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In this study, the effectiveness of a life skills program to impede tobacco use in early adolescence was scrutinized. The focus was on the mediating role of yielding to peer pressure. The universal school-based life skills program IPSY (Information + Psychosocial Competence = Protection) against adolescent substance use was implemented over 3 years. Over the same time period, it was evaluated based on a longitudinal quasi-experimental design with an intervention and comparison group (4 measurement points; N = 1,657 German students, age 10 at T1). By applying a growth curve modeling approach, we found that participation in IPSY compared with non-participation predicted a slower increase in tobacco use over time, suggesting a significant intervention effect. Moreover, a parallel growth curve model revealed that less yielding to peer pressure induced by IPSY mediated the program effects on tobacco use over time.

The literature proposes that leisure boredom may systematically increase during adolescence. Moreover, some authors assume that this hypothesized developmental trend is associated with increases in youthful delinquency and depression. Individual dispositions (e.g., temperamental disinhibition) are believed to exacerbate the relationship between boredom and delinquency. This study investigated whether (1) leisure boredom really is an increasing phenomenon during early adolescence; (2) gender, temperamental disinhibition, shyness, family relationship quality, peer rejection, a deprived school context, and rural/urban living explain developmental variations in boredom; (3) boredom is longitudinally and reciprocally related to delinquency and depression; and (4) bored disinhibited adolescents are particularly likely to become delinquent and to use delinquent acts to mitigate boredom. Analyses were based on a German sample of school students (N = 722) who provided annual self-reports on study variables from age 10 to 14 years. Bivariate growth curve models captured correlations between developmental trajectories of boredom and delinquency/depression. Cross-lagged models examined reciprocal short-term associations. Analyses revealed a modest increase in leisure boredom during early adolescence. Disinhibition and qualities of proximal social contexts (family, peers, school) were related to boredom with peer rejection showing the most consistent longitudinal association. Boredom was developmentally associated with depression whereas longitudinal associations with delinquency were weaker and more short-term. Temperamentally disinhibited adolescents appeared to buffer leisure boredom by means of delinquency. Results support person-context models of leisure boredom with regard to its etiology and consequences. Findings further demonstrate that leisure boredom plays a prominent role in the developmental adaptation of adolescents.

We analyzed whether perceived demands associated with social change and coping with these demands are related to depressive symptoms in German adolescents from the highest versus middle/lowest educational track. Demands reflected an increase in uncertainty (e.g., risk for getting no job). Adolescents on the highest educational track perceived fewer demands in the field of education/work and reported lower levels of depression than adolescents on lower educational tracks. In addition, work-related demands were associated with depressive symptoms only in students on lower educational tracks. Whereas problem-focused coping with these demands was associated with lower depressive symptoms in all students, we found that associations of distancing from demands with depression varied by educational track. We conclude that increased uncertainty associated with social change serves as a stressor that relates to adolescents' depressive symptoms. However, educational attainment is an important resource for dealing with these stressors.

On the basis of general theories of delinquency and the specific situation of immigrants, this longitudinal study investigated predictors of initial levels and rates of change in delinquency among 188 male ethnic German Diaspora immigrants from the former Soviet Union (FSU) in Germany, 237 male native German adolescents, and 182 male Jewish Diaspora adolescents from the FSU in Israel. The participants (15.2 years old) completed 3 annual assessments. Latent growth curve models showed that ethnic German adolescents reported higher initial levels of delinquency than native German adolescents and lower levels than the Russian Jewish adolescents. Groups did not differ in the rate of change, indicating a decrease in delinquency over time. Peer-oriented leisure related positively and parental knowledge negatively with levels and change rates in delinquency in all groups, but could not fully account for the ethnic differences in delinquency levels. School bonding was associated negatively with delinquency only among native German adolescents. Acculturation-related hassles were an additional predictor for higher levels and also associated with change rates in the immigrant groups. Thus, general theories of delinquency apply to immigrants, but may be complemented by adding acculturation-specific challenges.

