Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

The intergenerational transmission of risk and trust attitudes: Replicating and extending “Dohmen, Falk, Huffman and Sunde 2012” using genetically informed twin data

This replication revisits an influential contribution on the intergenerational transmission of risk and trust attitudes, which, based on data from the German Socioeconomic Panel (GSOEP), reveals a positive correlation between parents' and children's attitudes. The authors of the original study argue that socialization in the family is important in the transmission process. The replication ...

From feeling depressed to getting diagnosed: Determinants of a diagnosis of depression after experiencing symptoms

Background:Receiving a formal diagnosis for a depressive disorder is a prerequisite for getting treatment, yet the illness inherently complicates care-seeking. Thus, understanding the process from depression symptoms to diagnosis is crucial.Aims:This study aims to disentangle (1) risk factors for depression symptoms from (2) facilitators and barriers to receiving a diagnosis after experiencing depression ...

Unemployment, unemployment duration, and health: selection or causation?

This study aims at disentangling the causal effects of unemployment on physical and mental health from the selection of the unhealthy into unemployment. To identify causal effects, it explores hypotheses concerning how physical and mental health deterioration gain additional momentum with a longer duration of unemployment. In contrast, mere selection into unemployment implies time-constant effects ...

Do local public expenditures on sports facilities affect sports participation in Germany?

This paper analyzes the effect of local public expenditures on sports facilities on sports participation in Germany. To this end, we construct a new database containing public expenditures at the municipality level and link this information with individual level data. We form locally weighted averages of expenditures based on geographic distances since people also benefit from expenditures of neighboring ...

Status anxiety and quality of life: How much does inequality hurt?

Differences Between Lifelong Singles and Ever-Partnered Individuals in Big Five Personality Traits and Life Satisfaction

Being romantically partnered is widely seen as a societal norm, and it has been shown to be positively associated with important life outcomes, such as physical and mental health. However, the percentage of singles is steadily increasing, with more people staying single for life. We used the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE; N = 77,064, mainly ≥ 50 years, 27 countries) to investigate ...

Social origins and educational attainment: The unique contributions of parental education, class, and financial resources over time

This study examines the unique contributions of parental wealth, class background, education, and income to different measures of educational attainment. We build on recent sibling correlation approaches to estimate, using Norwegian register data, the gross and net contribution of each social origin dimension across almost 3 decades of birth cohorts. Our findings suggest that parental education is ...

Under blood pressure – differentiated versus undifferentiated marketing to increase blood donations

Despite strong evidence in current marketing theory and practice that a differentiated marketing approach increases recruitment success, blood services worldwide often use undifferentiated marketing strategies to address new blood donors. Relying on the assumption that differentiated marketing is highly promising; the authors developed an online experiment among 838 participants who had not donated ...

Zooming into the first year after parental death: Loss and recovery in adult mental health

The initial year after parental death is a critical period for grief and coping. Despite its significance for declines in and recovery of adult mental health, this initial period is not sufficiently captured in existing research following changes across annual or even broader intervals. This paper assesses the impact of the first and second parent’s death on adult mental health on more fine-grained ...

Investigation of dog ownership and physical activity on weekdays and weekends using longitudinal data from the SOEP Cohort

This study examines the association between dog ownership over a period of 5 years (always, sometimes and no ownership) with physical activity on weekdays and weekends over a period of 6 years using the nationally representative German Socio-Economic Panel. Participants were asked if they had any pets and how many hours they spend on sports, fitness, and exercise. We hypothesized that the length of ...