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Mentoring is acknowledged as an essential prerequisite for successful teacher induction, but its effectiveness may vary depending on the mentor's quality of support and the mentee's initial professional beliefs. Focusing on novice teachers' self-efficacy and emotional management, this longitudinal study investigates how constructivist- and transmission-oriented mentoring approaches support beginning teachers' professional development, and how these approaches interact with the novices' initial beliefs about teaching and learning. The data stem from a sample of 138 beginning teachers who participated in an online survey during their second and third trimesters of practical training in Germany. Moderated regression analyses indicate positive effects of constructivist mentoring on teacher self-efficacy 6 months later, and an enhancing moderation effect of mentees' mismatching, transmissive beliefs. Results neither support distinct effects of constructivist mentoring on novices' emotional management nor associations between transmissive mentoring and the outcomes. Implications for mentoring research and practice are discussed.

Studies on mentored learning to teach commonly focus on the quality of formally arranged mentoring relationships, leaving aside the informal sources of support that surround the mentor-mentee dyad. In this exploratory study, we broaden the scope and investigate how two distinct formal mentoring approaches interact with the informal support provided at teacher training schools in shaping the professional development of beginning teachers. Self-reports from 583 German beginning teachers on mentoring support, peer support, and collegial support are used to identify typical patterns of support during teacher induction. By means of latent class analysis, five support classes with qualitative differences are identified and subsequently compared with regard to their professional skills, self-efficacy, and emotional exhaustion using the BCH 3-step approach. Findings indicate significant differences across groups and a complementary relation between formal and informal support. Implications for effective teacher support within future teacher education are discussed.

Test anxiety of 625 medical students was assessed at semester start and two days prior to two oral exams with the PAF questionnaire [Prüfungsangstfragebogen]. Global and subscale scores for the categories "emotionality," "worry," "interference," and "lack of confidence" were obtained at three time points. The first assessment was used to identify those participants (n = 104) who showed the highest PAF scores. Medical hypnosis against test anxiety was performed with one half ten days before the first exam. The other half served as a matched, untreated control group. The mean global PAF scores and the "emotionality" and "lack of confidence" scores showed a statistically significant reduction from assessment to assessment within the hypnosis group, but not in the control group. "Interference" increased significantly in the control group but not in the hypnosis group. In conclusion, medical hypnosis seems to be beneficial and effective in helping students reduce test anxiety.

Integration experiences of hearing impaired German elementary school students in separate educational settings (n = 31) were compared with those of counterparts at the same level in integrated settings (n = 26), and evaluated in regard to psychosocial behavior, semantic-lexical abilities, and communicative skills. Analysis of questionnaire responses and intelligence subtests showed that the only difference between the samples concerned perceived well-being in school, and favored the integrated students. Other percentages of variance are explainable by school type (10%), parents' hearing status (12%), and use of bimodal communication (11%). The integrated students demonstrated a higher level of integration experience, associated with fewer psychosocial abnormalities and better communicative skills. The results indicate that educational setting is not the only factor influencing students' perceived well-being. Other contextual factors, e.g., hearing status of parents and communicative skills, have a similar positive impact on integration experiences. (Contains 6 tables.)

The present study investigated health locus of control, preventive behaviour and previous playing-related health problems of music students; 326 students of music (58% female, mean age 22 years) filled in the Locus of Control Inventory for Illness and Health (Lohaus and Schmitt, 1989) and the Epidemiological Questionnaire for Musicians (Spahn, 1998). It was shown that previous playing-related problems, being a string instrumentalist or a singer as well as high powerful others locus of control (LOC) and low external chance LOC, were predictive factors for the utilizing of preventive measures. It was not possible to confirm that a high internal LOC, in and of itself, furthers preventive behaviour. For prevention programmes at universities of music, it would seem important that previous health problems are actively ascertained at the commencement of the course of study, as they are an important point of departure for further, differentiated preventive counselling measures. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figures.)

Early diagnosis of selective mutism (SM) is an important concern. SM prevalence is higher than initially thought and at least three times higher in immigrant language minority children. Although the DSM-IV precludes diagnosing SM in immigrant children with limited language proficiency (as children acquiring a second language may normally undergo a "silent period"), specific diagnostic boundaries are not clear. The specific focus of this article is, therefore, the exact circumstances in which a language minority child should be diagnosed with SM.

