Martin Bujard

Rising survey costs, increasing internet usage, and restrictions during the pandemic have accelerated a shift from face-to-face (Computer Assisted Personal Interviews, or CAPI) to web-based interviews (Computer Assisted Web Interviews, or CAWI). This paper analyses the consequences of this shift for the comparability of survey-based measurements of demographic key indicators. We use data from a unique experiment on the modes of data collection such as CAPI or CAWI (in the following: “modes”), conducted in the Generations and Gender Survey in Germany, Croatia, and Portugal. We calculate mode-specific means and ratios of selected indicators and perform regression analyses to estimate mode effects. In all countries, we find a few distinct mode-selection effects: Less educated people are more underrepresented in CAWI, and urban regions are underrepresented in CAPI mode. Mode-measurement effects vary widely across indicators and country contexts. For sensitive questions, there are less social desirability biases in CAWI. For questions with a high respondent burden, there are less survey satisficing biases in CAPI. Loop questions with a high respondent burden are of particular concern. The mode shift challenges comparability between data collections, in longitudinal analyses and in cross-country comparisons. Data users should use weights for descriptive analyses, control for the mode where possible, and consider mode differences when interpreting results. The unique data source allows insights into mode effects among demographic indicators that were not possible before.

Background Loneliness is increasingly recognized as a major public health concern, yet little is known about the distinct patterns and associated factors of emotional and social loneliness during young and middle adulthood. This study examined age-related differences in overall, emotional, and social loneliness and associated sociodemographic, social, health-related, and personality factors among adults in Germany. Methods We analyzed nationally representative data from the German Family Demography Panel Study (FReDA), including 14,443 adults aged 18 to 51 years. Loneliness was assessed using the validated De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Short Scale, distinguishing overall, emotional, and social loneliness. Multivariable regression models examined associations with sociodemographic, social, health-related, and personality factors. Analyses were stratified by age and gender. Results High levels of loneliness were common, with 24.3% of participants reporting intense emotional loneliness, 29.6% intense overall loneliness, and 35.9% intense social loneliness. Overall loneliness remained relatively stable across age groups. In contrast, emotional loneliness decreased with age, whereas social loneliness increased. Social relationships showed the strongest protective associations, particularly for social loneliness: Discussing personal matters within one’s social network (β = -0.32, 95% CI -0.37 to -0.28) and having a partner (ß = -0.21, 95% CI: -0.26 to -0.16) were associated with lower social loneliness, while first-generation migration background was associated with higher social loneliness (β = 0.31, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.38). Mental health burdens were consistently associated with higher loneliness, especially emotional loneliness, with depressed mood showing the strongest association (β = 0.22, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.27). Among personality traits, agreeableness was associated with lower social loneliness (β = -0.19, 95% CI -0.22 to -0.17), whereas neuroticism was associated with higher emotional loneliness (β = 0.17, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.20). Gender differences were generally small, and physical health conditions were not significantly associated with loneliness. Conclusions Loneliness in young and middle adulthood is multidimensional, with emotional and social loneliness showing distinct age-related patterns and associated factors. Social relationships appear to be the most important protective factors, while mental health problems and migration background are associated with increased vulnerability. Public health strategies should address different loneliness dimensions and strengthen social connections.

Objective: This scoping review aims to provide an overview of documents describing the preparation of policy briefs from academic health science researchers for policy-making. Introduction: Not considering research evidence sufficiently may engender inefficient resource allocation and an inadequate response to public issues. Policy briefs are aimed at bridging this gap and assisting policy-makers in making evidence-informed decisions, yet they lack standardization. Methods: A scoping review following JBI methodology was conducted. We aimed at summarizing recommendations and guidelines for policy briefs from health science academia, focusing on formal criteria and contextual considerations. We included documents describing the preparation of policy briefs from academia to policy-making, as well as those that are usable for various addressees. Documents needed to be published in German, English, French, or Spanish and available in full text. Searches were conducted in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, LIVIVO (SOMED), and additional sources up to December 01, 2025, resulting in 67 included records out of 1395 scientific publications and 81 grey literature sources. Results: The structure of policy briefs varied, with layout and language being the only consistent elements. Guidelines exhibited diversity in length, target groups, references, and timing, with discernible tendencies. Contextual considerations also varied across articles, indicating inconsistency in definitions and frequencies. Conclusion: Variability in policy brief design guidance poses challenges for both researchers and end-users, potentially hindering effective evidence communication. Enhanced efforts of co-creation, shared minimum standards, and evaluation may mitigate these challenges. Still, complete standardization may be unattainable, necessitating flexibility to cater to diverse audience needs, priorities, and perspectives. Transparent acknowledgement of such situations is crucial. Systematic review registration: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/HTJMW

