Centre for Research on Discretion and Paternalism

The Centre for Research on Discretion and Paternalism is an international research centre at the University of Bergen, Norway. It addresses core themes in the social sciences by examining the government’s use of power toward its citizens and the justifications of state interventions into people’s lives. Important areas of empirical focus are child welfare and children’s rights.

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Affiliation

About the research centre

The Centre for Research on Discretion and Paternalism (DIPA) is an international research centre at the University of Bergen, Norway. It addresses core themes in the social sciences by examining how governments justify and exercise power toward citizens, and how discretionary decisions are made by public officials. A particular area of empirical focus is child welfare and children's rights.

The Centre is directed by Professor Marit Skivenes and is located at the Department of Government, University of Bergen. DIPA is connected to the Centre on Law and Social Transformation, the FAIR Center for Excellence at the Norwegian Business School, and the research group Law, Democracy and Welfare at Western Norway University of Applied Science.

Research at DIPA is comparative across nations, systems, and individuals. The Centre is interdisciplinary, bringing together researchers from across the world and from a wide range of disciplines, including political science, sociology, law, philosophy, psychology, and social work. Studies draw on multilevel data sources, including decision-makers, laws and regulations, court judgments, and citizens, and apply a variety of methods such as interviews, observation, text analysis, survey vignettes, and survey experiments.

DIPA currently leads two major international research projects. The first, Child Protection Systems Across the World, examines how child protection systems are organized and how decisions are made across a range of countries and contexts. The second, Children's Right to Participation, investigates how children's right to have a voice is understood and practiced within welfare state institutions. The Centre also co-leads a third project together with the law faculty, Protecting Child Rights and Public Safety, which explores the premises for integrating children's best interests with crime prevention. In addition, Centre researchers are engaged in a number of other projects spanning child welfare, social policy, court systems, and public opinion.

Beyond research, DIPA works actively to communicate research-based knowledge to broader audiences. Researchers regularly contribute to public debate through media appearances, lectures, seminars, and conferences. DIPA also contributes to the training of PhD and Master's students at the Department of Government, UiB.

More information on the dedicated centre website https://discretion.w.uib.no/

Projects

Publications

Publication 2024-2026

Kriz, K. & M. Skivenes. (2026). Child centric populations? A study of the Nordic culture on justifying child participation. Nordic Journal of Human rights.*
Helland, H. S. (2026). Adolescents Trust in the Child Welfare System: Does Institutional Contact and Performance Matter? https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.70163
Pratama, Z. & M. Skivenes. (2026). Religion and Continuity for Children in Care - An Examination of Public Views in 40 Countries. Social Science. 2026, 15(1), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci15010030
Ducarre, L. M., Skivenes, M., & Gröning, L. (2025). PROTECTing Children’s Rights Within Crime Prevention, the Nordic Countries at a Crossroad? Bergen Journal of Criminal Law & Criminal Justice.
Krutzinna, J. K. Luhamaa, T. Pösö & M. Skivenes. (2025). Child´s Future. 8 countries on newborn. Children & Society.
Helland, H.S (2025). Does age and maltreatment matter? A survey experiment of the Nordic populations’ attitudes towards participation. Child Abuse and Neglect, 162(1), 107077.doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2024.107077
Berrick, J. S. Gloppen, L. Margarido & M. Skivenes.( 2025). A global review of children’s visibility in constitutions. International Journal of Children´s Rights.*
Haarberg, Kriz, Løvlie, Skivenes. (2025). Balancing paternalism and child centrism: a Nordic population study on children's rights in child protection. European Journal of Social Work.* https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13691457.2025.2485383
Berrick, Burns, Pösö, Roscoe & Skivenes. (2025). Ask the children: Youth views about parenting, parental freedom, and child safety, in International Journal of Adolescence and Youth
Loen, M. & M. Skivenes (2025). The value of responsibility, certainty, and child rights for supporting state intervention in the family – an empirical study of populations in six European countries, Journal of European Social Policy,* https://doi.org/10.1177/09589287241311148
Loen, Mathea. 2025. “Norm adherence, trust, and citizens’ compliance: Exploring citizens’ attitudes to public welfare institutions across Europe.” Governance 38(3): 1-14. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/gove.70037
Berrick, J., Helland, H., & Skivenes, M. (2024). Public rights orientations and views on long-term care options for children in the child protection system: An analysis of representative samples of the populations of California, USA and Norway. Social Policy & Public Administration
Helland, H.S. (2024). Reconciling Children’s Best Interest and Right to be Heard. The International Journal of Children’s Rights, 32(1), 45-77. doi.org/10.1163/15718182-32010007
Haarberg, F. L. (2024). What do we know about children’s representation in child protection decisions? A scoping review. Children and Youth Services Review, 160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2024.107588
Hassan, B. (2024). Performance and trust in child protection systems: a comparative analysis of England and Norway. Journal of Social Policy

