Families In Germany Research Articles

Influence of Family Language Policies on Language Proficiency across Generations: A Study of Russian-Speaking Families in Germany

Influence of Family Language Policies on Language Proficiency across Generations: A Study of Russian-Speaking Families in Germany

Bullying Victimization and Out-of-Home Care: The Role of Personal and Social Resources?

Previous studies have indicated that youth in care may represent a high-risk group for bullying victimization. So far, research has focused primarily on problem behavior rather than on potential personal or social resources of youth in care, particularly in the context of bullying victimization. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine whether youth in care are more likely to experience bullying victimization. Furthermore, it was analyzed if personal and social resources were protective of bullying victimization and whether these associations were moderated by family placement while controlling for lifetime poly-victimization. An online survey was completed by n = 119 youth in care and n = 110 youth in biological families in Germany - with or without a social/biological caregiver. Overall, the results showed that youth in care were 7.41 times more likely to experience bullying victimization than youth in biological families. Personal and social resources did add to the explained variance of current bullying victimization beyond lifetime poly-victimization in the child’s report. In particular, low levels of child-reported parental support and school integration were associated with more bullying victimization. These associations were not moderated by family placement, indicating similar effects for both, youth in care and youth in biological families.

Intersectionalities and im/mobilities in family and marriage: a comparative study of Germany and India

This article investigates comparative intersections of gender and family sociology internationally, with a specific focus on urban Germany and urban India. In particular, this research examines a central dynamic that informs family and marriage relations globally, and for this research context, in Germany and India: What are the nuanced ways of conceptualizing changing gender roles in marriage and in family in Germany and India? Bringing together a robust understanding of the theoretical frameworks of Intersectionality and of Mobility as large bodies of scholarship that examine geographic and symbolic power geometries, we adopt the lens of Intersectional Im/Mobilities to explore changing gender roles in family and marriage in Germany and India. We particularly focus on an intersectionality-based analysis of two primary themes that arise out of our primary and secondary data: (1) Women’s employment and impact on family life/work–life balance; and (2) Changing gender roles in marriage (through the lens of the division of household labor and aspects of agency and decision making), questions which influence and inflect complex intersectional realities.

Ready for Parenthood? On Intensive Parenting Ideals and Fertility

The present study asks for the consequences of intensive parenthood demands on fertility decisions for a first, second or third birth in Germany. The prevalence of intensive parenting norms was analysed using data from the representative panel ‘Concepts of Family in Germany’. The results show that intensive parenting norms are widely accepted in Germany, especially the need for expert guidance and financial investment in children. Parities of zero, one and two children are associated with differences in these norms. The transition to a first or further birth is influenced negatively by fatherhood norms (childless individuals), financial norms (parents of one or two children) and child-centredness norms (parents of two children), but the impact is small. Instead, their non-significance may be interpreted as a preparation towards parenthood which we call ‘nest-building’.

Discrimination and normalization as an effortful social practice: An analysis of LGBTQ+ families in Germany

While legal recognition of same-sex relationships and families has increased in many democratic countries, discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, both open and subtle, still exists. Drawing on qualitative interviews from Germany, this study uses the grounded theory methodology to analyse LGBTQ+ families’ normalization practices in response to experienced and anticipated discrimination. We show that normalization practices are not merely an assimilation to a neoliberal heteronormative family ideal, as criticised in debates on homonormativity, but require arduous efforts within heteronormative societies. Furthermore, normalization practices simultaneously challenge (traditional) family norms, through both overt political struggles and sub-politically within everyday practices.

