Freiwilliges Engagement in der „Lebensphase Alter“. Eine kontrastierende Betrachtung von niedrig- und ­hochgebildeten Personen in der Altersgruppe 50+ mit dem Freiwilligensurvey 2014

2020 ◽  
Vol 69 (5) ◽  
pp. 349-374
Author(s):  
Frank Micheel

Zusammenfassung Aus der Literatur ist bekannt, dass der Zugang zum Freiwilligenbereich in der „Lebensphase Alter“ durch Bildungsnachteile systematisch erschwert wird. Dieser Beitrag diskutiert, welche Faktoren ein freiwilliges Engagement von älteren Niedriggebildeten begünstigen und wie stark sie im Vergleich zu Hochgebildeten wirken. Auf Basis des Freiwilligensurveys aus dem Jahr 2014 wird nach differenzierenden Merkmalen (demografische Merkmale, Ressourcen, persönliche Werte sowie kontextuelle Aspekte) zur Erklärung freiwilliger Aktivitäten innerhalb der beiden Bildungsgruppen untersucht. Aus den multivariaten Analysen lassen sich folgende politische Implikationen ableiten: Strukturelle Verbesserungen in der gesundheitlichen Versorgung, in den ostdeutschen Regionen sowie in der Stadt- und Sozialplanung erhöhen die Chancen für Niedriggebildete zur sozialen Teilhabe im Freiwilligenbereich. Auf der individuellen Ebene ist die Stärkung der wahrgenommenen Erwartungskompetenz ein vielversprechender Ansatz. Abstract: Volunteering in Old Age: A Comparison Between Low and Highly Educated Individuals Aged 50+ It is known from literature that access to volunteering in old age is systematically restricted by educational disadvantages. This article discusses which factors enable older people with low education to volunteering compared to highly educated people. Based on the German Survey on Volunteering from 2014, empirical investigations explore differentiated characteristics (demographics, resources, individual values and social aspects) explaining volunteering within both educational groups. The following political implications are derived from multivariate analyses: Structural improvements in the areas of healthcare provision, in Eastern Germany, as well as urban and social planning raise the odds for volunteering among the low educated. On the individual level, improving perceived self-efficacy is a promising approach.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Hoebel ◽  
Markus M Grabka ◽  
Carsten Schroeder ◽  
Sebastian Haller ◽  
Hannelore Neuhauser ◽  
...  

Background: Evidence on the relationship between socioeconomic position (SEP) and infections with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus is still limited as most of the available studies are ecological in nature. This is the first German nationwide study to examine differences in the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infections according to SEP at the individual level. Methods: The 'CORONA-MONITORING bundesweit' (RKI-SOEP) study is a seroepidemiological survey among a dynamic cohort of the German adult population (n=15,122; October 2020 to February 2021). Dried blood samples were tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and oral-nasal swabs for viral RNA. SEP was measured by education and income. Robust logistic regression was used to examine adjusted associations of SARS-CoV-2 infections with SEP. Results: 288 participants were seropositive, PCR-positive, or self-reported a previous laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. The adjusted odds of SARS-CoV-2 infection were 1.87-fold (95% confidence interval [CI]=1.06–3.29) higher among low-educated than highly educated adults. Evidence was weaker for income differences in infections (odds ratio=1.65; 95% CI=0.89–3.05). Highly educated adults had lower odds of undetected infection. Conclusions: The results indicate an increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in low-educated groups. To promote health equity in the pandemic and beyond, social determinants should be addressed more in infection protection and pandemic planning.


2021 ◽  
pp. jech-2021-217653
Author(s):  
Jens Hoebel ◽  
Markus M Grabka ◽  
Carsten Schröder ◽  
Sebastian Haller ◽  
Hannelore Neuhauser ◽  
...  

BackgroundEvidence on the relationship between socioeconomic position (SEP) and infections with SARS-CoV-2 is still limited as most of the available studies are ecological in nature. This is the first German nationwide study to examine differences in the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infections according to SEP at the individual level.MethodsThe ‘CORONA-MONITORING bundesweit’ (RKI-SOEP) study is a seroepidemiological survey among a dynamic cohort of the German adult population (n=15 122; October 2020–February 2021). Dried blood samples were tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and oral-nasal swabs for viral RNA. SEP was measured by education and income. Robust logistic regression was used to examine adjusted associations of SARS-CoV-2 infections with SEP.Results288 participants were seropositive, PCR positive or self-reported a previous laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. The adjusted odds of SARS-CoV-2 infection were 1.87-fold (95% CI 1.06 to 3.29) higher among low-educated than highly educated adults. Evidence was weaker for income differences in infections (OR=1.65; 95% CI 0.89 to 3.05). Highly educated adults had lower odds of undetected infection.ConclusionThe results indicate an increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection in low-educated groups. To promote health equity in the pandemic and beyond, social determinants should be addressed more in infection protection and pandemic planning.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002202212110447
Author(s):  
Plamen Akaliyski ◽  
Christian Welzel ◽  
Michael Harris Bond ◽  
Michael Minkov