Publications 2021-2023

Ruiken, Barbara (2023) A tale of two cases–investigating reasoning in similar cases with different outcomes. European Journal of Social Work: 1-18.
Skivenes, M., Falch-Eriksen, A., & Hassan, B. (2023). Restricting family life - an examination of citizens’ views on state interventions and parental freedom in eight European countries. European Journal of Social Work, 27(3), 490–504. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2023.2227772 *
Berrick, J., Skivenes, M., & Roscoe, J. N. (2023). Public perceptions of child protection, children’s rights, and personal values: An assessment of two states. Children and Youth Service Review, 150, special issue "The Perspective of the Child in Child and Youth welfare", 106960. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2023.106960
Loen, M., & Skivenes, M. (2023). Legitimate child protection interventions and the dimension of confidence: A comparative analysis of the populous views in six European countries. Journal of Social Policy, Advance online publication, 1-20. DOI: 10.1017/S004727942300003X*
Løvlie, A. G. (2023). Experts and Migrants – a Survey Experiment on Public Acceptance of Violence and Child Protection Interventions. Children and Youth Services Review. 144.
Skivenes, M. & Benbenishty, R. (2022). Securing permanence for children in care – a cross-country analysis of citizen´s view on adoption versus foster care. Child & Family Social Work 28(2): 432-442.* DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12974
Juhasz, I. B. (2022) Asserting the right to care – Birth Parents’ arguments in newborn care orders. Journal of Social Work, Online Publication, 1-23.
Løvlie, A. G. (2022) Evidence in Norwegian child protection interventions – Analysing cases of familial violence. Child & Family Social Work. Early view, July 2022.
Braun, M. & Krutzinna, J. (2022) Digital twins and the ethics of health decision-making concerning children. Patterns, 3 (4) 100469: 1-7.
Krutzinna, J. (2022) Who is “The Child”? Best Interests and Individuality of Children in Discretionary Decision-Making. The International Journal of Children’s Rights, 30: 120-145.
Helland, H. S., Pedersen, S. H., & Skivenes, M (2022). Comparing population views on state responsibility for children in vulnerable situations – the role of institutional context and socio-demographic characteristics. Journal of Public Child Welfare. 17(3), 453–474. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15548732.2022.2051674
Skivenes, M., & Benbenishty, R. (2022). Populations trust in the child protection system: A cross-country comparison of nine high-income jurisdictions. Journal of European Social Policy 32(4) 422-435.* DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/09589287221088172
Berrick, J., Skivenes, M., & Roscoe, J. N. (2022). Parental Freedom in the Context of Risk to the Child: Citizens' views of child protection and the state in U.S. and Norway. Journal of Social Policy, 52(4): 864-885.* DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279421001021
Berrick, J., Skivenes, M., & Roscoe, J. N. (2022). Children’s rights and parents’ rights: Popular attitudes about when we privilege one over the other. International Journal of Social Welfare 31(4): 449-462. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ijsw.12523*
Kriz, K., Krutzinna, J., Pösö, T., & Skivenes, M. (2022). The Invisible Child: A Comparative Study of Newborn Removal Judgments from a Child Equality Perspective (CEP). International Journal of Children´s Rights 30(3): 644-674* DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/15718182-30030006
Skivenes, M. (2021). Exploring populations view on thresholds and reasons for child protection intervention – comparing England, Norway, Poland and Romania. European Journal of Social Work* 26(1): 92-107. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13691457.2021.1995706
Helland, H. S. (2021). Reasoning between Rules and Discretion: A Comparative Study of the Normative Platform for Best Interest Decision-Making on Adoption in England and Norway. International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 35(1). doi.org/10.1093/lawfam/ebab036
Helland, H. S. (2021). In the Best Interest of the Child? Justifying Decisions on Adoption from Care in the Norwegian Supreme Court. The International Journal of Children’s Rights, 29(3), 609-639. doi.org/10.1163/15718182-29030004
Løvlie, A., & Skivenes, M. (2021). Justifying interventions in Norwegian child protection: An analysis of violence in migrant and non-migrant families. Nordic Journal on Law and Society 4(2): 1-41. DOI: https://doi.org/10.36368/njolas.v4i02.178
Luhamaa, K., McEwan-Strand, A., Ruiken, B., Skivenes, M., & Wingens, F. (2021). Services and support to mothers and newborn babies in vulnerable situations. A study of eight European jurisdictions. Children and Youth Service Review 120: 105762. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105762
Burns, K., Helland, H., Križ, K., Segado, S., Skivenes, M., & Strömpl J. (2021). Corporal punishment and reporting to child protection authorities: An empirical study of population attitudes in five European countries. Children and Youth Service Review 120: 105749. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105749
Krutzinna, J., & Skivenes, M. (2021). Judging parental competence: A cross-country analysis of judicial decision makers’ written assessment of mothers’ parenting capacities in newborn removal cases. Child and Family Social Work 26(1): 50-60.* DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12788
Thoburn, J. (2021) Processes and determining factors when family court judgments are made in England about infants entering care at birth. Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 43(4): 455-466.
Baniamin, H. (2021) Variations in the Acceptance of Parental Corporal Punishment of Children: What Matters? Journal of Interpersonal Violence, July: 1-26.
Krutzinna, J. (2021). Breaking the cycle: Solidarity with care-leaver mothers. Journal of Diversity and Gender Studies, 7(2): 82-92.

