Ellen Verbakel

Partner effects on labour market participation and job level : Opposing mechanisms

This study investigates to what extent a partner’s career resources affect labour market par ticipation and job level. Theories on this topic predict opposing par tner effects: economic theory expects a negative relationship due to financial incentives, whereas a positive relationship can be expected from a social capital point of view. In order to test these opposing mechanisms properly, (a) labour market outcomes are decomposed into labour market participation and job level, and (b) a historical perspective is introduced. Large scale labour force surveys conducted by Statistics Netherlands from 1977 onwards show that a partner’s career resources have a negative influence on working hours and a positive influence on job level. Over birth cohorts, the negative effect on working hours has become stronger for males and weaker for females, whereas the positive effect on job level has decreased for both men and women.

Informal caregiving and well-being in Europe: What can ease the negative consequences for caregivers?

Against the background of an ageing society with an increasing demand for informal caregivers, this study examines (1) to what extent informal caregiving is negatively related to well-being, (2) to what extent the relationship between informal caregiving and well-being varies over countries and (3) to what extent national policies and countries’ normative climates reduce the well-being gap between caregivers and non-caregivers. Analyses on the European Quality of Life Survey 2007 (N = 20,396 in 18 countries), applying multilevel regression techniques, confirmed previous findings that caregivers have lower levels of well-being than non-caregivers. This relationship varied between countries. Generous availability of formal long-term resources reduces the well-being gap between caregivers and non-caregivers. Surprisingly, services that are designed to support informal caregivers do not alleviate the negative well-being consequences. A strong country-level family norm does not affect the well-being gap between caregivers and non-caregivers, but reduces the negative well-being consequences of intensive caregiving.

Employment status and subjective well-being: the role of the social norm to work

This article examines to what extent a social norm to work moderates the relationship between employment status and subjective well-being. It was expected that the detrimental impact of non-employment on subjective well-being would be larger in countries with a stronger social norm. Using a direct measure of the social norm to work and employing data from 45 European countries, this study assessed subjective well-being levels of five employment status groups for men and women separately. Results showed that subjective well-being of unemployed men and women is unaffected by the social norm to work. However, non-working disabled men are worse off in countries with a stronger norm. Living in such a country also decreases the well-being gap between employed and retired men, whereas retired women are worse off in these countries. This effect for retirees disappears when a country’s GDP is taken into account, suggesting that norms matter less than affluence.

Tolerance towards homosexuality in Europe: Population composition, economic affluence, religiosity, same-sex union legislation and HIV rates as explanations for country differences

This study aims to explain variation in the level of tolerance towards homosexuality between European countries. Results of multi-level regression analyses on 40 countries from the 2008 wave of the European Values Study show that countries’ economic affluence and laws on same-sex unions are positively associated with individuals’ tolerance towards homosexuality. An additional exercise suggests that the association between laws and attitudes may be the result of two-way causality; legislation seems to both shape and reflect levels of tolerance towards homosexuality. The study finds no independent association between tolerance and the level of religiosity in a country and refutes the hypothesis that high numbers of diagnosed HIV cases resulting from sex between men are negatively related to tolerance towards homosexuality in Europe.

Social policies and families in stress : gender and educational differences in work–family conflict from a European perspective

In modern welfare states, family policies may resolve the tension between employment and care-focused demands. However these policies sometimes have adverse consequences for distinct social groups. This study examined gender and educational differences in working parents’ perceived work–family conflict and used a comparative approach to test whether family policies, in particular support for child care and leave from paid work, are capable of reducing work–family conflict as well as the gender and educational gaps in work–family conflict. We use data from the European Social Survey 2010 for 20 countries and 5296 respondents (parents), extended with information on national policies for maternity and parental leave and child care support from the OECD Family Database. Employing multilevel analysis, we find that mothers and the higher educated report most work–family conflict. Policies supporting child care reduce the level of experienced work–family conflict; family leave policy appears to have no alleviating impact on working parents’ work–family conflict. Our findings indicate that family policies appear to be unable to reduce the gender gap in conflict perception and even widen the educational gap in work–family conflict.

Occupational status of partnered gay men and lesbians in the Netherlands: How to explain the gap with men and women in heterosexual couples?

