German Family Research Articles

The place of Baron Fyodor Rudolfovich Shteingel in the history of state formation of Ukraine

The purpose of the article is to consider one of the aspects of the life history of Ukrainian Germans on the territory of our country, which today attracts the attention of many politicians, writers, and scientists. It was established that there were many complications in the development of this ethnic group, starting with economic, political, and religious problems. In this regard, it is relevant to turn to the study of the experience accumulated by previous generations of ethnic Germans. So, on the example of studying the activities of the Shteingel family, it is possible to trace the adaptation processes that accompanied foreigners during their life on the territory of Ukraine. Every historical era has examples of state and public figures who made a significant contribution to the prosperity of their Motherland. Often, such activity became a family affair, as it happened in the German families of Falz-Fein, Bunge, Kornis, Struve, Schmidt, Folbort, and others. Its representatives were distinguished by public service, as well as political activity. The methodology is based on the principles of historicism, systematicity and scientificity. Such methods as historical-genetic, analytical-synthetic, the method of comparative analysis, retrospective, historical-typological, the method of local history were used. Scientific novelty. In the scientific study, attention is focused on the figure of the famous public and political figure Baron Fyodor (Theodor) Rudolphovich Shteingel, who became a phenomenon in the history of state formation of Ukraine in the most critical times, namely at the end of the 19th – in the first half of the 20th century. The research reveals the activities of an outstanding social and political figure, philanthropist, extraordinary envoy and minister plenipotentiary of the Ukrainian State in Germany, deputy head of the Ukrainian Scientific Society in Kyiv, founder of the Horodotsky Museum – the first secular museum in Volyn and a rural museum in Ukraine. Research results. The modern reinterpretation of the past of our country has increased interest in many figures of Ukrainian history. This led to the emergence of a significant number of scientific studies, the main purpose of which was to determine the achievements of individual historical figures in the struggle for Ukrainian statehood. The construction of the future state is impossible without a clear understanding of our past in all its manifestations and aggregates. So, the history of every nation that inhabits the state of Ukraine is an integral part of our general history. Especially, Ukrainian Germans of the first half of the 20th century. are more and more actively perceived not only as participants in national liberation struggles on the territory of Ukraine, but also as creators of the European intellectual space.

Emotional Problems of Children and Adolescents in the COVID-19-Pandemic: Patterns of Change and Predictors

The COVID-19-pandemic showed largely negative, but heterogeneous effects on the psychological well-being of children and adolescents.The present study aimed to (1) identify differential trajectories of emotional problems as young people entered the pandemic, (2) compare pre-pandemic trends to changes one year after its onset, and (3) analyze sociodemographic and social predictors of trajectories. 555 children and adolescents, aged 7 - 14 years at T1 (M = 10.53 years, 46.5 % female), were interviewed in three waves of the German family panel pairfam. Latent class growth analysis (LCGA) revealed four distinct trajectories of emotional problems: an increase after the onset of COVID-19 ("Mean increasing"), a decrease ("Mean decreasing"), no change at low level ("Low stable") or at high level ("Chronic high"), each after a stable trajectory before the pandemic.Multinomial logistic regressions showed that females and youth experiencing an increase in financial deprivation were at higher risk of increasing or chronically high level of emotional problems, while sociability proved protective. Migration background and rejection by peers showed mixed effects. The results emphasize the importance of a differential perspective on how the COVID-19-pandemic affected children's and adolescents' well-being. Besides negative consequences for vulnerable groups, also beneficial aspects of the pandemic should be considered.

We are a family, not a charity – How do family and business logics shape environmental sustainability strategies? A cross-sectional qualitative study

Researchers assume that either family or business logic dominate the development of environmental sustainability strategies in family firms. The purpose of this paper is to scrutinize this assumption by conducting a cross-sectional qualitative study based on 29 in-depth interviews with family members and C-level managers of eight large German family firms. Additional focus groups validated our results. Using the dominant logic perspective of institutional theory and the concept of socioemotional wealth, we analyzed the interplay of family and business logic and their influence on forming an environmental sustainability strategy. The results indicate that a business logic dominates the environmental sustainability strategy process while the family logic reenforces this dominant logic. We present our empirical findings in a model that shows how and why the family logic (socioemotional wealth) shapes the dominating business logic by adding its unique flavor at various stages. This study proposes not two conflicting logics (family vs. business), but a new emerging logic: the family business logic. Our study opens new ways to understand the strategy formation processes in family firms.

Working longer with working-time flexibility: Only when job commitment is high and family commitment is low?

