International Social Survey Programme Research Articles

Religious Beliefs and Civil Rights: Comparative Analysis Through the Fuzzy Clustering ECO-Extended Apostle Model

This study utilises data from the International Social Survey Program (ISSP), Religion module of 2018, to provide a comparative analysis between attitudes towards civil rights (ATCR) and religious beliefs (RB) in thirty-three countries, examining the influence of religion and socio-demographic factors on both latent variables. The study measures ATCR and RB for each respondent using the Fuzzy Hybrid TOPSIS method. Subsequently, Fuzzy Clustering Analysis is applied to ACTR and RB to extend the Classical Apostle Model using a Fuzzy Clustering ECO-Extended Apostle model that categorises individuals into four groups: Religious Conservatives, Non-Religious Conservatives, Non-Religious Liberals, and Religious Liberals, based on their religious beliefs and support for civil rights. The results indicate that parents’ religion impacts both ATCR and RB. Those with atheist or agnostic parents tend to endorse civil rights more openly and are less religious. Additionally, religious event attendance is also a key determinant in shaping ATCR and RB. Furthermore, other sociodemographic factors such as age, gender, income, occupation, and political orientation also play crucial roles.

Attitudes Towards Filial Responsibility in 11 European Countries

This study examines how attitudes towards filial responsibility (AFR) have changed in 11 European countries between 2001 and 2017, based on data from the International Social Survey Programme. These countries include various types of welfare states and family traditions. The study also analyses the change in AFR according to the respondents’ gender and age. The findings indicate that in 2017, individuals reported lower filial responsibility than in 2001, with the exception of Great Britain, where the AFR increased. The most substantial decreases in AFR were observed in Hungary, France, Denmark, and Finland. This negative shift is visible in both genders and all age groups, particularly late middle-aged women. However, despite the varying intensity of AFR change, it was challenging to identify clear patterns in the variations between countries. These results highlight potential negative effects on political proposals for long-term care for older adults supported by younger generations.

Public attitudes towards government’s role in unemployment provision in three East Asian countries

ABSTRACT Public support for unemployment provision is essential to provide political legitimacy for welfare policy arrangements and yet it is understudied in East Asian welfare states. In contrast with the proposed unfavourable attitudes towards welfare among East Asian countries from the developmental/productivist perspectives, the study suggests socio-demographic and ideological differences in public attitudes towards the role of government in unemployment provision within and across Japan, (South) Korea, and Taiwan, which differ in welfare production regime and extent of labour market dualization. Data from the 2016 Role of Government V survey of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) was analysed. Findings revealed lower levels of public support for unemployment provision in large firm-oriented welfare production regimes like Japan and Korea, though in which labour market outsiders such as women, younger people, and unemployed workers were more supportive than their counterparts. Despite cross-national attitudinal differences, higher levels of support were consistently found in the lowest-income groups across three East Asian countries. The study provides new evidence of diverse patterns of welfare attitudes regarding unemployment provision in the East Asian welfare regimes. It also presents the need of (un)employment protection among labour market outsiders and low-income groups within these countries.

Drawing the line: public attitudes towards warranted and unwarranted government surveillance in European countries

AbstractThis article investigates public attitudes towards government surveillance for law enforcement and national security in different European countries, considering the broader context of citizens' security concerns. These concerns encompass crime within individual countries, potential terrorist attacks, activities of foreign agents, and even inter-state conflicts, such as the Russian Federation's military aggression against Ukraine. Using data from the International Social Survey Programme, we examine opinions about various types of government surveillance. Regression analysis is employed to determine which variables influence these opinions. Notably, there is a tangible hesitation among citizens regarding such surveillance, stemming from fears of privacy invasion and potential misuse of collected data. Our findings indicate greater support for government surveillance in Western and Nordic countries compared to post-Communist countries. Respondents with a comprehensive understanding of political issues and those advocating for government spending on security generally held a more positive view of government surveillance rights. On the other hand, perceptions of higher corruption were linked to negative views on surveillance.

