Placement characteristics and stability: a longitudinal analysis of Norwegian children in foster homes

2015

This paper investigates how enhanced support for foster parents, such as covering fees and providing consultants and relief, may reduce the number of replacements experienced by children in foster care. It also investigates the extent to which replacements are associated with family (kin) vs. non-family foster parents, or with legal characteristics of the placement (i.e. forced administrative decisions vs. relief measures agreed upon by the parents). Statistical analyses of administrative data from Norway investigated the longitudinal relationships between these characteristics and the number of replacements at two levels – children (N = 16 109) and municipalities (N = 418) – over 5 years (…

Can ‘Openness-to-change’ and ‘Conservation’ Values Predict the Diffusion of the Internet into European Homes?

2019

Abstract This study investigated whether openness-to-change values (self-direction and stimulation) and conservation values (security and tradition) could predict the diffusion of the internet into homes by 2014, at the level of 159 European regions. All four value scales were correlated with the diffusion of the internet, after controlling for regional wealth and population density. Self-direction was by far the most consistent predictor of the diffusion of internet connections; a combination of self-direction and stimulation values could predict home internet use better than other combinations of human values. A longitudinal analysis, at the level of 25 countries, investigated the possibi…

Employment among female immigrants to Europe

2021

This article investigates how cultural factors might affect the employment of female immigrants to Europe. Cultural factors include the characteristics of individual women, their countries of origin in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the European regions where they reside. Data are from the European Social Survey (2002 to 2019) and various international organisations. Employment is predicted by educational level and religiosity, religious composition of the country of origin, and rates of unemployment in the region of residence. Less educated immigrants from Muslim countries have particularly low employment rates. Contrary to expectations, the employment of female immigrants seems unaff…

The effect of bidialectal literacy on school achievement

2015

The Norwegian language has two written standards, Bokmal (majority variety) and Nynorsk (minority variety), and children receive their schooling in one or other of them. Pupils schooled in Nynorsk acquire the Bokmal variety simultaneously through extracurricular exposure and thus develop what may be termed bidialectal literacy. In this study, we correlate, at municipal level, the results from Norwegian standardized national tests in reading, arithmetic, and English from four cohorts of eighth graders (2009–2012), with available statistics on language of instruction and socio-economic status. The finding is that municipalities with Nynorsk pupils have better than average results in national …

Does forming a nuclear family increase religiosity? Longitudinal evidence from the British Household Panel Survey

2022

Abstract This study investigates how far the nuclear family—in terms of entering cohabitation and marriage and having a first and second child—affects religious salience, religious attendance, and activity in religious organizations. Previous research has shown that religious individuals are more likely to marry, and have higher fertility, than non-religious individuals. Less is known about how far the nuclear family also affects religiosity. This study presents longitudinal evidence on how religious factors change within the life-course of individuals after entering cohabitation or marriage and after having a first or second child in up to 14 waves of the British Household Panel Survey col…

Does the nuclear family affect social trust? Longitudinal evidence from Germany

2021

While research indicates that social trust might benefit societies’ political and economic development, the sources of social trust are subject to debate. This article investigates a less investiga...

The age and well-being “paradox”: a longitudinal and multidimensional reconsideration

2022

This paper explores qualifcations to the much-discussed paradox that although aging is associated with multiple physical and social losses, subjective well-being (SWB) is stable or increasing in later life. We explore age-related changes in cognitive, afective, and eudaimonic dimensions in three waves of data spanning up to 15 years from the Norwegian NorLAG study (N=4,944, age 40−95). We employ fxed-efect models to examine the nature and predictors of aging efects on SWB. Results indicate a general pattern of stability well into older age, but negative changes in advanced age across well-being measures. Declines in SWB are less pronounced and with a later onset for the cognitive compared w…

The fertility of female immigrants to Europe from Christian and Muslim countries.

2020

Abstract This article investigates the fertility of female immigrants to Europe in relation to the characteristics of individual women (n=1,667), their countries of origin in Africa, Asia and Latin-America (n=68) and the European country where they reside (n=22), using the European Social Survey (ESS) collected between 2010 and 2017 (rounds 5 to 8). Many immigrants have fertility outcomes that converge towards the native fertility of their country of residence in Europe, a surprisingly strong factor. Immigrants from Muslim countries have higher fertility, though, and they compress their fertility over fewer years than immigrants from Christian countries. Multivariate estimates indicate that…

Economic strain and public support for redistribution : a comparative analysis of 28 European countries

2012

Author's version of an article in the journal: Journal of Social Policy. Also available from the publisher at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0047279412000748 Is public support for redistribution affected by the number of people experiencing economic strain in a country? This question is investigated by comparing twenty-eight countries in the fourth round of the European Social Survey 2008-09 using two-level linear regression models. The results show that individuals reporting economic strain support redistribution more strongly than those who do not experience economic strain. Further, individuals living in countries where many other people report economic strain also support redistribution mo…

Personality Traits Increasingly Important for Male Fertility: Evidence from Norway

