All Data

Background: The YOURGROWTH research study is part of the YOURHEALTH project “Stress, health and integration of young refugees: discovering interrelations and improving access to healthcare”. The longitudinal study examined the developmental trajectories of young refugees aged 8 to 18 years after arrival in Germany.

Objectives: The aim of the research project was to identify risk factors associated with negative developmental trajectories and resources associated with favorable developmental trajectories.

Methods: Self-report questionnaires on risk factors, resources, and well-being were completed by children and adolescents (n one participation = 286, n two participations = 171, n three participations = 97) at three study sites in Germany at a total of three measurement time points approximately one year apart. In order to reach the largest possible number of individuals, convenience sampling was used.

Implications: This knowledge can be used to provide support tailored to the specific needs of young refugees.

The 50plushiv study is an explorative cross-sectional study on the living situation of older people with HIV and AIDS in Germany with (health) psychological and health science questions.

The study was realised as a standardised questionnaire survey with an online questionnaire and a paper-pencil questionnaire. The self-developed instrument used consists of established scales and indices as well as specially developed question (batteries). The instrument covers the following thematic areas:
– Information on the person and life situation
– Information on the HIV infection
– Coping with HIV infection
– HIV stigma and discrimination
– Life satisfaction and quality of life
– Concomitant diseases and other health parameters
– Sexuality
– Health behaviours
– Use of preventive services
– Social support and loneliness
– Aspects of medical care
– Hospitalisation and rehabilitation
– Support and support needs in everyday life
– Living in old age
– Worries

An ad hoc sample was realised with 907 HIV-positive participants who have reached the age of 50 and live in Germany.

Two cooperating projects ModuS-T (“Growing up with ModuS: Fit for the transition”) and Transition (“Promoting health care competence of adolescents with chronic diseases in the transition from paediatric to adult care systems”) have combined their data in this dataset. The target group were adolescents with chronic conditions aged 13-24 years (and their parents). The goal of both projects was to develop and test a chronic-generic education program to prepare adolescents for the transition. The ModuS-T project also developed modules for parents. The result was a 1.5-day workshop for young people and their parents, which was evaluated. The workshop is based on the principles of the modular training programme ModuS, that consists of disease-specific and generic modules and strengthens the empowerment of the participants. Further information on the projects and their results can be found in Ernst et al (2017), Menrath et al (2018) and Schmidt et al (2016).

Provides data of a representative survey which was conducted in Eastern and Western Germany for the standardization of the following questionnaires:

• Giessen-Test (GT; Beckmann, Brähler & Richter, 1991)
• Short Form of the Giessen Symptom Questionnaire (GBB-24; Brähler, Schumacher, Brähler, 2000)
• Questionnaire for the Assessment of Recalled Parental Rearing Behavior (FEE; Schumacher, Eisemann & Brähler, 1999)
• Life Satisfaction Questionnaire (FLZ; Fahrenberg, Myrtek, Wilk & Kreutel, 1986; Schumacher, Laubach & Brähler, 1995)

In addition, a modified version of the Mainz Coping Inventory (Krohne, Schumacher & Egloff, 1992) and the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP; Horowitz, Strauß & Kordy, 1994) were administered.
A total of 3,047 participants aged 14 to 92 years were surveyed, including 2,025 subjects from Western Germany and 1,022 subjects from Eastern Germany. Correlations between the scales and associations with sociodemographic characteristics and attitudes toward health or politics were examined.
The research data served as a base for several analyses, for example the impact of gender and age on health complaints, differences between individuals from Eastern and Western Germany, characteristics of subgroups such as persons aged 60-92 years or the unemployed (see „Publications Directly Related to the Dataset“).

New standardization data have been collected for the Giessen test and the Giessen Symptom Questionnaire in 2011 and 2008 (Spangenberg, L. & Brähler, E., 2011; Brähler, E., Hinz, A. & Scheer, J.W., 2008).

