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Objective: It is well-known that patients with cancer frequently experience sleep problems, and that sleep quality is associated with general quality of life (QoL). The aims of this study were to analyze the relationship between sleep problems and other components of QoL in more detail and to investigate sex and age differences in sleep quality in cancer patients in comparison with the general population., Method: This study comprised one general population sample ( n  = 4,476) and eight samples with cancer patients ( n between 323 and 4,020). Sleep Quality was measured using the QoL questionnaire EORTC QLQ-C30., Results: All of the cancer patient groups reported more sleep problems than the general population. Sleep problems were associated with all facets of QoL both in cancer patients and in the general population. The highest associations were found in cancer patients for fatigue ( r  = 0.52) and emotional functioning ( r  = -0.47). The association between sleep quality and general QoL was lower in the cancer samples ( r  = -0.37) than in the general population ( r  = -0.46). Female cancer patients reported markedly more sleep problems than male patients did ( d  = 0.45), while this sex difference was lower in the general population ( d  = 0.15). In contrast to the general population, younger cancer patients had greater trouble sleeping than older patients did ( d  = -0.17)., Conclusion: The results underline the significance of the role mental factors play in sleep problems. Health care providers should pay special attention to female patients and younger patients concerning this issue., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Hofmeister, Schulte, Mehnert-Theuerkauf, Geue, Zenger, Esser, Götze and Hinz.)

Objectives: Quality of life (QoL) has been the focus of increasing interest in oncology. QoL assessment instruments implicitly assume that each QoL domain has the same meaning for each patient. The objective of this study was to analyze the importance of and the satisfaction with QoL domains and to analyze the relationship between the two., Methods: A sample of 308 breast cancer survivors was examined twice with a three-month time interval. The women completed the two QoL questionnaires Questions of Life Satisfaction (FLZ-M), which measures participants' satisfaction with eight QoL domains and the subjective importance of those domains to them, and the EORTC QLQ-C30. A sample of 1,143 women from the general population served as controls., Results: Compared with the general population sample, the patients were less satisfied with their health and more satisfied with all other QoL domains. The subjective importance of health was lower in the patients' sample (Effect size: d = 0.38). Satisfaction with health and importance of health were slightly positively correlated ( r between 0.05 and 0.08). The effect of QoL domain importance on general QoL was small (beta between -0.05 and 0.11), and interaction effects between domain importance and satisfaction on the prediction of global QoL were negligible., Conclusion: In addition to satisfaction with QoL dimensions, the subjective importance of these dimensions is relevant for psychooncological research and treatment. Health is not the only relevant QoL domain in breast cancer survivors, other domains such as finances also deserve health care providers' attention., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Hinz, Zenger, Schmalbach, Brähler, Hofmeister and Petrowski.)

The present study was conducted with the aim of constructing and validating a short form of the Profile of Mood States (POMS). The POMS is a widely-applied measure for the assessment of an individual's mood. Thus, it is of great relevance for many research questions in clinical and social psychology. To develop the short scale, we first examined psychometric properties and found the optimal 16-item solution among all valid combinations of the full POMS in an exploratory subsample ( n = 1,029) of our complete representative sample of the German general population. We then validated this model in a confirmatory subsample ( n = 977). Additionally, we examined its invariance across age groups and sex, as well as its reliability. Our results indicate that the POMS-16 is a valid and reliable measure of mood states with minimal losses compared to the 35-item version. Particularly where brevity and an economical assessment is desired, the POMS-16 should be considered., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Petrowski, Albani, Zenger, Brähler and Schmalbach.)