Abstract In order to get admission to study medicine at a German university, the most important criterion is the proof of an excellent final college prep school examination (Abitur) in order to get an adequate study place without time loss. For the purpose of a suitable selection for admission of candidates, however, the best qualified and suitable applicants should be found to be distributed to the limited available university places for medicine. The final examination mark alone can represent such a suitability – if at all – only to a very limited extent. In order to figure out which skills and competences characterize a potential medical student and after studies a well-practicing and resilient later physician, we sought for initial steps to apply competence profiling as a predictor matching suitable prerequisites to a subsequent successful outcome. In order to meet these demands, we founded a project called ComMedMent at the Friedrich Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), where we defined competences for successfully becoming a medical expert while studying the medical curriculum. Here we present a comprehensive catalogue of 16 standards and meaningful key competencies for potentially successful medical students at the FAU. In collaboration with the Center for Competence Balancing – CeKom SÜD – (Pforzheim; Germany) and a local competence team comprising institute management, lecturers and students of different educational backgrounds, a target profile for the "ideally equipped students and later successful practitioners" was established. The identification of a site-specific and/or general requirement profile for medical students could open up new perspectives for the selection process and show the opportunities for helping students along the path to becoming medical experts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background In Germany, currently two out of three medical students are female. Several studies corroborate that medical students show a significantly higher prevalence of stress-related mental disorders than the population in general. Aims We aimed to evaluate, if gender has an influence on the distribution of mental stress parameters and learning style among male and female medical students. Methods We investigated a total of 758 students of the medical faculty at the University of Erlangen-Nuernberg, Germany, using standardized and validated psychological questionnaires on depressive symptoms (BDI-II), burnout (BOSS-II) and quality of life (SF-12). In addition, we screened the students for their learning styles according to Kolb. Results Out of 723 participants who declared their gender, 57.8% were female and 37.6% were male. Female students showed significantly higher values for depressiveness as well as for emotional and cognitive burnout, whereas the mental quality of life was significantly lower. A considerably higher percentage of male students with a converging or an accommodating learning style were found in comparison to their female fellows. Conclusions We postulate that an adaptation of the medical curriculum content to the investigated factors may contribute to a higher mental stability and less stress-related symptoms in medical students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1995, in agreement with the German Federal Ministry of Health, the Robert Koch Institute established a public health microbiology system consisting of national reference centers (NRCs) and consultant laboratories (CLs). The goal was to improve the efficiency of infection protection by advising the authorities on possible measures and to supplement infectious disease surveillance by monitoring selected pathogens that have high public health relevance. Currently, there are 19 NRCs and 40 CLs, each appointed for three years. In 2009, an additional system of national networks of NRCs and CLs was set up in order to enhance effectiveness and cooperation within the national reference laboratory system. The aim of these networks was to advance exchange in diagnostic methods and prevention concepts among reference laboratories and to develop geographic coverage of services. In the last two decades, the German public health laboratory reference system coped with all major infectious disease challenges. The European Union and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) are considering implementing a European public health microbiology reference laboratory system. The German reference laboratory system should be well prepared to participate actively in this upcoming endeavor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Identification of women with moderate alcohol abuse during pregnancy is difficult. We correlated self-reported alcohol consumption during pregnancy and patient characteristics with objective alcohol indicators measured in fetal meconium., Methods: A total of 557 women singleton births and available psychological tests, obstetric data and meconium samples were included in statistical analysis. Alcohol metabolites (fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs) and ethyl glucuronide (EtG)), were determined from meconium and correlated with patient characteristics., Results: We found that 21.2% of the 557 participants admitted low-to-moderate alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Of the parameters analyzed from meconium, only EtG showed an association with alcohol history (P < 0.01). This association was inverse in cases with EtG value above 120 ng/g. These values indicate women with most severe alcohol consumption, who obviously denied having consumed alcohol during pregnancy. No other associations between socioeconomic or psychological characteristics and the drinking status (via meconium alcohol metabolites) could be found., Conclusion: Women who drink higher doses of ethanol during pregnancy, according to metabolite measures in meconium, might be less likely to admit alcohol consumption. No profile of socioeconomic or psychological characteristics of those women positively tested via meconium could be established.

In the field of adult psychiatry in German-speaking countries, little attention is as yet paid to the psychic defects that a fetus can sustain as a result of prenatal exposure to alcohol. Although children of alcohol-dependent mothers do present to psychiatric institutions as adults with manifold symptoms, e. g., attention deficit disorders, affective disorders or intellectual disability, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders are rarely diagnosed as an underlying cause. Appropriate therapy guidelines do not exist. Current review papers within the German-speaking countries usually stem from paediatric and adolescent psychiatry or medicine. Based on a selected review of the literature, the following paper addresses and discusses the disease entity of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and fetal alcohol syndrome and their significance for adult psychiatry and also identifies open questions and research requirements, e. g., the development of diagnostic instruments or the establishment of diagnostic categories., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Purpose: It is unclear whether a residual sapheno-femoral stump left in place after stripping of the great saphenous vein can contribute to the formation of late inguinal varicose vein recurrence. In order to obtain information about the time course of recurrence development, patients with histologically proven residual stumps were recruited and asked about the interval between the initial operation and the first clinical signs of varicose vein recurrence., Methods: A multi-centre study involving 7 centres was conducted amongst patients undergoing redo-surgery for inguinal varicose vein recurrences. The sapheno-femoral stumps resected during the redo-surgery were classified histologically. Patients with a proven long residual sapheno-femoral stump were asked to describe the first signs of varicose vein recurrence with the help of a standardised questionnaire. From these data the symptom-free interval, consisting of the time frame between the initial operation and the first signs of recurrence, was determined., Results: In 279 legs of 251 patients a long residual sapheno-femoral stump was present. Most patients had experienced a symptom-free interval after the initial operation with a mean duration of 7.4 S.D. 5.5 years. Recurrent varicose veins became apparent after a mean time interval of 6.3 S.D. 5.3 years and congestion symptoms occurred after a mean interval of 8.5 S.D. 5.7 years., Conclusions: In patients with symptomatic groin recurrences, a long residual sapheno-femoral stump was found in about two thirds of cases. The first clinical signs of varicose vein recurrence can be expected 7-8 years after the initial treatment at the earliest. Long term follow up is required reliably to asses the outcome of treatment for varicose veins.