This study describes and explains the gap in occupational status between partnered homosexual and heterosexual (wo)men in the Netherlands. Thirteen waves of the Dutch Labor Force Surveys, including 875 partnered gay men and 901 partnered lesbians, have been analyzed with the Oaxaca decomposition method. Bivariate results show significantly higher occupational statuses among partnered gay compared to straight men and among partnered lesbian compared to straight women. Theoretical explanations for these gaps are (1) differences in endowments (distinguishing field of education, educational level, partners education, marital status, and parenthood) and (2) differences in the strength of the effects of these factors. When the above determinants are kept constant, occupational status of (wo)men in same-sex couples does not significantly differ from that of (wo)men in different-sex couples. Different educational-next to other-endowments are the major explanation for the favorable occupational positions of partnered gay men and lesbians; in addition, less detrimental effects of parenthood for partnered lesbians partly explain their higher levels of occupational status.

Explaining the gender gap in the caregiving burden of partner caregivers

Abstract Objectives We examine gender differences in the experienced burden of partner caregivers using the stress-appraisal model. Gender differences can be explained by differences in conditions of burden (primary stressors, help from others, hours of caregiving, and secondary stressors) and how strong their effects are. Method The data are from the Netherlands’ Older Persons and Informal Caregivers Survey—Minimum Data Set (N = 1,611 caregivers). We examine mediation and moderation effects using structural equation modeling. Results Women experience greater partner caregiver burden than men, which is related to women experiencing more secondary stressors (relational and financial problems, problems combining different tasks). For women and men alike, there is a positive association between burden and more primary stressors (partner’s care need indicated by health impairment), help from other caregivers, and secondary stressors. For male caregivers, caregiving intensity also contributes to a greater burden. Discussion This study corroborates the structural impact of gender on the conditions of as well as their effects on the partner caregiver burden. Reducing the hours of caregiving for male caregivers in severe care situations and helping female and male caregivers deal emotionally with the caregiving situation can reduce the partner caregiver burden.

Perceived fairness of the division of household labor: A comparative study in 29 countries:

This study investigates the relationship between the division of household labor and individuals’ perceived fairness concerning this division. We applied multilevel multinomial logistic regression to analyze data on both men and women across 29 countries using the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) from 2012 (N = 16,633). It was found that people who perform a larger share of household tasks are more likely to indicate that they do more than a fair share. Furthermore, we uncovered that in more gender egalitarian countries and in countries where women spend more time in the labor market, women and men are more likely to consider doing a larger share of housework to be unfair. Interestingly, when both country characteristics were included in the same model, we found that for women the effect of country’s female labor force participation lost statistical significance, while for men the country-level gender ideology resulted in a non-significant effect. Implications for future research are discussed.

Preferences for birth center care in the Netherlands: An exploration of ethnic differences

BackgroundTo examine the preferences for comprehensive services and facilities in a new proposed birth center which will be established in a large Dutch city, specifically among pregnant women from different ethnic backgrounds.MethodsThe analyses of this study were based on a survey among 200 pregnant women living in The Hague, the Netherlands in 2011. Multiple linear regression was applied to analyze if preferences differ by ethnic background, controlling for various other predictors.ResultsPregnant women had relatively strong preferences for comprehensive services and facilities to be offered by the new proposed birth center compared to both other dimensions of birth center care: extensive practical information and comfortable accommodation. With regard to ethnic differences, non-Dutch women had higher preferences for comprehensive care compared to Dutch women. This difference between Dutch and non-Dutch women increased with their level of education.ConclusionsEspecially for non-Dutch women, birth centers that are able to provide comprehensive services and facilities can potentially be a good setting in which to give birth compared to hospitals or at home. In particular, higher educated non-Dutch women had a preference for the personalized care that could be offered by this new birth center.

Adolescents’ Involvement in Romantic Relationships and Problem Behavior: The Moderating Effect of Peer Norms:

This study examined how peer norms condition the effect of romantic involvement on adolescents’ externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors. We hypothesized that, as a result of social control and social learning, adolescents who start a romantic relationship report more problem behavior when romantic involvement was not normative behavior in the peer group. We tested this hypothesis for two different peer groups: the friendship network and the class. Using large-scale panel data of Dutch adolescents (N = 2,302; Mage = 14.5) collected in 222 school classes that included sociometric measures, we found that adolescents who started dating reported more problem behavior if dating was not in line with the class’ norm compared with when dating was in line with the class’ norm. Friends’ norms did not moderate the association between romantic involvement and problem behavior.