Analysing mixed-mode effects of computer assisted telephone and personal interviews: A case study based on survey data from the international social survey programme module on environment

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, surveys often could not be conducted in originally planned face-to-face mode, and switched to online modes or used different mixed-mode designs. A combination of CATI and CAPI was used for the Austrian ISSP survey on Environment 2020/2021 (N=1.261), which in the past had always been conducted face-to-face. Mixed-mode surveys facilitate field access in pandemic times and show potential to reduce non-response and coverage errors (desired selection effect). However, the combination of different modes comes along with a series of risks such as mode-effects causing bias due to measurement effects. From an analytical perspective, the challenge arising is to disentangle selection and measurement effects. Thus, we analyse differences in the factorial structure and response distributions of two social constructs using Bayesian multigroup confirmatory factor analysis and linear regression. These represent institutional trust and the willingness to sacrifice for environmental protection. The findings show support for scalar invariance and therefore the absence of CAPI vs. CATI mode-effects on the factorial structure for both constructs. However, despite adjusting for differences in sample composition we observe a higher average willingness within the CATI sample. Based on these results, we discuss implications for the interpretation of mode effects in mixed mode surveys.

Gender equality as attitude or context: what matters for fertility ideals?

ABSTRACT The link between gender equality and fertility has been the topic of a growing literature. Using data from the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) of 2012 (n = 27,062 individuals, 39 countries), and applying multi-level modelling techniques, we explored the associations between individual gender egalitarian attitudes, societal gender equality and fertility ideals. The results show that individual gender egalitarianism is negatively associated with fertility ideals even across a broad set of countries from different regions. Additionally, we find that while societal gender equality is positively associated with fertility ideals, we also observe a small but statistically significant interaction effect between individual attitudes and societal gender equality. The cross-level interaction suggests that the negative fertility implications of individual egalitarian attitudes are amplified rather than mitigated in gender equal contexts. Thus, while the findings point to the potential importance of context and societal gender equality, they do not clearly confirm dominating theories. In future, the interplay between individual attitudes and societal support should be further explored in cross-country research, and more studies should include countries from the global South.

National unemployment rates and the meaning of work: a cross-level examination

ABSTRACT This paper examines how and why work meaning (i.e., what work signifies to an individual) is affected by a macroeconomic indicator: the national unemployment rate. We conducted three studies that explore how and why perceptions of work meaning are related to the unemployment rate of the country in which the work is embedded. Study 1 utilized cross-national data from the International Social Survey Programme and revealed that higher unemployment rates in a country were associated with employees placing less emphasis on the non-financial aspects of work meaning; Study 2 used data from the General Social Survey and found that during worse economic conditions, employees in the US tended to prioritize financial job meaning more. In Study 3, an experiment similarly found that individuals placed more emphasis on financial work meaning in the high unemployment condition compared to the control condition. It also identified the important mediating role of individual experience of uncertainty in explaining such relationships. This paper discusses how our findings contribute to better understandings of the societal-level antecedents of work meaning.

Work–family and family–work conflict and negative attitudes toward having children: A multilevel cross‐national analysis

AbstractThe relationship between work–family and family–work conflict and attitudes toward having children has been established; however, how it varies by different national cultural dimensions remains unclear. This study seeks to address this gap by examining the moderating effects of two cultural dimensions, individualism–collectivism and indulgence‐restraint, across a sample of 40 countries and regions. Data from the 2012 round of the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) are utilized, encompassing 30,613 participants (M = 43.33 years old; SD = 13.22). Multilevel modeling is employed to integrate individual‐level and country‐level factors and examine the cross‐level moderating effects. The findings demonstrate that both work–family conflict and family–work conflict are positively associated with negative attitudes toward having children. Moreover, these relationships between work–family and family–work conflicts and negative attitudes toward having children are more pronounced in individualistic societies compared with collectivist societies. Furthermore, these relationships are stronger in restrained societies as opposed to indulgent societies. These results underscore the significance of addressing work–family and family–work conflict both at the policy and practice levels and emphasize the need for considering cultural dimensions.

Does inequality make you angry?

Our study explores subjective inequality using two different measures. The first one is agreement with the statement that the gap between the rich and the poor is large. The second one is an emotional reaction to this gap in terms of intensity of anger. Using data from the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) for 2019, we show that these measures, though correlated, are not duplicates. The first finding is that respondents are more likely to state significant gaps than to admit a negative emotion related to this fact. The second finding is that these dimensions of subjective inequality are associated with different behavioral reactions. Agreeing that the income gaps are too large correlates with demand for redistribution more strongly than the anger does. As to being angry on the inequality, it is more strongly associated with perception of potential conflicts between the poor and the rich. In other words, even agreeing that income inequality is high many individuals do not internalize it and do not accept it as a problem that touches their emotional health.