A successful entry into work is one of the key developmental tasks in young adulthood. The present 4-wave longitudinal study examined the interplay between occupational motivation (i.e., goal engagement and goal disengagement) and well-being (i.e., satisfaction with life, satisfaction with work, satisfaction with partnership, positive affect, depressive symptoms, autonomy, purpose in life, positive relations with others) during the transition from university to work. The sample consisted of 498 university graduates from 4 majors with favorable or unfavorable employment opportunities. Data were analyzed using latent growth curve modeling. The results showed that increases in goal engagement were associated with increases in numerous aspects of well-being. Increases in goal disengagement were associated with decreases in numerous aspects of well-being. However, this dynamic was not without exception. Goal engagement at graduation was associated with a decrease in autonomy and, for individuals with unfavorable employment opportunities, an increase in depressive symptoms. Goal disengagement at graduation was associated with an increase in satisfaction with work. These findings elucidate why some individuals may opt for overall maladaptive motivational strategies during the transition into the workforce: They provide selective well-being benefits. In sum, how young adults deal with their occupational goals is closely linked to changes in their well-being. (Contains 5 tables, 2 figures and 1 footnote.)

Globalized labor markets confront many adults, both employed and unemployed, with demands arising from career uncertainty that have the potential to jeopardize their occupational planning. This article investigated how individuals in different regions of Germany, which are characterized by different economic opportunities, negotiate such demands to pursue a career. The central hypothesis is that under unfavorable economic conditions, disengagement from demands of career planning, in terms of reducing commitment to their mastery, will predict positive changes in subjective well-being. This was tested using a sample of N = 806 adults living in 91 regions of Germany. Results suggest that disengagement predicts increased subjective well-being, but only if individuals report a very high load of demands of career planning and live in regions characterized by particularly poor opportunities for goal striving. It is concluded that disengagement can be an adaptive way of mastering occupational planning under particularly disadvantageous circumstances. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.)

Applying a life-span approach of human development and using the example of science-based business idea generation, the authors used structural equation modeling to test a mediation model for predicting entrepreneurial behavior in a sample of German scientists (2 measurement occasions; Time 1, N = 488). It was found that recalled early entrepreneurial competence in adolescence predicted business idea generation. This link was mediated by entrepreneurial human and social capital. Moreover, an entrepreneurial Big Five profile was associated with early entrepreneurial competence and predicted entrepreneurial human and social capital. Results underscore the relevance of the long-neglected developmental approach to entrepreneurship.

Social change has accentuated various demands in people's work lives including, for instance, fears of being laid off, anticipated or experienced difficulties in finding a new and/or appropriate job or a lack of security in career planning. The present study on N=1751 employed, short-term unemployed, and long-term (greater than 12 months) unemployed German adults examined the associations between the perceived accumulation of such demands and individuals' life satisfaction. Further, main and moderating effects of individuals' modes of dealing with these demands, that is, engagement and disengagement preferences based on Heckhausen and Schulz's (1995) life-span theory of control, were investigated. A higher load of demands was expected to be linked to lower life satisfaction irrespective of employment status. Positive main effects as well as buffering effects of engagement and disengagement, in contrast, were expected to differ depending on the particular employment situation. Multiple linear regressions including main and interaction effects set up as three-group comparison models showed that a high demand load was linked to lower life satisfaction in each of the three groups. Engagement was positively linked to life satisfaction in the case of employment, whereas in the transient stage of short-term unemployment, disengagement strengthened the negative link between demand load and life satisfaction. In the case of long-term unemployment, both modes of dealing with demands were positively related to life satisfaction. The positive effect of engagement, however, diminished as perceived demands increased, indicating that "over-engagement" may be counterproductive when faced with a high demand load. Consequences of our findings for potential interventions among unemployed people are discussed. (Contains 1 figure and 3 tables.)

Focusing on new demands posed by social and economic change, and applying a pattern-based approach, this study examined constellations of increasing labor market uncertainties (understood as threat) and increasing job-related learning tasks (understood as positive challenge). We investigated whether and how the groups of working individuals behind these constellations would systematically differ in socio-demographic characteristics and psychological resources and adjustment. Results derived from two corresponding data sets from Germany and Poland (German data set: N=1448; Polish data set: N=1584). Discriminant analyses revealed very similar results in both countries. As expected, respondents with a "Negative change" pattern (high uncertainty/low learning) differed from the "Positive change" group (low uncertainty/high learning) in that they showed higher levels of psychological resources (e.g., change-related self-efficacy), adjustment (e.g., work satisfaction), and socioeconomic status. Respondents with a "Complex change" pattern (high/high) mainly differed from those with a "No change" pattern (low/low) in that they showed more change-related exploration. Additional analyses revealed that the "Positive change" pattern is particularly prevalent in high positions (i.e., managers and professionals). Taken together, the results illustrate that constellations of change-related demands are systematically distributed within the working population as a function of socio-demographic background and psychological make-up. (Contains 1 figure and 5 tables.)