Adolescents’ Perceived Changes in Internalizing Symptoms during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Father Internalizing Symptoms and Parent Support in Germany and Slovakia

This preregistered study examined the relation between adolescents’ perceived changes in internalizing symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic and four different family and peer relationships in two countries. Using a bioecological framework, we interviewed mothers, fathers, and adolescents from 212 families in Germany and Slovakia during the COVID-19 pandemic. In both countries, we found that higher levels of father internalizing symptoms exacerbated the relation between pandemic disruption and increases in pandemic-related adolescent internalizing symptoms. Similarly, parental support buffered the relation between adolescent perceptions of COVID-19 disruption and increases in the adolescents’ internalizing symptoms. Peer support and parental warmth were not associated with changes in adolescent-reported internalizing symptoms during the study period. The fathers’ symptoms of anxiety and depression during stressful life events may impact the parent–child relationship by changing the children’s perceptions of parent–child attachment, which may, in turn, be associated with higher levels of adolescent internalizing symptoms. Higher levels of parental support, however, may have helped protect adolescents from some of the more negative aspects of the pandemic.

Experiences of Turkish Foster Families in Germany with Youth Agencies

Bu araştırma 1960’lı yıllarda iş gücü anlaşmaları ile Almanya’ya göç eden işçilerden koruyucu aile olan Türkiyelilerin Gençlik Daireleri ile olan iletişimlerini ele almaktadır. Çalışma, Alman çocuk koruma sistemindeki koruyucu aile modelinin tarihçesini ve yasal dayanaklarını Türkçe literatüre kazandırmayı hedeflemektedir. Berlin ve Kuzey Ren-Westfalya eyaletlerinde 16 koruyucu aile araştırma kapsamına alınmış olup derinlemesine görüşme yöntemi ile nitel veriler elde edilmiştir. Araştırmanın önemi göçmen kökenli ailelerin Gençlik Daireleri ile ilgili “korku ve güvensizlik” algılarının temel nedenini ortaya çıkarmaya dayanmaktadır. Ailelerin deneyimlerine göre Türkiyeli ailelerin Gençlik Daireleri ile ilgili olumsuz ön yargıları bu kurum hakkındaki duyumlardan kaynaklanmaktadır. Bu çalışma ile Türkiyeli koruyucu ailelerin çoğunun Gençlik Daireleri ile ilgili görüşlerinin daha çok olumlu olduğu gözlemlenmiştir. Görüşmecilerden elde edilen veriler, Gençlik Dairelerinin göçmen kökenli çocukları koruma altına alırken genellikle çocuğun yüksek yararını baz aldığı ancak bununla beraber kurumlarda çalı-şan bazı görevlilerin negatif münferit tavırlarının kurumun tamamı-na atfedilemeyeceğini de ortaya çıkarmıştır. Gençlik Dairelerinin medyaya yansıyan ve göçmen aileleri ilgilendiren durumlarda daha şeffaf davranması, göçmen ailelere daha tatmin edici bir ifade ile açıklamalarda bulunması gerektiği görülmektedir.

Eine gelingende Familienpolitik ist wichtiger denn je

Abstract The lives of families in Germany have changed fundamentally in recent decades. In particular, young women are increasingly share an equal division of tasks between men and women. This makes it necessary to have fitting institutional childcare facilities. However, at present there is still a lack of childcare for children under the age of three. In addition, day-care centres must become educational institutions, as an increasing number of families do not speak German at home. A successful family policy is also necessary to make it easier for young people to decide for children, which is important given recent demographic shifts.

ANNEMARIE SCHIMMEL AND SMUSLIM WOMEN’S ROLE IN SUFISM

Annemarie Schimmel belonged to a cultured family in Germany. Her writings about Islam, Sufism, Iqbal, and Muslim women have great importance in the world of literature. Her book My Soul is a Woman describes the different aspects of Sufism in Islam and the role of Muslim Women in Sufism. Many writers have tried to describe the role of women in Islamic society and raised their voices for the rights of Muslim women but they do not know the real spirit of Islam. This article is about intelligent and honorable women who contributed a lot to Muslim society through their knowledge and especially through Sufism. Annemarie Schimmel raised different questions about Sufism and general concepts of Sufis regarding women, especially Muslim Sufi Women. She presented her answer through arguments and her concepts are very clear in this regard.