As a result of the Russo-Ukrainian war, several million Ukrainians fled, more than one million to Germany. Until now, most studies on mental health of Ukrainian refugees are cross-sectional and there is a clear need to observe their well-being. We employed five waves of the IAB-BiB/FReDA-BAMF-SOEP (later BiB/FReDA) Survey on Ukrainian Refugees in Germany analyzing affective balance, starting shortly after flight in summer 2022. By observing the time span between the summer of 2022 and the fall of 2024, we could emphasize potential risk and protective factors for Ukrainian refugees’ affective balance, a scale that indicates affective well-being by measuring angry, worried, happy, and sad emotions. We found that the respondents’ affective well-being increased over time, mostly due to decreasing frequencies of negative affects. Moreover, our results suggest that while the effects of worries on affective balance did not diminish upon controlling for potential protective factors, contact to Germans, German language proficiency, and pursuing a part-time job still improved affective balance. We thus conclude that over time, Ukrainian refugees’ situation in Germany improves, as well. Nevertheless, their worries about their economic, health-related, or family-related situation should not be discounted.

Die Studie liefert umfangreiche quantitative Informationen zu Lebenslagen und Perspektiven sowie differenzierte Einblicke in zeitliche Entwicklungen und Veränderungen mit zunehmender Aufenthaltsdauer. Im Fokus der Analyse stehen Entwicklungen und Veränderungen in der Sozialstruktur, Familienentwicklung, Teilhabe von Kindern und Jugendlichen, Arbeitsmarktpartizipation, soziale Teilhabe sowie weiteres Wanderungsverhalten Erwachsener.

In times of polycrisis, such as COVID-19, the Russian war against Ukraine, and inflation, fear and uncertainties challenge many people. While the impact of the pandemic on subjective well-being was thoroughly studied, the medium-term effects and impacts of more recent crises are still to be observed. Based on the first five waves of the bi-annual (and once tri-annual) large-scale panel FReDA, we show the trend of life satisfaction over 16 time points between April 2021 and January 2023. In addition, we conduct fixed effects and random effects for five subwaves. Results reveal a mostly increasing level of life satisfaction, with setbacks during times of COVID-19 and the Ukraine war. These setbacks also result from restrictions during the pandemic and a higher consumer price index. In a comparison between groups that differentiate between household incomes, the lowest income tercile is particularly affected by crises. Risk factors are unemployment or a bad financial situation. Having children and being in a committed relationship exhibited protective factors. We further observed that the rise in inflation widens the happiness gap so that single parents are disadvantaged. Our research design proved the high potential of combining a higher-frequency panel with monthly information within a wave. As the first study applying this with FReDA data, it paves the way for future analyses of short-term fluctuation with panel data. Our findings on the discontinuity of life satisfaction in times of polycrisis point out that a monitoring of future trends, vulnerable groups, and policy support is indispensable.

In many countries, temporary work (including fixed-term and casual employment contracts) is negatively associated with fertility. Yet, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain poorly understood. This study investigates several mediating pathways (wages, financial satisfaction, short tenure, and subjective job insecurity) through which temporary work influences the transition to first birth in two contrasting contexts: Australia and Germany. Event-history and path models are estimated using 19 years of data from both the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey (n = 28,530) and the German Socio-Economic Panel (n = 31,608). Results show that casual work among women and men in Australia and fixed-term contracts among women in Germany are associated with a lower likelihood of first birth than permanent employment. Lower wages explain a significant proportion of these differences for both genders. The higher likelihood of being new in a job (in Germany) and higher perceived job insecurity (in Australia) are relevant mediators only among women, whereas the subjective financial situation was not a relevant mediator for any group. These findings suggest that a less favorable objective financial situation plays a crucial role in first-birth postponement by temporary workers, whereas perceived economic and employment uncertainty are not universally associated with first-birth decisions.