Lebenslage und primärpräventives Gesundheitsverhalten

'Schichtspezifische Unterschiede gesundheitsbezogener Einstellungen und Verhaltensweisen werden häufig als Ergebnis sozialisatorischer und soziokultureller Einflüsse interpretiert. In der vorliegenden Untersuchung wird die Hypothese überprüft, daß sich derartige Unterschiede zum Teil durch gesundheitsrelevante Merkmale schichtspezifischer Lebenslagen erklären lassen. Auf der Grundlage einer 1990 in Bielefeld durchgeführten postalischen Befragung werden Zusammenhänge zwischen Indikatoren sozialer Schichtzugehörigkeit, der Wahrnehmung unweltbedingter Risikofaktoren, gesundheitsbezogenen Kontrollüberzeugungen und primärpräventiven Verhaltensweisen untersucht. Die Analyseergebnisse lassen erkennen, daß die Belastungen durch umweltbedingte Risikofaktoren in deutlichem Zusammenhang mit den Wohnbedingungen und dem Berufsstatus stehen. Die Ergebnisse verschiedener Pfadanalysen zeigen, daß Befragte ihre Möglichkeiten zur Kontrolle gesundheitlicher Risiken desto geringer einschätzen, je stärker sie sich umweltbedingten Risikofaktoren im Berufsleben und im Wohnbereich ausgesetzt sehen. Gleichzeitig wirkt sich die Wahrnehmung umweltbedingter Risikofaktoren negativ auf die Bereitschaft zur Ausübung sportlicher Aktivitäten aus. Die Bereitschaft zu einer gesundheitsbewußten Ernährung wird dagegen deutlich von den gesundheitsbezogenen Kontrollüberzeugungen beeinflußt. Befragte mit einer eher internen gesundheitsbezogenen Kontrollüberzeugung ernähren sich gesünder als Befragte mit einer eher externen Kontrollüberzeugung.' (Autorenreferat)'Socioeconomic status differences in health-related attitudes and behavior are often interpreted as results of the socialization process or sociocultural influences. This study tests the hypothesis that these differences are also influenced by health-relevant aspects oft the living conditions related to social stratification. Data of a mail survey conducted in Bielefeld during 1990 are used to analyze the relation between social stratification, environmental health risks, health-locus-of-control and health-advancing behavior. It was found that occupational status and dwelling quality are strongly related to environmental health risks. The results of different path-analyses show that persons who perceive low environmental health risks in their workplace and their dwelling area are more likely to have an internal health-locus-of-control than persons who perceive high environmental health risks. Moreover, the perception of environmental health risks reduces the level of physical activity whereas the nutritional behavior is significantly influenced by the health-locus-of-control. Persons with a more internal locus-of-control display better food habits than persons with a more external locus-of-control.' (author's abstract)

Die Bedeutung der Soziologie psychischer Gesundheit und Krankheit im Zeitalter der biologischen Psychiatrie

