Individual change in rejection of equal opportunities for foreigners among adolescents and young adults in Switzerland: Testing realistic conflict theory from a dynamic perspective.

This study's objective is to test one of the key theoretical orientations in the literature on intergroup relations, realistic conflict theory, from a dynamic perspective. In this study, we focus on adolescents who are, according to the 'impressionable years'-hypothesis, most likely to change in their rejection of equal opportunities. Realistic conflict theory is applied in a dynamic way by taking into account economic characteristics related to the adolescent and the household. We employ Swiss panel data covering the period 1999-2017, containing information of both adolescents and the household they live in. Results demonstrate that there is relatively little variation within adolescents in rejection of equal opportunities for foreigners. Despite of using a broad range of characteristics related to adolescents' as well as the household's economic situation, the changes that do occur within individuals could hardly be explained by those economic changes. Socialisation theories on direct parental influences appeared to better explain changes in rejection of equal opportunities.

Assessing the 'Why' in Volunteering for Refugees: Exploring Volunteer Motivations.

This article addresses what motivations volunteers have for volunteering for refugees and whether these motivations differ from or complement motivations to volunteer in general, such as included in the widely used measurement instrument, the Volunteer Function Inventory (VFI). We organized eight focus groups with volunteers for refugees (N = 44) and interviewed five involved coordinators, all working in one city in the Netherlands. Results show that humanitarian concerns and social justice were highly relevant for people's motivations, next to volunteering to obtain or improve knowledge and skills. We find support for the earlier suggested extension of the VFI with the social justice motivation. Next, the current study expands existing analysis on volunteer motivations by identifying four areas that require further attention: (1) volunteers for refugees seek a meaningful role in life; (2) are motivated by the pragmatism of this volunteer work; (3) have emotional reasons; and (4) are motivated by media exposure.

Working class economic insecurity and voting for radical right and radical left parties.

The radical right's rise is widely assumed to go hand-in-hand with increasing economic insecurity, as manual workers are considered typical radical right voters. We question whether economic insecurity actually drives working class members to vote for radical parties, both right and left. Using European Social Survey data from 12 Western European countries (2002-2014), we tested whether less secure employment links to vote for such parties. We did this by distinguishing people in permanent employment from those in the same social class but not in permanent employment. Our outcome was surprising: whereas perceived job insecurity correlated with radical right voting, actual economic insecurity in terms of temporary employment was not associated with greater likelihood of voting for a radical right party among the working class. Instead, it was the radical left for which we found indications that it appealed more to groups of people in such an insecure economic position.

Changes in Self-Rated Health Right After Immigration: A Panel Study of Economic, Social, Cultural, and Emotional Explanations of Self-Rated Health Among Immigrants in the Netherlands.

Immigrants are often found to rate their health better than the native population does. It is, however, suggested that this healthy immigrant effect declines with an enduring length of stay. With Dutch panel data, we investigate which patterns in self-rated health can be found among immigrants shortly after their migration. We test to what extent economic, social, cultural and emotional explanations affect the changes that immigrants report in self-rated health. Based on a four-wave panel, our results support the immigrants' health decline hypothesis, since the self-rated health decreases in the first years after immigration to the Netherlands. The major change occurs between immigrants rating their health no longer as "very good," but as "good." Shortly after immigration, self-rated health is associated with being employed and a higher income. Hazardous work and physically heavy work decrease self-rated health. Notwithstanding these effects, social, cultural, and emotional explanations turn out to be stronger. A lack of Dutch friends, perceptions of discrimination, perceived cultural distance, and feelings of homesickness strongly affect self-rated health. Furthermore, in understanding changes in self-rated health, the effects of making contact with Dutch people and changes in the perception of discrimination are definitive. However, contact with Dutch people did not decrease and discrimination did not increase over time, making them ineligible as an explanation for overall health decrease. Only the small effect that first-borns have may count as a reason for decreased self-rated health, since many of the recent immigrants we followed started families in the first years after immigration. Our findings leave room for the coined "acculturation to an unhealthier lifestyle thesis," and we see promise in a stronger focus on the role of unmet expectations in the first years after immigration.

Participation in national celebrations and commemorations: The role of socialization and nationalism in the Dutch context.

National celebrations and commemorations are believed to increase national cohesion. It is unknown however who participates in these activities. In this contribution, we address to what extent socialization by the parents and school, and integration into religious intermediary groups affect participation in national celebrations and commemorations. With the strong reference to the relevance of the nation in national days, we also hypothesize about the association between nationalist attitudes and national day participation. We chose the Netherlands as test case, with its institutionalized national days to remember war victims, to celebrate freedom and to celebrate the Monarchy. Relying on a national survey (LISS; N = 4559), our findings show that the transmission of parental behaviours is crucial for taking part in national celebrations and commemorative events. Schooling and integration in religious groups only affect specific forms of national celebrations and commemorations. In line with US based research on flagging the Stars and Stripes, we find that national day participation in this European country is affected by patriotic attitudes rather than by chauvinistic attitudes.

Health and happiness among homosexual couples in Europe.

Data from five waves (2002-10) of the European Social Survey were examined to see the extent to which heterosexual and homosexual couples differ in their health and happiness. Homosexual people had lower levels of self-rated health and happiness. We suggest that those who experience discrimination are more strongly integrated in their gay community, which, in turn, may bring positive effects in terms of happiness due to a sense of belonging, but may be accompanied by the specific health risks associated with this community.