Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

How self-perceived job insecurity affects health: Evidence from an age-differentiated mediation analysis

While the detrimental health effects of self-perceived job insecurity are well documented, less is known about the mechanisms through which insecurity affects health. In this article, potential explanations for this relationship are examined separately for three age groups (18–35, 36–50, and 51–65). Mediation analyses based on the German Socio-economic Panel show an ‘immediate shock effect’ that occurs ...

Time Does Not Heal All Wounds: A Longitudinal Study of Reaction and Adaptation to Divorce

Adaptation and the Set-Point Model of Subjective Well-Being - Does Happiness Change After Major Life Events?

Long-Term Disability Is Associated With Lasting Changes in Subjective Well-Being: Evidence From Two Nationally Representative Longitudinal Studies

Personality and Subjective Well-Being

Using the german socio-economic panel study to assess age-related changes in life satisfaction

Do People Really Adapt to Marriage?

Reexamining Adaptation and the Set Point Model of Happiness: Reactions to Changes in Marital Status

According to adaptation theory, individuals react to events but quickly adapt back to baseline levels of subjective well-being. To test this idea, the authors used data from a 15-year longitudinal study of over 24,000 individuals to examine the effects of marital transitions on life satisfaction. On average, individuals reacted to events and then adapted back toward baseline levels. However, there ...

Unemployment Alters the Set-Point of Life Satisfaction

According to set-point theories of subjective well-being, people react to events but then return to baseline levels of happiness and satisfaction over time. We tested this idea by examining reaction and adaptation to unemployment in a 15-year longitudinal study of more than 24,000 individuals living in Germany. In accordance with set-point theories, individuals reacted strongly to unemployment and ...

How stable is happiness? Using the STARTS model to estimate the stability of life satisfaction

A common interpretation of existing subjective well-being research is that long-term levels of well-being are almost completely stable. However, few studies have estimated stability and change using appropriate statistical models that can precisely address this question. The STARTS model (Kenny & Zautra, 2001) was used to analyze life satisfaction data from two nationally representative panel studies. ...