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This paper identifies subjective well-being trajectories through happiness measures as influenced by time, socio-economic, demographic and behavioural determinants. Hierarchical age-period-cohort models are applied to European Social Survey (2002–2016) data on the population aged 30 and older in 10 countries. A U-shaped relationship between age and happiness is found for some countries, but a rather flat pattern and considerable diversity beyond age 80 are detected for other countries. Lower happiness levels are found for baby boomers (1945–1964) than for preboomers and post-boomers, and also for late boomers (1955–1964) than for early boomers (1945–1954). Women, highly educated and native people are shown to have higher happiness levels than men, less educated and non-native people, respectively. Moreover, a positive assessment of income, having a partner, and being a parent, in good health, employed and socially active are all found to have a positive impact on happiness levels. We find evidence of gaps in happiness levels due to differences in socio-economic characteristics over the life course in some, but not in all of the countries analysed.

The Antwerp COR*-database is a longitudinal micro-level database, which covers all entries from individuals whose last names started with the letters COR (and individuals who shared at some moment in time a household with a COR*-person) from the population registers and the vital registration of births, marriages and deaths for the 19th- and early-20th-century Antwerp district in Flanders, the northern Dutch-speaking part of Belgium. As such the database allows the reconstruction of historical life courses and families, and the analysis of key demographic characteristics and developments regarding marriage, fertility, migration, social mobility, health, mortality and longevity, as well as their interplay within and across households, families and generations. After a short description of the source material and the construction of the database, a review of the literature based on the database is presented in order to provide the reader with an encompassing overview of the research that has been carried out with this database and the knowledge and insights it has generated since its first release in 2010. The article ends with a discussion of potential pathways for future research, including new topics, and future extension of the database through citizen science projects.

Adding to longitudinal data of three waves that were presented in an original dataset on perceptions and behaviours regarding government measures, fear of getting ill, and media use during the COVID-19 pandemic in Flanders (Belgium), this article presents information on two additional waves that were collected at two key moments in the pandemic in the same region: in late August 2020 (W4; as infection rates increased again; N = 505) and in the middle of March 2021, exactly one year after the first data collection (W5; N = 408). In W4 and W5, new respondents were added to the longitudinal sample to strengthen cross-sectional analyses. Additional information on informal care and physical activity was also collected. These data may be of interest to researchers who wish to explore dynamics of fear and attitudes towards public health measures during this particularly challenging time.

The data presented in this article provide one of the first large-scale insights on adult preferences for confidentiality and consent with regards to medical decision-making for minors. We collected data on these preferences through 12 hypothetical scenario's that were presented, for which each participant had to indicate if they would (not) follow the minor's preferences. Data regarding family communication, relationship quality, and sociodemographic characteristics were also collected. The data were collected through an online survey in September and October 2020, which yielded responses from 1000 Belgian and 1000 Dutch participants between 35 and 55 years of age. We selected this age range because it increased the chances that they had a child near the age of the fictional minor in the hypothetical cases. These data can be of interest for family researchers and/or health workers who want to explore adults’ perceptions regarding confidentiality and consent among minors.

To improve our understanding of the mental health consequences of the shift to distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study examined which factors are associated with increased school-related stress in adolescents. The sample consists of 16,093 adolescents, aged 12 to 18, who were enrolled in secondary education in Flanders, Belgium in May 2020. Stepwise binomial logistic regressions were used to investigate associations between the (online) learning environment, family-, and peer-related factors and increased stress in adolescents, controlling for sociodemographic characteristics. Results show that overcrowding, financial difficulties, and domestic violence are risk factors for increased stress, while social support and no material deprivation are protective factors. These findings suggest that, in addition to distributing the necessary materials for distance learning, also social policy efforts are required to compensate for the negative effects of distance learning. Without this, distance learning may fail to deliver equal educational opportunities and outcomes.