Background: The Self-Regulation of Eating Behavior Questionnaire (SREBQ) is an economical way of assessing an individual's self-regulatory abilities regarding eating behavior. Such scales are needed in the German population; therefore, the purpose of the present study was the translation and validation of a German version of the SREBQ. Method: First, we conducted a pilot study (Study 1; N = 371) after the translation procedure. Second, we assessed the final scale in a representative sample of the German population (Sample 2; N = 2,483) and its underlying factor structure. Further, we tested for measurement invariance and evaluated the SREBQ's associations with related scales to explore convergent and discriminant validity. Finally, we considered differences in SREBQ based on sociodemographic variables and provided derived reference scores (norm values). Results: Factor analysis revealed deficiencies in the original model. Thus, we shortened the scale based on statistical considerations and the adapted version showed improved fit in Confirmatory Factor Analysis and reliability. We also found evidence for partial strict invariance, which means the measure is equivalent for the tested groups of age and gender. Item and scale psychometric properties of the shortened version were satisfactory. In terms of diagnostic validity, it was shown that individuals with higher body mass index (kg/m 2 ) have worse self-regulation of eating behavior than those with lower. Conclusion: In sum, the SREBQ evidenced good validity and reliability and is suitable for application in medical, psychological, and nutritional research., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Schmalbach, Schmalbach, Zenger, Petrowski, Beutel, Hilbert and Brähler.)

The Body Image Questionnaire-20 (FKB-20) is one of the most applied self-report measures in the context of body image assessment in German-speaking regions. A version of the FKB-20 capturing an ideal concept of body image is also available. A special property of the scale is its high sensitivity for individuals suffering from anorexia nervosa. The present research provided a short version of this scale (for both variants) and examined its validity in a representative sample ( N = 2,347) of the German population. We utilized factor analysis methods to identify the optimal short scale of the measure, finding excellent model fit and reliability for a two-factor model (FKB-6) for both real and ideal body image. Both versions of the FKB-6 can be considered invariant across sex and age groups. Good reliability indices were shown for both versions of the FKB-6. The reliability indices were similar to those mentioned in previous studies. Our study also revealed, that large discrepancies between the real and an ideal body image are correlated with somatic and body dysmorphic symptoms. Finally, we provided norm values for comparisons of individual scores with the general population. The FKB-6 is a valid and a reliable measure that economizes assessments by clinicians and researchers., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Schmalbach, Schmalbach, Zenger, Berth, Albani, Petrowski and Brähler.)

With right-wing-extremist and -populist parties and movements on the rise throughout the world, the concept of authoritarianism has proven to be particularly valuable to explain the psychological underpinnings of these tendencies. Even though many scales to measure the different dimensions of authoritarianism exist, no short screening instrument has been tested and validated on a large scale so far. The present study examines the psychometric properties of the screening instrument Authoritarianism - Ultrashort (A-US) in three representative German samples ( n = 2,524, n = 2,478, and n = 2,495). Using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, the A-US demonstrated acceptable internal consistency. Model fit was good and correlations with related constructs indicated convergent validity in both samples. Construct validity was demonstrated using the original version of the scale. The instrument proved to be invariant across sex, employment status, and education, but not across different age groups. Finally, the analyses showed that differences in the A-US are associated with sociodemographic variables. Potential causes and effects of these findings are discussed. Based on these results, the A-US proved to be a valuable and highly efficient tool to screen for authoritarian tendencies., (Copyright © 2020 Heller, Decker, Schmalbach, Beutel, Fegert, Brähler and Zenger.)

The Health Regulatory Focus Scale (HRFS) is a short scale which measures an individual's prevention and promotion focus in a health-specific context. The main objective of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the newly translated German version of the HRFS. Reliability and item characteristics were found to be satisfactory. Validity of both subscales toward other psychological constructs including behavioral approach and avoidance, core self-evaluations, optimism, pessimism, neuroticism, as well as several measures of physical and mental health was shown. In addition, invariance of the measure across age and gender groups was shown. Exploratory as well as confirmatory factor analyses clearly indicated a two-factorial structure with a moderate correlation between the two latent constructs. Differences in health promotion and prevention focus between socio-demographic groups are discussed. The HRFS is found to be a valid and reliable instrument for the assessment of regulatory focus in health-related environments.