PhD defences in the social sciences | Sociale Wetenschappen

Estrelle Thunnissen - The role of peer relationships in MSM health - 14/01/2026

This research investigates the role of peer relationships in promoting mental and sexual health among Men who have Sex with Men (MSM), a population disproportionately affected by stigma, minority stress, and social isolation. Drawing on mixed-methods research, it demonstrates that strong peer relationships provide emotional support and intimacy, reduce loneliness, and foster social norms that encourage HIV prevention practices.

The study examines the impact of pandemic-related shifts from in-person to remote communication on social support and loneliness, the impact of physical distancing on experiences of intimacy, and explores how social norms at multiple levels shape PrEP uptake. Additionally, it evaluates Web-based Respondent Driven Sampling (WEB RDS) as a method for recruiting hidden populations, identifying challenges such as survey fatigue and digital etiquette norms. Findings underscore the importance of leveraging peer relationships and addressing normative barriers to improve health interventions and health outcomes for MSM.

Practical information

Promovenda: Estrelle Thunnissen
Promotors: Prof. dr. Edwin Wouters & prof. dr. Veerle Buffel
Date: Wednesday 14 January 2026, 2 PM
Location: Stadscampus, Promotiezaal Klooster van de Grauwzusters (Lange St-Annastraat 7, 2000 Antwerp)
Language: English

The defence is followed by a reception; please confirm your attendance by January 12 by mailing estrelle.thunnissen@uantwerpen.be.

Jochem Vanagt - Beyond the Two-Party Divide: How Coalition Dynamics and Ideological Orientations Redefine Affective Polarization in Europe - 23/01/2026

On Friday 23 January 2026, Jochem Vanagt (Department of Political Science) cordially invites you to the public defence of his doctoral thesis

Beyond the Two-Party Divide: How Coalition Dynamics and Ideological Orientations Redefine Affective Polarization in Europe

Affective polarization, understood as the mutual dislike between opposing political groups, is widely viewed as a threat to democratic societies, but to what extent can we apply this U.S.-born concept to Europe's multiparty context?

This dissertation sets out to answer this question by examining which factors shape affective polarization and its consequences in Europe. Drawing on observational, longitudinal, and experimental data from 423,524 respondents across 20 democracies, I advance the argument that affective polarization and its consequences are heavily dependent on how political elites and citizens interact with three defining features of multiparty systems: coalition dynamics, the radical right, and ideological camps.

The first part of the dissertation focuses on how coalition dynamics and elite signaling shape partisan affect. It finds that elite cooperation reduces intergroup hostility only when perceived as successful and that mainstream accommodation of the radical right shifts rather than reduces political divisions. Moreover, when political elites re-ostracize a radical party, partisan animosity follows suit.

The second part of the dissertation centers on citizens themselves, highlighting the overlooked heterogeneity in political attitudes among the affectively polarized in European multiparty systems. First, most citizens in Europe do not identify with one single party, but are attached to broader ideological camps. Second, radical-right supporters are not one homogeneous block, with many still politically engaged and supportive of democracy. Finally, affective polarization in Europe often coexists with democratic support, which contradicts previous notions that affective polarization is inherently harmful to democracy.

Combined, these findings complicate U.S.-centric concerns about affective polarization. In multiparty systems, citizen identities and attitudes are highly heterogeneous and can move swiftly. Meanwhile, elites can redraw political fault lines with relative ease and seem to play a particularly decisive role in steering affective polarization toward democratic resilience or decay.

Practical information

Promovendus: Jochem Vanagt
Promotors: Prof. dr. Stefaan Walgrave & prof. dr. Ellen Claes (KULeuven)
Date: Friday 23 January 2026, 5 PM
Location: Promotiezaal, Naamsestraat 2, 3000 Leuven
Language: English

The defence is followed by a reception; please register before Friday 16 January via the online registration form.

Cristina Arhiliuc - Classification and characterization of research output from the social sciences and humanities based on textual metadata - 30/01/2026

On Friday 30 January 2026, Cristina Arhiliuc (ECOOM) cordially invites you to the public defence of her doctoral thesis

Classification and characterization of research output from the social sciences and humanities based on textual metadata