What role does social identity play in the transition from employed work to entrepreneurship? It was expected that social identity affects the cognitive processes that, according to the theory of planned behavior (TPB), underlie the formation of entrepreneurial intentions. Focusing on academic scientists' intentions to commercialize research knowledge, we investigated social identity (scientists' group identification with their workplace peers in academia) as a moderator in the TPB model. Our hypotheses were tested in a sample of 488 German scientists. The data revealed that entrepreneurial intentions were predicted by attitude, social norms, and perceived control and that group identification was negatively associated with perceived control. Multi-group structural equation modeling further showed that group identification moderated the TPB-intention link. Scientists with low group identification based their entrepreneurial intentions not so much on social norms and attitudes but on their self-initiative and control beliefs. Among scientists with high group identification, in turn, entrepreneurial intentions were mainly a function of social norms. These results, in sum, illustrate the long-neglected importance of identification with, and social cohesion within, peer groups at the workplace for the transition to entrepreneurship. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)

Contributing to the literature on early precursors of entrepreneurship, this study investigated the role of early social competencies for an entrepreneurial career choice and entrepreneurial success in young adulthood.We utilized data from the British Cohort Study and the Thuringian Founder Study (Germany), thereby comparing results across countries, study designs (e.g., retrospective vs. prospective), and concepts of early social competencies and entrepreneurship. In the British analyses, which concentrated on self-employment among the creative class, we found that social competencies in childhood (i.e., social skills and peer popularity at age 10) predicted entrepreneurial status at age 34, continuity in entrepreneurial activity (age 30 and 34) as well as earnings among the self-employed (age 34). In the German data, we found that entrepreneurial forms of social competencies in adolescence (i.e., leadership and early commercialization activities at age 14 or 15) predicted the process of starting an innovative business in young adulthood (entrepreneurial intentions, progress in the venture creation process, and business success in the post-startup phase). The results are discussed with an emphasis on possible pathways connecting early social competencies and enterprising behavior in young adulthood.

From a biopsychosocial perspective on human development, this essay review introduces a model linking social changes at the macro level with individual development at the micro level. German unification and the globalization of economy that followed are taken as a case in point for social changes that have affected the lives of many. It is argued that social change cascades down to the individual level through various contexts of development where it is manifested in terms of demands individuals have to negotiate. Empirical examples from recent research on the process and results of this negotiation are provided.

This longitudinal study compared immigrant and native adolescents' expectations concerning the timing of conventional socially acceptable and oppositional less socially acceptable forms of autonomy. Based on normative development and a collectivist background among immigrants, both developmental and acculturative change was expected. The sample consisted of 523 ethnic German immigrants from the former Soviet Union and 475 native German adolescents, both groups divided into an early (age 12.5 years) and a late (age 16 years) adolescent group. Results revealed more developmental than acculturative change, as immigrants and natives mostly showed a similar rate of change in autonomy expectations. Acculturative change was found only for oppositional autonomy among late adolescent immigrants, whose later expectations approached those of their native age-mates over time. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

Drawing on two nationally representative German studies (N[subscript 1] = 1744, N[subscript 2] = 759), we examined correlates of early, on-time, and late curfew autonomy, a retrospective indicator of behavioural autonomy, in young and middle adulthood (19-37 years of age). Adjustment in four domains was considered: educational attainment, externalizing problem behaviour, subjective well-being, and interpersonal relationships. The early group showed lower adjustment in multiple domains across young and middle adulthood. The late group reported a mixed pattern of adjustment at younger ages (lower externalizing problems, but lower positive affect, lower importance of peers, and lower likelihood to have a partner) and positive adjustment in all domains at older ages. Timing effects were controlled for sociodemographic characteristics and retrospective measures of early adversities, pubertal timing, disclosure to parents, and peer group affiliation in adolescence. Findings show that late behavioural autonomy in its correlates is not simply the opposite of early behavioural autonomy. (Contains 6 tables.)

New experiences, challenges, and opportunities inherent in biographical transitions are expected to foster the psychosocial development of individuals. Our study investigated, first, developmental gains in children's language competence, social support seeking, and self control following the transitions to kindergarten and school; second, whether native Germans, ethnic German repatriates, Russian Jewish and Turkish migrants differed in developmental gains following these transitions; and third, whether differences in mother's education, financial standing, or network contacts accounted for ethnic group differences in developmental gains. In total, 111 mothers of kindergarten-aged and 179 mothers of school-aged children were interviewed twice, before and after the respective transition, with a one-year-interval. Results showed that, according to mothers' reports, children increased in language competence and self control after both transitions. The increase for some outcomes varied, however, between ethnic groups and was accounted for by differences in maternal education. Results underscore the importance of immigrants' education for the positive development of their offspring and of institutional opportunities in compensating for early disadvantages.

