197 research outputs found
The Association of Post-Materialism with Health Care Use: Findings of a General Population Survey in Germany
(1) The aim of this study was to identify the association between post-materialism and health care use (in terms of the frequency of doctor visits and the reason for doctor visits). (2) Data were taken from the German General Social Survey (a representative sample of individuals aged 18 years and over, n = 3338). The Inglehart’s post-materialist index was used to quantify post-materialism. The doctor visits (self-reported) in the past three months served as an outcome measure. The reasons for seeing a doctor served as an additional outcome measure (acute illness; chronic illness; feeling unwell; requesting advice; visit to the doctor’s office without consulting the doctor (e.g., need to get a prescription); preventive medical check-up/vaccination). (3) After adjusting for several covariates, negative binomial regressions revealed that compared with materialism, post-materialism was associated with decreased doctor visits (total sample; women). Moreover, the likelihood of visiting the doctor for reasons of chronic illnesses was lower in post-materialistic women, whereas the likelihood of visiting the doctor for reasons of preventive medical check-up/vaccination was higher in post-materialistic women. (4) Study findings identify an unexplored link between post-materialism and doctor visits in women. One may conclude that in the long-term, the increased likelihood of preventive medical check-ups in post-materialistic women will be beneficial in decreasing the need for doctor visits for reasons of chronic illnesses. However, future research is required to elucidate the underlying mechanisms
Are perceived bad working conditions and perceived workplace bullying associated with doctor visits? Results of the nationally representative German General Social Survey
Background: The reason for doctor visits associated with bad working conditions (and workplace bullying) remains unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the association between perceived working conditions as well as workplace bullying and the number of doctor visits as well as the reason for seeing a doctor.
Methods: Data were derived from the German General Social Survey, a representative cross-section of the population in the year 2014. Self-reported doctor visits in the last 3 months were used as outcome measure. Self-rated working conditions (noise, bad air; time/performance pressure; bad working atmosphere; overtime; hifts/night work; hard physical labour) and workplace bullying were assessed. The reason for seeing a doctor was also recorded (acute illness; chronic illness; feeling unwell; requesting advice; visit to the doctor’s office without consulting the doctor (e.g., need to get a prescription); preventive medical check-up/vaccination). Regression analysis stratified by sex was conducted.
Results: Adjusting for various potential confounders, Poisson regressions showed that workplace bullying was associated with increased doctor visits in men, but not in women. Contrarily, time/performance pressure at work was only associated with increased doctor visits in women, but not in men. Furthermore, the probability of visiting the doctor for reasons of acute illness or feeling unwell increased with workplace bullying in men. The probability of visiting the doctor because of feeling unwell increased with time/performance pressure in women.
Conclusions: Our findings stress the association between adverse working conditions (workplace bullying as well as time/performance pressure at work) and doctor visits, with remarkable gender differences. Longitudinal studies are required to confirm the present findings and to obtain further insights into this relationship
Perceived ageism and psychosocial outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic
In light of the existing knowledge gap in this research area (particularly based on representative samples and research conducted during the pandemic), the objective of this study was to explore the association between perceived ageism and psychosocial outcomes (i.e., in terms of life satisfaction, loneliness, social isolation, aging satisfaction and depressive symptoms) among middle-aged and older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic based on nationally representative data
Associations between changes in physical activity and perceived social exclusion and loneliness within middle-aged adults: longitudinal evidence from the German Ageing Survey
Previous research showed negative associations between physical activity and loneliness in older adults. However, information on associations among middle-aged adults is scarce. In this prognostic factor study, we investigated if starting or stopping to follow the WHO physical activity recommendations was associated with changes in perceived social exclusion and loneliness in this age bracket
Caregiving intensity and its association with subjective views of ageing among informal caregivers with different sociodemographic background: A longitudinal analysis from Germany
We analysed whether care time, burden and range of caregiving tasks were associated with informal caregivers' subjective views of ageing (measured as attitudes towards own age (ATOA), subjective age (SA), and onset of old age (OOA)), and whether these associations differed as a function of the caregivers' age and gender. Adjusted cluster-robust fixed effects regression analyses were conducted with gender and age as moderators using data of informal caregivers (≥ 40 years) of the population-based German Ageing Survey (2014, 2017). All three aspect of care intensity were associated with changes in subjective views of ageing and this pattern was a function of the caregiver's age and gender. Care time was significantly associated with higher SA. Care tasks were significantly associated with more positive ATOA and earlier OOA. Age moderated the association between burden and ATOA, with older adults reporting more positive ATOA. Gender moderated the association between care time and ATOA; women reported less positive ATOA than men with increasing care time, but also felt subjectively younger than men with a broader range of care tasks. Age- and gender-stratified analysis indicated further differences. Our findings suggest to reduce care time, especially among older and female caregivers, to prevent a worsening of views of ageing, while being involved in a broad range of care tasks seems to (only) benefit female caregivers
Lebenszufriedenheit und Einkommensreichtum: eine empirische Analyse mit dem SOEP
