Who is more deserving of welfare in Portugal? Moral criteria and public perceptions

Authors

  • Ana Paula Caetano Universidade Lusófona — Faculdade de Ciências Económicas, Sociais e da Empresa (FCESE) Intrepid Lab, Porto, Portugal; Centro Lusíada de Investigação em Serviço Social e Intervenção Social (CLISSIS), Lisbon, Portugal
  • Lisete Mónico Universidade de Coimbra, Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação (FPCEUC), Centro de Investigação em Neuropsicologia e Intervenção Cognitivo-Comportamental (CINEICC), Coimbra, Portugal
  • Clara Cruz Santos Universidade de Coimbra, Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação (FPCEUC), Centro de Estudos Interdisciplinares do Século XX (CEIS20), Coimbra, Portugal

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7458/SPP202611144597

Keywords:

welfare deservingness, moral criteria, public perceptions, Portugal

Abstract

Public perceptions of welfare deservingness are central to welfare legitimacy. Drawing on the CARIN framework, this article examines how deservingness criteria are structured in Portugal, a Southern European welfare regime underrepresented in comparative research. Using survey data from 1056 adults, the CARIN scale was adapted to Portuguese and analysed through confirmatory factor analysis. Results supported the five-dimensional structure, with reciprocity and need receiving the strongest endorsement. Men and participants with lower educational attainment showed more restrictive deservingness orientations. These findings could contribute to comparative research on welfare legitimacy in Southern Europe.

Downloads

Published

2026-07-30

Issue

Articles in continuous publication

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Ana Paula Caetano, Lisete Mónico, Clara Cruz Santos

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish in this Journal must agree the following terms and conditions:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the Journal the right to first publication, while simultaneously agreeing to a Creative Commons Attribution License, which allows others to share their work on condition that they cite the original author(s) and recognise that the latter’s work was first published in this Journal.
  2. Authors are authorised to enter into additional contracts separately, for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work that is published in this Journal (e.g. publication in an institutional repository or as a book chapter), subject to recognition of initial publication in this Journal.