What predicts adults' entrepreneurial intentions? Utilizing a cross-sectional sample of 496 German scientists, we investigated a path model for the effects of entrepreneurial personality (Big Five profile), control beliefs, and recalled early entrepreneurial competence in adolescence (early inventions, leadership, commercial activities) on two types of entrepreneurial intentions (conditional and unconditional intentions). As expected, entrepreneurial personality and early entrepreneurial competence on the one hand and both types of entrepreneurial intentions on the other were associated. Findings of structural equation modeling further revealed indirect effects via control beliefs (e.g., mediation effects). The results highlight the importance of a life span developmental approach in entrepreneurship research and support the idea that entrepreneurship can be promoted early in life. The findings are discussed against the backdrop of the economic and societal values that entrepreneurship has in today's societies. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

Objective: This study investigated whether a universal school-based life skills program--IPSY (Information + Psychosocial Competence = Protection)--against substance misuse exerted the same effectiveness for young adolescents (10.5-13 years) from distinct alcohol use trajectories characterized by late childhood risk factors (temperament, self-worth, social problems with peers). Method: Analyses were based on a German sample of school students (N = 1,484). A longitudinal quasi-experimental design (intervention/control) with schoolwise assignment to the respective groups was used. Data were gathered via self-report questionnaire. Two-part growth mixture modeling was applied. Results: Two prototypical trajectory classes of early alcohol use were found: a problematic group with a sharp increase in prevalence and quantity of consumed alcohol (19.7%) and a normative group with a moderate increase in both outcomes (80.3%). The problematic trajectory class was associated with several risk factors. IPSY decreased the likelihood of membership in the problematic group. Furthermore, IPSY buffered the increase in prevalence and quantity for the normative group, whereas it had no effects on these indicators for the problematic group. Concerning quantity of alcohol use, the effect size in terms of a difference in estimated means between intervention and control group at the last measurement point in the normative group was d = 0.33 (95% CI [0.21, 0.44]). Conclusions: Study findings indicate the usefulness of IPSY for reducing alcohol use especially in normative developing adolescents. However, the minority of adolescents consistently pursuing a problematic developmental pathway of alcohol use seem to be in need of earlier, more tailored treatments. (Contains 8 footnotes, 5 tables, and 3 figures.)

The present study investigated whether a life skills program (LSP) for the prevention of adolescent substance misuse can have positive influences on a school context and on school bonding. The study also explored whether effects on alcohol use are mediated by positive effects on school bonding resulting from program participation. The LSP IPSY (Information + Psychosocial Competence = Protection) was implemented over a 3-year period via specially trained teachers. Analyses were based on a German evaluation study utilizing a quasi-experimental design (intervention/control) with school-wise assignment to the respective groups. Analyses were based on four measurement points (N = 952, 10 years at pre-test). Results indicated that IPSY was well implemented, highly accepted by teachers and students, and that teachers profited regarding their teaching methods. ANCOVAS revealed positive program effects on alcohol use and school bonding. Multiple regressions indicated that positive influences on school bonding following program participation partially mediated effects on alcohol use. (Contains 4 tables.)

Individually experienced demands of current social change in the domains of work and family were assessed in a large sample of adults from two Western and two Eastern federal states of Germany. For each domain of life, a cumulated index was computed representing the load with highly endorsed demands and this was compared across political regions, employment, partnership status and participants' level of education. Generally, a higher load of demands was found in Eastern Germany for participants who were unemployed or outside the labor market, those who were separated or divorced, and those with lower education. The political context and education aggravated the load of demands in the domain of work (but not in the domain of family) as indicated by significant two-way interactions between the different factors. The results prove that the demands of social change due to globalization or individualization differ in a systematic way across ecological niches.

It is well known that human development is influenced by social change. In particular, as evidenced by research on German unification, the rapid change of social institutions can impact on various aspects of behaviour and development. Based on my own research experience in this field, I want to show the necessity for a better interdisciplinary collaboration, for more comparative research across divergent manifestations of social change, and for a strong orientation towards application. The address begins with a record of unwarranted assertions about the consequences of German unification. Following that, I discuss the role played by the change of social institutions in the timing of important psychosocial transitions during adolescence and young adulthood. Next, I present a conceptual model that informed our research on self-efficacy as a resource in mastering the new challenges. I conclude with suggestions concerning the development of interventions aimed at increasing people's capabilities to capitalise on opportunities provided by profound change in social institutions. At each step, such research needs to be supported by comprehensive models of the interplay between context and the individual. I also underscore the role of ISSBD as a potential broker for new efforts in research and application in this regard.

