Revisiting the Religious Openness Hypothesis in a Migration Context: The Case of Muslims with a Turkish Migration Background in Germany

The religious openness hypothesis, which states that religious traditions have the potential to integrate faith with intellect, is examined in this study within a migration context for the first time. Based on two lines of research, our central question is whether the sociological context or the Islamic tradition per se explains the (in)compatibility of faith and intellect orientation and their relation to psychological openness. Religious openness, psychological openness (ambiguity tolerance and acculturation strategies) and religiosity were measured among Muslims with a Turkish migration background in Germany. Our findings show a non-significant relationship between faith and intellect orientation and we therefore propose that the secular context is the crucial explaining factor. Religious reflection also moderates the link between different forms of religiosity and ambiguity tolerance. Finally, heterogeneous religious rationalities were uncovered that challenge the negative view of Muslims as fanatic, closed-minded people which prevails among the German majority society.

Understanding Determinants of Pregnant Women’s Knowledge of Lifestyle-Related Risk Factors: A Cross-Sectional Study

Research indicates that a woman’s lifestyle during pregnancy influences her child’s health and development. Therefore, women need to possess sufficient knowledge regarding the elements of a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy. To date, there has been little research on the assessment of lifestyle knowledge of pregnant women in the perinatal healthcare setting. This study describes the development and application of a knowledge-based questionnaire for pregnancy to be used in a lifestyle intervention trial conducted in Germany. Within the trial, pregnant women receive counselling on lifestyle topics. These topics are based on the German initiative ‘Healthy Start—Young Family Network’ (GiL), which provides evidence-based recommendations regarding diet and lifestyle before and during pregnancy. These serve as a basis for health professionals who provide counselling on healthy lifestyle choices during the antenatal period. The questionnaire consists of eight items, each of which can be answered using ‘Yes’, ‘No’ or ‘Don’t know’. The pregnant women who completed the questionnaire at baseline around the twelfth week of gestation were recruited within the host trial from gynaecological practices in Germany. Demographic variables and the respondents’ answers to the questionnaire were analysed using descriptive statistics and regression analyses. Descriptive statistics show that more than 85% of participants answered the majority of questions (n = 5) correctly. Questions on whether tap water is safe and the normal range for gestational weight gain (GWG) were answered correctly by about 62% and 74% of the women, respectively, and the question on whether it is beneficial to obtain information on breastfeeding at an early stage was answered correctly by about 29%. The results of the regression analyses indicate that age, gestational week, education and income are positive predictors for answering the questionnaire correctly. Nullipara and migration background are predictors for answering the questions incorrectly. This study indicates that there are gaps in women’s knowledge regarding lifestyle during pregnancy. Particular focus on certain topics, such as breastfeeding and normal GWG ranges, is still required during counselling. Our analysis shows that migration background is a predictor of insufficient knowledge and incorrect answers to the questions. Women with such backgrounds require special attention during antenatal counselling in order to cater to their needs and the gaps in their knowledge.

Public Knowledge About Emergency Care—Results of a Population Survey From Germany

Background: Knowledge and beliefs about health and health care are part of the general concept of health literacy. Studies demonstrated that large parts of the population report inadequate health literacy. There are only few studies specifically addressing public knowledge and beliefs about emergency care. We examine magnitude and social variations of public knowledge about emergency care in Germany.Methods: Analyses make use of a telephone survey conducted in Hamburg, Germany. Random sample consisted of 1,207 adult respondents. We asked whether the respondents know various emergency care services. Moreover, capabilities of dealing with an emergency case were assessed. Sex, age, education, and migration background were introduced as predictors into regression models.Results: 98% of the respondents stated to know the rescue service, while 74% knew the medical on call service and 49% were aware of an emergency practice nearby. About 71% of the interviewees said it was easy for them to find out whom to turn to in a case of a medical emergency. Fewer respondents found it easy to evaluate when to use emergency medical services and to evaluate whether a health problem is a medical emergency. Knowledge and capabilities were positively associated with education and negatively related to migration background.Conclusions: This study indicates a lack of public knowledge about emergency care and social inequalities in public knowledge according to education and migration status. Findings suggest that interventions are needed to improve public knowledge and that considering social inequalities should be a basic principle for such interventions.

The link between multilingualism, language learning and open-mindedness in secondary school students in Norway

