Search

In light of the recent worldwide migration of refugees, determinants of a more or less successful integration are heavily discussed, but reliable empirical investigations are scarce and have often focused on sociodemographic factors. In the present study, we explore the role of several individual characteristics for refugee adjustment in the areas of (a) institutional, (b) interpersonal and (c) intrapersonal adaptation. In a sample of 4,527 refugees (M = 33.6 years, 38% women), we investigated the effect of sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender, months in Germany, religious affiliation), cognitive factors (cognitive ability, educational history, language skills, integration-course participation), and personality (locus of control, risk appetite, willingness to reciprocity) on adjustment parameters. Both, cognitive skills (especially language skills) and personality, showed incremental validity beyond sociodemographic factors for refugee adjustment comparable across contextual factors. Even with respect to contextual factors such as residency status and living situation, results remained largely stable. The study provides first hints on the importance of personality, thereby providing important implications for understanding integration processes and optimizing interventions on personal, social, and societal levels.

In social sciences, longitudinal studies represent a common form of study design. However, this form of data collection may face the special problem of panel attrition over subsequent waves – a circumstance that can lead to a biased sample. As a consequence, longitudinal analyses may become flawed if the bias is unknown or not corrected. Previous research on panel attrition revealed that dropout can be related to several specific characteristics, such as sex, personality, or relationship status of the participants. As twins are a core feature of twin-studies – twin similarity a key tool in behavioral genetics – relational characteristics of this special siblinghood may play a crucial role in re-participating, too. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate panel attrition with respect to certain personality traits (Big Five) and relational characteristics (sibling relationship and satisfaction with sibling relationship) to estimate potential biases as a basis for corrections in future studies. Analyses were not only performed on an individual level but also regarding twin pair resemblance as this is the main source of information in behavior genetic twin studies. The sample consisted of 4,097 twin pairs and 8,281 of their family members from wave one of the German TwinLife study. 60.9 % of the initial sample re-participated in wave 2. Results indicate that there are no consistent patterns in personality or relational characteristics across family members, age cohorts of the twins, and sexes regarding panel attrition. There also seem to be no consistent patterns regarding differences in twin similarity across re- and non-re-participators. Subsequently, selective panel dropout with respect to personal characteristics seems to be of minor importance in the TwinLife study and corrections may only be necessary in selective cases.

In light of the recent worldwide migration of refugees, determinants of a more or less successful integration are heavily discussed, but reliable empirical investigations are scarce and have often focused on sociodemographic factors. In the present study, we explore the role of several individual characteristics for refugee adjustment in the areas of institutional, interpersonal and intrapersonal adaptation. In a sample of 4,527 refugees (M = 33.6 years, 38% women), we investigated the predictive power of sociodemographic characteristics, cognitive skills and personality factors. Both, cognitive skills and personality, showed incremental predictive validity beyond sociodemographic factors for refugee adjustment comparable across contextual factors. The study underscores the importance of personality providing important implications for understanding integration processes and optimizing interventions on personal, social, and societal levels.

Zygosity determination using similarity ratings is frequently applied in twin studies. A correct determination of zygosity is essential for the estimation of heritability and environmental influences on phenotypes. Therefore, the present study examined the validity of two similarity questionnaires used in the German TwinLife study, in which data from 4,097 twin pairs and their families were assessed: twin children’s zygosities were determined with the Zygosity Questionnaire for Young Twins, which was administered in parent-report form. For adolescent twins, the Self Report Zygosity Questionnaire was used. For the present validation analyses, DNA samples of N = 328 twin pairs were collected via buccal swabs. In this DNA subsample, questionnaires were filled out by parents for n = 212 (aged 4 to 12 years) twin pairs while self-reports were collected from n = 116 adolescent twins (16 to 23 years of age). Using DNA-based zygosity as criteria, correct classification rates of 97% for parent- and 92% for self-reports were established and cross-validated. Additionally, classification rates based on a single item and variants of questionnaire based zygosity determination used in other twin studies were calculated and compared. Implications of incorrectly classified zygosity on genetic and environmental estimates in twin studies are discussed.

The present study investigated for the first time the relative importance of genetics and environment on individual differences in primary emotionality as measured with the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS) by means of a twin-sibling study design. In N = 795 participants (n = 303 monozygotic twins, n = 172 dizygotic twins and n = 267 non-twin full siblings), moderate to strong influences of genetics on individual differences in these emotional systems are observed. Lowest heritability estimates are presented for the SEEKING system (33%) and highest for the PLAY system (69%). Further, multivariate genetic modeling was applied to the data showing that associations among the six ANPS scales were influences by both, a genetic as well as an environmental overlap between them. In sum, the study underlines the usefulness of the ANPS for biologically oriented personality psychology research.

