cohort of 500,000 individuals followed from ages 18 to 65, and to assess the potential benefit of intervening on quality of social contacts, health literacy, and smoking. Results On average, an additional 19.1% of individuals with low education will ever experience MDD between ages 18 and 65 compared to those with high education (32.0% vs 12.9%, respectively). Additionally, individuals with low education generally will develop MDD 0.9 years earlier (35.6 years vs 36.5 years, respectively) and spend 1.2 years more with MDD (6.2 years vs 5 years, respectively), than individuals with high education. Improving the quality of social contacts in individuals with low education would have the largest impact; it would reduce the inequalities in the prevalence, onset, and duration of MDD by an average of 18.4%, 18.3%, and 28.6%, respectively. Conclusions Intervening on modifiable factors, especially quality of social contacts, in individuals with low education could help reduce the large estimated educational inequalities in MDD over the life course. Key messages • There are large educational inequalities in major depressive disorder (MDD) over the life course, especially with regard to the life course prevalence of MDD. • Improving quality of social contacts, and to a lesser extent health literacy and smoking behaviours, amongst individuals with low education may help reduce the inequalities in MDD.

Spiritual caregivers frequently care for clients with a religious, spiritual or secular orientation that differs from their own. The dissertation ‘Interfaith spiritual care’ focuses on the role of faith differences in spiritual care. Overall, the findings indicate that religious and spiritual differences between clients and spiritual caregivers with regard to religious affiliation play a minor role.

Additional file 1: Supplementary Figure 1. Graphical representation of measurements of the key variables in the study. Supplementary Figure 2. Flowchart of the selection of the study population. Supplementary Table 1. Measurements in the Lifelines Cohort Study of the variables used in the analyses. Supplementary Table 2. Chronic stress characteristics of the study population in questionnaires T2, T3 and T4. Supplementary Table 3. Baseline characteristics of the baseline population (n = 120,177) and a comparison of the study population (n = 53,216) and the participants excluded (n = 66,961). Supplementary Table 4. Baseline characteristics of the Lifelines Cohort Study (n = 152,728) and a comparison of the study population (n = 53,216) and the participants excluded (n = 99,512). Supplementary Table 5. Multivariable logistic- and linear regression analysis of direct associations between socioeconomic position, chronic stress, and metabolic syndrome development in the study population (n = 53,216). Supplementary Table 6. Multivariable mediation analysis of chronic stressa in associations between socioeconomic position and metabolic syndrome development, using the Karlson-Holm-Breen method in the study population (n = 53,216). Supplementary Table 7. Interaction coefficients of sex*chronic stress in the multivariable logistic regression analysis between chronic stress and metabolic syndrome development (n = 53,216). Supplementary Table 8. Multivariable logistic- and linear regression analysis of direct associations between socioeconomic position, chronic stress, and metabolic syndrome development among participants who did not use medication at T4 (n = 31,358). Supplementary Table 9. Multivariable mediation analysis of chronic stress in associations between socioeconomic position and metabolic syndrome development, using the Karlson-Holm-Breen method among participants who did not use medication at T4 (n = 31,358). Supplementary Table 10. Multivariable logistic- and linear regression analysis of direct associations between socioeconomic position, chronic stress, and metabolic syndrome development among participants with more than 30% missings on variables (n = 85,957). Supplementary Table 11. Multivariable mediation analysis of chronic stress in associations between socioeconomic position and metabolic syndrome development, using the Karlson-Holm-Breen method among participants with more than 30% missings on variables (n = 85,957). Supplementary Table 12. Multivariable logistic- and linear regression analysis of direct associations between socioeconomic position, chronic stressa, and metabolic syndrome development among complete cases (n = 41,455). Supplementary Table 13. Multivariable mediation analysis of chronic stress in associations between socioeconomic position and metabolic syndrome development, using the Karlson-Holm-Breen method among complete cases (n = 41,455). Supplementary Table 14. Interaction coefficients of sex*SEP in the multivariable logistic regression analyses between socioeconomic position measures and metabolic syndrome development in the study population (n = 53,216).

Additional file 3.

Additional file 1.

Supplemental Material for Relationship Between Childhood Abuse and Body Mass Index in Young Adulthood: Mediated by Depression and Anxiety? by Leonie K. Elsenburg, Aart C. Liefbroer, Annelies E. Van Eeden, Hans W. Hoek, Albertine J. Oldehinkel, and Nynke Smidt in Child Maltreatment

Additional file 2.

