Table 1_The impact of political marginalization in the former German Democratic Republic on satisfaction with life in a population-based sample.xlsx

BackgroundPolitical marginalization of people by state institutions is both a historical and a contemporary problem. In the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), there was considerable political repression by the state. The present study examines the influence of political marginalization in the GDR on later satisfaction with life and how this association is mediated by social support and anxiety.
MethodsData is analyzed from the cohort study of the Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases. The sample includes n = 230 adults who reported political marginalization in the GDR and a matched group of n = 230 adults who did not experience such marginalization. Participants self-reported on their current state of satisfaction with life, social support, and anxiety. Gender stratified mediation models were conducted using the R package lavaan.
ResultsThe study sample consisted of N = 460 participants (gender: n = 274, 59.6% women; age: mean = 59 years, standard deviation = 11.3). Generally, participants reporting political marginalization have higher levels of anxiety as well as lower satisfaction with life and social support. The mediation results show that for men, the relationship between political marginalization and satisfaction with life was mediated by anxiety symptoms, whereas this was not the case for women. Social support was not a mediator.
ConclusionPrevious findings on political persecution are replicated here. The mixed results are discussed in the light of gender differences in the ways in which men and women experienced marginalization as well as the different likelihood of being detained. Although no association with social support is found, we caution against over-interpreting this finding, as other studies clearly show the importance of social support.