Dr. Sebastian Lang

Collecting life history data is highly demanding and therefore prone to error since respondentsmust retrieve and provide extensive complex information. Research has shown that responseburden is an important factor influencing data quality. We examine whether increases indifferent measures of response burden in a (mixed-device) online survey lead to adverseeffects on the data quality and whether these effects vary by the type of device used (mobileversus non-mobile).

Because retrospective collection of life history data requires respondents to retrieve and provide complex information, the process is highly demanding for respondents and prone to error. While a standard questionnaire does not align well with the structure of autobiographical memory, the use of a life history calendar (LHC) may facilitate cognitive processes and reduce response burden. It is unclear, however, whether LHCs yield favourable effects in self-administered mixed-device surveys. To clarify the effects of LHCs, we developed a survey on educational and occupational trajectories in a highly educated population. The survey included an experimental variation using a responsive LHC.

Prejudices against the unemployed pose an enormous threat to their self-confidence and can make it difficult for them to re-enter the labour market, resulting in further long-term unemployment. Given these high costs for the unemployed and for society as a whole, our knowledge of prejudices against the unemployed is surprisingly scarce. We focus on the question of what determines the strength of prejudice among employees. By applying social identity theory, we assume that people who are disadvantaged in the labour market in general, also hold stronger prejudices. In addition, we assume that social status mediates this association and that self-efficacy moderates it.

This study examines if informal caregiving has a negative effect on the mental health of the caregiver, taking into account additional burdens such as that of holding down a job. The analyses are based on the German Socio-Economic Panel(GSOEP). We estimate fixed-effects regressions of a measure of caregivers' mental health(SF-12) on hours of informal caregiving, taking into account the relationships between the caregiver and the person being cared for. Our results show that hours of caregiving have a negative effect on mental health. Being employed for a few working hours only has a positive effect on the health status even in combination with informal care duties. An interaction of these factors reveals a positive effect on mental health.