Health systems in the COVID‐19 crises: Comparative patterns of NHS satisfaction and preferences for public health action in Scotland and England

AbstractIt is often claimed Scotland is more social democratic in outlook compared to England, if this is the case then we might expect to find differences in public attitudes towards health and social justice, reflecting the growing health policy divergence between the two nations. Comparative attitudes towards healthcare in Scotland and England are worthy of close scrutiny here, given the different reform trajectories, with the running of the Scottish NHS based on professionalism and the English NHS structure built on market‐based principles. The Scottish Government also implemented stricter lockdown restrictions compared to the UK Government in England. However, the extent to which the policy responses to the pandemic reflect different attitudes towards collective public health action in the two countries remains under‐researched. In this article, public attitudes towards health in Scotland are compared with those in England. The comparative analysis relies primarily on survey data from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) module on health and healthcare. This survey was fielded in Scotland and England in the autumn of 2021, during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Overall, Scotland is more solidaristic or ‘social democratic’ than England on key issues relating to public health action and social justice. The findings reveal some commonalities between the nations, confidence in the NHS during the pandemic, and a willingness to improve the health service via higher taxes for example, but also important differences in attitudes and preferences for state action exist that help set the scene for greater policy divergence in the UK.

Job satisfaction in the armed forces: Differences among ranks

Human resource management has attracted significant attention among researchers of public management. It is increasingly accepted that committed and satisfied employees are strategic resources in any organization. The idiosyncrasies of the armed forces and the professionalization processes they have undergone necessitate a study of the attitudes of military personnel towards work in the sector. This paper analyses the determinants of job satisfaction in the military. Three factors (“Work itself”, “Economic aspects” and “Personal relationships”) are identified based on data from the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP). Both the composition and the impact of these factors on job satisfaction vary according to the hierarchical rank of a worker. The findings confirm the importance of differentiated human resources policies that take into account the hierarchical diversity of the military. Our results provide new evidence and valuable practical information for human resource management in the armed forces. We provide policymakers and managers of the military sector with recommendations that allow them to reinforce the ability of the armed forces to attract, retain and motivate talent.

Inequality in different countries: dynamics of states and perception by the population over 20 years

The article highlights the relationship between the country’s well-being and their people’s perception of inequality in 1999, 2009 and 2019. The country’s well-being was measured using four indicators: GDP per capita, life expectancy, the average number of years of schooling and the Gini index (data taken from the United Nations, the World Bank and the Global Data Laboratory reports). The perception of inequality was measured using six indicators: the importance of coming from a wealthy family and knowing the right people to get ahead, differences in income perception, feeling of conflicts in society, approval of inequality in opportunities, as well as subjective social stratification (based on the III-V waves of the modules Social Inequality of The International Social Survey Programme, ISSP). The groups of the countries based on their well-being and the people’s perception of inequality were determined using multidimensional scaling. With its means, for each of the taken years (1999, 2009 and 2019) two-dimensional spaces in which the countries were located were constructed. A positive correlation between a country’s GDP level and life expectancy was reproduced in all observed periods. In contrast, depth of stratification was not significantly associated with any of the remaining indicators of welfare. Subjective stratification, as well as people’s ideas about how to get ahead, were determined by GDP per capita, but not by objective stratification. This one correlated with feelings of conflict and approval of unequal opportunities. Dimensions in decisions — both for the country’s well-being and for perception— were reproduced at all measurement points. At the same time, the composition of homogeneous groups of countries varied from one time interval to another. The most stable were the groupings of Scandinavian and island countries, whose levels of well-being and perceptions of inequality by the population were similar.

Do Men Care about Childcare? Women’s Relative Resources and Men’s Preferences for Work–Family Reconciliation Policies

Abstract Existing literature on the politics of work–family reconciliation policies focuses primarily on women and their policy preferences as the main driver of recent policy expansions. But what do we know about male preferences? This article explores this question in an innovative way by integrating insights from economic and sociological studies of division of labor and bargaining within the household. It investigates the link between women’s relative resources within the household and their male partners’ preferences for different types of reconciliation policies. Drawing on regression analysis of nineteen OECD countries using the International Social Survey Program data (Family and Changing Gender Roles IV), we find that: (1) men in dual-earner households, men in college-educated educational homogamy, and men in educational hypogamy (the woman is better educated) are more likely to support reconciliation policies; and (2) women’s earnings and education have different effects on men’s preferences.

