Skip Content
You are currently on the new version of our website. Access the old version .

Societies

Societies is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal on sociology, published monthly online by MDPI.

Quartile Ranking JCR - Q2 (Sociology)

All Articles (1,822)

Museums are cultural spaces that should promote accessibility and inclusion for all. However, accessibility is often interpreted as removing physical barriers, overlooking less visible obstacles—such as cognitive, sensory, and communicative challenges—that can profoundly shape the museum experience for people with intellectual disabilities. This paper presents an ethnographic case study conducted in the Veneto region of Italy, in collaboration with a group of individuals with Down Syndrome (DS), aiming to explore their lived experiences of a museum visit. Drawing on participant observation and in-depth interviews, the study examines how visitors with DS engage with the museum environment on behavioural and sensory levels. Findings reveal the impact of environmental stimuli, difficulties in navigating abstract or densely layered visual content, and the importance of embodied interaction with objects and spatial cues. Positive experiences emerged from relational engagement, guided facilitation, and the use of multi-sensory supports. The study underscores the need for museums to move beyond compensatory or charity-based models of accessibility, and instead adopt inclusive design principles that value neurodiversity and participatory co-creation. In doing so, this research contributes to the emerging discourse on how museums can become safe spaces for learning, dialogue, and self-expression for people with intellectual disabilities.

5 February 2026

Discussing the information sheet with part of the group.

This study aims to systematically evaluate the dynamic effects of rural–urban migration experiences during compulsory education on human capital accumulation in China from a life-course perspective, with a focus on both the short-term and long-term outcomes for migrant children and the spillover effects on left-behind children. From a life-course perspective, this study examines the nonlinear temporal effects of rural–urban migration experiences during compulsory education on the human capital accumulation of migrant children in China. Using a cohort of rural children recorded in the 2012 wave of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) and their follow-up information in the 2020 wave, an endogenous switching model is constructed for empirical analysis. The results show that: (1) Rural–urban migration during compulsory schooling has a negative short-term impact on the human capital accumulation of migrant children, while its long-term effects remain positive. (2) Social integration difficulties, reflected in declines in self-efficacy and social trust, constitute the negative mechanism, although this influence weakens as migration duration increases. In contrast, improvements in public education quality, enhanced family educational processes such as increased parental time investment, and gains in non-cognitive abilities including higher self-educational expectations and better mental health serve as the positive mechanisms. (3) Rural migrant children cause negative spillover effects concerning the human capital accumulation of left-behind children because the outflow of students reduces the educational accessibility of left-behind children through distance effects and lowers the quality of rural primary and secondary schools through scale effects.

3 February 2026

This article synthesizes the impact of parental financial socialization on an individual’s financial behavior. To better understand the role of parental financial socialization, 219 peer-reviewed articles from the Scopus database were analysed. A combination of bibliometric and thematic analysis was used, resulting in four major themes: (1) Mechanisms of parental and family financial socialization, (2) Financial outcomes from family financial socialization, (3) Psychological Mediators of Socialization Effects, and (4) Socio-Cultural and Institutional Contexts as Moderators. Findings of this study reveal that parental modeling, communication, psychology, socio-cultural, and institutional context are key mechanisms in the development of financial norms and competencies. The study also confirms the relevance of the Social Learning Theory, Family Systems Theory, Theory of Planned Behavior, Financial Capability Theory, and Life Course Perspective Theory. The contributions of this study include the development of a multi-level model that identifies family, psychological, and institutional determinants of financial behavior and proposes areas for future research in different cross-cultural contexts. From a practical perspective, this study highlights the importance of integrating the factors mentioned above into policy interventions by regulators and all stakeholders.

31 January 2026

Exploring the Link Between Religiosity and COVID-19 Vaccination Attitudes in Romania

  • Darie Cristea,
  • Dragoș-Georgian Ilie and
  • Irina Zamfirache

This study investigates the relationship between religiosity and attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination in Romania using nationally representative survey data from the Barometer of Religious Life (December 2021). Five survey items measuring religious beliefs and practices were used to construct a Religious Practice Index, whose reliability and one-dimensionality were confirmed through Cronbach’s Alpha and factor analysis. Correlation analysis revealed a small but statistically significant negative association between religiosity and vaccination acceptance (r = −0.106, p = 0.001). Binary logistic regression further indicated that higher religiosity, younger age, lower income, and rural residence were significant predictors of reduced vaccination likelihood, while older age, higher income, and urban residence were associated with greater acceptance. Nevertheless, the model explained only 9.3% of the variance and correctly classified 64.4% of cases, suggesting modest predictive power. These findings indicate that religiosity influences vaccination attitudes but does not serve as a dominant predictor, highlighting the importance of other additional factors that were beyond the scope of this analysis and were not measured.

30 January 2026

News & Conferences

Issues

Open for Submission

Editor's Choice

Get Alerted

Add your email address to receive forthcoming issues of this journal.

XFacebookLinkedIn
Societies - ISSN 2075-4698