Fernández, J. J., Bedasheva, O., & Durban, M. (2026). Individual characteristics and European identity: a meta-analysis. Journal of European Public Policy, 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2026.2619001

Scholars and policymakers concur that widespread European identification is a prerequisite for European integration. The centrality of the we-feeling for this process has led to many studies exploring its individual-level determinants. However, the findings reported by previous studies are often inconsistent and literature reviews only cover a fraction of all works. To advance our understanding of this form of support for European integration, this article conducts the first meta-analysis of individual-level determinants of European identification. It synthesises the findings of 85 social science studies on affective or cognitive forms of identification with Europe. Inspired by the utilitarian, cognitive mobilisation, transnationalist and cultural-political accounts of this we-feeling, we assess the effects of 15 individual-level characteristics for which there are sufficient estimates. The findings underscore the multidimensional and multi-causal origins of European identification. Thirteen of the considered predictors have a robust association with this we-feeling. Individuals who have higher socioeconomic status (measured by five indicators), are engaged in transnational activities, are more engaged with politics, are left-of-center, trust the EU, live in urban settings and are attached to their country display more European identification than those without these characteristics. Also importantly, none of those factors have a disproportionately larger association.