Does parenthood influence life satisfaction? Is there a gender divide in the "parental happiness gap"? How has the influence of parenthood on life satisfaction changed over time, and how is such change related to changing gendered parenthood norms? Together with Klaus Preisner and Julia Schaub from the University of Zurich, and with Franz Neuberger at the German Youth Institute in Munich, we were able to show how the maternal happiness gap has diminished and that this can be explained with changing normative expectations towards mothers and fathers.

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​Is living in a partnership an asset for maintaining cognitive health in age? How do partnership transitions affect memory and verbal fluency of elderly Europeans? Do men and women benefit to the same degree of living in a partnership? Through which mechanisms is the benefit of living in a partnership mediated: healthy lifestyle, social support or financial resources? And does the benefit vary between social contexts? Can more developed states buffer for not living in a partnership? Together with Anja Leist from the University of Luxembourg, I explore these questions based on SHARE data. We followed up on that question by looking at how gendered life courses - that is in the degree to which men and women participate in the labour market young adulthood and mid-life, and how they combine paid employment with unpaid work, such as looking after children or caring for someone with a health need - affect cognitive health in later life. Our study was published in the Europen Journal of Ageing. 

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What were the social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing containment measures for social networks and well-being? At the University of Konstanz, the Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality" started a comprehensive surveys program on COVID-19 and social inequalities. I was happy to be involved in the design of some of the modules on solidarity and social network changes. Together with my colleagues Sebastian Koos at the Universtity of Konstanz, Nevena Kulic from Pavia, Italy, and Susanne Strauss (also at the University of Konstanz), I published 2 working papers, two reports and four journal articles from that data.

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Following up on these collaborations, we established the CoPE Project (Covid-19 Policies for Gender Equality; https://www.exc.uni-konstanz.de/ungleichheit/forschung/projekte/covid-19-policies-for-gender-equality/). In this 3-year project we investigate interdisciplinariliy and internationally (using data from 5 countries and working with researchers at seven sites in four European countries) the gender differences in housework, childcare, paid employment, and their consequences for mental health and well-being. Out came three papers already published, and a number more still in the pipeline. What especially sets our work apart from many other papers is that we use harmonized longitudinal data based on representative samples (UKHLS, LISS, pairfam, Varhaiskasvatus, ITA.LI) to trace not only short-term changes due to the (strict) first lockdowns, but also medium and longer-term changes of these outcomes in the pandemic, including a pre-pandemic baseline for comparison.

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Finally, with Dr. Jason Settels from the Luxembourg Institut of Health (LIH), we investigated how changes in internet use were reflected in changes in mental health in older adults, stretching beyond the initial lockdown period. 

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Publications - by Projects: 

 

* Covid, Solidarity, Networks and Well-Being *

Bertogg, Ariane, Sebastian Koos. 2021. "Socio-economic position and local solidarity in times of crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of informal helping arrangements in Germany". Research in  Social Stratification and Mobility, 74(August 2021).

 

Bertogg, Ariane, and Sebastian Koos. 2023. The Making and Breaking of Social Ties During the Pandemic. Socio-Economic Position, Demographic Characteristics, and Changes in Social Networks. Frontiers in Sociology. Doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2022.837968
 

Bertogg, Ariane, and Sebastian Koos. 2022.  Who receives social support during the Covid-19 pandemic: Life course and pandemic-specific risks and social networks. Social Indicators Research, 163: 585–607. Doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11205-022-02890-0

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* Covid, Division of Labour and Well-Being (CoPE) *
Bertogg, Ariane, Nevena Kulic, Susanne Strauss. "Protected through Part-time Employment? Labor Market Status, Domestic Responsibilities, and the Life Satisfaction of German Women during the COVID-19 Pandemic Pandemic". Social Politics, online first. 

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Bertogg, Ariane, Dotti Sani, Giulia Maria, Zamberlan, Anna, and Bashevska, Marija. Housework and psychological distress during the COVID-19 crisis: A gender- and context-sensitive relationship? Acta Sociologica, online first:  https://doi.org/10.1177/00016993251320208

Dotti Sani, Giulia, Ariane Bertogg, Anna Zamberlan, Mara Yerkes and Janna Besamusca. To the Fifties and back again? A comparative analysis of changes in breadwinning arrangements during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in four European countries. Work, Employment and Society (forthcoming)
 

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* Covid, Internet Use and Mental Health in Older Adults *

Settels, Jason, and Ariane Bertogg.  Did internet use protect older adults’ mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic? It depends on their pre-pandemic social connectedness. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 18, 100659. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2025.100659

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* Cognitive Ageing *

Bertogg, Ariane, Anja Leist. “Partnership and Cognitive Aging in Europe: Mediating Factors and Social Stratification”. Journal of Gerontology, Series B: Social Sciences, 76(6), 1173–1185.

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Bertogg, Ariane, and Anja K. Leist. Gendered life courses and cognitive functioning in later life: the role of context-specific gender norms and lifetime employment. European Journal of Ageing. Doi: https://10.1007/s10433-023-00751-4

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* Parenthood and Well-Being *

Preisner, Klaus, Franz Neuberger, Ariane Bertogg, and Julia Schaub. “Closing the Happiness Gap. The Decline of Gendered Parenthood Norms and the Increase in Parental Life Satisfaction”. Gender & Society, 34(1): 31-55.

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Working and Policy Papers: ​

Busemeyer, Marius, Diehl, Claudia, Wöhler, Thomas, Bertogg, Ariane, Strauss, Susanne, Kulic, Nevena, and Wolter, Felix. Die Pandemie trifft nicht alle gleich. Policy Paper über strukturelle Ungleichheit und politisches Vertrauen in der Coronakrise. The Cluster of Excellence „The Politics of Inequality”. Policy Paper

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Bertogg, Ariane. Strauß, Susanne. “Geschlechterungleichheiten in Zeiten von Corona. Auswirkungen der Pandemie auf Hausarbeit, Kinderbetreuung und Lebenszufriedenheit” (Gender inequalities in times of Corona. Consequences of the pandemic for housework, childcare and life satisfaction). In_equality (Magazin des Exzellenzclusters “The Politics of Inequality”)

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Bellani, Luna, Bertogg, Ariane, Kulic, Nevena und Strauß, Susanne. “How information about inequality impacts support for school closure policies. Evidence from the pandemic”. The Cluster of Excellence „The Politics of Inequality”: Working Paper Series, No 11. Working Paper          

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Bertogg, Ariane, Lammi-Taskula, Johanna, und Van Gerven, Minna. „Short- and Longer-Term Changes in Housework and Childcare Across the Covid-19 Pandemic in Finland : Evidence from the ECEC ("Varhaiskasvatus") survey“. Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare THL. https://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-408-412-3

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