Mental health and life satisfaction in East and West Germany: Effects of generation and migration of citizens.

Objective: The reunification of Germany after the separation between 1949 and 1990 has offered a unique chance of studying the impact of socialization, political transformation, and migration on mental health. The purpose of this article was to compare mental distress, resources, and life satisfaction (1) between residents of East and West Germany and migrants who have fled from East to West Germany before reunification and (2) between three generations.

Methods: We assessed anxiety, depression, resilience, self-esteem, and life satisfaction, comparing groups based on their residency and migration, as well as three different birth cohorts.

Mental health and loneliness in the German general population during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to a representative pre-pandemic assessment.

During the pandemic, the extent of subsequent mental health strains is an important issue. A representative face-to-face survey was conducted to assess mental health consequences in the general population and to identify mental health risk factors. In a representative German sample (N = 2,503), we assessed depression and anxiety symptoms by the PHQ-4 and loneliness by a validated item.

Somatic symptoms in the Eastern and Western states of Germany 30 years after unification: Population-based survey analyses.

Background Following German reunification, physical health indicators in the formerly separated states (German Democratic Republic- East/ Federal Republic of Germany-West) have converged. However, it remains unclear how these societal changes have impacted somatic complaints, a major indicator of physical and mental health. Therefore, we investigated how somatic symptom reporting in men and women evolved regarding residency.

Somatic Symptoms in the German General Population from 1975 to 2013.

The study determines how burden and patterns of somatic symptom reporting developed over almost four decades in the general German population. Additionally, we studied how socio-demographic factors affected the degree of somatic symptoms. Population-based samples representative for West Germany between 18 and 60 years of age were analyzed comparing three cross-sectional samples of 1975 (N = 1601), 1994 (N = 1416), and 2013 (N = 1290) by conducting a three-way analysis of variance (sex, age, survey).

Correction to: Declining Sexual Activity and Desire in Women: Findings from Representative German Surveys 2005 and 2016.

As a result of a typesetting error, the number of participants in the study reported in this article was incorrectly stated in the article's Abstract as originally published.

Declining Sexual Activity and Desire in Women: Findings from Representative German Surveys 2005 and 2016.

We estimate (1) sexual activity and sexual desire in women living with and without a partner across the age range in Germany and (2) changes over 11 years. A representative survey of 1345 (response rate: 65%) women between 18 and 99 years from 2016 was compared to a survey of 1314 women age 18-91 from 2005 (response rate: 53%). Sexual activity was assessed as having been physically intimate with someone in the past year; frequency of sexual desire was rated for the past 4 weeks.

The association of adverse childhood experiences and of resilience with chronic noncancer pain in the German adult population - A cross-sectional survey.

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) might predispose to and resilience might protect against chronic noncancer pain (CNCP). We studied whether ACE are positively associated with CNCP, whether resilience was negatively associated with CNCP and whether resilience buffered a potential association of ACE with CNCP.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey (N = 2,425) representative for the adult German general population was conducted in 2013.

Declining Sexual Activity and Desire in Men-Findings From Representative German Surveys, 2005 and 2016.

Background: Surveys have indicated an increase of sexual activity in aging men; recently, however, a decrease of sexual activity has been reported in young men.

Aim: To assess (i) sexual activity and desire and their determinants across the age range in a population-based male sample and (ii) their changes over 11 years.

Methods: A representative survey of men (N = 1,095) 18 to 93 years old from 2016 was compared with a survey from 2005 (N = 1,106 men) with the same age range.

Emotion regulation strategies moderate the relationship of fatigue with depersonalization and derealization symptoms.

Background: The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationships of common emotion regulation strategies (suppression and reappraisal) to self-reported fatigue and depersonalization/derealization symptoms. Specifically, we tested the moderating effect of suppression and reappraisal on the link of fatigue with depersonalization and derealization symptoms. Opposite effects were expected for both emotion regulation strategies assuming that cognitive reappraisal has an adaptive buffering effect, while suppression intensifies the association of fatigue and depersonalization/derealization experiences.

Public Support for Weight-Related Antidiscrimination Laws and Policies.

Objective: Weight-related discrimination is prevalent and associated with health impairments for those who are targeted, which underscores the need of antidiscrimination legislation. This study is the first to examine public support of weight-related antidiscrimination laws or policies in Germany, compared to the US and Iceland.

Methods: In a representative German population sample (N = 2,513), public support for general and employment-specific weight-related antidiscrimination policies, weight-based victimization, and weight bias internalization were measured through established self-report questionnaires.

Childhood adversities and distress - The role of resilience in a representative sample.

While adverse childhood experiences have been shown to contribute to adverse health outcomes in adulthood, specifically distress and somatic symptoms, few studies have examined their joint effects with resilient coping style on adult adjustment. Hence, we aim to determine the association between resilient coping and distress in participants with and without reported childhood adversities. A representative German community sample (N = 2508) between 14-92 years (1334 women; 1174 men) was examined by the short form of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Brief Resilience Coping Scale, standardized scales of distress and somatoform symptoms.

Prevalence of self-reported jaw pain in Germany: two cross-sectional surveys of the general German population.