Although many recognize the importance of addressing the spiritualdomain in palliative care, empirically grounded interventionsdesigned to alleviate spiritual needs for patients in palliative care areremarkably scarce. In this paper we argue that the development ofsuch interventions for chaplains is important in order to improvespiritual care in a (post)secular and religiously plural context. Wetherefore propose an interfaith chaplain-led spiritual care interventionfor home-based palliative care that addresses patients’ spiritualneeds. The intervention is based on elements of spiritual care interventionsthat have been investigated among other populations.Three important characteristics of the proposed intervention are (1)life review; (2) materiality, ritual and embodiment; and (3) imagination.The aim of this intervention is to improve palliative patients’spiritual wellbeing. It is anticipated that such a structured interventioncould assist in improving spiritual care in palliative care.

Chaplaincy has become increasingly professionalized in response to both the standardization in healthcare and the changing religious landscape. Whereas several studies have paid attention to the professionalization of chaplaincy as a whole, no research has been found that describes the implications for individual chaplains. The present article describes the professionalization of Dutch chaplains in the last two decades. We compared the results of two surveys conducted with chaplains in the Netherlands in 1997 and 2017. We describe professionalization by distinguishing between the changed values, expertise, and positioning of chaplains. We found that chaplains' expertise has been developed by a growing but highly diverse body of knowledge. Furthermore, a pluralization of chaplains' worldviews was observed, including non-religious and non-affiliated positions. Lastly, no major changes were observed in the embedding of chaplains.

ispartof: ESS Topline Results Series vol:11 status: published

Hierarchically nested data structures are often analyzed by means of multilevel techniques. A common situation in cross-national comparative research is data on two levels, with information on individuals at level 1 and on countries at level 2. However, when dealing with few level-2 units (e.g. countries), results from multilevel models may be unreliable due to estimation bias (e.g. underestimated standard errors, unreliable country-level variance estimates). This chapter provides a discussion on multilevel modeling inaccuracies when using a small level-2 sample size, as well as a list of available alternative analytic tools for analyzing such data. However, as in practice many of these alternatives remain unfeasible in testing hypotheses central to cross-national comparative research, the aim of this chapter is to propose and illustrate a new technique – the 2-step meta-analytic approach – reliable in the analysis of nested data with few level-2 units. In addition, this method is highly infographic and accessible to the average social scientist (not skilled in advanced simulation techniques).

Additional file 1: Table 1. Measurement in the Lifelines Cohort Study of the variables used in the analyses. Table 2. Baseline characteristics of the baseline population (n = 24,458) and a comparison of the study population (n = 16,818) and the participants excluded (n = 7650). Table 3. Baseline characteristics of the Lifelines Cohort Study (n = 152,728) and a comparison of the study population (n = 16,818) and the participants excluded (n = 135,910). Table 4. Percentages of metabolic syndrome indicators at baseline per percentage of metabolic syndrome indicators upon second assessment for participants with complete data on the five metabolic syndrome indicators. Table 5. Multivariable logistic regression analysis of direct associations between socioeconomic position, change in health behaviors and metabolic syndrome remission (n = 16,818). Table 6. Multivariable logistic regression analysis of direct associations between socioeconomic position, health behaviors and metabolic syndrome remission among participants without specific medication use taken into account at baseline (n = 13,349). Table 7. Multivariable mediation analysis of health behaviors in associations between socioeconomic position and metabolic syndrome remission using the Karlson-Holm-Breen method among participants without specific medication use taken into account at baseline (n = 13,349). Table 8. Multivariable logistic regression analysis of direct associations between socioeconomic position, health behaviors and metabolic syndrome remission among participants who have not used general medication during the second assessment (n = 4015). Table 9. Multivariable mediation analysis of health behaviors in associations between socioeconomic position and metabolic syndrome remission using the Karlson-Holm-Breen method among participants who have not used general medication during the second assessment (n = 4015). Table 10. Multivariable logistic regression analysis of direct associations between socioeconomic position, health behaviors and metabolic syndrome remission among participants who have used general medication during the second assessment (n = 11,172). Table 11. Multivariable mediation analysis of health behaviors in associations between socioeconomic position and metabolic syndrome remission using the Karlson-Holm-Breen method among participants who have used general medication during the second assessment (n = 11,172). Table 12. Multivariable logistic regression analysis of direct associations between socioeconomic position, health behaviors and metabolic syndrome remission among complete cases (n = 10,323). Table 13. Multivariable mediation analysis of health behaviors in associations between socioeconomic position and metabolic syndrome remission using the Karlson-Holm-Breen method among complete cases (n = 10,323). Table 14. Multivariable logistic regression analysis of direct associations between each socioeconomic position indicator separately in the model, health behaviors and metabolic syndrome remission (n = 16,818). Table 15. Multivariable mediation analysis of health behaviors in associations between each socioeconomic position indicator separately in the model and metabolic syndrome remission using the Karlson-Holm-Breen method (n = 16,818).