Publications 2020 and older

Helland, H. S. (2020). Tipping the scales: The power of parental commitment in decisions on adoption from care. Children and Youth Services Review, 119. doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105693
Breen, C., Krutzinna, J., Luhamaa, K., & Skivenes, M. (2020). Family life for children in state care. An analysis of the European Court of Human Rights’ reasoning on adoption without consent. International Journal of Children´s Rights 28(4): 715-747.* DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/15718182-28040001
McEwan-Strand, A., & Skivenes, M. (2020). Children’s capacities and role in matters of great significance for them. An anlysis of the Norwegian County Boards’ decision-making in cases about adoption from care. International Journal of Children´s Rights 28(3): 632-665.* DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/15718182-02803006
Hestbæk, A., Höjer, I., Pösö, T., & Skivenes, M. (2020). Child Welfare Removal of infants: Exploring policies and principles for decision-making in Nordic countries. Children and Youth Service Review 108: 104572. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104572
Berrick, J., Dickens, J., Pösö, T., & Skivenes, M. (2020). Are child protection workers and judges in alignment with citizens when considering interventions into a family? A cross-country study of four jurisdictions. Children and Youth Service Review 108: 104562. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.104562
Helland, H. S., Pedersen, S. H., & Skivenes, M. (2020). Adopsjon eller offentlig omsorg? En studie av befolkningens syn på adopsjon som tiltak i barnevernet. (Adoption or public care? A study of the population´s view on adoptions from care.) Tidsskrift for Samfunnsforskning 61(2): 124-139. In Norwegian. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18261/issn.1504-291X-2020-02-02
Luhamaa, K. (2020). International Human-Rights Supervision Triggering Change in Child-Protection Systems? Juridica International, 29 (2020): 108-123.
Juhasz, I. B. (2020) Child welfare and future assessments – An analysis of discretionary decision-making in newborn removals in Norway. Children and Youth Services Review, 116 (2020) 105137: 1-10.
Krutzinna, J. & Skivenes, M. (2020). Judging parental competence: A cross-country analysis of judicial decision makers’ written assessment of mothers’ parenting capacities in newborn removal cases. Child & family social work, 26 (2021): 50-60.