The effect of political alignment on street‐level bureaucrat job satisfaction and motivation

AbstractThis paper examines how political alignment influences the job satisfaction and motivation of street‐level bureaucrats (SLBs)—low‐level frontline workers implementing policies while interacting directly with the public. I argue that political alignment affects SLBs' job satisfaction and motivation to work harder through three theoretical channels: (1) policy‐driven effects, particularly demoralization from implementing disagreeable policies; (2) spill‐over effects from other policy areas; and (3) political person‐organization fit effects, which result in decreased pride in their employer. Using the International Social Survey Program data from 34 countries, and panel data from the German Socio‐Economic Panel, tracking 880 respondents over 30 years, I find a robust link between political alignment and job satisfaction and motivation, and evidence for all three links. These findings underscore the importance of considering political alignment as a key factor in understanding and improving street‐level bureaucrat performance beyond policy‐specific and client‐specific contexts.

Гражданская и этническая идентичность россиян: роль ценностей в их формировании

Background. Person's civil and ethnic identity, which are components of social identity, develop during socialization under the influence of a number of factors. J. Berry identifies cultural, political, economic and historical factors as the basis for identity formation. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the study of the role of the cultural factor, namely the structure of values, in the formation of a positive civic and ethnic identity of Russians. Objectives. The purpose of this work is to study the structure of the ethnic and civic identity of Russians as well as the influence of individual values on their formation. Study Participants. The study was conducted with the participation of 1014 respondents, ethnic Russians, aged from 19 to 83 years (Mage = 41 years; SD = 13.04; 527 women and 487 men). Methods. J. Finney's MEIM-R methods were used to measure ethnic identity. S. Schwartz's PVQ-R value structure questionnaire was also applied. Civic identity was measured using the methodology from the International Social Survey Program, adapted into Russian by L.K. Grigoryan. Results. It was found that the civic identity of Russians as the individual’s awareness of belonging to the citizens of the country is more pronounced than ethnic identity. Nationalism is expressed more than the ideology of patriotism. The affective component of ethnic identity is more pronounced than the cognitive one. Among the surveyed respondents, the values of independence, security, reputation and benevolence prevail. The values of security, benevolence and universalism increase the level of civic identity in Russians. The key positive regressor in relation to both civic and ethnic identity is the value “Tradition”. Conclusions. Socially oriented values (preservation and self-overcoming) have a positive impact on the formation of positive civic and ethnic identity of Russians. The values of personal orientation (openness to change and self-affirmation) have a negative impact on their formation.

Conditions contributing to productive family-school cooperation aimed at developing civic iden-tity and patriotism in adolescents: With the main focus on representatives of indigenous small-numbered peoples (the Kumandins)

Introduction. The article examines the problem of productive cooperation between family and school aimed at the development of civic identity and patriotism in Kumandin adolescents as representatives of indigenous small-numbered people, taking into account their ethno-cultural characteristics. The purpose of this article is to identify the conditions enhancing productive cooperation between family and school in solving the problems of forming civic identity and patriotism in Kumandin adolescents. Materials and Methods. The methodological basis of this study includes scientific works by leading experts devoted to the formation of civic identity and patriotism. The empirical data were obtained in Altai Krai in 2023-2023. The study used ‘My Ethnicity’ sociological questionnaire, which enabled the authors to identify cognitive and affective aspects of adolescents’ ethnic identity. Using the scale of civic consciousness as patriotism and nationalism of the International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) allowed to assess constructive and non-constructive manifestations of adolescents’ civic identity. Also, the authors used D. J. Finney’s Ethnic Identity Scale for assessing adolescents’ ethnic identity. In order to identify factors determining the formation of civic identity and patriotism in Kumandin adolescents, a survey of school teachers was conducted and moral education curricula were analyzed. The study involved 90 Kumandin adolescents. Results. The article presents a theoretical analysis of approaches to the formation of civic identity and patriotism. The results of the study showed that the majority of Kumandin adolescents demonstrated a high level of ethnic identification. Based on research data obtained by means of D. J. Finney’s inventory, the authors identified high internal consistency in the manifestations of cognitive and emotional components of adolescents’ ethnic identity. The authors revealed significant features in the intensity of various components of civic and ethnic identity among Kumandin adolescents compared to representatives of other nationalities. In particular, statistically significant strong (d from 0.65 to 0.92) differences were found for all indicators of ethnic identity according to D. J. Finney’s method, with average values higher among Kumandin adolescents. At the same time, it has been found that Kumandin adolescents have a poor understanding of the culture and traditions of their ethnic group, practically do not speak the Kumandin language, and do not strive to demonstrate their belonging to the indigenous people. The study showed the need for schools to organize conditions for productive cooperation between family and school aimed at the formation of civil identity and patriotism in Kumandin adolescents: targeted and systematic educational work on studying Kumandin culture and preserving the language in classes attended by Kumandin students, involving the family as part of civic and patriotic education by means of social projects, engaging Kumandin teenagers to participate in civic and patriotic events related to their ethnic characteristics, developing recommendations for teacher. Conclusions. Based on the data obtained, the authors identified the conditions for productive cooperation between family and school aimed at developing civic identity and patriotism in Kumandin adolescents.

