SOEP Research: Subjective Well-Being, Personality, Health

Nearly every fifth person in Germany feels lonely some of the time

Loneliness in Germany: Low-Income Earners at Highest Risk of Loneliness

Loneliness poses a serious health risk: Along with negatively impacting life quality, it can even shorten the life span. This Weekly Report investigates loneliness in Germany using Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) data from 2021 on loneliness. The analyses highlight the prevalence of three facets of loneliness (aloneness, isolation, exclusion) as well as regional differences and high-risk groups. The results ...

Working Longer: The Effects of a Higher Retirement Age on Work-Related Health Investments During the Working Life

Health investments are vital for maintaining physical and mental well-being throughout working life, and their importance is amplified with rising retirement ages due to demographic aging. This is the first study to examine if a longer working life causally increases institutionalized health investments. We explore the impact of a German pension reform that raised the retirement age by three years...

Does Perceived Social Cohesion Moderate the Effect of Parental Stressors on Depressive Symptoms? A Longitudinal, Multi-Level Analysis Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background Perceived social cohesion (PSC) is a protective factor for mental health. Yet, evidence on social mechanisms influencing mental health is scarce. Aims We examined the moderating role of PSC between parental stressors and depressive symptoms before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We performed a multilevel moderated linear regression analysis using German Socio-Economic Panel ...

Perceived Climate Impacts and Environmental Action

This study explores the responsiveness of climate policy preferences and individual behaviors to variations in beliefs about climate change impacts. Using an information provision experiment embedded within the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we analyze how updated beliefs influence pro-environmental engagement and whether these effects persist over time. By linking experimental data with rich...

Mortality Inequality in Chile

This paper analyses trends in mortality inequality in 330 Chilean communes from 1990 to 2010 for different age groups and both genders. Chile had substantial inequalities in local-level mortality rates in 1990 but by 2010 these disparities had significantly decreased, especially among infants, children and the elderly. The only exception was Chilean men aged 20–39, for whom inequality in mortality ...

How Spousal Bereavement Shapes Life Satisfaction: Stability and Change Across Historical Time

Inventors‘ Personal Experience of Natural Disasters and Green Innovation

We show that inventors' personal experiences of natural disasters lead to increased green innovation through changes in their higher-order beliefs about consumer preferences. We match patent records of French and German inventors and a survey of inventive firms to detailed information on natural disasters. This allows us to exploit exogenous variation in inventors’ exposure to natural disasters....

Younger than ever? How adult development and aging have changed over the past decades

The talk provides a hopefully not too selective bird’s eye perspective on research revolving around the role of historical change for adult development and aging. Walking in the footsteps of Baltes and Smith, Gerstorf will first summarize the scientifically good news that over the past decades age and aging have become younger in a number of different areas of people’s behaviors and experiences....

The impact of heat exposure on the well-being of urban residents (with Felix Zwies)

Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of heat events. Understanding the impact of heat exposure is crucial due to its wide-ranging economic and social consequences, including increased energy demand, healthcare costs, reduced labor productivity, and exacerbation of social inequities in urban areas. In this context, the project's objective is to investigate the impact of heat...