Life course research has been dominated by methods and models that focus on the description of life course patterns and on the causal patterns between agency- and structure-related variables on the one hand and, on the other hand, outcomes in later life. Little attention has been paid to modelling the driving force, the mechanism, that generates the chain of successive events and stages of the life course: the sequences of individual decisions pertaining to all facets of the life course. This paper presents the minimal requirements that models should satisfy in order to be considered as life course generating models. The paper then proposes Hidden Markov Models as one of the main building blocks of life course generating models and discusses a few applications of these models in the domains of family formation, school-to-work transition and their interaction.

An individual choice paradigm, focusing on individual preferences and values, has long dominated our understanding of socio-demographic outcomes. Recently, a trend towards an unequal choice paradigm, stressing how inequality in opportunities structures socio-demographic outcomes, is observed. This chapter outlines these changes and argues for a comparative perspective to examine how childhood disadvantage impacts these socio-demographic outcomes. The expectation is that the consequences of childhood disadvantage for demographic outcomes in young adulthood and for socio-economic and well-being outcomes in middle and late adulthood depend on the opportunities that national contexts offer to abate the adverse impact of economic and social deprivation. Subsequently, all chapters of the book are briefly introduced and their contribution to understanding this key issue is discussed.

Background: Mental disorders are associated with several work-related outcomes such as loss of income. However, studies investigating the effect of mental disorders on work-related income by migrant background are lacking. This study aimed to assess the change in work-related income following the uptake of outpatient mental healthcare (OPMH) treatment, a proxy for mental disorder, in young women with migrant background. Additionally, we looked at how this varied by income level.Methods: This study makes use of data from several national registries. The study population consisted of women aged 23-40 years residing in Norway for at least three consecutive years between 2006 and 2013 (N=640,527). By using a stratified linear regression with individual fixed effects, we investigated differences between the majority women, descendants and eight migrant groups. Interaction analysis was conducted in order to examine the differences in income loss following the uptake of OPMH treatment among women with and without migrant background. Results: Results show that OPMH treatment was associated with a decrease in income for all groups. However, the negative effect was stronger among those with low income. Only migrant women from EU Eastern Europe with a high income were not significantly affected following OPMH treatment. Conclusions: Experiencing a mental disorder during a critical age for establishment in the labour market may not only affect income but also subsequent workforce participation and dependency on social welfare services, regardless of migrant background, resulting in large economic costs for both the individual and for the society as a whole.

Introduction Metabolic syndrome (MetS) incidence strongly varies by socioeconomic status (SES). Each SES measure comprises different resources of an individual, including cultural, economic and social resources. To date, no studies have examined the SES - MetS remission relationship. Understanding the role of each SES measure for MetS remission could shed light on resources needed to reverse adverse health conditions. The aim is to longitudinally assess the associations between the SES measures years of education, household equivalent income and occupational prestige and remitted MetS and whether these associations are mediated by health behaviors, including physical activity, smoking, alcohol drinking and diet quality. Methods A subsample of the adult Lifelines Cohort Study, including 16,818 participants with MetS at baseline was used. MetS remission was measured at the second assessment (follow-up time 3.8 years) defined according to the NCEP-ATPIII criteria. Direct associations between SES, health behaviors and remitted MetS were estimated using multivariable logistic regression analyses. The mediating percentages of health behaviors explaining the associations between SES and remitted MetS were estimated using the Karlson-Holm-Breen method. Analyses were independent of age, sex, the other SES measures and follow-up time. Results At the second assessment MetS remitted for 42.7% of the participants. Education (OR 1.04, 99% CI: 1.02-1.06) and income (OR 1.01, 99% CI: 1.00-1.02) were associated with MetS remission, occupational prestige was not. Health behaviors (11.9%) only explained the association between education and MetS remission. For the explanation of the association between income and MetS remission, health behaviors played no role. Conclusions More education years increase MetS remission, mainly because higher educated are more likely to have healthier behaviors. Higher income increases MetS remission, regardless of the health behaviors. Key messages Education and income are positively associated with MetS remission. Health behaviors explain a relatively small part of the SES – MetS remission pathway.