Ateistler ve Agnostikler Arasındaki Farklar: Çeşitli Tutumların Karşılaştırılması

Many studies show that there are different types of nonbelief. Some of them define atheism and agnosticism as two different types of nonbelief, while others see agnosticism as a form of atheism. This paper deals with the differences in attitudes of atheists and agnostics on various issues. In order to detect this difference, the dataset of “International Social Survey Programme: Religion IV (ZA7570_v2.1.0)” on religion and values was used. The data were downloaded from gesis.org and analyzed. Survey data were collected by GESIS (n=46267) from 33 countries between 2017 and 2020. The number of atheists and agnostics is 11759 (58.4% atheist). The two groups were compared in terms of demographics, attitudes towards religion, sexual attitudes, political preference, trust in science, and happiness. The results of the analysis show that atheists and agnostics have different attitudes on many issues and that atheists are more true believers than agnostics.

Threats for workers or opportunities for consumers? The impact of the Great Recession on perceived trade threat in 21 countries

Two competing perspectives have been offered to explain how the Great Recession (GR) impacted citizens’ perspectives on international trade. The citizens-as-workers perspective maintains that anti-trade attitudes increase during economic downturns because higher imports of foreign products pose a severe threat to workers’ job security, whereas the citizens-as-consumers perspective suggests that favorable attitudes toward international trade increase as imports provide better opportunities for cheaper consumer goods. In this article, we examine how the dual identities of citizens—as workers and consumers—play a role in shaping how the GR affects perceived trade threat. Using multilevel ordered logit models, we analyze responses from 19,982 respondents nested within 21 countries in the 2013 International Social Survey Program survey. We find that the GR exacerbated perceived trade threat. We also find that the GR intensified pro-trade attitudes in countries with fast-growing unemployment. The results suggest that anti-trade sentiments of citizens-as-workers were dominant after the GR, but pro-trade sentiments of citizens-as-consumers were also present as a countervailing force against a protectionist backlash.

The Impact of Network Status Resources on Health: Moderation by Cultural

The article is devoted to such a problem as the impact of social relations on people’s health. One of the directions in researching this issue is linked to analyzing social capital — network resources available to an individual to solve everyday problems. The conceptual basis of the research is the theory of positional network capital by N. Lin, according to which being acquainted to persons with high professional status provides an individual with access to resources that are vital for one’s health and improves its condition. Previous studies conducted in certain countries in different parts of the world generally confirm this theoretical assumption, but it remains unclear why the impact of social capital varies across countries and whether this is due to contextual factors of their socio-economic development and cultural characteristics. To clarify these issues, survey data from the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) 2017 for 30 countries and information (statistical and aggregated) about the differences between them were used. The results of verifying the theoretical ideas about the dependence of state of health on the network resources available to an individual demonstrated that status resources really play an important role in contributing to preserving one’s health. It was also shown that the impact of status and social capital on health depends on the cultural context and is more clearly manifested when trust in other people is widespread in society.

A Quarter Century of Change in Family and Gender-Role Attitudes in Hungary

Our study examines how attitudes towards family and gender roles have changed since the ultimate collapse of communism in Hungary. With respect to evaluating the effects of the regime change, it is important to note that Hungary is unique in having pre-transition measures on attitudes from the International Social Survey Program. In analyzing the nature of value shifts, an arithmetic method that decomposes the changes into population turnover and individual (period) components is used. According to the results, period effects fluctuated over the quarter of century, while the population turnover effects point continuously and clearly towards liberalization of family and gender-role attitudes. Since the period effects were usually stronger, they shaped the fluctuating nature of overall change. Namely, there is a clear trend towards re-traditionalization immediately following the regime change and liberalization thereafter, although there are also signs of continued support for traditional values. The series of repeated modules of the ISSP allowed us to examine a key premise of the Second Demographic Transition (SDT) theory in the case of Hungary. We concluded that the detected direction of the attitude change does not support the examined premise of the SDT.
 * This article belongs to a special issue on “Demographic Developments in Eastern and Western Europe Before and After the Transformation of Socialist Countries”.