'Trotz der zunehmenden gesundheitspolitischen und gesundheitsökonomischen Bedeutung psychischer Erkrankungen ist der gegenwärtige Beitrag der Soziologie zum Verständnis, zur Behandlung und zur Prävention psychischer Erkrankungen eher gering. Dies gilt insbesondere vor dem Hintergrund der Tatsache, dass das Phänomen der psychischen Krankheit bis in die zweite Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts ein zentraler Gegenstand soziologischer Forschung und Theorieentwicklung war und dass soziologische Konzepte und Forschungsergebnisse zeitweise einen maßgeblichen Einfluss auf die Reform der psychiatrischen Versorgung hatten. Während der zunehmende Bedeutungsverlust der Soziologie zunächst mit dramatischen Erfolgen der neurobiologischen Forschung und daraus resultierender Hoffnungen auf eine baldige medizintechnische Kontrollierbarkeit psychischer Störungen einherging, treten mittlerweile auch die Grenzen neurobiologischer Ansätze bei der Erklärung der Ursachen und bei der Behandlung psychischer Erkrankungen immer deutlicher zutage. Gleichzeitig deuten aktuelle Forschungsergebnisse darauf hin, das psychische Auffälligkeiten das Ergebnis äußerst komplexer Wechselwirkung zwischen biologischen und Umweltfaktoren bilden. Für die Soziologie psychischer Gesundheit und Krankheit ergeben sich aus diesen Erkenntnissen vielfältige Perspektiven für eine fruchtbare interdisziplinäre Forschungstätigkeit.' (Autorenreferat)'In spite of the growing health policy and the economical relevance of mental illness the current contribution of the social sciences to the actual discussion on the aetiology of mental illness and the further development of interventions for mental health promotion and mental health is rather small. This is particularly true with regard to the fact that until the middle of the 20th century the phenomenon of mental illness was a main object of sociological theory and research and that sociological theories and research results were of great influence for the reform of mental health care systems. In the beginning the descending impact of the sociological perspective was accompanied the dramatic success of neurobiological research associated with the hope for a technical controllability of mental disorders in the near future. However, the limitations of neurobiological approaches for the etiology and the treatment of mental disorders became more and more obvious. On the other hand, recent research findings indicate that mental disorders are the result of complex interactions between biological and environmental factors. For the sociology of mental health and illness these results provide various opportunities for fruitful interdisciplinary research activities.' (author's abstract)

Probing the Noncommutative Standard Model at Hadron Colliders

We study collider signals for the noncommutative extension of the standard model using the Seiberg-Witten maps for SU(3)_C x SU(2)_L x U(1)_Y to first order in the noncommutativity parameters theta_munu. In particular, we investigate the ensitivity of Z-gamma-production at the Tevatron and the LHC to the components of theta_munu. We discuss the range of validity of this approximation and estimate exclusion limits from a Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: 18 pages LaTeX, 23 figures. Slightly expanded introduction and additional references. Accepted for publication in Physical Review

Clinical- and Cost Effectiveness of a Guided Internet-Based Intervention for Children (12–18 Years) of Parents With Mental Disorders (iCHIMPS): Study Protocol of a Multicentered Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction: Children of parents with mental disorders have a high chance of developing a mental disorder themselves. However, this at-risk group is regularly overlooked and typically not seen by any mental health professionals. Internet- and mobile-based interventions (IMIs) can provide a means of promoting mental health for children of parents with mental disorders. Objective: The introduced study will evaluate the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of the iCHIMPS IMI in promoting mental health for children of parents with mental disorders. Methods: A two-armed multicentered cluster-randomized controlled trial (cRCT) comparing the clinical- and cost-effectiveness of the iCHIMPS IMI in the intervention group (IG) to a treatment-as-usual (TAU) control group will be conducted. Recruitment will be handled at currently 21 adult mental health clinics throughout Germany. Participating families will be randomly divided into the two groups until the final sample size of 306 participating adolescents (age 12–18) has been reached. The adolescents in the intervention group will receive access to the IMI and can take part in up to eight intervention modules. Assessment will be conducted during the recruitment (baseline), 1-month, 2-months, and 6-month post-inclusion. Primary outcome is the mental health of the participating adolescents at 6-months post-inclusion as measured by the Youth Self Report score. Secondary self-report outcomes are mental wellbeing, self-efficacy, coping strategies and negative effects as well as mental health of the adolescents as reported by their parent(s). Included moderators are sociodemographic characteristics, working alliance, social support and the mental health diagnoses of the parents. Statistical analyses will be conducted on the intention-to-treat principle as well as with additional per-protocol analyses. Additionally, the cost-effectiveness as well as qualitative data concerning the adherence, acceptance, and feasibility of the IMI will be analyzed. Discussion: The iCHIMPS cRCT examines the clinical- as well as cost-effectiveness of the iCHIMPS mental health promotion IMI for children of parents with mental disorders. This provides the opportunity to gain insights into an innovative as well as time- and location-independent form of support for this often-overlooked at-risk group. Additionally, the larger CHIMPS-NET project allows comparisons between internet-based and face-to-face interventions for a similar target group. Clinical Trial Registration: www.ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: DRKS00025158. Copyright © 2022 Dülsen, Barck, Daubmann, Höller, Zeidler, Kilian, Wiegand-Grefe and Baumeister