The study focuses on understanding the association between parental socio-economic status (SES) and the likelihood of women experiencing a first birth while single, and identifying societal factors that influence this association in 18 North American and European societies. Previous research has shown that single motherhood occurs disproportionately among those from with lower a lower parental SES. The study assesses whether this is caused by parental SES differences in the risk of single women experiencing a first conception leading to a live birth or by parental SES differences in how likely women are to enter a union during pregnancy. Additionally, an assessment is made of whether cross-national differences in these associations can be explained by a country’s access to family planning, norms regarding family formation, and economic inequality. Across countries, a negative gradient of parental SES was found on the likelihood of single women to experience a first pregnancy. The negative gradient was stronger in countries with better access to family planning. In some countries, the negative gradient of parental SES was aggravated during pregnancy because women from lower parental SES were less likely to enter a union. This was mostly found in societies with less conservative norms regarding marriage. The results suggest that certain developments in Western societies may increase socio-economic differentials in family demography. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10680-021-09591-3.

The “motherhood earnings penalty” is a well-established finding in many Western countries. However, a divide between mothers and nonmothers might oversimplify reality given that the family life course has diversified over the last decades. In addition, whether family choices have consequences for women’s employment and earnings in later life is not well known, particularly in a comparative perspective. Using data on 50- to 59-year-old women from the Generations and Gender Programme, the British Household Panel Survey, and SHARELIFE for 22 European countries, we derive a typology of women’s family trajectories and estimate its association with women’s later-life employment and earnings. Whereas family trajectory–related differences with regard to employment were relatively small, our findings reveal a clear, long-lasting family trajectory gradient in earnings. Childless women (with or without a partner) as well as single mothers had higher personal earnings than women whose family trajectories combined parenthood and partnership. Moreover, in societies in which reconciliation of work and family during midlife is less burdensome, labor market outcomes of women following different family trajectories converge. Our findings show that women’s fertility and partnership behavior are inevitably interrelated and jointly influence employment and earning patterns until later in life. The results imply that promoting equal employment opportunities could have long-lasting effects on women’s economic independence. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s13524-020-00874-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Over the past 50 years, family formation trajectories have undergone major changes in the events that occur as well as in the timing and order of these events. Whereas previous studies showed when and how these shifts occur, not much research has been conducted to test why these changes have taken place. This paper tests two possible explanations, namely cultural (secularization) and economic (youth unemployment) change using the Fertility and Family survey of the Netherlands conducted in 2008. We also employed a new method, Competing Trajectories Analysis (CTA), which combines features of sequence analysis and event history analysis, to examine the relationship between secularization and youth unemployment and pathways into adulthood. Our results show that the start of family formation is postponed in times of high secularization and youth unemployment, when pathways including early marriage and parenthood become less popular, and cohabiting without having children becomes more popular.

Objective The aim of this study was to investigate whether there are different classes of body mass index (BMI) development from early adolescence to young adulthood and whether these classes are related to the number of adverse life events children experienced. Methods Data were from the TRAILS (TRacking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey) cohort (n = 2,218). Height and weight were objectively measured five times between participants' ages 10 to 12 years and 21 to 23 years. Parents reported on the occurrence of adverse life events in their child's life in an interview when children were 10 to 12 years old. Unconditional and conditional growth mixture modeling was used for statistical analysis. Results “Normal weight” (75.1%), “late onset overweight” (20.1%), and “early onset overweight” classes (4.8%) were identified. In analyses unadjusted for additional covariates, children who experienced a higher number of adverse events had higher odds to be in the late onset overweight (OR [95% CI] = 1.08 [1.00-1.17]) than the normal weight class, but the association was attenuated in analyses adjusted for additional covariates (OR [95% CI] = 1.07 [0.98-1.16]). Conclusions Three BMI trajectory classes can be distinguished from early adolescence to young adulthood. The accumulation of adverse life events is not related to BMI trajectory class.

Spiritual caregivers often meet clients with another spiritual or religious orientation than their own, as they care for clients from a diversity of backgrounds and for clients who draw from multiple religious traditions. How do spiritual caregivers deal with religious diversity in their own lives? Do they themselves draw from more than one religious tradition? How do they function in a multireligious environment? Are they willing to provide interfaith spiritual care and do they see themselves as able to do so? What challenges do they see for the future? A survey was conducted among spiritual caregivers in healthcare settings, the military and penitentiary institutions in the Netherlands (n=208) to answer these questions. Implications of the results for the future of spiritual care are discussed.