Nations have been questioned as meaningful units for analyzing culture due to their allegedly limited variance-capturing power and large internal heterogeneity. Against this skepticism, we argue that culture is by definition a collective phenomenon and focusing on individual differences contradicts the very concept of culture. Through the “miracle of aggregation,” we can eliminate random noise and arbitrary variation at the individual level in order to distill the central cultural tendencies of nations. Accordingly, we depict national culture as a gravitational field that socializes individuals into the orbit of a nation’s central cultural tendency. Even though individuals are also exposed to other gravitational forces, subcultures in turn gravitate within the limited orbit of their national culture. Using data from the World Values Survey, we show that individual values cluster in concentric circles around their nation’s cultural gravity center. We reveal the miracle of aggregation by demonstrating that nations capture the bulk of the variation in the individuals’ cultural values once they are aggregated into lower-level territorial units such as towns and sub-national regions. We visualize the gravitational force of national cultures by plotting various intra-national groups from five large countries that form distinct national clusters. Contrary to many scholars’ intuitions, alternative social aggregates, such as ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups, as well as diverse socio-demographic categories, add negligible explained variance to that already captured by nations.


BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. e037318
Author(s):  
Jennifer Boyd ◽  
Brian McMillan ◽  
Katherine Easton ◽  
Brigitte Delaney ◽  
Caroline Mitchell

ObjectivesPrevious qualitative research investigating the experiences of women diagnosed with gestational diabetes (GD) has provided important insights into the development of behaviour change interventions. However, these studies often lack a theoretical underpinning. This study explored the use of the capability, opportunity, motivation and behaviour (COM-B) framework (which proposes that individuals need the capability, opportunity and motivation to perform a particular behaviour) to code and the socioecological model to contextualise participant responses to better inform intervention development.DesignQualitative semistructured interviews are using purposive sampling. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and coded using the COM-B framework. A socioecological approach was adopted to understand the context of intervention facets.SettingInterviews were conducted in a secondary care setting in South Yorkshire.ParticipantsTwenty-seven postnatal women with a previous diagnosis of GD were interviewed.ResultsApplying the COM-B framework to code participant, responses identified 16 key subthemes which reflected either: capability, opportunity or motivation components of the model. Four domains adapted from the socioecological model: individual, family life, community and healthcare provision; contextualised factors are important for these women in terms of behaviour change. Emotional response at the individual level was highly motivating or demotivating. Factors related to family life and community were particularly dominant and had the potential to either facilitate or impede change. We found many participants relied on healthcare provision during the prenatal and postnatal periods with timing and positive relationships being key to good care.ConclusionsOur study provides further insight into the factors crucial for behaviour change in women diagnosed with GD. By innovatively applying the COM-B framework in a socioecological context, it is clear intervention facets need to target microlevel through the macrolevel to engage this population in behaviour change. Future work should consider family-level intervention as this could allow for sustained behaviour change and consequently prevent the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melanie Channon ◽  
SARAH HARPER

The gap between achieved fertility and fertility ideals is notably higher in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) than elsewhere, relating to both under- and overachievement of fertility ideals. We consider the extent to which the relationship between fertility ideals and achieved fertility is mitigated by educational achievement. Further, we consider if the effect of education acts differently in SSA, and thereby hypothesise how increasing levels of education in SSA may decrease fertility.We use 227 Demographic and Health Surveys from 57 countries worldwide to look at population- and individual-level measures of achieving fertility ideals. Population level measures are used to assess whether the correspondence between fertility intentions and achievements differ by level of education. We then look at the individual-level determinants of both under- and overachieving fertility intentions. An average of 40% of women in SSA underachieve their stated fertility intentions compared to 26% in non-SSA countries. Furthermore, the educational gradient of underachievement is different in SSA where higher levels of education are not related to better correspondence between fertility intentions and achievements. We argue that the phenomenon of underachieving fertility ideals (or unrealized fertility) may be of particular importance for the ongoing fertility transition throughout SSA, especially for highly educated groups.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-149
Author(s):  
Rallou Thomopoulos ◽  
Nicolas Salliou ◽  
Carolina Abreu ◽  
Vincent Cohen ◽  
Timothée Fouqueray