The authors of this questionnaire consider mood state to be the current mental state of an individual which can be differentiated from other mental properties and is characterized as follows (Steyer, Schwenkmezger, Notz, & Eid, 1997): Mood state is a current inner experience and inner perception of an individual (experientially represented) and not the individual's observable behavior. A mood state, as opposed to feelings, is not bound to specific objects (persons, things, events, institutions) or situations and is not tied to specific, experientially evident causes. Based on these criteria, mood states can be differentiated from attitudes, needs, and bodily sensations. In contrast to motives, mood states lack goals (intentionality) and, when compared with motives and personality characteristics, are less stable over time. The authors present a multidimensional concept of mood state. They do so based on the available evidence as well as their own exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (Eid, Notz, Steyer, & Schwenkmezger, 1994) of the bipolarity underlying mood dimensions. The present data, originating from the development of the Mehrdimensionalen Befindlichkeitsfragebogens (MDBF, Multidimensional Mood State Questionnaire), includes the mood state ratings of 503 subjects along with a variety of other information concerning situational and personal conditions. The questionnaire was presented 4 times at intervals of about 3 weeks. In addition to the primary data, scale scores for the MDBF are presented.

The hopelessness scale (H scale) is a German scale developed by Beck, Weissman, Lester, and Trexler (1974) which measures optimism vs. pessimism with regard to one’s life and one’s own person. The theoretical background of the H-scale is found in the cognitive theory of depression by Beck (1972) and Stotland’s (1969) instrumentally theoretical approach to hopelessness. Furthermore, the concept has references to the theory of learned helplessness and the formation of psychoanalytic theories (Krampen, 1979, 1982). Hopelessness can be understood as a complex expectancy-value-theoretical construct that, in addition to reduced competence and contingency expectations, includes changes in valuation of action and/or life goals (Krampen, 1994, p. 5). In this sense, Krampen organizes (1987) this construct at the level of relatively high generalized subjective valences and expectations within an action-theoretical partial model of personality (HPP, handlungstheoretisches Partialmodell der Persönlichkeit). Therefore, in addition to the questionnaire concerning perceived competence and locus of control (FKK, Fragebogen zu Kompetenz- und Kontrollüberzeugungen, Staples, 1991; see the description in PSYNDEX tests Doc.-No. 2361), there is now another action-theoretical personality diagnostic tool with which Krampen (1994) tried to replace purely descriptive personality psychology in the factor analytic tradition with a more theory-based psychodiagnostic tool. The method was originally developed in the context of research studying depression and suicidality by measuring the subjective well-being of healthy as well as mentally ill and physically ill and psychosomatically ill subjects (Krampen, 1979). The items particularly measure the quality of each subject’s future expectations in the sense of reduced personal goals. They relate to negative expectations about themselves, about their personal living environment, and their future lives. The measure is available in two parallel formats of the original standard version as well as a revised version: (1) Standard version H-S-scale with 20 alternative items to be answered (true/false), which is available in two parallel half-formats, each with 10 items (H-SA-scale, H-SB-scale), (2) Revised version of H-R-scale with 20 items to be answered in six steps (very wrong to very right), which is also available in two parallel forms with 10 items each (H-RA-scale, H-RB-scale). This dataset includes data from a representative sample of 2,051 German adults from the year 1990 which were used for standardization of the H-scale (Krampen, 1994). Along with the 20 items of the scale, a variety of socioeconomic variables were recorded.