The classification of scientific research plays an important role in structuring the research landscape and in supporting the monitoring and evaluation of science. By assigning publications, journals, and organizations to disciplines, classification systems help make sense of an increasingly complex body of scholarly output. However, widely used international citation databases, such as Web of Science, are known to insufficiently cover the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH). To address these limitations, national bibliographic databases have been developed, including the Flemish Academic Bibliographic Database for the Social Sciences and Humanities (VABB-SHW). While these databases provide broader SSH coverage, they also face challenges related to limited citation metadata, multilingual publications, diverse output types, and incomplete textual information. These characteristics make traditional ways of positioning publications into disciplines impractical. Against this background, this dissertation explores whether recent developments in Natural Language Processing (NLP) can be used to support text-based, publication-level classification of SSH research. The research combines conceptual reflection on academic disciplines and classification with empirical studies of text-based approaches. These studies show that the performance of text-based classification methods depends on disciplinary characteristics, publication types, and the availability of training data. In its application to VABB-SHW, the dissertation examines how disciplines are defined and operationalized in the database and what the implications and limitations of these definitions are. It further explores the possibilities opened by publication-level classification for extending insights derived from the database and for complementing existing classification practices. Although a large part of the research focuses on this Flemish SSH database, many of the questions addressed and insights developed are relevant beyond this specific case, both for the study of text-based classification of science and for the development of other local and national SSH databases.

Practical information

Promovenda: Cristina Arhiliuc
Promotors: Prof. dr. Tim Engels & dr. Raf Guns
Date: Friday 30 January 2026, 10 AM
Location: Stadscampus, Promotiezaal Klooster van de Grauwzusters (Lange St-Annastraat 7, 2000 Antwerp)
Language: English

The defence is followed by a reception; please confirm your attendance by January 20 by mailing cristina.arhiliuc@uantwerpen.be.

Anna Willems - Ondersteboven: veranderende zorgperspectieven rond ouder wordende ouders - 10/02/2026

Op dinsdag 10 februari 2026 nodigt Anna Willems (Departement Sociologie) je van harte uit op de openbare verdediging van haar doctoraal proefschrift

Ondersteboven: veranderende zorgperspectieven rond ouder wordende ouders

Hoe verdelen we zorg en financiële steun in vergrijzende families? Wanneer ervaren volwassen kinderen, ouders en instellingen die steun als eerlijk, redelijk en wenselijk? Dit proefschrift onderzoekt hoe verwachtingen, motivaties en verantwoordelijkheden voor intergenerationele solidariteit worden gevormd. Daarnaast brengen we in kaart welke omstandigheden volwassen kinderen, ouder wordende ouders en institutionele actoren steun en financiële solidariteit als rechtvaardig en wenselijk beschouwen.

Dit onderzoek verfijnt de theorievorming over intergenerationele solidariteit door ouder-kindrelaties te benaderen vanuit een multi-actor – en levensloopperspectief. Hierbij hebben we oog voor de variëteit aan steunrelaties en - vormen binnen diverse gezinsdynamieken, deze ingebed in bredere netwerken en normatieve kaders. Daarbij gingen we verder dan het klassieke conflict-consensus denken: ambivalente gevoelens tonen niet een gebrek aan solidariteit, maar de complexiteit van steunrelaties en de nood om verschillende perspectieven samen te brengen.

Onze bevindingen tonen dat steunverwachtingen en motivaties verschillend zijn naargelang de levensfase, uitgesproken zorgnoden (in dit proefschrift hanteren we immers een brede definitie van oudere volwassen, inclusief zij met mogelijke toekomstige zorgnoden), familiegeschiedenis, emotionele nabijheid, genderpatronen en bredere netwerken zoals familie, buurt, lokale overheid en publieke of private diensten. Een van de groepen met een specifieke ondersteuningsnood zijn kwetsbare ouderen waar lokale OCMW ‘s financiële steun aan verlenen om woonzorgfacturen te betalen. Dit onderzoek toont hier de cruciale rol van maatschappelijke werkers in het navigeren en balanceren tussen wetgeving, lokale beleidsdiscours en de geleefde realiteit van de families.

Concluderend stellen we dat deze vele facetten van intergenerationele solidariteit bij ouder wordende families impliceren dat de ervaren verdeling van verantwoordelijkheden tussen families, professionals en de welvaarsstaat dynamisch en contextafhankelijk is.

Praktische informatie

Promovenda: Anna Willems
Promotoren: Prof. dr. Dimitri Mortelmans & dr. Anina Vercruyssen
Datum: dinsdag 10 februari 2026, 14u
Plaats: Stadscampus UAntwerpen, Promotiezaal van de Grauwzusters (Lange St-Annastraat 7, 2000 Antwerpen)
Taal: Nederlands

Na de verdediging volgt een receptie; graag je aanwezigheid bevestigen voor 30 januari 2026 per mail aan anna.willems@uantwerpen.be.