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The prevalence of somatoform pain complaints was assessed in a representative sample of 2050 persons in Germany in the age range from 18 to 92 years by the Screening for Somatoform Symptoms questionnaire [57]. A high percentage of the study participants turned out to complain of serious somatoform pains. Most frequently, back pain (30.5%), joint pain, pain in the arms and/or legs (19.9%) and headache or facial pain (19.5%) were reported. Women complained of more somatoform pain symptoms than men. Pain was higher with an increasing age, lower education, lower income, rural residency, and residency in Eastern Germany. While the prevalence of somatoform pain is high, the majority of patients does not receive adequate psychotherapeutic care but is inadequately treated by somatic treatments.

Questionnaires for health related quality of life generally comprise several subscales. These subscales can be summarized into a total score. The aim of this article is to test the justification of such an integration from a statistical point of view. By means of a representative sample of the German population (n = 1981) the correlative relationships among six questionnaires are assessed: NHP, EORTC QLQ-C30, HADS, MFI-20, GBB-24 and Whiteley index. The corrrelations between the total scores are markedly higher than the mean correlations among the subscales between the tests. Even in those cases where the subscales share the same subdimension the correlations are not higher than the correlations between these subscales and the (unspecific) total scores. The advantage of sharing a common area is as great as the disadvantage of the lower number of items. By means of the Spearman-Brown formula the relationship between the number of items and the reliability of the scale is discussed in detail. It can be concluded that the calculation of total scores is useful and justified from a statistical perspective.

Based on the assumption that the parental rearing behaviour recalled by adults can be conceptualized as a specific mental representation of attachment, the study examines the associations between these rearing-related memories and adult attachment patterns in intimate relationships. The data for this study were obtained from a large community-based sample of the German population (1509 subjects between the ages of 18 and 50 years). Both, the perceived parental rearing behaviour and the adult attachment patterns have been assessed via questionnaires (Questionnaire of Recalled Parental Rearing Behaviour [Fragebogen zum erinnerten elterlichen Erziehungsverhalten, FEE] and Bielefeld Partnership Expectations Questionnaire [Bielefelder Fragebogen zu Partnerschaftserwartungen, BFPE]). As the result of the study it could be shown that a secure adult attachment pattern in intimate relationships is associated with a parental rearing behaviour that has been perceived as positive, while on the other hand insecure attachment patterns are rather associated with more negative experiences of parental rearing.

The Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) is a questionnaire that assesses health related quality of life. The aim of this paper is to test the psychometric quality of the instrument based on a subject sample which is representative for the German population. The sample consisted of 1996 persons with ages between 18 and 92 years. They were asked to fill in several questionnaires including the NHP. The results show that the NHP does not differentiate between subjects in the range of low and medium levels of complaints. Only one half of the subject sample agreed to at least one of the 38 items. All six subscales showed significant age and sex effects which were proved with nonlinear regression analyses. The validity was assessed through correlations with other health related questionnaires. It can be concluded that the use of the NHP cannot be recommended when studies in the general population are conducted.

Members of the protein family called ATPases associated with various cellular activities (AAA(+)) play a crucial role in transforming chemical energy into biological events. AAA(+) proteins are complex molecular machines and typically form ring-shaped oligomeric complexes that are crucial for ATPase activity and mechanism of action. The Escherichia coli transcription activator phage shock protein F (PspF) is an AAA(+) mechanochemical enzyme that functions to sense and relay the energy derived from nucleoside triphosphate hydrolysis to catalyze transcription by the sigma(54)-RNA polymerase. Closed promoter complexes formed by the sigma(54)-RNA polymerase are substrates for the action of PspF. By using a protein fragmentation approach, we identify here at least one sigma(54)-binding surface in the PspF AAA(+) domain. Results suggest that ATP hydrolysis by PspF is coupled to the exposure of at least one sigma(54)-binding surface. This nucleotide hydrolysis-dependent presentation of a substrate binding surface can explain why complexes that form between sigma(54) and PspF are transient and could be part of a mechanism used generally by other AAA(+) proteins to regulate activity.

The present study concerns the impact of recalled parental rearing behaviour on both the intensity of the wish to have a child and on different motives to have a child. Until now there are no empirical studies as to this objective. Our study is based on a representative sample of 1509 persons aged 18 to 50 years. The statistical analyses were restricted to those subjects who lived in partnership and reported an actual wish to have a child (n = 331). The data were assessed by self-reporting scales: The Questionnaire of Recalled Parental Rearing Behaviour "Fragebogen zum erinnerten elterlichen Erziehungsverhalten, FEE", the Partnership Questionnaire "Partnerschaftsfragebogen, PFB", and the Leipzig Questionnaire of Motives to Have a Child "Leipziger Fragebogen zu Kinderwunschmotiven, LKM". A recalled parental rearing behaviour, which was characterized as having been rejective, overprotective and less emotionally warm was associated with such motives which do not promote the wish to have own children (fear of personal restrictions and a low degree of social support). Simultaneously, a negative parental rearing behaviour was correlated with a stronger desire for social recognition by an own child. The recalled maternal rearing behaviour was altogether stronger associated with motives to have a child than the paternal. On the other hand, no relevant associations could be found between the recalled parental rearing behaviour and the intensity of the wish to have a child.

The study presents the subjective responses of a representative sample of the German population (2050 subjects, aged 14 to 92 years) on the prevalence of somatoform complaints, using the SOMS (Screening for somatoform disorders) developed by Rief et al. (1997). The results show that somatoform disorders are widespread in the German population. The symptoms named most frequently were pains in the back, aching limbs, pains in the arms or legs, headaches, facial pains and sensations of fullness in the stomach. Women named more somatoform complaints than men and elderly suffered more than the young. The higher rate found in East Germany could be accounted for by the responses of the East German women. Of particular economic and political relevance is the health care utilization behaviour of this group of patients. High medical consultation frequencies and increasing drug consumption were found for a significant proportion of all patients with somatoform disorders. In apparent contradiction to these findings is the classification according to DSM-IV and ICD-10, which diagnose somatoform disorders in only 0.2%-0.4% of the population. Such low prevalence can be attributed to the restrictive diagnostic criteria applied by these systems which obscure the real frequency of somatoform syndromes requiring specific treatment.