Objectives: This study evaluated the prevalence of jaw pain as a local, regional, or widespread pain condition and its association with psychosocial variables in a large representative group of the general population from all regions in Germany.

Methods: In two representative samples consisting of 2524 and 2515 subjects, respectively, the 7-day and 3-month pain prevalences were measured by using the Regional Pain Scale (RPS). Somatic symptom burden (somatization) and pain-related depression were assessed with the Patient Health Questionnaire and the Somatic Symptom Scale, respectively.

The German version of the Perceived Stress Scale - psychometric characteristics in a representative German community sample.

Background: The Perceived Stress Scale Cohen (J Health Soc Behav 24:385-96, 1983) is a widely and well-established self-report scale measuring perceived stress. However, the German version of the PSS-10 has not yet been validated. Thus, the purposes of this representative study were to psychometrically evaluate the PSS-10, and to provide norm values for the German population.

[The Quality of the Family Physician-Patient Relationship. Patient-Related Predictors in a Sample Representative for the German Population].

Background: Patient-centeredness and a strong working alliance are core elements of family medicine. Surveys in Germany showed that most people are satisfied with the quality of the family physician-patient relationship. However, factors that are responsible for the quality of the family physician-patient relationship remain unclear.

Family physician-patient relationship and frequent attendance of primary and specialist health care: Results from a German population-based cohort study.

Objective: To investigate the association between the quality of the family physician-patient relationship and frequent attendance of primary and specialist health care.

Methods: Cross-sectional survey of a representative German population sample (N=2.266).

Procrastination, Distress and Life Satisfaction across the Age Range - A German Representative Community Study.

Addressing the lack of population-based data the purpose of this representative study was to assess procrastination and its associations with distress and life satisfaction across the life span. A representative German community sample (1,350 women; 1,177 men) between the ages of 14 and 95 years was examined by the short form of the General Procrastination Scale (GPS-K; 1) and standardized scales of perceived stress, depression, anxiety, fatigue and life satisfaction. As hypothesized, procrastination was highest in the youngest cohort (14-29 years).

[Evaluation and Utilization - Quality Management in a Paediatric University Outpatient Department].

Background: Based on an increasing number of outpatient treatments, an extensive demand planning is necessary to ensure the quality of medical care. University outpatient clinics are special parts of this sector and therefore it is necessary that a research demonstrates the nearly uninvestigated position of a paediatric outpatient clinic.

Patients: The research at the university hospital for children and adolescents in Leipzig started in 2009 to survey 2283 of in total 9391 patients and the physicians.

Is It Attachment Style or Socio-Demography: Singlehood in a Representative Sample.

Since the percentage of single adults is steadily increasing, the reasons for this development have become a matter of growing interest. Hereby, an individual's attachment style may have a connection to the partnership status. In the following analysis, attachment style, gender, age, education, and income were compared in regard to the partnership status.

Do medical students like communication? Validation of the German CSAS (Communication Skills Attitude Scale).

Objectives: Attitudes towards communication skills of medical undergraduates can be gathered using the Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS). We aimed to develop a German version of the CSAS (CSAS-G) in order to explore attitudes towards communication skills in a German cohort. Additionally the potential influence of demographic factors was examined.

[Psychological distress, need for advice and utilization of professional help among students].

As a consequence of earlier investigations, which have demonstrated that 20-25% of the students report psychological distress, the knowledge of the need and the utilization of help resulting from psychological or social problems have to be improved. Data from 366 students were collected to determine the need for advice, the utilization of help and the occurrence of psychological symptoms (SCL-27) and interpersonal problems (IIP-C). Comparisons between students and the total population as well as between students with and without need for advice were made.

Prevalence of Chronic Disabling Noncancer Pain and Associated Demographic and Medical Variables: A Cross-Sectional Survey in the General German Population.

Objectives: In population surveys, up to 30% of participants reported chronic pain. Reports of chronic pain do not necessarily imply disability associated with pain. We assessed the prevalence of chronic disabling noncancer pain and associated demographic and medical variables in a sample of the general German population.

[Chronic pain, pain disease, and satisfaction of patients with pain treatment in Germany. Results of a representative population survey].

Background: There are only few data from representative samples of the general German population on the prevalence of a "pain disease" and on satisfaction with pain therapy of persons with chronic pain available.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey with people aged ≥ 14 years representative for the German population was conducted in 2013. Measures were obtained for presence of chronic pain (based on the definition of the International Association for the Study of Pain) and for "pain disease" by the presence of disabling pain in the Chronic Pain Grade Questionnaire and increased psychological distress in the Patient Health Questionnaire 4.

[Prevalence of disabling abdominal pain and menstrual cramp. Results from a representative survey of the general German population].

Background: There are no data available on the prevalence of disabling abdominal pain and menstrual cramp in adults in Germany.

Methods: Abdominal pain and menstrual cramp, additional somatic symptoms and depressive symptoms were assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaires (PHQ) 15 and 9 in persons ≥ 14 years from a sample representative of the general German population. The association of disabling abdominal and menstrual cramp with demographic and clinical variables was tested by logistic regression analyses.