Jan Van Bavel’s research while affiliated with KU Leuven and other places

According to social policy literature, people utilize five criteria – Control, Attitude, Reciprocity, Identity, Need – to distinguish the deserving from the undeserving. Most studies rely on proxy variables rather than measuring deservingness criteria directly. We propose and validate a new instrument – the Migrant Deservingness Scale – that captures these criteria. We analyze data from an online survey in seven European countries, the U.S., and Colombia (N = 13,645) to test the scale’s dimensionality and validity. Findings indicate that all criteria can be captured with the scale, and that they are linked with host nationals’ sociodemographic characteristics and anti-migrant attitudes.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the link between parenting and parents’ perspectives on health-related decision making for adolescents. During adolescence, there is a gradual increase in responsibility and autonomy, which influences parenting behavior and child development. Understanding how parenting is associated with parents’ views on medical decision making is crucial in the context of the parent–child–physician triad. This study was the first to explore parenting and parents’ views on adolescent health care decision making. We compare Belgian and Dutch parents—two countries selected for their different legal frameworks on medical adolescent decision making. Method: An online questionnaire surveyed 984 Belgian and 992 Dutch parents (ages 35–55) with at least one child. Analytical methods included t tests, structural equation modeling, and latent profile analysis. Results: Parents considered adolescents to be competent decision makers at 16.7 years old. Dutch parents granted autonomy at younger ages than Belgian parents. Parents with high behavioral expectations granted autonomy to adolescents at higher ages, while those high in autonomy support and punishment granted autonomy at lower ages. When classifying parents into profiles, we distinguished four types: highly permissive, moderately permissive, moderately restrictive, and highly restrictive groups. The majority of the sample was classified into moderately and highly restrictive profiles. Conclusion: The study highlighted the importance of providing parents with education and support on adolescent development and autonomy. Parenting practices that encourage autonomy and support open communication between parents and adolescents may contribute to a more trusting and supportive parent–child context for adolescent medical decision making.

Over the past decades, many European welfare states failed to reduce poverty. We examine two coinciding trends: the inability to lower poverty rates, and the growth of immigrant populations. Immigrants have become the main contributor to population growth in Europe and have higher poverty risks than natives. This contribution quantifies to what extent national poverty rates were driven by population change. We present a Kitagawa-Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition of national poverty rates in 17 western European countries between 2005 and 2019 using EU-SILC data. The effect of shifting EU and non-EU immigrant populations on poverty rates is heterogeneous: while poverty in some countries increased substantially due to compositional changes, for the majority the effect was small or negligible, including in countries with above-average growth of foreign-born populations. Overall, in two-thirds of country-years changes in the population composition were not the main driver of national poverty rates.

Over the past decades, many European welfare states failed to reduce poverty. We examine two coinciding trends: the inability to lower poverty rates, and the growth of immigrant populations. Immigrants have become the main contributor to population growth in Europe and have higher poverty risks than natives. This contribution quantifies to what extent national poverty rates were driven by population change. We present a Kitagawa–Blinder–Oaxaca decomposition of national poverty rates in 17 western European countries between 2005 and 2019 using EU-SILC data. The effect of shifting EU and non-EU immigrant populations on poverty rates is heterogeneous: while poverty in some countries increased substantially due to compositional changes, for the majority the effect was small or negligible, including in countries with above-average growth of foreign-born populations. Overall, in two-thirds of country–years changes in the population composition were not the main driver of national poverty rates.

Research has shown that severity of depression increased in freshmen during their first months at university due to increased social and academic pressures. Since the start of the COVID‐19 pandemic, several cross‐sectional studies have suggested that levels of depression in university students are higher than before the pandemic, but longitudinal data are largely lacking. This study investigated severity of depression and negative affect linked to the pandemic among freshmen during their first semester at a large university in Flanders, Belgium. We also investigated whether epistemic trust predicted severity of depression and pandemic‐related negative affect and whether problems with reflective functioning (or mentalizing) mediated these relations. Participants in this two‐wave prospective study were 289 first‐year students of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of a large Belgian university. We conducted paired samples t‐tests and cross‐panel analysis to answer the research question. The number of students at risk of clinical depression increased by 41% between T1 (early October 2020) and T2 (late December 2020). Epistemic mistrust at T1 was prospectively associated with an increase in the prevalence and severity of depression at T2. Problems with mentalizing and negative COVID‐19‐related affect were positively associated with severity of depression at T2 and mediated the association between epistemic mistrust and severity of depression at T2. The findings highlight the key role of epistemic trust in the development of depression among freshmen, with the COVID‐19 pandemic presenting an additional source of uncertainty.

Although a large literature links mass sports events to elements of social capital arena-based sports with worldwide popularity like football, no studies have previously considered whether such associations can be found for sports that are specifically popular in particular regions. Here, we focus on cycling in Belgium. During the spring of each year, a unique type of one-day professional cycling race is organised in Belgium and France: cobblestone races (e.g. Tour of Flanders). These are very popular among the public in Flanders, Belgium because of their long history and current Belgian cyclists’ strong performances in them. We focus on a key element of social capital: trust in others. Using online survey data from a long-running study by the Flemish Government (N = 33,671), we analyse whether Belgian cyclists’ performances in and television ratings of cobblestone races are associated with various types of trust among the Flemish public. Results indicate that strong Belgian performances in cobblestone races are associated with greater neighbourhood trust, while high television ratings are also associated with greater trust. Some of these effects are moderated by age and gender. We discuss the implications of our findings and avenues of future research on the role of locally popular sports in the development of social capital.

Purpose: As children progress through adolescence, they become more independent and more responsible regarding their health. This shift in responsibility from the parents to the adolescent poses a challenge for healthcare professionals who must consider both parties. Pediatricians and other healthcare professionals may encounter problems regarding consent and confidentiality. This study aimed to investigate the opinions of Belgian parents of adolescents concerning cases about confidentiality in adolescent health problems. Methods: A qualitative methodology with semi-structured interviews and a case-based approach was chosen to answer our study aim. Belgian parents of adolescents were recruited voluntarily; 20 parents were interviewed. Parents’ opinions on four different cases regarding confidentiality were obtained. Interviews were audio- and video-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Independent coding of the transcripts was conducted. Results: Parents’ opinions differ considerably when asked if a physician has to maintain confidentiality toward the adolescent, depending on the content of the case. Opinions appear underpinned by three factors: trust, responsibility of the different parties, and the etiology of the problem. Discussion: This study shows that the nature, severity, and frequency of the medical issue at hand shape the opinions of parents toward patient confidentiality, on top of the trust and responsibility factors also highlighted in previous work. This is in contrast to the Belgian legislation, which focuses on maturity regardless of context.