Objective This study systematically summarizes the evidence of all observational studies investigating the relation between accumulation of adverse life events and measures of overweight in children 6-12 years also generated positive pooled estimates, while the pooled estimate of studies assessing recent adverse events (past 2 years) was indicative of no relation with overweight. Conclusions Accumulation of adverse life events and childhood overweight measures are positively associated. However, increases in overweight measures in response to adverse childhood events do not seem to occur instantaneously.

Objective: Stressors, such as adverse life events, can cause weight changes through behavioral and biological mechanisms. Whether the accumulation of adverse life events is related to body mass index (BMI) across multiple time points from early adolescence to young adulthood has not been investigated to date.Methods: Data are from 2188 children participating at T1 (10-12 years), T3 (14-18 years), and/or T5 (21-23 years) of the prospective Tracking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey cohort study. Adverse events before T1 and between T1, T3, and T5 were measured with a parent interview at T1 and a semistructured interview (Event History Calendar) with the adolescent at T3 and T5. An adverse events score was calculated per wave. Body mass index z-scores were determined from objectively measured height and weight using the LMS (skewness, median, and coefficient of variation) reference curves of the International Obesity Task Force for children 18 years or younger. Data were analyzed using a modified bivariate autoregressive cross-lagged structural equation model.Results: Adverse events before T1 and between T3 and T5 were related to BMI at T5 (beta = 0.06, p =.001 and beta = -0.04, p =.04, respectively). Specifically, health events before T1 were associated with a higher BMI at T5, and events related to relationships and victimhood events between T3 and T5 were associated with a lower BMI at T5.Conclusions: Adverse relationship and victimhood events in their recent past were related to a lower BMI in young adults, whereas adverse health events during childhood were related to a higher BMI in young adults. No relationships were found between adverse life events with BMI in children and adolescents.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the associations between criminality of family members and individual offending. The main focus is on investigating the extent to which criminal offending by siblings is associated with individual offending, as well as the extent to which parental and grandparental offending accounts for this relationship.Methods Using official conviction data on three generations of Dutch individuals who are at elevated risk of offending, multilevel logistic regression analyses were performed.Results The analyses showed that sibling offending increased the risk of individual offending. Parental and grandparental offending only partially accounted for this association. However, parental offending and offending by grandfathers increased the risk of individual offending as well. Furthermore, the analyses showed that offending by brothers and sisters both increased the risk of offending for both men and women.Conclusions Sibling criminality seems to be a risk factor in its own right. Therefore, focusing only on children of criminal parents is insufficient. Furthermore, it was found that almost every subsequent offending family member adds risk for children to offend.

Background During the transition to adulthood many young adults become obese for the first time in their lives, yet relatively little research has examined why people in this life phase become obese. This study examines what career and family life-course pathways during the transition to adulthood are related to developing obesity in young adulthood. Methods We use data from the NLSY97, a U.S. nationally representative panel survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics between 1997 to 2013 (N = 4688), and apply multichannel sequence analysis in order to identify clusters of typical career-family pathways during the transition to adulthood (age 17 to 27), and subsequently investigate whether these pathways are associated with becoming obese at the end of young adulthood (age 28), using logistic regression. We control for obesity at age 17 and family background factors (race, parental education, parental income, and family structure). To take into account the fact that the transition to adulthood has a different meaning for men and for women, we also interact career-family clusters with gender. Results For women, pathways characterized by college education, early home leaving, and postponement of family formation decrease the probability of becoming obese. For men, pathways characterized by early marriage increase the probability of becoming obese. Conclusions The results highlight the importance of gender differences in how career and family pathways are related to becoming obese in young adulthood.

Many studies on spiritual care in palliative care are performed in the US, leaving other continents unexplored. The objective of this systematic review is to map the recent studies on spiritual care in palliative care in Europe. PubMed, CINAHL, ATLA, PsycINFO, ERIC, IBSS, Web of Science, EMBASE, and other databases were searched. Included were European studies published in a peer-reviewed journal in 2015, 2016, or 2017. The characteristics of the included studies were analyzed and a narrative synthesis of the extracted data was performed. 53 articles were included. Spiritual care was seen as attention for spirituality, presence, empowerment, and bringing peace. It implied creative, narrative, and ritual work. Though several studies reported positive effects of spiritual care, like the easing of discomfort, the evidence for spiritual care is low. Requirements for implementation of spiritual care in (palliative) care were: Developing spiritual competency, including self-reflection, and visibility of spirituality and spiritual care, which are required from spiritual counselors that they participated in existing organizational structures. This study has provided insight into spiritual care in palliative care in Europe. Future studies are necessary to develop appropriate patient outcomes and to investigate the effects of spiritual care more fully.

