Skip Navigation


International Journal of Public Opinion Research Advance Access originally published online on October 24, 2007
International Journal of Public Opinion Research 2007 19(4):451-473; doi:10.1093/ijpor/edm029
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
19/4/451    most recent
edm029v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (1)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Jaspers, E.
Right arrow Articles by de Graaf, N. D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The World Association for Public Opinion Research. All rights reserved.

‘Horrors of Holland’: Explaining Attitude Change Towards Euthanasia and Homosexuals in The Netherlands, 1970–1998

Eva Jaspers, Marcel Lubbers and Nan Dirk de Graaf

Address correspondence to Eva Jaspers, Department of Sociology, Radboud University, PO Box 9104, 6500 HE Nijmegen, The Netherlands, e.jaspers{at}maw.ru.nl

In this article, we investigate changes in public opinion in the Netherlands toward two controversial issues: homosexuals and euthanasia. We find that a rapid decrease in opposition to both issues in the seventies and early eighties was followed by a period of a stable minority opposition. We identify relevant period and cohort indicators to test which characteristics are associated with the changes in the attitudes. We collected period and cohort characteristics that are applicable to both of the attitudes, but specific attitude-related circumstantial conditions as well. For both attitudes, it turns out that the changing composition of Dutch society with regard to religiousness accounts for the largest changes in public opinion. Furthermore, we find that the influence of religion on both the attitude towards euthanasia and the attitude towards homosexuals became stronger over time, whereas the influence of educational attainment weakened over time.

Received for publication April 13, 2006. Accepted for publication April 23, 2007.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Eur Sociol RevHome page
E. Jaspers, M. Lubbers, and N. D. De Graaf
Measuring Once Twice: An Evaluation of Recalling Attitudes in Survey Research
Eur. Sociol. Rev., June 1, 2009; 25(3): 287 - 301.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.