In this study the relation between satisfaction with life and affluent income is analyzed by using cross-sectional and longitudinal data. The data used in this publication were made available by the German Socio Economic Panel Study (SOEP) at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), Berlin. A period from 2002-2008 is examined. The focus lies on the effects social treadmill has on life satisfaction for humans with high income. A key result of the fixed-effect-regression is the following: There is a significant effect relative income has on the contentment with life for affluent people, whereas considerable gender-specific discrepancies can be observed.Lebenszufriedenheit, Einkommensreichtum, Social Treadmill, Einkommensvergleiche, Referenzgruppe, SOEP, Fixed-effects
Factors associated with loneliness among individuals aged 80 years and over: Findings derived from the nationally representative "Old Age in Germany (D80+)" study
To clarify the factors associated with loneliness in individuals aged 80 years and older in Germany (also stratified by sex). Methods Data from the nationally representative "Old Age in Germany (D80+)" were employed. The analytic sample equaled 10,031 individuals. The D80+ study included community-dwelling and institutionalized individuals ≥ 80 years in Germany. Multiple linear regressions were used (with sociodemographic and health-related explanatory factors). The collection of data occurred between November 2020 and April 2021 (written questionnaire). Results Higher loneliness was significantly associated with not being married (e.g., widowed compared to being married, β=.37, p<.001), being institutionalized (β=.33, p<.001), low education (high education compared to low education, β=-.07, p<.01), a higher number of chronic conditions (β=.02, p<.001), poor self-rated health (β=-.19, p<.001) and greater functional impairment (β=.15, p<.001). Sex-stratified regressions produced comparable results. However, low education was only associated with higher loneliness among men, but not women (with significant interaction: education x sex). Conclusion Several sociodemographic and health-related factors can contribute to loneliness among the oldest old in Germany, with sex-specific associations between education and loneliness. Overall, such knowledge can aid to address individuals with higher loneliness levels
Factors associated with institutionalization among the oldest old: Results based on the nationally representative study 'old age in Germany (D80+)'
To examine the factors associated with institutionalization among individuals aged 80Â years and over in Germany (total sample and stratified by sex).
Methods/Design: We used data from the nationally representative "Old Age in Germany (D80+)" (analytic sample: n = 9572 individuals), including individuals aged 80 years and over in Germany. Institutionalization (private living vs. institutionalization) served as an outcome measure. For the written interview, data collection took place from November 2020 to April 2021. Multiple logistic regressions of the overall sample (also stratified by sex) were applied. Results In the analytic sample, 10.2% (95% CI: 9.2%?11.3%) of the participants were institutionalized. The odds of being institutionalized were positively associated with being female (OR: 2.02, 95% CI: 1.08 to 3.80), being 90 years and over (compared to 80-84 years, OR: 1.67, 95% CI: 1.17 to 2.40), not being married (e.g., being single compared to being married: OR: 14.06, 95% CI: 6.73 to 29.37), higher education (e.g., high education compared to low education: OR: 1.88, 95% CI: 1.25 to 2.84), more favorable self-rated health (OR: 1.32, 95% CI: 1.07 to 1.62) and greater functional impairment (OR: 15.34, 95% CI: 11.91 to 19.74). Sex-stratified regressions were also conducted, mostly yielding similar results.
Conclusion Our study highlighted the role of several sociodemographic factors (particularly marital status, e.g., being single) and functional impairment for the risk of institutionalization among the oldest old in Germany. This study confirms findings in studies in younger samples that functional decline is the main factor associated with institutionalization. As functional decline may be modifiable, efforts to maintain functional abilities may be important. This knowledge is important for relevant groups (such as clinicians and policy-makers) because it may guide early intervention and prevention efforts, can help allocate healthcare resources effectively and shape policies to support independent living. Further insights using longitudinal data is recommended
Sexual satisfaction among sexual minority and heterosexual middle-aged and older adults
Sexual satisfaction is an important part of sexual health and overall well-being. A large number of older people continue to be sexually active, and many are satisfied with their sex life. However, little is known about whether sexual satisfaction differs according to sexual orientation. Therefore, the aim of the study was to investigate whether sexual satisfaction differs according to sexual orientation in later life. The German Ageing Survey (DEAS) is a nationally representative study of the German population aged 40+. In the third wave (2008), data on both sexual orientation (heterosexual; homosexual, bisexual, other) and sexual satisfaction (1-very dissatisfied to 5-very satisfied) were collected. Multiple regression analyses with sampling weights were performed (stratified by age: 40-64; 65+).We included 4,856 individuals in our analysis (mean age 57.6±11.6; 40-85 years, 50.4% were women, 92.3% (n=4,483) were heterosexual and 7.7% (n=373) were sexual minority adults). In sum, 55.9% of heterosexual individuals and 52.3% of sexual minority adults were satisfied or very satisfied with their sex life. Multiple regression analysis showed that sexual orientation was not significantly associated with sexual satisfaction among both middle-aged (β=0.07; p=0.45) and older adults (β=0.01; p=0.87). Higher sexual satisfaction was associated with lower loneliness scores, partnership satisfaction, importance of sexuality and intimacy and better health status.Our analysis showed that sexual orientation was not significantly associated with sexual satisfaction among both middle-aged and older adults. Lower loneliness, better health status, and partnerships satisfaction significantly contributed to higher sexual satisfaction. Approximately 45% of older individuals (aged 65 years and older), regardless of their sexual orientation, were still satisfied with their sex life
Do sexual minorities believe that they die earlier? Results from a large, representative survey
While various consequences of belonging to sexual minorities have been examined - it remains completely unclear whether sexual minorities believe that they die earlier. Thus, our aim was to investigate the association between sexual orientation and expected longevity
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