scholarly journals Heterogeneity in Trajectories of Life Satisfaction After Reunification: The Role of Individual Resources and Life Stage in Former East Germany

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Wetzel ◽  
Jonathan Wörn ◽  
Bettina Hünteler ◽  
Karsten Hank
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
East Germany ◽  
Life Stage ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Health Resources ◽  
West Germany ◽  
German Population ◽  
Critical Life Events ◽  
Growth Mixture ◽  
Working Age

AbstractFor people living in the former East Germany, reunification with the former West Germany fundamentally transformed the sociopolitical system and most domains of everyday life. Previous research has revealed temporal shifts in average life satisfaction after reunification in the former East German population as a whole, but so far little is known about heterogeneity in patterns of adjustment within the population. Building on evidence of considerable diversity in trajectories of adjustment to other critical life events, in the current study we use longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study and growth mixture models to identify typical yet distinct trajectories of life satisfaction among former East Germans, covering the period just before reunification and four years thereafter. We identified four trajectories: continuously satisfied (experienced by 17% of the sample), upward adjusters (24%), downward adjusters (34%), and continuously dissatisfied (25%). Results of logistic regression analyses indicate that the propensity to follow a particular trajectory was strongly predicted by an individual’s baseline economic (employment, but not income), socio-relational (loneliness) and personal (education, satisfaction with health) resources. Whereas former East Germans with more resources just prior to reunification were more likely to maintain high or increase in life satisfaction, their peers with fewer resources were more apt to either maintain low or decrease in life satisfaction. People in their mid-twenties through mid-fifties (i.e., prime working age) at the time of reunification were also more likely to maintain low life satisfaction. Accordingly, reunification affected the unfolding of individual lives differently.

scholarly journals Salmon migration and fertility in East Germany – An analysis of birth dynamics around German reunification

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (3-2018) ◽  
pp. 247-268
Author(s):  
Michaela Kreyenfeld ◽  
Anja Vatterrott
Keyword(s):  
East Germany ◽  
Large Fraction ◽  
West Germany ◽  
German Population ◽  
German Reunification ◽  
Region Of Origin ◽  
Regional Mobility ◽  
Deutsche Rentenversicherung ◽  
East German

This paper uses rich administrative data from the Deutsche Rentenversicherung (German Pension Fund) to describe changes in the timing and the spacing of births that occurred in the period following German reunification. We examine differences in the birth dynamics of East Germans, West Germans, and women who migrated between the two parts of Germany in these years. As the pension registers provide monthly records on whether a person is living in East or West Germany, they also allow us to examine the role of regional mobility in birth behaviour. In particular, we test the “salmon hypothesis”, which suggests that migrants are likely to postpone having a child until after or around the time they return to their region of origin. Our investigation shows that a large fraction of the cohorts born in 1965-74 migrated to West Germany after reunification, but that around 50% of these migrants returned to East Germany before reaching age 40. The first birth risks of those who returned were elevated, which suggests that the salmon hypothesis explains the behaviour of a significant fraction of the East German population in the period following German reunification.

scholarly journals Changes in life satisfaction when losing one's spouse: individual differences in anticipation, reaction, adaptation and longevity in the German Socio-economic Panel Study (SOEP)

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 899-934 ◽  
Author(s):  
FRANK J. INFURNA ◽  
MAJA WIEST ◽  
DENIS GERSTORF ◽  
NILAM RAM ◽  
JÜRGEN SCHUPP ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Health Resources ◽  
Major Life Events ◽  
Major Life ◽  
Spousal Loss ◽  
Younger Age ◽  
Socio Demographic Factors

ABSTRACTLosing a spouse is among the most devastating events that may occur in people's lives. We use longitudinal data from 1,224 participants in the German Socio-economic Panel Study (SOEP) to examine (a) how life satisfaction changes with the experience of spousal loss; (b) whether socio-demographic factors and social and health resources moderate spousal loss-related changes in life satisfaction; and (c) whether extent of anticipation, reaction and adaptation to spousal loss are associated with mortality. Results reveal that life satisfaction shows anticipatory declines about two and a half years prior to (anticipation), steep declines in the months surrounding (reaction) and lower levels after spousal loss (adaptation). Older age was associated with steeper anticipatory declines, but less steep reactive declines. Additionally, younger age, better health, social participation and poorer partner health were associated with better adaptation. Higher pre-loss life satisfaction, less steep reactive declines and better adaptation were associated with longevity. The discussion focuses on the utility of examining the interrelatedness among anticipation, reaction and adaptation to further our understanding of change in life satisfaction in the context of major life events.

Terminal decline in well-being differs between residents in East Germany and West Germany

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Vogel ◽  
Denis Gerstorf ◽  
Nilam Ram ◽  
Jan Goebel ◽  
Gert G. Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Natural Experiment ◽  
East Germany ◽  
Late Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
West Germany ◽  
Individual Development ◽  
Age At Death ◽  
East And West Germany ◽  
East And West

Lifespan research has long been interested in how contexts shape individual development. Using the separation and later reunification of Germany as a kind of natural experiment we examine whether and how living and dying in the former East or West German context has differentially shaped late-life development of well-being. We apply multi-level growth models to annual reports of life satisfaction collected over 20+ years since German reunification from 4,159 deceased participants in the Socio-Economic Panel ( NWest= 3,079, Mage at death = 73.90, 47% women; NEast= 1,080, Mage at death = 72.23, 48% women). We examine differences between East and West Germany in levels, rates of change, and onset of terminal decline in well-being and the role of age at death, gender, education, disability and time spent in reunification. Analyses revealed that West Germans reported higher life satisfaction than East Germans, and that these differences get smaller both with passing time since reunification and in late life. The gap between East and West Germany diminishes over the last 10 years of life by more than 25%. Taking into account key individual characteristics only slightly attenuated this pattern, with education and age at death moderating late-life well-being level and decline in East Germany. Our results are consistent with long-standing notions that contextual factors shape individual development and illustrate the plasticity of human development. After having experienced disadvantages in life circumstances for up to 40 years through living in East Germany, effects of this natural experiment diminish considerably with passing time since reunification.