Despite cohabitation becoming increasingly equivalent to marriage in some of the most 'advanced' Western European societies, the vast majority of people still marry. Why so? Existing theories, mostly based on various approaches tied to cognitive decision-making, do not provide a sufficient explanation of the persistence of marriage. In this article, we argue that feelings attached to marriage, i.e. the affective evaluation of those involved in a partner relationship concerning marriage as opposed to cohabitation, explain the persistent importance of marriage as an institution. We argue that socialization, biological and social-structural factors affect these affective evaluations. We provide a test of our hypotheses using a longitudinal study of young adults in the Netherlands. The results of our analyses are consistent with a central role of feelings in the decision to marry, as well as with a role for key moderating factors such as gender.

The authors examined double standards regarding divorce among parents with young children and regarding having children within nonmarital cohabitation across Europe. Whether people disapprove more of men or of women engaging in these behaviors is not a priori clear. The authors formulated arguments in both directions and expected double standards to vary cross-nationally by the level of socioeconomic gender equality in a country. They conducted multilevel analyses on a sample of about 44,000 individuals nested in 25 countries, obtained from the European Social Survey (2006). Double standards were measured with a split-ballot design. The findings indicated that men were generally more disapproved of than women when displaying the family behaviors under study. Overall, women endorsed both double standards, whereas men endorsed only the double standard regarding divorce. However, substantial cross-national differences in the double standards exist. The higher the level of socioeconomic gender equality, the larger these double standards in favor of women.

This article examines to what extent adolescents' ideas about their future life course in the professional and family domain are influenced by the cultural and economic status of their parents, and to what extent these influences are mediated by parents' own preferences for their child's future life course and the position that the child occupies in the educational system. This issue is studied using data on secondary school students in 60 schools throughout the Netherlands. More than 1,500 adolescents, aged 14-17 years, were surveyed about their future plans, preferences, and ambitions. In addition, their parents also filled out a questionnaire on the future plans of their child. We found that parents' cultural status generally has a stronger effect on their children's life plans than parents' economic status. Furthermore, these effects were mediated both by parents' own preferences for their children's future life course and by the child's level of education. Status effects were found for both the family and the professional domain. Furthermore, only limited gender differences were observed.

Intergenerational continuity in family behaviors partly results from socialization processes in the parental home. However, socialization is a multidimensional process. This article tests hypotheses about the relative importance of value transmission and modeling in explaining expectations of adolescence concerning the timing of leaving home, and entry into cohabitation, marriage, and parenthood. Structural equation modeling on multiactor data from over 1,000 parent–adolescent child couples in the Netherlands is used to test hypotheses. Results suggest that, in general, both value transmission and modeling are important predictors of adolescents’ expectations concerning the timing of major family events. Moreover, no differences between mothers and fathers and between boys and girls are observed in the strength of the intergenerational relationships studied.