Introduction

The introduction provides context for the correspondence of Marianne Angermann-Bielschowsky and the journal entries of her mother, Charlotte Angermann. These autobiographical texts deal with the experiences of Marianne Angermann-Bielschowsky and her husband, the German-Jewish physician Franz Bielschowsky, during the Spanish Civil War in Madrid, and those of her mother in Dresden, Germany in the 1930s and 1940s. Marianne travelled to Madrid in late 1935 to take up a position at the Institute of Medical Research, led by Professor Carlos Jiménez Díaz, at the University of Madrid. She had been preceded by her future husband, Franz, who began collaborating with Jiménez Díaz in late 1933 after he had been dismissed from his post at Freiburg University. When the Spanish Civil War broke out, Marianne and Franz worked at Military Hospital No. 6 at Chamartín de la Rosa in Madrid. At the end of the Spanish conflict they managed to get entry visas for the United Kingdom where they held research positions at Sheffield University under Professor H. Green. Marianne's mother, Charlotte, a pensioner, spent the Second World War in Dresden with her husband, Konrad. Her journal entries record the everyday travails of life on the home front in Nazi Germany. She records what she hears from her friends and family in Germany who had been subjected to the Allies' Area Bombing Campaign and she writes of her own experiences of the bombing of Dresden in February 1945. The Soviet occupation of Dresden in 1945 and early 1946 forms another strand in her entries.

Exploring Environmental Factors Associated with Child Wellbeing during COVID-19 in Australia and Germany

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the wellbeing of children and families globally. With extended lockdown periods, early childhood education and school closures, and remote learning, families experienced increased stress and anxiety, financial hardship, and disrupted routines. This paper aims to explore associations between children’s social-emotional wellbeing and environmental factors (including the burden of COVID-19 on the family, early learning experiences in the home and early childhood education, and parent wellbeing and mental health) during COVID-19 in Australia and Germany, two countries that experienced significant lockdown periods. Using a longitudinal online survey design, parents of young children (aged 1–6 years) in Australia (N = 66) and Germany (N = 53) completed surveys on their own wellbeing; their child’s wellbeing; the home learning environment, and their satisfaction with early childhood education and care at two time points in 2020 and 2021. The burden of COVID-19 mitigation measures on families’ everyday lives correlated with child wellbeing outcomes in both the Australian and German cohorts. Findings also provide evidence of potential protective factors of children’s social-emotional wellbeing during stressful events, such as the lockdowns experienced by families in Germany and Australia during the pandemic.

Impact of facial angiofibromas in tuberous sclerosis complex and reported efficacy of available treatments.

Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) is a genetic condition which leads to a loss of inhibition of cellular growth. Facial angiofibromas (FAs) are hamartomatous growths associated with TSC that appear as multiple small, erythematous papules on the skin of the face and may resemble more severe forms of acne vulgaris. FAs have been reported in up to 74.5% of pediatric TSC patients, rising to up to 88% in adults >30 years old. They have not been closely studied, potentially overshadowed by other, systemic features of TSC. To investigate the impact of FAs, a common clinical feature for patients with TSC, we performed a non-interventional study in the form of a survey, completed by people living with TSC and FAs, or their caregiver as a proxy, if necessary. Patients were recruited via patient organizations in the UK and Germany. Data was received from 108 families in the UK (44 patients, 64 caregivers) and 127 families in Germany (50 patients, 64 caregivers). Exclusion criteria were those outside of 6-89 years, those without FAs, or those enrolled in a clinical trial. Where caregivers reported on behalf of an individual unable to consent, they were required to be adults (>18 years). Patient experience in the design of the survey was considered from practical and logistical perspectives with survey questions assessing multiple aspects relating to FAs including age of onset, perceived severity, treatments, perceived efficacy of treatments and perceived psychosocial impacts of the FAs. The psychosocial impacts of FAs for the individuals as well as for caregivers were explored in terms of social, occupational and leisure activities. Results of the survey demonstrated that for those with TSC-related moderate or severe FAs, there is an impact on quality of life and psychosocial impacts in the form of anxiety and depression. This finding was also noted by caregivers of TSC individuals in these categories. The treatment most frequently received to improve FAs, topical rapamycin/sirolimus, was found to be successful in the majority of those who received it.