In times of dramatic social change, new career options emerge and old options may become obsolete. We investigated predictors of change in general career aspirations and of plans to attend a university of East German adolescents from 1989 (before German unification) to 1991 and 1995, respectively, after German unification. Higher pre-unification self-efficacy beliefs were associated with an increase in general career aspirations and a higher probability of switching from non-college-bound vocational training to attending a university. In addition, better pre-unification school grades and having parents who graduated from a university increased adolescents' probability to switch to a university. Furthermore, interaction effects of self-efficacy with grades and cognitive abilities appeared, indicating that for individuals with high self-efficacy, cognitive abilities became more important and grades less important in predicting the wish to pursue university studies. We concluded that beliefs in one's capabilities, and high academic abilities are important resources in vocational reorientation in times of social change.

This study investigated whether self-efficacy beliefs measured before the onset of social change would moderate effects of social change on adolescents' life satisfaction, optimism regarding their future, and educational success. Self-efficacy beliefs of 593 German adolescents were measured between 1985 and 1988 before German unification. In 1992, perceived social change due to unification and outcome variables was assessed. Higher levels of perceived negative social change and lower levels of prior self-efficacy predicted lower levels of life satisfaction and less optimism regarding one's future after German unification in 1992. In addition, we found that higher self-efficacy buffers negative effects of unification-based change on both psychological outcome variables. However, no interaction effect between perceived social change and self-efficacy was found on the probability of attending the highest school track in 1992.

Although social change is diverse and ubiquitous, there is to date little research on the impact of social change on individual development, nor on the variables that may mediate and moderate this impact. This lack is, in part, based on insufficient consideration of psychological theories that may be applied to social change, but particularly on the lack of specific theories on psychological consequences of social change. In addition, methodological problems in measuring the complexity of social change have limited research on the consequences of social change on human development. With a focus on the effects of the breakdown of the communist system in Eastern Germany and Eastern Europe on individual development, the present paper analyses how prominent psychological theories can be applied to research on human development in times of social change, namely, Bronfenbrenner's ecological paradigm, the transactional stress theory, and recent developments of lifespan theories of control and coping. A behavioural model is introduced that analyses developmental consequences of individual's coping with social change. Finally, we discuss methodological implications for studying social change and set out future research needs. (Contains 1 figure.)

This longitudinal study examined individual, family, and peer covariates of distinctive trajectories of juvenile delinquency, using data from a community sample of 318 German adolescents (mean age at the first wave was 11.45 years). Latent growth mixture modelling analysis revealed four trajectory groups: high-level offenders, medium-level offenders, low-level offenders, and rare offenders. The trajectory groups were discriminated better by time-averaged covariates than by initial status covariates. High peer tolerance of deviance and low parental empathy were consistently linked to varying offending trajectories, whereas gender, low academic achievement, and low parental monitoring appeared to be trajectory-specific covariates.

Academic self-efficacy and grades at ages 12-15 in relation to unemployment and job satisfaction at 21 were calculated from Germany archival data (n=391). The relationship between high self-efficacy and unemployment was mediated by higher career-related motivation. The relationship between self-efficacy and job satisfaction was mediated by higher vocational competence. (Contains 47 references.) (SK)

Behavior in conflicts in 76 dyads of mothers and their 11-16-year-old adolescents was observed twice in a 2-year interval. In concordance with individuation theory, results found an increase across assessments in adolescents' autonomy. Results also revealed a decrease of connectedness with their mothers in younger adolescents and an increase of connectedness in older adolescents. (Contains 53 references.) (GCP)

This study compared the timing of early vocational preferences in young adolescents from former East Germany and West Germany. Results suggested that as the memory of the Communist system fades and as younger adolescents have had less exposure to it, East-West differences tend to disappear. The formation of early vocational preferences was associated with more advanced identity development. (Author/KB)

Adolescents from the former East (n=97) and West (n=186) Germany were used to examine the effects of consistently versus inconsistently supportive parents on several aspects of adolescent adjustment. Results show that adolescents who reported having consistently supportive parents had lower levels of depression and delinquency, higher levels of self-efficacy and did better in school over a three-year period. (Author/MKA)

