Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Roma Eterna? Roman rule explains regional well-being divides in Germany

In light of persistent regional inequalities in adaptive outcomes such as health, well-being, and related personality traits, psychological research is increasingly adopting a historical perspective to understand the deeper roots of these patterns. In this study, we examine the role of ancient cultures, specifically the impact of Roman civilization around two thousand years ago, on the macro-psychological ...

Multivariate assessment of interviewer errors in a cross-national economic survey and the role of fieldwork institutes

Interviewers have long been identified as a source of error in face-to-face surveys. However, previous studies have typically focused on a single source of interviewer error and single-country cross-sectional surveys. We extend this literature by investigating interviewer errors from multiple dimensions in the Oesterreichische Nationalbank Euro Survey, a cross-national survey conducted annually in ...

Refugees (un)welcome: Regional demographic changes and individual attitudes towards refugees

Background: Many refugees arrived in Germany in 2015 and 2016. At the same time, anti-refugee attitudes among Germans increased. This indicates an association between immigration and attitudes. Now, ten years later, renewed public concern about immigration - while not many immigrate to Germany - highlights the need to identify factors that shape attitudes towards refugees. Aim: Thus, I tested whether ...

How socioeconomic status affects a child's education – Investigating objective and subjective factors involved in shaping educational success in Germany

Differences in educational trajectories between social backgrounds can only be partially explained by differences in cognitive abilities and are therefore considered educational inequalities. In this study, multiple constructs involved in the prediction of educational success were investigated in a joint approach to specify their unique contributions and to identify mechanisms associated with how socioeconomic ...

Interaction effects on health between perceived neighbourhood social cohesion and demographic changes: a longitudinal study

Background Perceived neighbourhood social cohesion is associated with better health in particular as a conveyor of social norms. Small-area demographic changes affect social structures related to health and so, could modify neighbourhood norms, lead to loneliness, or increased stress. Thus, demographic changes and perceived neighbourhood social cohesion are likely to interact in their relation to health. ...

Gratitude in fundraising: do ‘thank you in advance’ and handwritten thank you notes impact fundraising success?

While almost all charities rely on a set of donor appreciation strategies, their effectiveness for the success of fundraising campaigns is underresearched. Through two preregistered field studies conducted in collaboration with a leading German opera house (N = 10,000), we explore the significance of expressing gratitude and examine two different approaches to doing so. Our first study investigates ...

An Updated Polygenic Index Repository: Expanded Phenotypes, New Cohorts, and Improved Causal Inference

Polygenic indexes (PGIs) — DNA-based predictors of individual phenotypes — have become essential tools across biomedical and social sciences. We introduce Version 2 of the Polygenic Index Repository, which expands phenotype coverage from 47 to 61, increases the number of participating datasets from 11 to 20, and adopts a more consistent and improved methodology for PGI construction. For 16 phenotypes, ...

Is Germany Missing Out or Catching Up? Gender Inequality and the German Skilled Immigration Act

Germany?s Skilled Worker Immigration Act addresses labor shortages by targeting non-EU migrants. The literature emphasizes that such policies often overlook gender-specific challenges, reinforcing inequalities. Using the German Socio-Economic Panel (2013?2022), we reveal significant disadvantages for non-EU migrant women. We find that deskilling and the sexual division of paid and unpaid working time ...

Consortium Proposal National Research Data Infrastructure for the Second Funding Phase

Backlash or Inclusion? The Political Effects of Co-Ethnic Immigration

Immigration often causes backlash, to the benefit of anti-immigrant parties. Most studies that identify the effect of immigration on native attitudes and behaviors leverage variation in inflows of newcomers who are ethnically distinct from natives. Can we therefore conclude that backlash is the general consequence of exposure to large migration flows? We theorize co-ethnic migrants are not met with ...