2014

We study the relationship between personality traits and fertility using a survey of Norwegian men and women born from 1927 to 1968 (N = 7017 individuals). We found that personality relates to men's and women's fertility differently; conscientiousness decreases female fertility, openness decreases male fertility and extraversion raises the fertility of both sexes. Neuroticism depresses fertility for men, but only for those born after 1956. The lower male fertility in younger cohorts high in neuroticism cannot be explained by partnership status, income or education. The proportion of childless men (at age 40 years) has increased rapidly for Norwegian male cohorts from 1940 to 1970 (from abo…

Can Self-Enhancement Values Predict Retirement Behavior? An Analysis Combining Survey and Register Data From Norway

2015

This analysis investigates to what extent the self-enhancement values in the Schwartz taxonomy—achievement, power, and hedonism—can predict retirement behavior. Self-enhancement values were measured using the Norwegian Life Course, Generations and Gender Study beginning in 2007. Register data were merged with the survey data to identify those collecting a pension by the end of 2010; these persons were defined as being retired. Statistical analysis was performed using discrete time proportional odds (logistic regression) duration models for each birthday. The results show that two self-enhancement values, achievement and hedonism, discourage disability retirement but do not affect nondisabi…

Can personality predict retirement behaviour? A longitudinal analysis combining survey and register data from Norway.

2017

Published version of an article in the journal: European Journal of Ageing. Also available from the publisher at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10433-011-0212-6 This study investigates how far personality can predict the timing and routes of people’s retirement. It uses a large comprehensive Norwegian survey, with larger sample size than earlier related studies, providing estimates of personality based on the five-factor model. The survey data are matched with administrative data, allowing observations of retirement over the 2002–2007 period. The analysis distinguishes between the disability and the non-disability retirements. Retirement is investigated using discrete time, competing risk, log…

Marital transitions and life satisfaction

2014

This article is based on three waves of data collected by the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT), Norway. It investigates changes in life satisfaction associated with transition both into and out of marital unions (marriages and cohabitations). It provides longitudinal data on life satisfaction for a larger sample ( N=57,446), a longer age span (19–101 years) and over a longer observation period (22 years) than previously published research on this topic. The large sample permits interaction analyses focusing on small gender/age categories. Results indicate that marriage and cohabitation does enhance life satisfaction, but more for some groups than for others. Cohabitation enhances life sat…

Human values and retirement experiences: A longitudinal analysis of Norwegian data.

2021

Motivational factors, such as one’s value system, may affect how people cope with the opportunities and challenges of retirement. This article explores the moderating roles of Schwartz’s four basic values (self-enhancement, self-transcendence, openness to change, and conservation) on the magnitude and duration of retirement effects on life satisfaction between two waves (2007 and 2017) of the Norwegian Life course, Ageing and Generation (NorLAG) study. Fixed-effect regression analyses are run separately for men and women to account for gender differences in the attachments and identities tied to work and non-work domains. Retirement is not a uniform experience, and findings show that retire…

Unemployment transitions and self-rated health in Europe: A longitudinal analysis of EU-SILC from 2008 to 2011

2015

- The Great Recession of 2008 has led to elevated unemployment in Europe and thereby revitalised the question of causal health effects of unemployment. This article applies fixed effects regression models to longitudinal panel data drawn from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions for 28 European countries from 2008 to 2011, in order to investigate changes in self-rated health around the event of becoming unemployed. The results show that the correlation between unemployment and health is partly due to a decrease in self-rated health as people enter unemployment. Such health changes vary by country of domicile, and by individual age; older workers have a steeper decli…

Job insecurity and sickness absence: Correlations between attrition and absence in 36 occupational groups

2012

Aims: To investigate how job insecurity, as indicated by attrition rates out of employment, affects sickness absence among remaining workers. Methods: A longitudinal analysis investigated how the percentage of workers absent due to sickness was affected by attrition out of employment in Norwegian Labour Force Surveys from 1997 to 2005, between 31 quarterly observations at the level of 36 occupational groups. Results: Rising attrition is associated with more sickness absence. Conclusions: Previous research has argued that job insecurity can lead to more absence because of a stressor effect as well as to less absence because of a disciplinary effect. This research indicates that the stressor…

Flyttinger i barnevernet – risikofaktorer, erfaringer og forklaringer

2014

Denne rapporten er resultat av forskningsprosjektet «Flyttinger i barnevernet – risikofaktorer, erfaringer og forklaringer» ved Universitetet i Agder, Institutt for sosiologi og sosialt arbeid. Prosjektet har blitt initiert og finansiert av Barne-, ungdoms- og familiedirektoratet (Bufdir). Det tar sikte på å gi kunnskap som kan bidra til å redusere og forebygge uønskede flyttinger av barn i barnevernet. Det skal gi forskningsbasert kunnskap om årsaker til og erfaringer med flyttinger i barnevernet. Vi har gjort forløpsanalyser av data fra Odaregisteret, og vi har intervjuet ungdommer og saksbehandlere i barnevernstjenesten. Vi har innhentet og sammenlignet litteratur fra tidligere studier o…

Fører forsterkede fosterhjem til færre replasseringer av barn i fosterhjem? : En studie av sammenhenger mellom barnevernstiltak og replassering av ba…

2013