In the transition from secondary to tertiary education, first-year students experience stress due to the academic, cultural, and social environment they must adapt to. This may negatively impact their subjective well-being, which in turn may negatively influence academic performance and increase the probability of dropping out. We report findings from a two-wave online study involving first-year students enrolled in a sociology course at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at the University of Leuven (Belgium). Students completed self-report questionnaires on sociodemographic background, subjective well-being, parental relationship quality, and personality, at the start (Time 1) and end (Time 2) of the first semester. 194 students (35%) completed measures at both times. Results show that subjective well-being decreased from the beginning to the end of the first semester. Well-being at university was positively, and feelings of depression negatively, related to subjective well-being at Time 1 and Time 2. Female students reported lower well-being than male students at Time 2 but not Time 1. The quality of the mother–child, but not the father–child, relationship was positively related to subjective well-being at Time 1 and Time 2.

This study examines how household composition and news media consumption and trust are related to attitudes towards two minority groups—immigrants and refugees—in a representative sample of the adult population (n = 6000) in Belgium, Sweden, France, and the Netherlands. We find that Swedes hold the most positive attitudes towards both groups, while the French are found to be most negative. The Belgians and Dutch hold moderate attitudes. There is also evidence that attitudes on refugees are more negative than attitudes on immigrants in Sweden and France, but not in Belgium and the Netherlands. Using structural equation modeling, we find that household composition is not directly related to attitudes, but indirect effects through socio-economic status and media consumption indicate that singles hold more negative attitudes than couples. Public television consumption, popular online news consumption, and trust in media are positively related to attitudes, whereas commercial television consumption is negatively associated with them.

While COVID-19 spreads aggressively and rapidly across the globe, many societies have also witnessed the spread of other viral phenomena like misinformation, conspiracy theories, and general mass suspicions about what is really going on. This study investigates how exposure to and trust in information sources, and anxiety and depression, are associated with conspiracy and misinformation beliefs in eight countries/regions (Belgium, Canada, England, Philippines, Hong Kong, New Zealand, United States, Switzerland) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected in an online survey fielded from May 29, 2020 to June 12, 2020, resulting in a multinational representative sample of 8,806 adult respondents. Results indicate that greater exposure to traditional media (television, radio, newspapers) is associated with lower conspiracy and misinformation beliefs, while exposure to politicians and digital media and personal contacts are associated with greater conspiracy and misinformation beliefs. Exposure to health experts is associated with lower conspiracy beliefs only. Higher feelings of depression are also associated with greater conspiracy and misinformation beliefs. We also found relevant group- and country differences. We discuss the implications of these results.

The Leuven research team working on historical demography is grateful for their opportunity to have collaboratively and intensively worked with Professor Dr. Kees Mandemakers over an extended period of time. We wish him a wonderful emeritus status, not only in academia, but also in the warm nest of his family, relatives, children, and grandchildren. The three of us have known Kees for some time, but most closely since 2014, when we became formally engaged as project partners under the so-called LONGPOP-project, an EU funded Marie Curie grant, named Methodologies and Data mining techniques for the analysis of Big Data based on Longitudinal Population and Epidemiological Registers. The importance of our close professional relationship is best demonstrated by our work in producing the COR*-IDS 2020 database. The historical demographic dataset for the Antwerp arrondissement, a letter sample COR*-2010, recorded total sample size of +/- 33,000 residents of Antwerp for nearly seven decades and was already available. The LONGPOP project began in Autumn 2016, setting in motion a collaboration between ourselves at KU Leuven and Kees and his colleagues at the IISH. From the outset, we had purposefully worked closely with Kees' team, utilising their premier expertise in database management and the IDS towards the new release of our database, the Antwerp COR*-IDS dataset. Here we set out our recollections of that intellectual process, encompassing the personal and professional reflections of our close working relationship.

ObjectivesHealth care professionals regularly struggle with issues relating to confidentiality and consent for physical and/or mental health issues among adolescents. We investigate late adolescents' own and assumed parental preferences towards health-care related confidentiality and consent.MethodsWe analyzed online survey data of four vignettes from 463 first-year university students at KU Leuven (Flanders, Belgium). We used paired samples t-tests to assess the (in)consistency between attitudes of late adolescents and their assumed parental attitudes, independent samples t-tests to estimate gender differences, and binomial logistic regressions to analyze the association of assumed parental preferences with late adolescents' own preferences.ResultsAttitudinal inconsistencies were present in all vignettes. Late adolescents were significantly more in favor of confidentiality and adolescent consent than what they believed their parents were. Gender differences were limited. Binomial logistic regressions indicated that assumed parental preferences were strongly associated with late adolescents' own preferences.ConclusionsFindings suggest a clear difference between late adolescents' preferences and assumed parental preferences: they believe that their parents are less inclined to favor confidentiality and adolescent consent. We also find that this difference depends on the case, indicating that there is no such thing as general 'confidentiality preferences'. Rather, a decision- and/or context-specific perspective should be adopted.