Investigated leisure-activity correlates for German adolescents. Found that risky leisure was related to West Germany residency, higher childhood competitive play/creative activities, and lower parental monitoring. Social-romantic leisure was related to being female and higher competitive play. Creative-introspective leisure was associated with being female, lower competitive play, higher childhood participation in cultural education/creative activities, and higher parentally shared interests. (Author/KB)

Compares adolescents from East Germany who experienced an educational system offering little choice with adolescents from West Germany who experienced more leeway to investigate career maturity. East German adolescents reported more career maturity. Person-related variables predicted career maturity in both groups; family and peer context were only relevant to West Germans. Differences disappeared over time. (Author/MKA)

Our study focuses on everyday manifestations of contemporary socioeconomic change. For a sample of young- and middle-aged German employees gathered in 2008 (N = 281), we investigate the relationship of perceived rising demands regarding (a) the labor market and (b) the workplace context with subjective job insecurity. Regression analyses reveal a positive effect of rising labor market demands on job insecurity, which is buffered by education. The effect of education on job insecurity is mediated by rising labor market demands. Rising workplace demands show no effect on job insecurity for West German employees. In contrast, East Germans who experience rising workplace demands report lower levels of job insecurity. Results are discussed with a particular focus on rising demands in employment relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies revealed that parental knowledge of the child’s activities and whereabouts moderately declines during adolescence. This study investigated whether (a) there exist trajectory classes that considerably deviate from this average trend and (b) whether early psychosocial factors distinguish the trajectory subgroups. Analyses were based on a German sample of school students (N = 715) who provided annual self-reports from age 10 to 14 years. Growth mixture modeling revealed two same-sized trajectory groups of parental knowledge that both displayed a moderate decline and were only distinguishable by different levels. Membership in the lower level group was associated with a difficult temperament, poor family relationships, problems with peers, and male gender. Contrary to other studies, findings indicated that trajectory classes of parental knowledge which substantially deviate from the normative decline do not exist. Sample characteristics, the focus on early adolescence, and a thorough application of growth mixture specifications may explain our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

