Koen Van der Bracht

Transnational Marriages on the Decline: Explaining Changing Trends in Partner Choice among Turkish Belgians

This article reports a decline in transnational marriages among Turkish Belgians between 2001 and 2008 and explains the changing trends through a qualitative study of Turkish Belgians’ current partner preferences and union formation practices. Young people prefer a local marriage because it enables upward social mobility, and the possibility of premarital relationships and lower parental involvement seem to further add to the declining popularity of transnational marriages. Despite these changes, however, a considerable percentage of people continues to marry a partner from the country of origin. By identifying four ‘types’ of transnational marriages we highlight the changes and diversification with regards to transnational marriages.

The Not-in-My-Property Syndrome: The Occurrence of Ethnic Discrimination in the Rental Housing Market in Belgium

This paper aims at achieving a better understanding of rental housing market discrimination against ethnic minorities. There remain substantial lacunae in the scientific knowledge about the association between the concentration of ethnic minorities in the neighbourhood and discrimination, and possible differences in discrimination based on host society language proficiency. Although these associations have been considered in the USA, they have been neglected in the European context, which is quite different. A telephone survey offered data on 579 properties that is linked to (i) whether the fictitious ethnic minority candidate masters the host society language or not, (ii) the rent of the offered unit, (iii) the percentage of minorities in the neighbourhood and (iv) the socioeconomic background of the neighbourhood. Using multilevel modelling, we found (i) that host society language proficient migrants are discriminated against as often as non-proficient migrants and found (ii) a curvilinear association between rent and discrimination, with more discrimination for both cheaper and more expensive rental offers. We found (iii) no association between the presence of minorities in the neighbourhood and the occurrence of discrimination, contrary to previous research in the USA, and found (iv) no association between discrimination and the socioeconomic background of a neighbourhood.

Inequalities in social capital and their longitudinal effects on the labour market entry

Abstract This study investigates socio-economic and ethnic inequalities in social capital and their effects on the process of the labour market entry. We use longitudinal data about the transition from school to work of lower- and middle educated young people in Belgium. Social capital is measured with three robust position generator measures. In line with previous studies, there are substantial socioeconomic and ethnic inequalities in the access to social capital. Ethnic differences in social capital are, however, due to the socio-economic deprivation of ethnic minority groups in Belgium. Among the specific population of lower- and middle educated youth, knowing more people from the working class leads to a higher likelihood of entering the labour market versus continuing in education, whereas knowing more people from the higher service class results in a lower likelihood of entering the labour market. Especially the resources of strong ties such as relatives and friends are important for these decisions. In addition, once entered the labour market, social capital has an impact on the likelihood of getting a job. Lower- and middle educated labour market entrants who know more people from the working class are more likely to find work, whereas knowing people from the lower service class decreases the job chances. However, there is no evidence for social capital effects on the occupational status of the job among our population.

Keeping it in the family : the self-rated health of lone mothers in different European welfare regimes.

This study examines whether health inequalities exist between lone and cohabiting mothers across Europe, and how these may differ by welfare regime. Data from the European Social Survey were used to compare self-rated general health, limiting long-standing illness and depressive feelings by means of a multi-level logistic regression. The 27 countries included in the analyses are classified into six welfare regimes (Anglo-Saxon, Bismarckian, Southern, Nordic, Central East Europe (CEE) (new EU) and CEE (non-EU). Lone motherhood is defined as mothers not cohabiting with a partner, regardless of their legal marital status. The results indicate that lone mothers are more at risk of poor health than cohabiting mothers. This is most pronounced in the Anglo-Saxon regime for self-rated general health and limiting long-standing illness, while for depressive feelings it is most pronounced in the Bismarckian welfare regime. While the risk difference is smallest in the CEE regimes, both lone and cohabiting mothers also reported the highest levels of poor health compared with the other regimes. The results also show that a vulnerable socioeconomic position is associated with ill-health in lone mothers and that welfare regimes differ in the degree to which they moderate this association.

Homonegativity among first and second generation migrants in Europe: The interplay of time trends, origin, destination and religion

Previous studies reported declining disapproval of homosexuality in Europe but have simultaneously identified the decelerating effect of religiosity and the higher disapproval of homosexuality among migrants. In this paper, we address disapproval of homosexuality among first- and second-generation migrants in Europe by assessing (1) period and cohort changes, (2) origin and destination country influences and (3) the role of religiosity. We develop a specific cross-classified multilevel design enabling us to simultaneously examine these influences. We test hypotheses using a subsample of the European Social Survey (ESS), containing 19,878 first and second generation migrants. The analyses lead to three important conclusions. Firstly, disapproval of homosexuality is declining both over time and across cohorts. Secondly, migrants conform to levels of disapproval of homosexuality among natives in the destination country, and this explains the decline among migrants over time. Thirdly, religion has a multi-faceted influence on levels of disapproval of homosexuality among migrants.

