Publications Based on SOEP Data: SOEPlit

Genome-wide association analyses of risk tolerance and risky behaviors in over 1 million individuals identify hundreds of loci and shared genetic influences

Humans vary substantially in their willingness to take risks. In a combined sample of over 1 million individuals, we conducted genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of general risk tolerance, adventurousness, and risky behaviors in the driving, drinking, smoking, and sexual domains. Across all GWAS, we identified hundreds of associated loci, including 99 loci associated with general risk tolerance. ...

Education Differences in Women’s Body Weight Trajectories: The Role of Motherhood

Studies have found that education differences in women’s body weight increase until middle adulthood. The explanatory mechanisms behind this increase are not well-understood. This study examined the role of education differences in the prevalence of motherhood as a risk factor for weight gain and in vulnerability to its effects on weight gain. We used longitudinal data from the German Socio-economic ...

The Need for Household Panel Surveys in Times of Crisis: The Case of SOEP-CoV

The spread of the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, poses major challenges for individuals and societies at large. The question now is how individuals and society are dealing with these challenges, and what health, psychological, social, and economic effects they will have to bear. Meaningful answers can only be provided using a generalizable database that contains contextual information such as family ...

Family Life in Lockdown (Version: September 22, 2020)

Dehydration Predicts Longitudinal Decline in Cognitive Functioning and Well-Being Among Older Adults

Adequate hydration is essential for health, with even mild forms of dehydration often having negative effects on cognition and well-being. Despite evidence of higher risk for dehydration among older adults, links between dehydration and cognitive or well-being outcomes have not been established in old age. In this study, we used longitudinal data from the Berlin Aging Study II (age range 60–89) to ...

Preferences for Nuclear Power in Post-Fukushima Japan: Evidence from a Large Nationwide Household Survey

Utilizing the data of a large nationwide household survey conducted in 2014, we investigatepublic preferences on nuclear power in Japan after the Fukushima nuclear accident and the role offour sets of factors: (1) household/individual socioeconomic characteristics, (2) psychological status,(3) geographical aspects, and (4) Fukushima accident-related experiences. The preferred energy mix,according to ...

Compassion and envy in distributional comparisons

Normative-based distributional comparisons across countries and over time usually build upon the assumption that individuals are selfish. However, there is a consolidated evidence that individuals also care about what others have. In this paper we propose a framework for comparing and ranking distributions that includes non-individualistic possibilities. Specifically, we consider ranking criteria that ...

Temps Dip Deeper: Temporary Employment and the Midlife Nadir in Human Well-Being

Temporary employees rank lower than permanent employees on various measures of mental and physical health, including well-being. In parallel, much research has shown that the relationship between age and well-being traces an approximate U-shape, with a nadir in midlife. Temporary employment may well have different associations with well-being across the lifespan, likely harming people in midlife more ...

Trajectories of Multiple Subjective Well-Being Facets Across Old Age: The Role of Health and Personality

Subjective well-being is often characterized by average stability across old age, but individual differences are substantial and not yet fully understood. This study targets physical and cognitive health and personality as individual difference characteristics and examines their unique and interactive roles forlevel and change in a number of different facets of subjective well-being. We make use of ...

Refugees’ High Employment Expectations: Partially Met

This report compares employment expectations among refugees in Germany in 2016 with their actual employment situation in 2018, using the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees in Germany. In 2016, the majority of refugees reported that the probability they would find employment within two years was high. Employment expectations were met by 54 percent of all refugees; yet 35 percent of refugees who articulated ...