The Freiburger Beschwerdenliste (FBL, Freiburg complaint list) is a questionnaire assessing physical symptoms/complaints in adolescents and adults (aged 16 years to old age). The current or situationally induced and chronic habitual physical complaints are structured by functional syndromes and organ systems. The sum value of the items is an index of physical complaint inclinations (tendency to complain).
The scales are: general condition, emotional reactivity, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, head-neck, tenseness, sensory, pain, motor, skin, and total score
The FBL was developed through the process of repeated item and factor analysis of an initial collection of 230 questions. It was then reduced to 78 items in 10 scales plus the total score. The analyses showed that the response to "frequency" or "intensity" of the complaints led largely to structurally equivalent solutions. This first version of the Freiburg complaint list was tested on a broad sample of 330 healthy subjects and patients as well as a relatively homogeneous group of 400 college students. The correlations with patient history and other clinical criteria have been described elsewhere (Fahrenberg, 1966, 1975, Hampel & Fahrenberg 1982).
In 1993, in collaboration with the Institut für Demoskopie Allensbach (IfD - Institute for Public Opinion Research), a representative survey (2,070 participants) was conducted to reconstruct, standardize, and verify the test methodology of the FBL (Fahrenberg, 1994). By means of cluster analysis and factor analysis, these statistical analyses confirmed 4 of the 10 scales in a satisfactory manner while a modified item selection was suggested for the other scales. The scale "tiredness" was newly formed, and the items of the "motor" scale were either reassigned to the "tenseness" scale or eliminated altogether. The 4 scales "cardiovascular", "gastrointestinal", "emotional reactivity", and "sensory" are identical in both versions. The revised FBL-R is methodologically superior to the existing FBL-G. The FBL-G will continue to be available in the original version with 10 scales and 78 items, to enable comparisons with earlier studies. The questionnaire contains 80 items, so that both the scale scores of the FBL-R and the FBL-G can be evaluated.
FBL-R is a revised version of the FBL, with 71 items in 9 scales: general condition (8 items), tiredness (7 items), cardiovascular complaints (8 items), gastrointestinal complaints (8 items), head-neck irritation syndrome (8 items), tenseness (8 items), emotional reactivity (8 items), pain (8 items), sensory (8 items), and total sum of complaints (of the 71 items).
The representative survey sample also provided, beyond the FBL data, sociodemographic and psychological data of interest. In addition to the block of 80 FBL items, the questionnaire contained questions addressing occupational stress, life satisfaction, risk factors, physician visits, medication, psychotherapy, etc.
The FBL-R can be used in personality research for the assessment of the individual inclination to complain as well as in the area of clinical psychological diagnostics: for screening, diagnostics, for indication and supervision in psychotherapy, rehabilitation, and health psychology, as well as in work and organizational psychology. Physical problems also affect general life satisfaction.

The Fragebogen zur Lebenszufriedenheit (FLZ, Life Satisfaction Questionnaire) was reconstructed and standardized on the basis of a 1994 survey of 2,870 residents (aged 14-92 years old) of the old and new German states (i.e., former West and East Germany, respectively). With a total of 70 items, the FLZ measures individual satisfaction in 10 areas of life: (1) health, (2) work and career, (3) financial situation, (4) recreation, (5) marriage and partnership, (6) relationship with own children, (7) own self, (8) sexuality, (9) friends, acquaintances, relatives, (10) housing. An index of global life satisfaction is formed from the scale values, but only the scale values 1, 3, 4, and 7 to 10 were summed up because relatively many people left the questions to the scales concerning work and career, marriage and partnership, and relationship to their own children unanswered. The values of the FLZ scales represent the individual evaluations of past and present living conditions and future prospects. Following the deductive differentiation in 10 areas, these were then demonstrated factor analytically in the self-assessments of the general population.
This standardized questionnaire makes it possible to capture individual satisfaction in 10 areas of life and then compare these with representative population norms. The FLZ can be used in clinical diagnosis and other tasks of psychological assessment to assess global and domain-specific life satisfaction. Life satisfaction can influence, among other things, experiences of illness, illness behavior, and rehabilitation processes.
The test manual (Fahrenberg, Myrtek, Schumacher, & Brähler, 2000) provides, following a theoretical overview of recent research findings, a detailed description of data collection, the construction of the scales, and further results. A survey conducted by the Unabhängigen Service für Umfragen, Methoden und Analysen Berlin (USUMA; the Independent Service for Survey Research and Methodology Berlin) assessed a number of sociodemographic and psychological variables, and the relationship between these variables and the FLZ was analyzed. In addition, the project consists of other questionnaires, the results of which are reported in the test manual and in other publications.
The final version of the life satisfaction questionnaire FLZ was a collaborative effort between the Psychophysiology Research Group, Institute of Psychology, University of Freiburg, and the Department of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University of Leipzig. This was preceded by a research project on the psychological and medical rehabilitation of cardiovascular patients (Fahrenberg, Myrtek, Wilk, & Kreutel, 1986). The broad empirical basis for reviewing the scale construction and standardization was first achieved with the 1994 survey sample (Brähler & Richter, 1995; Schumacher, Laubach, & Brähler, 1995; Schumacher, Wilz, & Brähler, 1997). In addition, the two scales measuring friends/acquaintances/relatives and housing were added (Schumacher et al., 1995).
The title of the FLZ questionnaire, chosen in 1986, has been retained for the publication of the other versions, although there are other questionnaires that exist with the same name (Henrich & Herschbach, 2000; Herschbach, 1999).
This record includes the normative data of the FLZ, but not data from the other survey measures.

