Saxonian longitudinal study - wave 31, 2019

The Saxonian longitudinal study is a social science longitudinal study. It was begun in 1987 and examines the change in political attitudes of young adults in the new federal states of the former East Germany. Since the 16th wave (2002), the topic of unemployment and health has been intensively studied. Another new focus is on questions of partnership and personality. The present study was conducted in 2019 and represents the 31st wave.<br>The Saxonian longitudinal study is a longitudinal study in the social sciences. It was begun in 1987 and surveys the change in political attitudes of young adults in the new federal states of the former East Germany over the unification of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Federal Republic of Germany. Since the 16th wave (2002), the subject of unemployment and health has been intensively surveyed. Another new focus is on questions of partnership and personality.

Topics: 1. Political attitudes, life in the GDR: satisfaction with the current living situation; opinion on the unification of GDR and FRG; more separations vs. more similarities between East and West Germans; estimated number of years until East and West Germans are aligned, until East and West Germans have grown together to form a real community, until the own income is 100% of the income in the West; feeling of being threatened by possible (renewed) own unemployment or of the partner), personal distress, increasing cost of living, deterioration in health, poverty in old age, increasing immigration of foreigners, expansion of international terrorism, military actions by the USA, spread of left-wing and right-wing radicalism, increase in crime, military actions by Russia, consequences of climate change, increase in Islamist terror in Germany and increase in aggressiveness and violence; satisfaction with the political system in the Federal Republic of Germany; satisfaction with the current economic system; satisfaction with democracy; confidence in the future for the respondent personally, for the parents, for their own children and for the development in East Germany; satisfaction with the opportunities for political influence, with income, with social development and with one´s own state of health; left-right self-assessment; party preference (Sunday question); assessment of life in the GDR; assessment of social development in East Germany as progress or regression; Socialism as a good idea that has been poorly implemented so far; support for the aims of the Patriotic Europeans against the Islamisation of the Occident (PEGIDA, LEGIDA); many West Germans treat East Germans as second-class Germans; in the present social system, everyone gets his share of the social prosperity; secure future in East Germany; glad to have experienced the GDR; glad that the GDR no longer exists; close political ties to the Federal Republic of Germany; preference for a reformed, humanistic socialism instead of the present political order; coping with the present social conditions; East Germans should take to the streets again to draw attention to the situation in the East; attitude towards foreigners in general; political interest; national pride; evaluation of personal experiences with the new social system; identity as a German, as a Saxon, as a European, as a citizen of the former GDR, as a citizen of the Federal Republic, as an East German, as a winner or as a loser of German unification; convinced of an unconditional basic income; level of an adequate basic income for an adult person (Euro); living in the GDR: Satisfaction with life as a whole in the GDR; satisfaction with democracy in the GDR´s political system; satisfaction with social policy in the former GDR; agreement with the statement; in the GDR there was actually everything one needed to live; frequency of purchases in exquisite shops; frequency of purchases in intershops; frequency of reception of selected television programmes (Ein Kessel Buntes, Wetten, dass. ..? Aktuelle Kamera, Tagesschau); relatives or friends who lived in the FRG; regularly receiving gifts or payments from relatives or friends in the FRG; own political involvement in the GDR; knowledge or feeling of having been observed by people in everyday life in the GDR; presumption or knowledge of having been denounced to the GDR authorities by someone; application for inspection of Stasi documents filed and inspected after reunification; extent of surveillance worse than expected; active contact by the Ministry for State Security; imprisoned for political reasons ( respondent, family members); participation in demonstrations by opposition movements in 1989/90; personal involvement or of family members in opposition movements; personal opinion in 1989/90 on the continued existence of the GDR; other opinion on this subject (open).

2. Work situation: time pressure due to high workload, frequent interruptions and disturbances, more and more work over the last few years, deserved recognition from the supervisor, poor promotion prospects, experienced or expected deterioration of the work situation, job endangered; adequate recognition for work performed, adequate personal opportunities in the job and adequate salary; attitude to work (easily get into time pressure, think of work problems when waking up, easy to stop work, sacrifice for the job, can´t let go of work, can´t sleep at night when I move things around)

Unemployment: own unemployment since reunification; frequency of unemployment overall; total duration of unemployment since reunification in months; unemployment since January 2018 (number of months); unemployment of partner since reunification; respondent himself/herself, his/her parents or the respondent himself/herself, his/her parents or children were or are affected by unemployment; commuting to work; distance between the place of work and the place of residence (number of kilometres); daily commuting; job security; worries about the job; strategy for unemployment and for finding work (e.g. adapting living conditions accordingly, acquiring new skills, trusting in inner strength, etc.) other - open); support received (Employment Agency/job centre, employment and reintegration programmes, psychosocial counselling services, former employers, other - open); assessment of this support as helpful; attitude towards unemployment (makes people afraid of the future, takes away their self-confidence, makes them ill, typical feature of the current social system, means loss of individual liberties, violates respect for human dignity, makes depressed, unemployment can be accustomed to over time, those who are really looking for work will find some, makes people poor, takes away joy of life, makes people doubt the social system); for me it is crucial that I can live in freedom vs. Freedom is of no use to me if I have no work.

