Dr Hege HellandPostdoctoral Fellow at the University of Bergen, NorwayEmail: hege.helland@uib.noProfilePublicationsExpertiseProfileI am a researcher at the University of Bergen, Department of Administration and Organization Theory and the Centre for Research on Discretion and Paternalism. I have a PhD in political science and a background in sociology. My research is mostly socio-legal and often comparative. My interest are on child protection and children's rights, as well as on the exercise of state power and legitimacy of institutions.ResearchPublications Helland, H.S., Skivenes, M. & Pedersen, S.H. (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, DOI: 10.1080/15548732.2022.2051674 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). https://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. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718182-29030004 Burns, K., Helland, H. S., Križ, K., Sánchez-Cabezudo, S. 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 Services Review, 120, 105749. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105749 Helland, H. S. (2020). Tipping the scales: The power of parental commitment in decisions on adoption from care. Children and Youth Services Review, 119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105693 Helland, H. S., Pedersen, S. H., & Skivenes, M. (2020). Adopsjon eller offentlig omsorg? En studie av befolkningens syn på adopsjon som tiltak i barnevernet. Tidsskrift for samfunnsforskning, 61(02), 124–139. https://doi.org/10.18261/issn.1504-291X-2020-02-02 Helland, H. S., Križ, K., Sánchez-Cabezudo, S. S., & Skivenes, M. (2018). Are there population biases against migrant children? An experimental analysis of attitudes towards corporal punishment in Austria, Norway and Spain. Children and Youth Services Review, 85, 151–157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.12.012 Enroos, R., Stein Helland, H., Pösö, T., Skivenes, M., & Tonheim, M. (2017). The role and function of the spokesperson in care order proceedings: A cross-country study in Finland and Norway. Children and Youth Services Review, 74, 8–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.01.017 Book Chapters Helland, H.S., Križ, K. & Skivenes, M. In press. Children´s Involvement in Adoption Decision-Making. In Lowe, N. & Fenton-Glynn, C. (eds). Research Handbook on Adoption. Research Handbook in Family Law Series. Cheltenham/Northampton: Edward Elgar. Helland, H.S. & Skivenes, M. (2021). Adoptions from Care: Norway. Helland, H. S. & Nygård, S. H. (2021). Understanding Attachment in Decisions on Adoptions from Care in Norway. In Pösö, T., Skivenes, M. & Thoburn, J. Adoption from Care: International Perspectives on Children’s Rights, Family Preservation and State Intervention (pp. 139-156). Bristol: Policy Press. Helland, H. S. & Nygård, S. H. (2021). Understanding Attachment in Decisions on Adoptions from Care in Norway. In Pösö, T., Skivenes, M. & Thoburn, J. Adoption from Care: International Perspectives on Children’s Rights, Family Preservation and State Intervention (pp. 215-231). Bristol: Policy Press. ExpertiseChild protection (adoptions from care, decision-making, child protection systems) institutional trust and legitimacy, discretion, argumentation and justifications for coercion, children's rights, social movements and protest, experimental methods, comparative research, and population attitudes.