BACKGROUNDMost research asks whether or not cohabitation has come to rival marriage. Little is known about the meaning of living apart together (LAT) relationships, and whether LAT is an alternative to marriage and cohabitation or a dating relationship.OBJECTIVEWe examine across Europe: (1) the prevalence of LAT, (2) the reasons for LAT, and (3) the correlates of (a) LAT relationships vis-a-vis being single, married, or cohabiting, and (b) different types of LAT union.METHODSUsing Generations and Gender Survey data from ten Western and Eastern European countries, we present descriptive statistics about LATs and estimate multinominal logistic regression models to assess the correlates of being in different types of LAT unions.RESULTSLAT relationships are uncommon, but they are more common in Western than Eastern Europe. Most people in LAT unions intend to live together but are apart for practical reasons. LAT is more common among young people, those enrolled in higher education, people with liberal attitudes, highly educated people, and those who have previously cohabited or been married. Older people and divorced or widowed persons are more likely to choose LAT to maintain independence. Surprisingly, attitudinal and educational differences are more pronounced in Eastern Europe than in Western Europe.CONCLUSIONSA tentative conclusion is that LAT is more often a stage in the union formation process than an alternative to marriage and cohabitation. Yet some groups do view LAT as substituting for marriage and cohabitation, and these groups differ between East and West. In Eastern Europe a cultural, highly educated elite seems to be the first to resist traditional marriage norms and embrace LAT (and cohabitation) as alternative living arrangements, whereas this is less the case in Western Europe. In Western Europe, LAT unions are mainly an alternative for persons who have been married before or had children in a prior relationship.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether there are different classes of body mass index (BMI) development from early adolescence to young adulthood and whether these classes are related to the number of adverse life events children experienced.Data were from the TRAILS (TRacking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey) cohort (n = 2,218). Height and weight were objectively measured five times between participants' ages 10 to 12 years and 21 to 23 years. Parents reported on the occurrence of adverse life events in their child's life in an interview when children were 10 to 12 years old. Unconditional and conditional growth mixture modeling was used for statistical analysis."Normal weight" (75.1%), "late onset overweight" (20.1%), and "early onset overweight" classes (4.8%) were identified. In analyses unadjusted for additional covariates, children who experienced a higher number of adverse events had higher odds to be in the late onset overweight (OR [95% CI] = 1.08 [1.00-1.17]) than the normal weight class, but the association was attenuated in analyses adjusted for additional covariates (OR [95% CI] = 1.07 [0.98-1.16]).Three BMI trajectory classes can be distinguished from early adolescence to young adulthood. The accumulation of adverse life events is not related to BMI trajectory class.

This study explored the involvement of grandparents in the care for young children and its effect on subsequent child births in dual-earner families, using data on 898 Dutch men and women aged 18–49 from the Netherlands' Kinship Panel Study. Three theoretical perspectives were used to develop hypotheses: (a) needs and opportunities, (b) normative preferences, and (c) gendered involvement of grandparents. The findings showed that needs and opportunities informed involvement of grandparents but that the availability of formal child care did not predict grandparents' involvement. Maternal grandparents were more likely to provide child care than paternal grandparents, and grandmothers were more likely to do so than grandfathers. Involvement of both maternal and paternal grandparents in turn increased the likelihood of additional child births. The authors conclude that grandparental child care may be part of an emerging reproductive strategy. Implications of these findings for the theoretical approaches used are discussed.

This chapter lays the theoretical and methodological foundation for the book, Reproductive decision-making in a macro-micro perspective. It introduces the issues addressed in the book and the European Commission Seventh Framework funded collaborative research project, REPRO, on which it is based. A brief overview of the recent trend toward low fertility in Europe and the gap between desired and achieved family size at national levels (known as the fertility gap) is provided. The theoretical argument which follows is that, to understand macro-level trends in fertility, a thorough knowledge of micro-processes and how the macro- and micro-levels are interrelated, is necessary. A model of relationships between macro- and micro-levels is presented before a brief discussion of macro-level modelling which, in addition to its benefits, is at risk of errors arising from compositional effects and the ecological fallacy. The social psychological Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), the framework adapted for micro-level modelling in this book, is presented here in a form specific to reproductive decision making. The chapter also includes discussion of issues associated with satisfactory integration of macro- and micro-level information, focusing on the strengths and weaknesses of comparative micro-studies and multi-level modelling.

This study systematically summarizes the evidence of all observational studies investigating the relation between accumulation of adverse life events and measures of overweight in children18 years.MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, and CINAHL were systematically searched (last search date 18 February 2015). The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used for methodological quality assessment. Study estimates were pooled using a random-effects model, and sources of heterogeneity were explored (PROSPERO registration number CRD42014014927).Eighteen articles were included, containing five longitudinal (n = 6,361) and fourteen cross-sectional and case-control study results (n = 52,318). The pooled estimate of the longitudinal studies showed that accumulation of adverse life events is positively related to childhood overweight measures (OR [95% CI] = 1.12 [1.01-1.25]). Cross-sectional and case-control study results were heterogeneous. Subgroup analyses showed that cross-sectional and case-control studies using a continuous adverse events measure, studies using a continuous overweight measure, and studies in children6-12 years also generated positive pooled estimates, while the pooled estimate of studies assessing recent adverse events (past 2 years) was indicative of no relation with overweight.Accumulation of adverse life events and childhood overweight measures are positively associated. However, increases in overweight measures in response to adverse childhood events do not seem to occur instantaneously.