The WNV that belongs to the genus Flavivirus, family Flaviviridae was first isolated in Uganda in 1937. In nature, the WNV is maintained in a transmission cycle between birds and different mosquito species and may also cause infection in humans and horses. Clinical signs may vary from asymptomatic to severe neurological disease. Isolation of the WNV of lineage 2 occurred in Hungary in 2004 from a deceased goshawk and was followed by cases in humans and domesticated mammals in the upcoming years. In Europe, an inactivated vaccine (Equip ® WNV, formerly Duvaxyn ® WNV) was licensed for horses in 2008. The aims of the study were to compare the diagnostic value of the ELISA and the HAI test regarding detection of WNV infection in horses as well as to investigate whether differentation between acutely infected and recently vaccinated horses was possible by ELISA or HAI test.

Die vorliegende Arbeit beruht auf insgesamt drei wissenschaftlichen Arbeiten und wurde in die Zwillingsstudien SOEP und Chronos (für nähere Informationen, siehe: Hahn, Gottschling & Spinath, 2012) eingebettet. Die Studien befassten sich mit unterschiedlichen Aspekten der Persönlichkeit und des subjektiven Wohlbefindens. Ziel der ersten Studie bestand darin eine umfassende Validierung des BFI-S (GSOEP Big Five Inventory) vorzunehmen. Konvergente und diskriminante Validitäten, sowie die Stabilität, wurden in einer Stichprobe von 598 Personen untersucht und waren weitgehend zufriedenstellend. Der Fokus der zweiten Arbeit lag auf der Untersuchung interindividueller Differenzen der fünf Persönlichkeitsfaktoren in einem erweiterten Multi-Gruppen Design im Vergleich zum klassischen Zwillingsdesign. Die Ergebnisse zeigten in einer Stichprobe von 1308 Paaren ein komplexeres Bild der Persönlichkeitsfaktoren. Die dritte Studie befasste sich schließlich mit genetischen und umweltbedingten Faktoren auf die Lebenszufriedenheit und deren Zusammenhang mit der Persönlichkeit. Im erweiterten verhaltensgenetischen Design zeigten sich sowohl genetische, als auch geteilte und nicht-geteilte Umwelteffekte, als auch spezifische Zwillingseffekte. Die Analysen zum Zusammenhang zwischen Lebenszufriedenheit und Persönlichkeit zeigten eine starke genetische Überlappung. Insgesamt konnte somit gezeigt werden, dass die Verwendung eines erweiterten Design Möglichkeiten einer differenzierteren Betrachtung interindividueller Differenzen bietet. Hahn, E., Gottschling, J., & Spinath, F.M. (2012). Short measurements of personality: validity and reliability of the GSOEP Big Five Inventory (BFI-S). Journal of Research in Personality, 46, 355-359. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2012.03.008 The present work is based on three scientific papers embedded in two German twin studies, SOEP and Chronos (for more details: Hahn & Spinath Gottschling, 2012). The studies investigated different aspects of personality and subjective well-being. The aim of the first study was to perform a comprehensive validation of the BFI-S (GSOEP Big Five Inventory). Convergent and discriminant validities, and the stability were studied in a sample of 598 persons. The results indicate satisfying convergent and discriminant validity. The focus of the second study was to investigate interindividual differences in the Big five personality factors using an extended multi-group design compared to the classical twin design. The results showed a more complex structure of the personality factors in a sample of 1308 couples. Finally, the third study dealt with genetic and environmental factors in life satisfaction and its relationship with personality. Using an extended design, genetic, shared and non-shared environmental effects, as well as specific twin effects could be found. The analyzes of the relationship between life satisfaction and personality showed a strong genetic overlap. Findings indicated that the use of an extended design provides opportunities to explore interindividual differences in a more fine-grained fashion. Hahn, E., Gottschling, J., & Spinath, F.M. (2012). Short measurements of personality: validity and reliability of the GSOEP Big Five Inventory (BFI-S). Journal of Research in Personality, 46, 355-359. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2012.03.008

The German twin family study ‘TwinLife’ was designed to enhance our understanding of the development of social inequalities over the life course. The interdisciplinary project investigates mechanisms of social inequalities across the lifespan by taking into account psychological as well as social mechanisms, and their genetic origin as well as the interaction and covariation between these factors. Main characteristics of the study are: (1) a multidimensional perspective on social inequalities, (2) the assessment of developmental trajectories in childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood in a longitudinal design by using (3) a combination of a multi-cohort cross-sequential and an extended twin family design, while (4) capturing a large variation of behavioral and environmental factors in a representative sample of about 4,000 German twin families. In the present article, we first introduce the theoretical and empirical background of the TwinLife study, and second, describe the design, content, and implementation of TwinLife. Since the data will be made available as scientific use file, we also illustrate research possibilities provided by this project to the scientific community.