The psychometric properties of the German version of the WHOQOL-OLD in the German population aged 60 and older

Background: The WHOQOL-OLD is an instrument for the assessment of subjective quality of life in elderly people. It is based on the WHO definition of quality of life and is available in more than 20 languages. However, in most countries, the psychometric properties of the WHOQOL-OLD have been assessed only on the basis of small local samples and not in representative studies. In this study, the psychometric properties of the WHOQOL-OLD are evaluated based on a representative sample of Germany\''s elderly population. Methods: Face-to-face interviews with 1133 respondents from the German population aged 60 years and older were conducted. Quality of life was assessed by means of the WHOQOL-BREF, the WHOQOL-OLD and the SF12. Moreover, the GDS, the DemTect and the IADL were applied for the assessment of depressive symptoms, cognitive capacities and capacity for carrying out daily activities. Psychometric properties of the WHOQOL-OLD were evaluated by means of classical and probabilistic test theory, confirmatory factor analysis and multivariate regression model.Results: Cronbach\''s alpha was found to be above 0.85 for four and above .75 for two of the six facets of the WHOQOL-OLD. IRT analyses indicated that all items of the WHOQOL-OLD contribute considerably to the measurement of the associated facets. While the six-facet structure of the WHOQOL-OLD was well supported by the results of the confirmatory factor analysis, a common latent factor for the WHOQOL-OLD total scale could not be identified. Correlations with other quality of life measures and multivariate regression models with GDS, IADL and the DemTect indicate a good criterion validity of all six WHOQOL-OLD facets.Conclusions: Study results confirm that the good psychometric properties of the WHOQOL-OLD that have been found in international studies could be replicated in a representative study of the German population. These results suggest that the WHOQOL-OLD is an instrument that is well suited to identify the needs and the wishes of an aging population

Mental health care institutions in nine European countries, 2002 to 2006

Objective: Although mental health reforms in the 20th century were characterized by deinstitutionalization, previous research suggested a new era of reinstitutionalization in six European countries between 1990 and 2002. This study aimed to establish whether there has been a trend in Europe toward more institutionalized care since 2002. Methods: Primary data sources were used to collect data on conventional inpatient beds, involuntary hospital admissions, forensic beds, places in residential care and supervised and supported housing, and the prison population in nine countries: Austria, Denmark, England, Germany, Republic of Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland. Results: Between 2002 and 2006 the number of conventional psychiatric inpatient beds tended to fall and changes in involuntary admissions were inconsistent. The number of forensic beds, places in supervised and supported housing, and the prison population increased in most, but not all, of the countries studied. Conclusions: The findings suggest an ongoing although not consistent trend toward increasing provision of institutionalized mental health care across Europe.</p

Probing Minimal 5D Extensions of the Standard Model: From LEP to an e^+e^- Linear Collider

We derive new improved constraints on the compactification scale of minimal 5-dimensional (5D) extensions of the Standard Model (SM) from electroweak and LEP2 data and estimate the reach of an e^+e^- linear collider such as TESLA. Our analysis is performed within the framework of non-universal 5D models, where some of the gauge and Higgs fields propagate in the extra dimension, while all fermions are localized on a S^1/Z_2 orbifold fixed point. Carrying out simultaneous multi-parameter fits of the compactification scale and the SM parameters to the data, we obtain lower bounds on this scale in the range between 4 and 6 TeV. These fits also yield the correlation of the compactification scale with the SM Higgs mass. Investigating the prospects at TESLA, we show that the so-called GigaZ option has the potential to improve these bounds by about a factor 2 in almost all 5D models. Furthermore, at the center of mass energy of 800 GeV and with an integrated luminosity of 10^3 fb^-1, linear collider experiments can probe compactification scales up to 20-30 TeV, depending on the control of systematic errors.Comment: 28 pages, LaTeX, 9 eps figures, version published in Nuclear Physics