Conference Agenda

The widespread usage of smartphones has made survey completion on mobile devices prevalent, emphasizing the importance of comprehending their influence on data quality. Nowadays, rare are the instructions for respondents to avoid using smartphones to complete the survey. Although earlier research implied that responses from mobile devices led to lower data quality, recent studies employing mobile-first survey designs challenge this perspective, suggesting that smartphone usage does not inherently compromise data quality.

This study adds to the evolving body of research by investigating smartphone survey completion in CRONOS-2, the ESS probability-based panel conducted across 12 European countries from November 2021 to March 2023. We examine response patterns over time and analyse demographic differences between smartphone and PC respondents, exploring how these insights can be leveraged for targeted respondent recruitment. Additionally, we delve into survey completion times and assess data quality indicators, such as item non-response and satisficing behaviours, drawing comparisons between PC and smartphone respondents.

In this study, we investigate potential differences in break-off rates between smartphone and PC respondents. This approach is grounded in previous research suggesting that smartphones might contribute to higher break-offs. If this proves to be the case, our objective is to pinpoint any problematic items that could contribute to such outcomes. The insights from our research aim to support survey researchers and practitioners in designing and executing high-quality online surveys in a mobile-centric world.

The continuing trends of de-standardization of the lifecourse, childbearing postponement, as well as the pluralization of family, partnership, and parental relationships and practices - with the increase of reconstituted families, lone parenthood, friendship co-parenting, polyamorous arrangements, medically assisted procreation, and gender fluidity – call for the study of the dynamics of continuity and change in peoples’ normative expectations on family and gender. Despite these changing trends have been affecting individuals and their families all around Europe, the specificities of each sociocultural and political context shape the paces and intensities in which social change is appropriated by individuals. Therefore, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive cross-national perspective on the attitudes towards family diversity among individuals living in three countries with different welfare-state arrangements and socio-historical backgrounds: Portugal, Finland, and the United Kingdom. We will draw on representative quantitative data from CRONOS 2, in particular, data from Wave 1 on welfare states and Wave 4 on family diversity. Findings show that there are both variations and commonalities in the attitudes to family diversity across the three countries, as well as a complexity of attitudinal profiles combining egalitarian and non-egalitarian attitudes. Also, we found country variations in the assessment of welfare-state arrangements. Finally, these attitudinal profiles across countries are shaped by cultural, structural, and biographical factors, as well as by the evaluation of welfare states’ policies. This paper is framed in the context of the NETREP Project - “Networks of Reproduction in the complex planetary future: Intimacy, companionship and family building in Finland, Portugal, and Scotland”, a comparative research project developed by a team of international researchers from the University of Eastern Finland, University of Edinburgh, and the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon (coordinated by Anna-Maija Castrén and funded by the Kone Foundation).

Social sciences have traditionally viewed societal development through a one-dimensional lens. In empirical research, Inglehart's theory of post-materialism, emphasizing values from survival to self-expression, and Welzel's theory of emancipation have garnered significant attention. Implicitly, these theories convey that the West is more advanced, with recommendations favoring the Western trajectory as the optimal global development path.

Recent years have seen a macro-psychological shift towards cultural sensitivity in understanding societal development. Acknowledging that development is not uniform but should align with each society's unique values and context, a gap remained in comprehensive cross-cultural evidence. The proposed presentation addresses this gap by sharing findings from a multi-laboratory study covering 60 countries, and from ESS CRONOS Panel. We assessed lay people's preferences for 31 societal development goals (15 in CRONOS Panel), revealing support for post-materialistic values across cultures. However, our study introduces a novel perspective challenging post-materialism theory, suggesting a two-dimensional understanding of societal development.

In the proposed presentation, we will pay substantial attention to presenting the concept of cultural sensitivity in societal development.

Several countries in Europe and in other parts of the world have established successful, high quality national web panels based on probability samples. However, most of them are focused on country-specific aims, not easily allowing for reliable comparative analysis. With the exception of CRONOS (the world’s first cross-national probability-based web panel), there are still few probability based, input harmonised cross-national panels that allow for a comparative analysis of different national populations.

Based upon the previous experience with CRONOS, the European Social Survey ERIC has tried to establish a cross-national probability-based web panel on a larger scale, involving 12 European countries (Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Finland, France, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, and UK). The paper will describe the process of building the panel and discuss the main challenges and results of the project focusing on the cross-national differences in the recruitment and response rates from the participating countries. The paper will then proceed to assess representativeness and sample composition. The web panel respondents will be compared to the ESS achieved face-to-face sample in each country to identify the main drivers of web survey participation. In addition, the achieved web samples will be compared to external benchmarks such as the census or other high quality national and comparative surveys to assess discrepancies and pinpoint the larger sources of bias in terms of representativeness.

Objective: In this communication we present findings from the Opinion Study in Portugal, carried out in the context of the 10th round of the European Social Survey, which offers the first comprehensive view on attitudes and behaviours of Portuguese towards digital health technologies (DHT) and its key determinants.

Methods: The study sample consisted of 403 individuals (58% Female, 42% Male) with 18 years old or above and with Internet access. Data was collected through online interviews carried between September and October 2022. Attitudes of interest included: ease of DHT use, importance attributed to DHT, distrust towards DHT, concerns about the quality of care, and preference for face-to-face or digital care. Behaviours of interest included: use of DHT in specific services in the last three months and adherence to health apps. To learn about the prevalence of attitudes and behaviours in the study sample, descriptive analyses were conducted. The relationship between attitudes and behaviours and sociodemographic variables was examined by means of multiple regression analyses.

Results: Attitudes towards DHT showed to be quite positive, although not in relation to all aspects considered. Namely, most respondents evaluated DHT as easy to use, important, and trustworthy (68%, 58% and 54%, respectively). There was also greater preference for digital care (45%) as compared to face-to-face care (23%). However, regarding the quality of care, more than half of the sample (57%) expressed concerns about the possibility of its reduction resulting from the DHT use. In relation to behaviours towards DHT, their prevalence was quite variable, being more expressive for the use of services included in the regular functioning of the health system, and less expressive for the use of apps on one’s own initiative. Namely, most respondents reported that, in the last three months, at least once, they had received an electronic prescription, visited the website of General Directorate of Health and/or made an appointment with a health professional via computer or mobile phone (79%, 66% and 51%, respectively). However, the participation in a consultation with a health professional using a digital device was mentioned by only 21% of respondents. Comparatively, the adherence to health apps was around 40% for managing medical prescriptions and scheduling and reminding health appointments, not exceeding 14% for checking and managing clinical symptoms or promoting health and well-being. Negative attitudes and less frequent behaviours were consistently associated with older age, lower level of education, lower level of health literacy, and lower income.

Discussion: This is the first study in Portugal that aims to understand the attitudes and behaviours of Portuguese towards DHT. The findings point to an overall favourable orientation towards DHT. They also show that the use of DHT in specific services and specific health apps are not yet very prevalent. However, these findings must be regarded with caution, as the study was conducted among Portuguese who have access to the Internet, possibly underestimating the perspectives of those for whom this access is limited. Further studies should address this gap.