scholarly journals The Effects of Employment on Depression and Life Satisfaction Among Old-Aged Using the DD Method Combined With PSM

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 408-408
Author(s):  
Si Young Song ◽  
Hey Jung Jun ◽  
Sun Ah Lee
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Propensity Score ◽  
Propensity Score Matching ◽  
Multiple Regression ◽  
Propensity Scores ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Double Difference ◽  
Combined Model ◽  
Comparative Group ◽  
Experimental Group

Abstract The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of employment on depression and life satisfaction among old-aged. Using 12th (2017) wave and 13th (2018) wave of Korean Welfare Panel Study (KoWePS), three stages of analyses were conducted. First, through propensity score matching (PSM) method, sample with similar propensity scores was matched between the group that did not work in 12th wave but worked in 13th wave (experimental group, N=180), and the group that did not work in 12th and 13th wave (comparative group, N=180). Second, the matched sample was used to conduct multiple regression analysis with the group dummy variable (experimental group, comparative group) as an independent variable, and depression and life satisfaction as the dependent variables. Third, combined model of propensity score matching (PSM) and double difference (DD) method was conducted to more appropriately derive the net effect of employment. The results of multiple regression after propensity matching showed that employment had a positive effect on reducing depression (B= -1.70, p< .01) and increasing life satisfaction (B= .12, p< .01) in old-aged. Furthermore, in combined model of PSM and DD, life satisfaction was improved when employed compared to non-employed (B= .15, p< .05). The results of this study are meaningful in that the meaning of employment in old-aged is more clearly derived by solving selection bias and endogenous problems. Also, this study may provide reference for establishing welfare policies related to employment among old-aged.

Money Does Matter! Evidence from Increasing Real Income and Life Satisfaction in East Germany Following Reunification

2004 ◽  
Vol 94 (3) ◽  
pp. 730-740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Frijters ◽  
John P Haisken-Denew ◽  
Michael A Shields
Keyword(s):  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
East Germany ◽  
Real Income

SAT0455 Prevalence of behçet’s disease in south-west germany among the adult turkish and german population

2013 ◽  
Vol 71 (Suppl 3) ◽  
pp. 626.2-626
Author(s):  
F. Riewerts ◽  
J.C. Henes ◽  
C. Deuter ◽  
H.-M. Lorenz ◽  
F. Mackensen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Behçet’S Disease ◽  
Behcet’S Disease ◽  
Behçet's Disease ◽  
West Germany ◽  
German Population ◽  
Behcet's Disease ◽  
South West

scholarly journals Organizational Structure, Channels and Methods of Propaganda Work of the Soviet Military Administration in Germany, 1945–1949

2019 ◽  
pp. 205-221
Author(s):  
Roman Boldyrev ◽  
Jörg Morré
Keyword(s):  
East Germany ◽  
West Germany ◽  
Negative Image ◽  
Soviet Occupation ◽  
Military Administration ◽  
West Berlin ◽  
Low Efficiency ◽  
Soviet Occupation Zone ◽  
Total Welfare ◽  
The Ideal

Introduction. The paper deals with the issues of the propaganda system in the Soviet Occupation Zone in Germany (SOZ) between 1945 and 1949. Based on de-classified documents from Russian Archives propaganda organization, channels and methods of propaganda units of the Soviet Military Administration in Germany (SMAG) became a subject to study. The authors emphasize on control means towards German mass media and implementing the Soviet propaganda monopoly in East Germany. Methods and materials. The authors consequently analyze the main channels and methods of positive USSR image broadcasting: radio, press, SMAG propaganda unit lectures, people’s education system, activities of society for Soviet cultural studies, acquaintance trips of German delegations to the USSR, presentations of Soviet exhibitions and films. Analysis and Results. The authors come to a conclusion that the Soviet propaganda in East Germany had a low efficiency. It failed to establish a complete monopoly of Soviet propaganda units in East Germany. The SOZ population could access the propaganda from West Germany and West Berlin, which broadcast a radically negative image of the USSR. Besides, the units and institutions of the Group of Soviet Occupation Troops in Germany (GSOTG) created their own image of Soviet people, which was different from the ideal and broadcast one. Thus, it turned out to be impossible to provide the unification of the broadcast and perception of propagandist materials devoted to the USSR and its population. Soviet propaganda in Germany had gone through the transition by the late 1940s: division of Germany in two states appeared to be a reality, and the establishment of socialist society on Stalin’s model took place in East Germany. Ideological revisiting of the Soviet social constitution, and so its supremacy over the bourgeois one was to replace the conventional image of the country of total welfare and happiness.

scholarly journals Abstieg West durch Aufbau Ost?

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (135) ◽  
pp. 321-329
Author(s):  
Ulrich Busch
Keyword(s):  
Federal Government ◽  
East Germany ◽  
Living Conditions ◽  
West Germany ◽  
German Unification ◽  
The West ◽  
Economic Stagnation ◽  
The Eu

14 years after the German unification East Germany is one of the largest European problem areas. Loss of population, economic stagnation and the dependence on transfers from the West determine the situation. With the expansion of the EU, East Germany can become the German mezzogiorno. In this situation a group of experts demands radical measures form the federal government. But these measures will worsen the living conditions in East Germany, which are already very different to those in West Germany.

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