The prevalence and social acceptance of childlessness have increased in recent decades. Still, little is known about how this social acceptance is shaped, the extent to which approval of childlessness differs across Europe, and what factors cause potential cross-national variation. The authors used data from the European Social Survey 2006 (N = 36,187) to examine the attitude toward voluntary childlessness in 20 countries. Results from multilevel models were largely in line with expectations derived from Second Demographic Transition theory concerning traditional orientation, age, religiousness, education, and stage of Second Demographic Transition in a country. The results also corroborated individual-level expectations on the role of gender and socioeconomic status based on New Home Economics theory. One country-level indicator, child-care availability, was not related to the attitude toward childlessness. The current study provides new insights into explaining cross-national differences in the attitude toward childlessness and more generally into the process of fertility decision making. © National Council on Family Relations, 2012.

This study examined the influence of the family on native Dutch attitudes toward having ethnic minority members as kin through marriage using multiactor data from the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study (N = 1,652). Results from multilevel models showed that 28% of the variation in ethnic attitudes can be ascribed to the family. We investigated different pathways through which the family affects these attitudes; 60% of the family influence was explained. Results revealed that the intergenerational congruence of attitudes and the transmission of attitudes and structural and cultural positions are important mechanisms. Furthermore, family characteristics in adulthood-strength and warmth of family relationships-related to intermarriage attitudes, and the strength of family relationships moderated attitude congruence within families. © National Council on Family Relations, 2012.

We examine differences across Europe in attitudes towards divorce involving young children. Our main hypothesis is that these attitudes are partly based on people’s assessment of the consequences of divorce for the children involved, and thus that these attitudes are less favourable in countries where poverty among single parent households is common than in countries where such poverty is rare. Our sample consists of 37,975 individuals from 22 countries, obtained from the European Social Survey (2006). Multilevel analyses are performed. Findings confirm our main hypothesis. Additionally, cross-level interactions indicate that poverty among single parents has the strongest impact on mothers’ divorce attitudes.

Multi-actor survey data are highly valuable for answering questions about family relations, but the collection of such data is complicated by nonresponse among secondary (nonresident) respondents. Little is known, however, about the degree to which nonresponse of secondary respondents is selective and about the degree to which selective nonresponse biases substantive findings. Using a large representative survey, we analyze nonresponse of nonresident adult children of primary respondents. Nonresponse appears strongly related to characteristics of the parent–child relationship and to characteristics of both parents and children. Consequences are examined for three dependent variables: children’s attitudes, children’s support giving to parents and children’s well-being. Heckman models, which correct for sample selection bias, show that selective response hardly biases the substantive estimates. keywords: values; intergenerational relations; well-being; non-response; survey methodology

This article examines pathways to adulthood among Dutch cohorts born in the second half of the nineteenth century. Although largely overlooked by previous studies, theory suggests that life courses of young adults born during this period were already influenced by a process of standardization, in the sense that their life courses became more similar over time. Using data from a Dutch registry-based sample, we examine household trajectories: that is, sequences of living arrangements of young adults aged 15–40. Our study shows that for successive cohorts, household trajectories became more similar. We identified six types of trajectories: early death, life-cycle service, early family formation, late family formation, singlehood, and childless but with partner. Overtime, early family formation gradually became the “standard” trajectory to adulthood. However, late family formation and singlehood, tcommon pathways within the preindustrial western European marriage pattern, remained widespread among cohorts born in the late nineteenth century. Laboring class youths, farmers’ daughters, young people of mixed religious background, and urban-born youngsters were the nineteenth century forerunners of a standard pathway to adulthood.

Evolutionary explanations of low fertility in modern affluent societies commonly state that low fertility is the outcome of high parental investments in the quality of their children. Although the empirical evidence that modern parents do face a quantity-quality trade-off is strong, two issues that are relevant from an evolutionary perspective have not received much attention. First, sex differences in the proximate aspects of quality have been largely ignored. Second, the relationship between the quantity of children and their reproductive success in contemporary low-fertility societies remains unclear. In this article, we study the quantity-quality trade-off as a trade-off between the number of children and the mate value and reproductive success of those children. We examine the trade-off in two steps. First, a lower number of children is expected to increase the mate value of these children. Second, greater mate value is expected to lead to greater reproductive success. Using sex-specific indicators of mate value, we test these hypotheses in a representative sample of the Dutch population aged 55-85 in 1992 (n=3229). This sample contains information on three successive generations in which the middle generation has completed fertility. We find support for the first hypothesis, but only partial support for the second hypothesis. A higher number of children is traded off against the mate value of the children, but not against their reproductive success. We conclude that the conditions under which the quantity of children is traded off against their reproductive success depend on the social environment. © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.