3. Health: need for specialist advice due to psychological or social problems in the past twelve months; dental health: number of dental visits per year; ever cancelled or missed a dental appointment due to anxiety; Dental Anxiety Scale (dental phobia at an upcoming dental appointment, at the dentist in the waiting room, in the treatment chair during preparation of the drill and before tartar removal); frequency of daily tooth brushing; evaluation of the condition of the teeth; opinion on the ability to influence one´s own dental health; oral health-related quality of life: Difficulty in chewing due to dental problems, pain in the mouth, discomfort due to the appearance of the teeth or dentures, food tasting less good due to dental problems, problems in everyday life due to dental problems); psychovegetative anxiety reaction during dental treatment (tense muscles, faster breathing, sweating, nausea and stomach pain, faster heartbeat); depression tendencies (dejection, meaninglessness of life, helplessness and fear of the future); frequency of selected complaints (nervousness, stomach problems, insomnia, heart problems); self-assessment of health status; suicidal thoughts; frequency of impairment due to selected complaints in the last 2 weeks - depression tendencies, anxiety (nervousness, anxiety or tension, unable to stop or control worries, little interest or pleasure in one´s own activities, depression, melancholy or hopelessness); impairment caused by various complaints in the last 7 days (exhaustion, abdominal pain or digestive problems, back pain, palpitations, palpitations, fatigue, stomach pain, neck pain or shoulder pain, dizziness); frequency of alcohol consumption and amount of alcohol consumed per day; Frequency of drinking 6 or more glasses of alcohol on one occasion; smoking status; time of first cigarette after getting up; number of cigarettes per day; concerns of partner, parents or close relatives about alcohol or nicotine consumption; height in centimetres; body weight in kilograms; life satisfaction.

4. Personality: Sense of Coherence Scale (short scale SOC-3) (ability to act in an unfamiliar situation, life worth living, thoughts and feelings confused); self-assessment optimism; self-assessment pessimism; Oslo-3 Social Support Scale (number of close people with serious personal problems, interest and involvement of others, practical help from neighbours); spiritual and religious attitude: Prayer or meditation has helped to cope with illness, secure feeling that God exists, joy of contact with people who share one´s faith, in loneliness reliance on people who share one´s faith, life and death are determined by God´s plan, seek help from people who share one´s values); self-characterisation: important to stay interested, am determined, keep interest in many things, find something to laugh about more often, can look at a situation from several perspectives.

Demography: sex; age; current residence in East Germany, in West Germany or abroad; occupational status; marital status; living together with a partner; duration of the partner relationship; divorced; number of divorces; occupational status of the partner; amount of personal net income; net household income; household size; belief in God; denomination; children; number of children; number of own children in the household; age and sex of the youngest child; behaviour of the youngest child in the last 6 months (e.g. considerate, restless, overactive, often complains of headaches, stomach aches, nausea, shares with other children, often has tantrums, loners, etc.); grandchildren; number of grandchildren.

Additionally coded: ID; wave; type of survey; willingness to interview on topics of the study; willingness of children to interview; children may be contacted via the respondent; fee waiver in favour of the study; world view; GDR and FRG identification; unemployment grouped; SDQ-DEU (Hyperactivity, Behavioural Disorders, Peer Problems, Emotional Problems, Prosocial Behaviour); SDQ-DEU - Total Value Problem Behaviour; ERI (Effort Scale, Reward Scale, Overcommitment Scale, Reward -Esteem, Reward - Promotion, Reward -Security, Effort-Reward-Ratio); Dental Anxiety Scale; Dental Anxiety Scale classifications; OHIP- Oral Health Related Quality of Life; DFS- Psychovegetative Quality of Life; D-Score; G-Score; PHD Depressiveness, PHQ Anxiety; GBB- short (exhaustion, stomach problems, aching limbs, heart problems); GBB- short total complaint pressure; total Alk audit; alcohol audit categories (inconspicuous, conspicuous); body mass index; SOC-3 - sense of coherence, SOP - total value (mean value); Oslo-3-Social Support Scale; SBI-6-RD -Spiritual and religious attitude; RS-5 - Resilience - short version.