Hitler’s Northern Utopia: Building the New Order in Occupied Norway

Hitler’s Northern Utopia: Building the New Order in Occupied Norway

Anticipating expectations. family language policy and its orientation to the school system

ABSTRACT Family Language Policy never takes place only in private but is embedded in larger discourses in society or rather in several societies to which the multilingual family is linked. One main point of contact of families and discourses on language is the education system. Previous research has shown that bilingual families orient towards teachers for advice on their language policies and tend to adopt the schools’ view on languages. This especially applies to families, in which three or more languages are spoken. In this article, I will present the results from a case study with two highly multilingual families in Germany and the parents’ orientation to the education system. Findings show that in the case of the two families, teachers do not have extensive direct influence. Instead, the main impact that the education system has on the families’ language policy is indirect by conveying and enforcing mainstream language ideologies and supporting high prestige languages such as English and French, while the parents constantly try to anticipate potential expectations by stakeholders in the education system.

Transdiagnostic Mechanisms of Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic on Adults and Families in Germany: Study Protocol of a Cross-Sectional and 1-Year Longitudinal Study.

Background: Since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, psychological distress is increased. Transdiagnostic mechanisms, including trauma, personality functioning, mentalizing and emotion regulation are considered relevant to the development and maintenance of mental health problems and therefore may play a role in individuals’ reactions to the pandemic.Aim: To identify moderating and mediating factors associated with pandemic-related distress and mental health problems in adults and families, we aim to investigate the interactions of interpersonal trauma (childhood trauma and domestic violence), psychological capacities (personality functioning, mentalizing and emotion regulation) and pandemic-related adversity on psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, we aim to investigate behavioral and cognitive consequences of the pandemic (e.g., media consumption, vaccination status, conspiracy beliefs).Methods: Using an online-based cross-sectional and longitudinal design, we will investigate a sample of adult participants recruited via online platforms in German-speaking countries over the course of 1 year with four measurements points via self-report instruments (personality functioning: PID5BF +; mentalizing: MentS, PRFQ; emotion regulation: DERS-SF; mental health problems: PHQ-9, GAD-7; a composite pandemic-related stress score). Structural equation and multi-level modeling will be performed for data analyses.Implications: This study will provide data on the moderating and mediating effects of trauma, personality functioning and mentalizing during the pandemic in a large community sample, particularly on vulnerable groups like families. Identifying transdiagnostic mechanisms of psychopathology in the course of a pandemic crisis may provide valuable insight for the development of pre- and intervention measures for potential psychological distress during and post the pandemic.

Personal Social Networks of Recent Refugees in Germany: Does Family Matter?

This article explores the composition of the personal social networks and their interrelation with the family context of recently arrived refugees in Germany. Using the Refugee Sample of the German Socio-Economic Panel (2017) and performing logistic regression analyses, the findings suggest that refugees living without their partner, children, or extended family in Germany are more likely to have at least one close non-kin confidant. The same holds true for inter-ethnic contacts. Moreover, the results show that also opportunity structures like the workplace or leisure-time activities matter. As male and female refugees have different family arrangements, differences by sex emerge.