The Antwerp COR*-IDS database 2020 is a transformed and harmonized historical demographic database in a cross-nationally comparable format designed to be open and easy to use for international researchers. The database is constructed from the 2010 release of the Antwerp COR*-historical demographic database, which was created using a letter sample of the whole district of Antwerp (Flanders, Belgium). It has a total sample size of +/- 33,000 residents of Antwerp. The sample spans nearly seven decades. The data is collected from historical records: including population registers and vital registration records covering births, marriages, in/external migrations and deaths. The database covers up to three linked generations (in some cases more), and contains micro-data on individual level life courses, and relationships deriving from addressbased household composition methods. An important characteristic is the sample's large migrant population, including the timings of their demographic events and living arrangements, whilst resident in the district of Antwerp. In addition, the sample also contains a large array of occupational level information. This paper presents the processes, methodologies and documentation regarding the evaluation and development of a pre-existing historical database. This includes the systematic evaluation of the original samples, methodologies for address based reconstructing of households, and the geocoding of a historical database which took place during the current development of this new version of the database.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, people have become increasingly fearful of the disease as death tolls rise, while governments attempt to combat it by installing restrictive measures. News media play a vital role as they are the main sources from which people gather information regarding the disease and the public health measures. The present longitudinal data reflect a bird's eye view of people's fears towards getting ill, their news media consumption, and their attitudes regarding the (Belgian) government's handling of the COVID-19 crisis. Data were collected at three key moments in the pandemic among adults in Flanders, Belgium: in the middle of March (when the first restrictive measures went into effect; N = 1,000), early April (as hospital admissions and death toll peaked; N = 870), and at the end of May and beginning of June (as several measures were lifted or relaxed; N = 768). With only 23.2% drop-out across the three waves, these data may be of interest to researchers who wish to explore dynamics of fear and attitudes towards public health measures during this particularly challenging time.

In this article, we investigate to what degree infant mortality risk was transferred from grandmothers to mothers in the Antwerp district, Belgium, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. We also investigate some of the determinants of infant mortality and explore the role of the family - paternal factors (presence, age, and social class), mother’s childcare experience, and infant household location - in the survival of infants. The data for this research were retrieved from the Antwerp COR*-database and were transferred into the Intermediate Data Structure (IDS). The results of the survival models show that women whose mother experienced three or more infant deaths had a 77% higher risk of experiencing the loss of an infant themselves, compared to women whose mother experienced zero infant deaths in the past. These results remained robust after controlling for potential mediating and moderating factors. The results on the age of the mother at birth, her marital status, as well as the living environment suggest that at least part of the intergenerational transfer in infant mortality can be explained on the basis of life history theory: women who grew up in a high-risk family tended to reproduce earlier and faster, and often raised their children without a partner. In this way they unconsciously created riskier conditions for the raising of their own infants: the mothers had little life experience, limited resources, and often no assistance from a partner. As a result, their own children were also at an increased risk of dying in infancy.

Historical Life Course Studies, a journal in population studies, aims to stimulate and facilitate the implementation of IDS (Intermediate Data Structure, a standard data format for large historical databases), and to publish the results from (comparative) research with the help of large historical databases. The journal publishes not only empirical articles, but also descriptions (of the construction) of new and existing large historical databases, as well as articles dealing with database documentation, the transformation of existing databases into the IDS format, the development of algorithms and extraction software and all other issues related to the methodology of large historical databases.

