Effects of experienced injustice in unified Germany on well-being and mental health

Examines the effects of experienced injustice in unified Germany on well-being and mental health. These results are part of an ongoing, longitudinal study examining justice as a problem in reunified Germany (GiP) that began in January 1996. A total of three waves are planned, after 18 and after 36 months. In each wave, a total of five measurements (every two months) are collected dealing with the five domains of life: (1) work, employment, and labor; (2) financial situation and prosperity; (3) interpersonal situation; (4) housing and quality of city where one lives; and (5) environment and nature. Data analyses are based on a sample of more than 3,000 respondents and reveal that mental health can be predicted from the negative emotions anxiety, envy, and guilt, and from the positive emotion pride. Also, the appraisal that East-West differences in the quality of life are unjust has the strongest indirect effect on mental health, and this effect is mediated by the emotions anxiety and envy. Finally, the prospects of the longitudinal GiP project are discussed.