The Munich “Longitudinal Study of the Genesis of Individual Competencies” (LOGIC) is a comprehensive examination of the differential description of developmental trajectories of cognitive skills and personality characteristics. It also describes individual differences in development due to the influence of varying school and classroom conditions. The changing state of the development of intelligence, psychomotor behavior, thinking, memory, school knowledge, motivation, personal characteristics, social skills and preferences, and moral reasoning and action were regularly reported. Beginning in 1984, 9 annual survey waves were carried out encompassing 3 points of measurement each. 205 children (aged 4 years and older) from 20 different kindergartens in Munich and from the Fürstenfeldbruck area were examined. In 1997-1998, a follow-up study (wave 10) was conducted with the now 18-year-old subjects. The most recent survey (wave 11) took place in 2003-2005. For this wave, 153 subjects (74.6%) of the initial sample could be obtained. The entire study thus extends over an age range from preschool age to young adulthood (Schneider & Bullock, 2009, Weinert & Schneider, 1999).

Verbal and non-verbal intelligence were assessed using intelligence tests at various points of measurement. In addition, logical thinking skills status was assessed using experimental methods. Insights pertaining to the following aspects were gained: (1) developmental changes pertaining to the different intellectual skills, (2) associations between psychometric intelligence measures and measures of thinking skills, (3) stability of individual differences, (4) importance of educational environment for the development of intelligence, (5) relevance of intelligence for the prognosis of school-related / academic success. Among other findings, it could be shown that in the early (pre-school) developmental phase, area-specific courses of development were mainly dominant, while at school age and later, general psychometric intelligence and logical thinking skills are much more strongly associated. For psychometric intelligence as well as for logical thinking skills, the differences in individual competency detected starting at school age remained roughly stable during the further course of development (Schneider, 2008). Subgroup analyses for children with initially high, medium or low IQs showed that stabilities were higher for children with low IQs when compared to children with high IQs (Schneider, Niklas & Schmiedeler, 2014). For most people, increase in skills took place during similar time spans and at a comparable rate. Educational influences only seemed to slightly affect differences in intellectual competencies registered early on. IQ plays a role in predicting the acquisition of written language and the development of mathematical competencies, but not to the degree often assumed (Schneider, 2008).

The Munich “Longitudinal Study of the Genesis of Individual Competencies” (LOGIC) is a comprehensive examination of the differential description of developmental trajectories of cognitive skills and personality characteristics. It also describes individual differences in development due to the influence of varying school and classroom conditions. The changing state of the development of intelligence, psychomotor behavior, thinking, memory, school knowledge, motivation, personal characteristics, social skills and preferences, and moral reasoning and action were regularly reported. Beginning in 1984, 9 annual survey waves were carried out encompassing 3 points of measurement each. 205 children (aged 4 years and older) from 20 different kindergartens in Munich and from the Fürstenfeldbruck area were examined. In 1997-1998, a follow-up study (wave 10) was conducted with the now 18-year-old subjects. The most recent survey (wave 11) took place in 2003-2005. For this wave, 153 subjects (74.6%) of the initial sample could be obtained. The entire study thus extends over an age range from preschool age to young adulthood (Schneider & Bullock, 2009, Weinert & Schneider, 1999).

The development of memory components was investigated at the ages of 4-12, 18, and 23 years. Main focus of the study was: (1) the development of memory capacity, (2) the development of strategic memory, (3) text memory, (4) autobiographical memory.
Results showed a slow and steady increase in memory capacity reaching its peak at the ages of 18 to 23 years. No linear increase could be demonstrated in memory strategy use, individual analyses rather showed qualitative leaps in the developmental course of strategic memory. The stability of interindividual differences across age was high. Intercorrelations among the memory components were of only moderate size at the start of the study and did not notably change over the course of the project (Knopf, Schneider, Sodian & Kolling, 2008, Schneider, Hasselhorn & Körkel, 2003, Sodian & Schneider, 1999).