A second nutrition transition seems to be emerging towards more plant-based diets, curbing meat consumption in developed countries at the beginning of the 21st century. This shift suggests that rational arguments tend to influence an increasing number of individuals to adopt vegetarian diets. This work aimed to understand and simulate the impact of different types of messages on the choice to change food diets at the individual level, and the impact of the diffusion of opinions at the collective level. It provided two results: (1) a network of arguments around vegetarian diets is modelled using an abstract argumentation approach. Each argument, formalized by a node, was connected with other arguments by arrows, thus formalizing relationships between arguments. This methodology made it possible to formalize an argument network about vegetarian diets and to identify the importance of health arguments compared to ethical or other types of arguments. This methodology also identified key arguments as a result of their high centrality in being challenged or challenging other arguments. The results of constructing this argument network suggested that any controversy surrounding vegetarian diets will be polarized around such high centrality arguments about health. Even though few ethical arguments appeared in our network, the health arguments concerning the necessity or not of animal products for humans were indirectly connected with ethical choices towards vegetarian diets; (2) an agent-based simulation of the social diffusion of opinions and practices concerning meat consumption is then introduced. The purpose of this simulation was to capture the balance of vegetarian vs. meat-based diets. It contributes to modelling consumer choices by exploring the balance between individual values and external influences such as social pressure, communication campaigns and sanitary, environmental or ethical crises.


Author(s):  
Bryn Rosenfeld

This chapter clarifies the variation in middle-class regime preferences and details the individual-level logic of state dependency. It discusses key concepts and descriptive data on the middle-classes and state economic engagement in the countries under study. It also captures the distinction between highly educated white-collar and professional strata versus less educated routine and manual laborers. The chapter provides a normative view of the middle-class as a carrier of democracy, as synonymous with the capital-owning bourgeoisie, and as an exclusively income-based category. It highlights the middle-class of educated professionals in modernization theory and its values-based variants, including the “middle sector” that emphasizes on members of a broad range of occupational groups between the working class and economic elite.


2019 ◽  
Vol 147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan E. Malosh ◽  
Grace A. Noppert ◽  
Jon Zelner ◽  
Emily T. Martin ◽  
Arnold S. Monto

AbstractSocial patterning of infectious diseases is increasingly recognised. Previous studies of social determinants of acute respiratory illness (ARI) have found that highly educated and lower income families experience more illnesses. Subjective social status (SSS) has also been linked to symptomatic ARI, but the association may be confounded by household composition. We examined SSS and ARI in the Household Influenza Vaccine Evaluation (HIVE) Study in 2014–2015. We used SSS as a marker of social disadvantage and created a workplace disadvantage score for working adults. We examined the association between these measures and ARI incidence using mixed-effects Poisson regression models with random intercepts to account for household clustering. In univariate analyses, mean ARI was higher among children <5 years old (P < 0.001), and females (P = 0.004) at the individual level. At the household level, mean ARI was higher for households with at least one child <5 years than for those without (P = 0.002). In adjusted models, individuals in the lowest tertile of SSS had borderline significantly higher rates of ARI than those in the highest tertile (incidence rate ratio (IRR) 1.34, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.98–1.92). Households in the lowest tertile of SSS had significantly higher ARI incidence in household-level models (IRR 1.46, 95% CI 1.05–2.03). We observed no association between workplace disadvantage and ARI. We detected an increase in the incidence of ARI for households with low SSS compared with those with high SSS, suggesting that socio-economic position has a meaningful impact on ARI incidence.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 460
Author(s):  
Beatriz Jordá ◽  
Azahara Cañedo ◽  
Márton Bene ◽  
Manuel Goyanes

Filtering strategies enable social media users to remove undesired content from their feeds, potentially creating homophilic environments. Although previous studies have addressed the individual-level factors and content features that influence these decisions, few have solely focused on users’ perceptions. Accordingly, this study applies social exchange theory to understand how users socially construct the process of unfriending. Based on 30 in-depth interviews with young Spaniards, we identify a widespread pattern of rejection over repetitive, opinion-challenging, and offensive posts, which we conceptualize as out-of-place content, a type of social media stimulus that hinders substantive online exchanges and challenges users’ understanding of social reality and individual values. This study contributes to current literature on unfriending by suggesting that filtering strategies are implemented gradually when posts overwhelm users’ tolerance threshold. Our findings also suggest that their deployment hinges on the closeness of the relationship between peers and social commitments formed in specific platforms. Future research is needed to assess to what extent the patterns identified in our interviews are present in the overall population.


Author(s):  
Ahmad Al Ajlan

Abstract Learning the German language plays a central role in the integration of refugees in Germany. However, older refugees in particular often face learning difficulties, hindering their efficient integration. Based on qualitative interviews with five low-educated older refugees, five highly educated older refugees and five language teachers, I find that the core of the problem is the meaning that policymakers ascribe to refugees as a homogeneous group and to the need to teach refugees the German language as a temporary phenomenon. Moreover, there is a contradiction in the meaning that the language teachers and the older refugees ascribe to old age. While the language teachers doubt the ability and the readiness of older refugees to learn due to the difficulties that they face, older refugees do not attribute a negative meaning to old age and they do not doubt their ability or their readiness to learn the German language.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document