The purpose of this study is to validate the Dutch Marital Satisfaction and Communication Questionnaire (DMSCQ), a 16-item measure that disentangles marital satisfaction, negative communication and open communication. In three subsequent studies empirical evidence for the construct and criterion validity is presented using (confirmatory) factor analyses, and correlational analyses with criterion variables. Results indicate that the 16 items represent a solid three-factor structure, which was replicated across time and in independent samples. High agreement in factor structure between men and women was demonstrated by high levels of Tucker's coefficient of congruence. The internal consistencies of the marital satisfaction and negative communication scales are good; for the open communication scale it is somewhat lower but still acceptable. Consistent evidence was obtained for a negative relationship between the three marital outcomes and parental depression and conflictual family climate whereas the three former are positively related to life satisfaction and well-being. Spouses who feel restricted by their parental role or experience parenting stress tend to be less satisfied with their partnership and perceive the marital communication as more negative. Our results demonstrate that the DMSCQ provides a brief, valid and reliable measure of marital satisfaction, negative and open communication.

Background: Most studies investigating family life after a separation or divorce focus on single or competing events or transitions. Despite the growing popularity of the life-course perspective, few studies have given an overview of the sequence and timing of various post-divorce partner and parenthood trajectories. Objective: In this study we apply the technique of sequence analysis to describe the complete post-divorce partner and parenthood trajectory of divorced men and women in the first seven years following residential separation from their spouses. Methods: We use data from Divorce in Flanders, based upon a representative sample of first marriages drawn from the National Register. Our research sample consists of 1,530 men and 1,762 women who had been divorced for at least seven years at the time of interview. Ward's method is used as a clustering method. Results: A large proportion of divorced men and women remain single or outside a union, and make no partner or parenthood transition at all. However, we identified eight patterns of post-divorce partner trajectory and eight patterns of post-divorce parenthood trajectory. These trajectories differ from each other in the occurrence, the order, and the timing of specific partner and parenthood transitions. Conclusions: Our results do not suggest complete de-standardization of the post-divorce family trajectories of men and women, but do suggest a substantial heterogeneity in post-divorce family life. This heterogeneity is often ignored or hidden by focusing on single events or family transitions.

Background: The existence of cohabitation is a historical feature of nuptiality in Latin America. Traditionally, cohabitation was common in less developed regions, among the lower social classes. But today its occurrence is increasing and in social groups and regions in which it was not common. The features of this latter type of cohabitation remain unclear. Objective: We differentiate types of cohabitation in Latin America on the basis of relationship context at its outset and its outcomes in terms of childbearing. The comparability of these types over countries is attested, as well as their evolution over time and the educational and age profiles of cohabitants. Methods: Demographic and Health Survey data for the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s for up to eight countries are analyzed by means of Multiple Group Latent Class Analysis. Results: Three types of cohabitation are found. The traditional type includes young and lower-educated women who start to cohabit during adolescence. They have more children at younger ages. The remaining two types of cohabitation included higher-educated women and are considered modern. The innovative type groups women from all age groups, with fewer children born at a higher age and never as a single woman. Blended cohabitation refers to older women, who could negotiate a marriage, but do not. They start to cohabit during adulthood, but always after single pregnancy. Conclusions: The persistence of historical trends is attested. Traditional cohabitation is related to socioeconomic deprivation and prevails in Central American and Caribbean countries.However, two modern types of cohabitation are emerging in the region. They are concentrated in the South and related to women's independence.

Background: Family composition and household dynamics, both in early and in later life, influence individual health and longevity. Both positive and negative effects can be expected in terms of sibling size and composition. On one hand, siblings compete with each other, which may lead to resource dilution and increased adult mortality risks. On the other hand, siblings protect and care for each other, which may have a positive impact on longevity. Objective: To investigate the way in which sibling composition (with respect to sibship size, sex, and birth order) in the family of orientation and the proximity of siblings in later life relates to adult mortality risks at ages 50+. Methods: Life courses of 258 men and 275 women from the Antwerp COR*-database were 'reconstructed' and analyzed by way of event history analysis using Gompertz shared frailty models. Results: Being higher in birth order related to significantly higher mortality risk after age 50 for men. Having older brothers, particularly those present in later life, was associated with very high excess mortality risk for both sexes, though men were more strongly disadvantaged. Having (more) younger sisters present at RP (research person) age 50 was related to significantly lower relative mortality risk for women. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the complex relationships between sibling and gender dynamics and mortality risk in later life. Evidence of a lasting impact of sibling competition on mortality risk over age 50 is found; and competition is only replaced by solidarity in critical times (e.g., widowhood), wherein older sibling presence dissimilarly impacts different social groups.

