Associations between sleep problems and posttraumatic stress symptoms, social functioning, and quality of life in refugees with posttraumatic stress disorder

Many patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) suffer from sleepproblems, leading to impairments in social functioning and quality of life. Refugees are at high risk for sleep problems due to stressful life circumstances and a high PTSD prevalence. However, limited data on the frequency of sleepproblems in refugees with diagnosed PTSD exist. This study examined the frequency of sleep problems in refugees with PTSD and their associations with symptoms of PTSD. Additionally, we investigated the contribution of sleep problems to social functioning and quality of life. Participants (N=70) were refugees from different countries of origin currently living in Germany. All participants met the criteria for PTSD and completed measures of PTSD symptom severity,subjective sleep problems, social impairment, and quality of life. There was a very high frequency of sleep problems in the sample (100%), and sleep problems were significantly associated with both clinician-rated,r=.47, and self-rated,r=.30, PTSD symptom severity after controlling for overlapping items. Contrary to expectations, sleep problems did not predict social impairment,d=0.16, nor quality of life,d=0.13, beyond the effect of other PTSD symptoms. The findings highlight the widespread frequency of sleep problems among refugees. Future studies should assess the causal nature of the association between sleep problems and measures of psychosocial functioning in more detail and examine its dynamic change over time

The Impact of Wind Power Support Schemes on Technology Choices

Germany changed renewable remuneration for wind power from a fixed Feed-In Tariff (FIT) to a floating Market Premium Scheme (MPS) in 2012. One aim of this adjustment was to better align the supply of generated wind electricity with the demand for it, e.g. through more system-friendly wind turbine technology choices. In energy systems with a high share of variable renewable energies, such turbines produce a higher share of their production at lower wind speeds and thus can reduce the need for alternative flexibility options like back-up capacity, storage, grid extensions and demand side measures. However, based on a wind power investment model, I show that the MPS fails to convey strong enough incentives to project developers to significantly alter their investment decisions as long as these base their investments on current electricity market price profiles and are limited by their access to risk-averse project finance. One reform proposal to support the installation of system-friendly turbines is a change in the production volume-based benchmark approach which plays an integral part in both the fixed FIT and the MPS. The investment model indicates that such a revised policy can incentivize the deployment of moderately more system-friendly wind power technologies at some locations. An alternative option is to shift to a production value-based benchmark approach. It directly reflects the future additional market value of system-friendly turbines in today's remuneration structure. Thus, this approach sets incentives also for investors without perfect foresight - or with financing constraints - to deploy more systemfriendly turbines that meet the requirements of power systems with increasing shares of wind power

Evaluation of the Factor Structure and Psychometric Properties of the German Version of the Clinical Perfectionism Questionnaire: The CPQ-D

[Background] The aim was to create a German version of the Clinical Perfectionism Questionnaire (CPQ-D) and to test its factor structure, reliability, and validity in a non-clinical population. [Method] We recruited N = 432 participants via an online panel. The factor structure of CPQ-D was examined. The convergent, discriminative, and incremental validity was assessed in relation to the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS) and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). [Results] Exploratory factor analysis resulted in two factors. Factor 1 represented the over evaluation of striving and Factor 2 was associated to concern over mistakes. Internal consistency was acceptable with ω = .81 for the total score, ω = .77 for Factor 1, and ω = .73 for Factor 2. Convergent, discriminative, and incremental validity was demonstrated. Important to note, Item 12 should be used with caution since it showed low communality and a low item-total correlation and should therefore be further evaluated in future research. [Conclusion] The results indicate that the German translated version of the CPQ has acceptable internal consistency, convergent, discriminative and incremental validity. Future research should test the CPQ-D scale further in clinical and non-clinical populations and assess a broader variety of scales to determine validity of the scale