Rare pediatric diseases and pathways to psychosocial care: a qualitative interview study with professional experts working with affected families in Germany

BackgroundRare diseases occur in early childhood and have a major impact on the quality of life of the affected children and their families. Their need for psychosocial support is considerable, but psychosocial care in Germany is still far from being part of routine care. We interviewed experts to explore how they describe the current pathways to psychosocial care, potential barriers and problems, and possibilities for improvements.ResultsWe conducted telephone interviews with 49 experts working in somatic medicine, psychosocial medicine, patient organizations, child and youth welfare, and the educational sector. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using focused interview analysis. Results document ways of access and facilities used by families to receive psychosocial care. The barriers described by the experts can be summarized on three levels: the family-organizational level, the family-psycho-emotional level, and finally, the structural system level. Accordingly, suggestions for improvement were directed at these levels.ConclusionBased on the experts' perspectives, there is ample room for improvement to facilitate the pathways to psychosocial care for children with rare diseases and their families. Unfortunately, there seems to be a long way to go before psychosocial care will be routinely provided. However, awareness of the issue among different professional groups is high, and numerous suggestions for improvement were made, including continuous expansion of services to all family members, strengthening of low-threshold services, simplifying application procedures, and more cooperation between different funding agencies as well as between different care providers.

Linking refugee families with the host societies. A mixed-methods evaluation study of family education programmes in Germany (Creando vínculos entre las familias refugiadas y las sociedades de acogida. Una evaluación de métodos mixtos sobre los programas de educación familiar en Alemania)

ABSTRACT This article examines the situations faced by refugee families in Germany and analyses the role of family education programmes in supporting their inclusion in society. We focus on two internationally implemented and licensed family education programmes, HIPPY and Opstapje, and an adapted three-month bridging format known as Welcome with IMPULS (WmI), all of which involve home visits and group meetings. Our mixed-methods research approach includes qualitative interviews and participant observation (N = 55), and an online survey with the programme coordinators (N = 68). Based on our analysis of 22 family cases and the online survey, we explore and contextualize major challenges refugee families face in Germany and highlight the following central functions of the programmes: (a) building trust via emotional stabilization through long-term relationships with home visitors; and (b) creating social links by connecting refugees with the host society’s institutions. Finally, we discuss the role of the peer-to-peer outreach strategy in the inclusion of refugee families.

Computer-Mediated Communication and Child/Adolescent Friendship Quality after Residential Relocation

The experience of residential relocation can affect children and adolescents in various ways. It often affects their close social relationships, and this is especially true when these individuals are no longer in close proximity to their family members and friends. Although face-to-face communication may be limited after relocation, computer-mediated communication can assist in maintaining and developing existing relationships. It may even help individuals initiate new social relationships. In the present study, we investigated the role of communication behavior with friends for perceived friendship quality among children and adolescents who recently experienced residential relocation. Based on a representative survey study of families in Germany, we selected parents having moved with their child (8 to 14 years) to another village or town within the last 24 months. In total, 57 parents who had recently moved – majority of whom were mothers – allowed their child to participate in the phone interview. These participants were, on average, 11 years of age, and 58% of them were male. The children answered questions about their communication behavior and the friendships they had with their three current best friends. Using multilevel analysis, we found that children and adolescents who more often communicated face-to-face with their friends also more intensively used computer-mediated technologies to stay in touch. However, the findings further revealed that computer-mediated communication has the potential to remove limitations in existing friendships in the event of relocation. In the following discussion, implications are examined regarding the role of new communication technologies for families with enhanced mobility requirements.

‘No one listens to us … ’ COVID-19 and its socio-spatial impact on children and young people in Germany

ABSTRACT The handling of COVID-19 in Germany has shown that children, young people and families are not a top priority. Available studies identify a significant socio-spatial impact in this regard. Limits and conflicts can be discerned due to domestic concentration, wh blurs times and spaces and highlights the dependency of families in Germany on social infrastructure. During lockdown, there is a rise in digitalized activities, but homeschooling reveals a digital divide and reinforces the existing lack of equal opportunities for students. While new spatial movements create better spaces for children, young people face an ongoing struggle with the limitations created by the pandemic.