A positive link between open-mindedness and multilingualism suggested in intercultural psychology research (e.g., Dewaele & Botes, 2020; Korzilius et al., 2011; Dewaele & Oudenhoven, 2009) has also been implicitly assumed in Norway’s Core Curriculum (NDET, 2017) and in the curricula for English (NDET, 2019a) and Foreign Languages (NDET, 2019b). However, little empirical research has been conducted to explore how becoming multilingual, especially through learning foreign languages at school, can be connected to the development of students’ open-mindedness. The present study addresses this gap by exploring open-mindedness in lower secondary school students (n=593) learning one or two foreign languages in school. In addition, other factors related to students’ multilingualism, such as their multilingual identity, migration background, experience living abroad and having friends with home languages other than Norwegian, are also considered to better understand the complex relationship between open-mindedness and multilingualism in the school context. By analysing the data collected with the Ungspråk questionnaire (Haukås et al., 2021a), the study reveals no particular relationship between open-mindedness and students’ migration background and experience of living abroad. However, it indicates that open-mindedness is positively linked to L3 learning at school, multilingual identity and having friends who use other languages at home. These findings have significant pedagogical implications suggesting that promoting learning a second foreign language at lower secondary school, developing students’ self-identification as multilingual and encouraging the interaction with peers speaking further languages may contribute to the enhancement of open-mindedness among students. Keywords: open-mindedness, multilingualism, multilingual identity, foreign language learning, L2, L3

The Construction of national identity in Germany: "Migration Background" as a political and scientific category

Migration has far-reaching effects on the construction of national identity. It can lead to established concepts of national identity and societal affiliation being questioned. In this working paper, it will be demonstrated on the basis of the contemporary German situation that the recognition of Germany as an immigration society does not come along with an overall recognition of migrants as equal members of society. Indeed it is still not sufficient to possess German citizenship to be accepted as a full member of society. It can be proven, that the distinction between "ordinary Germans" and "Germans with migration background" plays an important role in designating allegedly different elements of society. The paper discusses how the social sciences are involved in the process, which makes this differentiation appear plausible and acceptable. Keywords: Germany, immigration, construction of a national identity, societal affiliation discrimination, social and scientific categories

Trends of overweight and obesity among preschool children from 2013 to 2018: A cross-sectional study in Rhine-Neckar County and the City of Heidelberg, Germany

BackgroundEarly childhood overweight and obesity is a growing public health concern worldwide. Few recent studies have addressed how time trends varied by sociodemographic characteristics at the regional level using large and high-quality data. This study aims to determine how time trends vary in the prevalence of early childhood overweight and obesity by age, gender, and migration background at the regional level.MethodsWe described the distribution change in the BMI with a Kernel-density curve, and evaluated the trends of overweight and obesity by age, gender, and migration background using logistic regression.ResultsMean BMI and the prevalence of overweight and obesity increased among preschool children aged 4-6 years in the Rhine-Neckar County and the City of Heidelberg. After adjusting for age, gender, and migration background, trends in the prevelance of overweight significantly increased only among male children in the age 5 year group with migration background (P < 0.05), and an upward trend of obesity was observed only among male children in the age 5 year group and female children in the age 6 year group with migration background (P < 0.05).ConclusionsBMI distribution as well as general prevalence of overweight and obesity are still increasing among preschool children. Children with migration backgrounds, particularly male children in the age 5 year groups and female children in the age 6 year group should be prioritized. More prevention policies should be targeted towards vulnerable groups.

Risk factors of loneliness across the life span

Although loneliness is typically associated with adolescence and old age, research has revealed that it is prevalent across the life span. The present study contributes to the loneliness literature by investigating a broad range of risk factors in a Dutch sample ( N = 52,341) ranging from late adolescence to old age using a cross-sectional survey administered by the regional public health services in the province of Limburg in the Netherlands. Risk factors associated with higher levels of self-reported loneliness across the life span were being male, lower education levels, inadequacy of financial resources, mental health, informal caregiving that is experienced as burdensome, and limited social contact or network type. In addition, in early adulthood, having a non-western migration background and having a physical disability were associated with higher levels of loneliness, whereas living alone, having a non-western migration background, and not having a paid job were risk factors of loneliness in middle adulthood. In late adulthood, living alone and having a physical disability were associated with loneliness. The present study demonstrates that different stages of life are associated with different vulnerability factors of loneliness. Hence, the prevention of loneliness might require different interventions in different age groups.

Muslim Community in the Atmosphere of Populism in Norway

In the European nations, there has been a lot of discussions and arguments regarding the community who have a ‘migration background’. Migrants nowadays are more capable of competing against local residents in terms of looking for better employment and participating in the political activities in European countries. Consequently, it creates fear within ‘mainstream’ society since it is presumably able to threaten their way of life. This interesting moment can benefit the populist political parties for gaining voices from the majority population. But, in the aftermath of 22/7 terror attacks in Norway, it also created tension between locals and those who are considered having a ‘migration background’. The people who have migration background, especially Muslim community, already has long history of migration to Norway. Therefore, the research question is how the Muslim community adapt to the situation of populism in Norway. By using historical literatures and research articles regarding the aftermath of 22/7 terror attack, it shows that the intersectional approach is useful to see the intermingled aspects of class, identity, religion, nationality, gender, and ethnicity of marginalised communities. These migrants now are facing multiple discriminations. Protests in the public sphere as a way of adapting to the atmosphere of populism are considered as their struggles for citizenship since the government seems to fail at managing multicultural society, especially advocating the minority groups. This kind of situation is common in the era of populism emerging in many countries targeting minority groups as political manoeuvre in order to gain voices among the ‘common’ society.