Aart Liefbroer

Prof. Aart Liefbroer holds the endowed chair in Demography of Young Adulthood and Intergenerational Transmission at the Department of Sociology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He concurrently serves as Theme Leader for Families & Generations at NIDI-KNAW and Professor of Life Course Demography at the University Medical Centre Groningen. As National Coordinator, he oversees the European Social Survey (ESS) waves 10-11 and the Gender and Generations Programme (GGP).

His research focuses on demographic transitions in young adulthood, including cohabitation, marriage, parenthood, and union dissolution, with emphasis on socioeconomic determinants and health outcomes. Key grants include an ERC Advanced Grant (2013-2017) examining childhood disadvantage impacts, and NWO funding (2019-2023) studying union dissolution dynamics.

• Research highlights: Cross-national demographic behavior analysis, life course health trajectories, and intergenerational transmission mechanisms
• Recent work explores mental health disparities linked to physical activity, pandemic BMI changes, and socioeconomic loneliness correlates

Recipient of prestigious fellowships: KNAW membership (2011) and KHMW membership (2008). Leads interdisciplinary teams at NIDI-KNAW's Social Demography Department and the A-LAB research group. Supervised 10 PhD theses, contributing to demographic methodology innovations.