»Psychologische Herausforderungen einer Politischen Vereinigung - Ausgewählte Ergebnisse und Anregungen für Korea«. A number of early warning signs for the break-down of a political system like North Korea are presented, inspired by recent research in psychological science. Taking post-unification Germany as an exemplary case, the times soon after the turnabout and the mid2000s are considered in light of our own research. The focus is on the new challenges people were confronted with, which resources helped them to cope with strain and stress, and what all this meant for well-being. Concerning the 1990s, key drivers of behavior and its change were the changed institutions that resulted in rather quick adaptation to the new rules. Nevertheless, personal resources such as self-efficacy, gained under the old system, made a difference. In the 2000s, it was the uncertainties about life planning, rooted in the unification aftermath and effects of globalization and economic jeopardy, which shaped behavior. When confronted with challenges, people typically responded by active engagement, and if supported by internal control beliefs this helped to protect well-being in spite of the difficult situation. Under especially dire circumstances, however, disengagement was positive because it spares resources for alternative action. For the situation on the Korean Peninsula the German research results made plausible that policy interventions can use many entry points in the system of coping with social change, from opportunities to personal skills, to ease the challenges of living in a new country. Further, it demonstrates that a unification scenario inspired by the German model would require acculturation in both parts of the country, not only in the North. And finally, one has to consider lasting deficiencies in crucial agency factors due to growing up in an environment characterized by scarcity of adequate living conditions for large segments of the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology developments have changed immigrants' adaptation patterns in modern societies, allowing immigrants to sustain dense, complex connections with homeland while adjusting in the host country, a new phenomenon termed transnationalism. As empirical studies on immigrant transnationalism are still scarce, the purpose of this study was to investigate mean levels and determinants of a core component of transnationalism-transnational travel. Hypotheses were based on context of exiting homeland, living conditions in Germany and demographic and sociocultural variables. Transnational travel behaviour was assessed as frequency of return trips in three immigrant groups in Germany: ethnic Germans, Russian Jews and Turks. Interviews were conducted with 894 women participants from these groups. Results showed substantial transnational travel behaviour in all groups with Turks reporting higher levels than ethnic Germans and Russian Jews. Interindividual differences in transnational travel within groups were also examined. Results indicated similarities (e.g. network size in home country related positively to transnational travel frequency in all groups) and group-specific associations (e.g. co-ethnic identifying related positively to transnational travel frequency among Turks, but negatively for the other groups). Our study highlights the need for a new understanding of immigration and emphasises the consideration of group-specific mechanisms in transnational travel behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated how older adults’ perceptions of societal expectations for active aging, or activation demands (e.g., to stay fit and to contribute to the public good), relate to their involvement in paid work and formal volunteering and psychological adjustment. We used two waves of survey data on young-old Germans (aged 56–75, NT1 = 1,508, NT2 = 602). With the exception of several items on perceived activation demands, paid work and volunteering were not significant longitudinal predictors of such demands. In females, perceived activation demands increased the likelihood to work for pay a year later. Finally, among nonworking individuals, perceived activation demands predicted a better physical self-concept and a higher positive affect, whereas among nonvolunteers, such demands predicted fewer depressive symptoms a year later. We conclude that the policy debate on active aging may benefit some older German adults but is of little consequence for most of them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated how general social support from family, friends and acquaintances, and community predicted intentions for civic (e.g. volunteering) and political (e.g. petitioning) participation via the constructs specified in the theory of planned behaviour. Participants were young adults living in the former East Germany, a post-communist region, who were surveyed by telephone in 2010 ( Ncivic = 695, Npolitical = 694). Civic participation was perceived more favourably than political participation. Supportive family predicted intentions for civic participation; supportive community services predicted both types of intentions; and supportive friends and acquaintances had no significant effects. The mediating variables were subjective norms and perceived behavioural control, but not attitudes. All effects were controlled for sociodemographic variables, richness of the social network, and past experience of civic and political participation. Findings underscore the role of supportive community in fostering both civic and political participation. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The challenges of population ageing and globalisation have been addressed by many welfare states in terms of active ageing policies, which in turn confront individuals with new demands such as keeping up to date with technological developments. The purpose of this paper is to analyse how individuals negotiate the demands of active ageing. The outcome variable was change in primary and secondary control strategies with regard to demands of active ageing over the course of one year. In a German sample of N = 602 men and women aged 55–75 years, we found a strong preference for engagement with these demands and a low preference for disengagement. Furthermore, a higher load of demands of active ageing was associated with an increase in engagement with these demands. However, when people perceived their everyday surroundings as unfavourable, their disengagement with demands of active ageing increased. Higher internal control beliefs concerning demands of active ageing were associated with an increase in engagement and a decrease in disengagement. We conclude that individuals strengthen their efforts to master demands of active ageing when they believe that they can control them. When the everyday ecology seems unfavourable, though, strategies are preferred that enable people to avoid a presumably lost case. