Perceived Injustice in Unified Germany and Mental Health

Abstract

In a questionnaire study, 929 West Germans and 1275 East Germans were asked to appraise East–West differences in life quality on the labor market 7 years after the German unification. Judgments included perceived East–West differences, the justice of East-West differences, and temporal comparisons (changes since the unification and expectations in East and West Germany). Changes and expectations for East and West Germany were combined to obtain social-temporal comparisons. Negative emotions (envy, anxiety, moral outrage, guilt, hopelessness) and positive emotions (gratefulness, pride) regarding the situation of the labor market were also assessed. Mental health indicators included measures of depression, self-esteem, and psychosomatic well-being. Parameters of a path model were estimated by regressing (i) mental health on emotions and judgments and (ii) emotions on judgments. Mental health of East Germans is associated negatively with envy, anxiety, and hopelessness. Moral outrage has a positive suppressor effect. Mental health of West Germans is linked negatively with envy, anxiety, and existential guilt whereas pride, the perception of unfair privileges, and optimistic expectations have positive path effects. Appraising East–West differences as unjust plays a core role in predicting emotions in both samples. Social comparisons and social-temporal comparisons are superior to egocentric temporal comparisons for predicting social emotions (envy, moral outrage, guilt) while egocentric temporal comparisons are generally more important for predicting “nonsocial” emotions (anxiety, hopelessness). Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.