BACKGROUND Research conducted in the 1990s showed that children who live alternately with their mother and father after divorce (joint physical custody) have closer relationships with both parents and better emotional outcomes. In 1995 and 2006, joint legal custody and joint physical custody became the default judicial recommendations in Belgium. These defaults served to increase the incidence of joint custody arrangements. However, parents with joint physical custody arrangements who divorced before 2006 may have had higher socio-economic standing and lower conflict relationships than couples that divorced afterwards. Thus earlier research on the impact of joint physical custody arrangements on child outcomes may be too optimistic when considering children of recently divorced parents. OBJECTIVE This study examines the characteristics of four different physical custody arrangements (sole mother, sole father, joint physical, and flexible custody) in Flanders, Belgium, and whether these characteristics have changed over time. The legal changes in 1995 and 2006 are used to distinguish three divorce cohorts. METHODS We use data on 2,207 couples that legally divorced between 1971 and 2010 from the Divorce in Flanders project, a large-scale representative multi-actor survey. Multinomial logistic regression models provide estimates of the likelihoods of different physical custody arrangements. RESULTS The incidence of sole mother custody has decreased over the last decades and children increasingly alternate between the households of the mother and the father after divorce. The incidence of sole father custody has remained low. Higher educated parents are more likely to have joint physical custody arrangements than parents from lower social classes. Also, within couples, relative educational levels are important because the higher educated spouse is more likely to have physical custody of the child. We also find that the associations between socio-demographic variables and custody outcomes have changed over time. Prior to the legal changes low-conflict couples were overrepresented in joint physical custody arrangements, but this pattern has now disappeared. CONCLUSIONS Flanders has clearly followed the road towards more gender-neutral parenting. Hand in hand with changing legislation, joint physical custody has become more prevalent, and the socio-demographic profile of joint-custody families has become more heterogeneous. The increased likelihood that higher-conflict couples enter joint physical custody arrangements may have important consequences for the children involved.

BACKGROUND Because of the tendency towards equal parental rights in post-divorce custody decisions, the number of children living partially in two households after divorce has increased. Because of this evolution, traditional family typologies have been challenged. OBJECTIVE In this study, we want to describe the post-divorce custody arrangements and family configurations of Flemish adolescents (between 12 and 18 years old). METHODS We use four waves of the Leuven Adolescents and Families Study, a yearly survey in which adolescents are questioned at school about their family life, family relationships and various dimensions of their wellbeing. Our research sample consists of 1525 adolescents who experienced a parental break-up. First, we present information on the proportion of adolescents in different custody arrangements, according to divorce cohort, age and sex. Next, we describe post-divorce family configurations, according to the custody arrangement and different criteria of co-residence between children and step-parents. RESULTS We observe a higher proportion of adolescents spending at least 33Š of time in both parental households (shared residence) for more recent divorce cohorts. A large proportion of adolescents is living with a new partner of the mother or father, but there are important differences, according to the criteria used to define stepfamily configurations. CONCLUSIONS The relatively high incidence figures of children in shared residence challenge the current dichotomous post-divorce family concept in terms of single parent families and stepfamilies. Family typologies applying a binuclear perspective are therefore increasingly meaningful and necessary. In addition, shared residence increases the chance of co-residence with at least one step-parent, and increases the proportion of children with a part-time residential stepmother.

It has been argued in sociology, economics, and evolutionary anthropology that family size limitation enhances the intergenerational upward mobility chances in modernized societies. If parents have a large flock, family resources get diluted and intergenerational mobility is bound to head downwards. Yet, the empirical record supporting this resource dilution hypothesis is limited. This article investigates the empirical association between family size limitation and intergenerational mobility in an urban, late nineteenth century population in Western Europe. It uses life course data from the Belgian city of Antwerp between 1846 and 1920. Findings are consistent with the resource dilution hypothesis: after controlling for confounding factors, people with many children were more likely to end up in the lower classes. Yet, family size limitation was effective as a defensive rather than an offensive strategy: it prevented the next generation from going down rather than helping them to climb up the social ladder. Also, family size appears to have been particularly relevant for the middle classes. Implications for demographic transition theory are discussed.