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Social and economic changes on the societal macro level, such as globalization, pluralization, and demographic shifts, create new demands that produce stress and require behavioral adaptation. In this large-sample correlational study, which replicates a similar study previously conducted in Germany, we investigated how young and middle-aged adults from Poland (N = 2,541) negotiated these demands. Dependent variables were engagement and disengagement strategies as defined by the motivational theory of life span development. By using planned contrasts between engagement (selective primary, selective secondary, and compensatory primary control) and disengagement (compensatory secondary control) in a repeated-measures ANOVA, we found a strong (η² = .48) preference for engagement over disengagement. Multivariate regression analyses revealed that the engagement and disengagement strategies were only modestly related to sociodemographic characteristics such as age, gender, employment, and partnership status (.00 < |β| < .13). Primary appraisal of the demands in terms of challenge/threat and gains/losses were correlated with engagement and disengagement (.01 < |β| < .16), but direction and size of the coefficients differed from what was previously found in Germany. Secondary appraisal of the demands in terms of their controllability (.04 < |β| < .21) and the perceived load of demands itself (.12 < |β| < .22) turned out to be the most relevant predictors of the engagement and disengagement strategies. By contrasting these results against earlier findings obtained in Germany, we argue that the differences in how people negotiate social change in the two countries are rooted in their different systems of welfare and social security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective We investigated the relationship between dispositional optimism and coping with growing occupational uncertainty, drawing on the life span theory of control to assess coping. Method Participants were 606 German adults with various sociodemographic backgrounds, aged 16-43. They were interviewed at the end of 2005 (Time 1) and at the beginning of 2007 (Time 2). We regressed each control strategy at Time 2 on its scores at Time 1, optimism at Time 1, three moderating variables, and their interactions with optimism. Results Dispositional optimism predicted an increase in both goal engagement strategies (selective primary and compensatory primary control) only under favorable conditions (low regional unemployment rate, low perceived growth in occupational uncertainty, and high perceived controllability of this stressor). Specific conditions moderating the effects of optimism differed between the two engagement strategies. In addition, an unfavorable labor market situation as such prompted an increase in goal engagement. No effects of optimism on goal disengagement (compensatory secondary control) at Time 2 were found. Conclusions The effects of dispositional optimism on the change in control strategies were contingent on the labor market situation, which supports the view that optimists are better able to tailor their coping responses to available opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. We tested whether formal volunteering, in terms of its associations with mental health, compensates for the absence of major work and family roles among older adults or rather complements such roles among both younger and older adults. Method. Two cross-sectional samples of younger (aged 18–42 years, N = 2,346) and older (aged 56–75 years, N = 1,422) German adults were used. We regressed mental health indicators on control variables, 2 indicators of formal volunteering (participation in voluntary organizations and volunteer work), and their interactions with employment/partnership status. Results. Participation in voluntary organizations was associated with higher positive affect, higher life satisfaction, and fewer depressive symptoms in younger adults. In older adults, it was related to higher life satisfaction only among working individuals, although the difference from nonworking individuals was not significant. Volunteer work was associated with higher positive affect in both age groups. In younger adults, it had no relation to life satisfaction and depressive symptoms. In older adults, it was related to higher life satisfaction among nonworking individuals and to fewer depressive symptoms among those without a steady partner. Discussion. Volunteer work but not participation in voluntary organizations yielded compensatory effects on mental health among older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: This study examined language shift from speaking Russian to German longitudinally in a sample of 229 adolescent immigrants (M age =16.14, M length of residence =6.26, 67% female). Our aims were to test whether language shift can be found in adolescent first generation immigrants and to test whether variables indicative of (a) linguistic adaptability, i.e., the efficiency to learn, speak and use a second language, (b) the amount of contact with native Germans, and (c) the motivation to use German, predicted differences in adolescents’ levels and rates of change in German language use. Results showed an overall decelerated increase in German language use over time, which resembled a “learning curve” leveling off at an average “frequent” use of German. Differences between adolescents in language shift were mainly associated with variables indicative of interethnic contact and motivation, but not to linguistic adaptability. In more detail, speaking German increasingly in daily life was related to an increasing share of native peers, a decreasing self-identification as Russian and an increasing orientation towards natives. Language shift thus seems to result from an increasing sense of belonging to the receiving society. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Demographic change and the call for active ageing impose new demands on older individuals. Using data on German adults aged 56 to 75 (N = 1,468), the authors investigated perceived level of activation demands (e.g., increased expectations that the young-old will contribute to the public good) and appraisal of them as threatening or challenging by individuals with different health status and socioeconomic backgrounds. Overall, perceived level of demands was moderately high, and they were seen rather as a challenge. East Germans, those with better subjective health, and those unemployed reported a higher level of activation demands, whereas retired and widowed individuals reported a lower level. Moreover, East Germans, individuals with lower educational attainment, and those reporting health problems (but not physically handicapped individuals) experienced these demands more as a threat and less as a challenge. The authors argue that more targeted policy strategies are needed to promote active ageing in disadvantaged groups. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper reviews five recent contributions that empirically investigate the interaction between changing socio-historical contexts and individual adaptation and development. The contributions by John Bynner, Rand Conger and colleagues, Cigdem Kagitcibasi, Jungsik Kim and colleagues and Ingrid Schoon are discussed against the backdrop of a generic model of social change and human development. It is argued that research on social change has to consider the larger political and social context and needs to identify and to study conditions that represent the processes of macro-micro-interaction. Such research will not only enrich the scientific inquiry in this field and promote theorizing about development-in-context, but also is of relevance for social policies in times of rapid social change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immigrant adolescents have been found to show high levels of friendship homophily (the tendency to prefer intra-ethnic over interethnic friends). Based on acculturation theories, we predicted longitudinal changes and interindividual differences in level and rate of change in friendship homophily by immigrant composition of school, parental objections to the cultural adaptation of their offspring, discrimination, and language use. Altogether 218 newcomer and 272 experienced adolescents who had emigrated from the former Soviet Union to Germany participated in 4 annual assessments. Friendship homophily was assessed by percentage of intra-ethnic friends. Results revealed higher levels of friendship homophily among newcomer (75%) than among experienced (65%) adolescents at Time 1, and a significant decrease over time was found only among newcomers. Higher age, higher percentage of immigrants at school, and lower levels of new language use all related to higher friendship homophily. Rate of change in friendship homophily was strongly related to change in new language use. Findings suggest that friendship formation with native adolescents is related to social learning processes, in which new language use plays a crucial role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]