The worst of both worlds? Origin and destination effects on migrant religiosity

AbstractInsecurity theory states that religiosity is predominantly affected by insecurities experienced during childhood, instead of present insecurities. The empirical research of these aspects, however, has been hampered by the difficulty to disentangle past and present contextual effects. In this respect, first-generation migrants offer an interesting case study that allows us to discern: (1) contextual effects experienced during childhood (i.e. associated with the origin country); (2) contextual effects experienced during later life (i.e. associated with the destination country); and (3) individual effects experienced during later life in the destination country. We test hypotheses using the European Social Survey (ESS) in cross-classified multi-level analyses on 5,900 individuals within on the one hand twenty-five destination countries and on the other 146 origin countries. While insecurity theory offers interesting prospects of explaining origin country variance, the applicability of insecurity theo...Abstract Insecurity theory states that religiosity is predominantly affected by insecurities experienced during childhood, instead of present insecurities. The empirical research of these aspects, however, has been hampered by the difficulty to disentangle past and present contextual effects. In this respect, first-generation migrants offer an interesting case study that allows us to discern: (1) contextual effects experienced during childhood (i.e. associated with the origin country); (2) contextual effects experienced during later life (i.e. associated with the destination country); and (3) individual effects experienced during later life in the destination country. We test hypotheses using the European Social Survey (ESS) in cross-classified multi-level analyses on 5,900 individuals within on the one hand twenty-five destination countries and on the other 146 origin countries. While insecurity theory offers interesting prospects of explaining origin country variance, the applicability of insecurity theory to migrants at the individual and destination level is questioned by the results.

The Role of Ethnic School Segregation for Adolescents' Religious Salience.

Abstract Public concerns over the possible effects of school segregation on immigrant and ethnic majority religiosity have been on the rise over the last few years. In this paper we focus on (1) the association between ethnic school composition and religious salience, (2) intergenerational differences in religious salience and (3) the role of ethnic school composition for intergenerational differences in religious salience. We perform analyses on religious salience, one five-point Likert scale item measuring religious salience among 3,612 16-year-old pupils in Belgian secondary schools. National origin was used as a proxy for ethnicity. Ethnic minority pupils in schools with a higher share of ethnic minorities tend to be more religious. This relation holds for Muslim as well as other religious and ethnic minorities. Ethnic school composition also moderates the relationship between migrant generation and religious salience: second generation migrants tend to be more religious in ethnic minority dominated schools. For ethnic Belgians the association is moderated by their religious affiliation: Catholics tend to be more religious, while non-affiliated ethnic Belgians are less religious in schools with a higher share of ethnic minority pupils.

Conflict and insecurity: A sociological perspective on perceptions of insecurity in conflict-affected Democratic Republic of Congo

This article focuses on insecurity perceptions in conflict-affected areas. The authors apply sociological theories on the determinants of perceived security risks and test hypotheses concerning theories on social and physical vulnerability, social disorder and social integration in the area where the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has operated. The study uses data from a survey conducted in 2013 in the territory of Faradje (Haut-Uele) and applies multilevel models to 443 individuals living within 21 different villages and internally displaced persons (IDP) camps. The results indicate that insecurity perceptions and fear of attacks are still widespread, causing individuals to adapt their behaviour and IDPs to refrain from returning home. These concerns are unaffected by social and physical vulnerabilities. The study finds a positive significant effect of the presence of IDPs in the villages and IDP camps on insecurity perceptions. This suggests possible effects of social disorder and a lack of social integration due to the arrival of IDPs in the area. Although improving the security situation itself is an important factor, this article shows that addressing insecurity perceptions might be an important factor as well.

The relation between religion and depression in Europe: The moderating role of the religious context

Previous research has found that religiosity is positively related to mental well-being. This study assesses whether the religious context moderates the relationship between individual levels of religiosity and depression in the religiously diverse European context. We apply multilevel models, examining 68,874 individuals in 29 European countries subdivided into 277 regions from the sixth (2012) and seventh (2014) wave of the European Social Survey. First, we found that religious service attendance is associated with fewer depressive feelings, but the opposite is true for frequency of prayer. Second, the results indicate that the association between religiosity and depression is moderated by the religious context. In less religious regions, depressive symptoms relate less to service attendance than in highly religious regions, while frequency of praying relates to more depressive symptoms in regions with lower levels of religiosity.