Objective: This study investigates (a) whether job commitment and family commitment moderate the positive association between flexible working-time arrangements and work hours, and (b) whether childless women and men and mothers and fathers with the same levels of job and family commitment work equally long hours with flexible working-time arrangements. Background: As working-time flexibility increases at many workplaces due to digital technologies and work overload, so too does the risk of working longer hours. Although previous research has neglected job and family commitment as potential moderators of the relationship between working-time flexibility and long working hours, it has found gender inequalities in working hours among employees with flexible working-time arrangements, which have been attributed inter alia to men’s higher commitment to work and lower commitment to family. Method: Multivariate analyses were conducted based on German Family Panel (pairfam) data for 2018, 2019, and 2020. The sample comprised data from 4,568 employee-years, 1,666 part-time employee-years, and 2,902 full-time employee-years. Results: Among full-time employees, only those with high job commitment and low family commitment worked longer hours with employer-driven flexibility and working-time autonomy. Mothers with these arrangements worked fewer hours than childless women, childless men, and fathers, unless they had the same levels of job and family commitment as the latter three groups. Conclusion: These results suggest, first, that among full-time employees with flexible working-time arrangements, job and family commitment are driving factors for working long hours; second, that gender differences in work hours are shaped by parental status; and third, that these differences are due, at least in part, to differences in connectedness to job and family roles.

The intergenerational transmission of filial norms and children's provision of long-term care to parents

Abstract In the light of an increasing future demand for long-term care services in ageing societies, families' provision for current and future long-term care needs has been subject to debate. Within this context, there is little discussion about parents' incentives to socialise their children to their own traits to achieve a desired child behaviour. Our study contributes to the literature by analysing to what extent parents transmit filial norms to their children and whether this transmission process affects children's care-giving behaviour if a parent needs long-term care. Using data from the German Family Panel, we initially analyse the transmission of filial norms from mothers and fathers to their children. Second, we examine the importance of filial norms that prevail in the child's local environment. Third, we assess whether an intergenerational transmission of norms transmits into child behaviour if a parent needs long-term care. We estimate linear regression models and account for child and parent characteristics as well as for the living environment. The results show that children have stronger filial norms when both parents report stronger filial norms. But, children also tend to be influenced by average norms in their local environment. Furthermore, children are more likely to provide support to a parent in need when their filial norms are stronger. We conclude that children's filial norms are at least partially shaped via a process of socialisation and that these norms transmit into children's care-giving behaviour if a parent needs long-term care. It is, therefore, important that filial norms that prevail in a society are in accordance with the institutional long-term care system that prevails within that country.

Two Jewish Physicians in Early Modern Germany: Koppel (Jacob) Mehler (AKA Copilius Pictor) and his son Juda Coppillia Pictor

Abstract The Mehler family was a distinguished German family from Bingen in the 17th and 18th centuries comprised of numerous rabbis and communal leaders. In this essay we draw attention to the physicians of the Mehler clan, a father and son in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Though graduating just forty years apart, they represent the transition of the medical training of students of Ashkenaz (Poland, Germany, and France) from Italy to Germany. Prior to the mid seventeenth century, a young Jewish student longing to attend medical school had essentially one option, the University of Padua. By the early eighteenth-century German universities began to welcome Jewish students. Our father and son physicians straddle this period and reflect the transition of Jewish medical training from Italy to Germany. We have identified some remarkable archival material allowing us to provide also an illustrated history of their medical careers.

Influencing Factors for Consumers’ Intention to Reduce Plastic Packaging in Different Groups of Fast-Moving Consumer Goods in Germany

The greatly increased global use of plastic has serious negative environmental consequences. This study aims to analyse the influence of environmental attitudes, personal norms, social norms, and socioeconomic and demographic characteristics on consumers’ intention to reduce plastic packaging in different groups of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) in Germany. Data on plastic packaging use for food, clothing, cosmetics, cleaning goods, and furniture were collected from 299 German families in a four-stage survey. The findings show differing consumer intentions to reduce plastic packaging between food products and other FMCG. In particular, environmental attitudes can differentiate between consumer groups with high and low intentions to reduce plastic packaging in nearly all the product groups analysed, while social norms, gender and age only show statistically significant differences in some product groups. Personal norms did not contribute to group differentiation in any of the groups of FMCG analysed. The results are helpful for managers of FMCGs to develop more ecological packaging solutions in the future and for state authorities to derive political activities in this field.

OPA1 Dominant Optic Atrophy: Pathogenesis and Therapeutic Targets.

OPA1 Dominant Optic Atrophy: Pathogenesis and Therapeutic Targets.

Business families do it differently! Navigating cycles and waves of family firm internationalization

PurposeThis paper aims at extending the debate on family firm internationalization by identifying cycles and waves of their internationalization processes with a specific focus on de-internationalization and re-internationalization.Design/methodology/approachBuilding on the Uppsala model and the resource-based view, this study analyzes the cycles and waves of internationalization of 26 German family firms in the Chinese market. Semi-structured interviews with top managers of the selected case firms were conducted, and secondary sources were used to triangulate the collected data.FindingsThe findings highlight the heterogeneity of family firm internationalization processes. Indeed, some family firms follow the sequential approach of the Uppsala model, while others choose to de-internationalize and then re-internationalize their activities. Their cycles and waves of internationalization can be explained by internal and external triggers.Originality/valueThis article contributes to the family firm internationalization literature by investigating how family firm characteristics and environmental factors shape internationalization, de-internationalization and re-internationalization paths. The novel findings enrich theoretical assumptions on family firm internationalization and highlight their varying internationalization processes, which can be explained by firm-specific characteristics, notably their unique family resources and socioemotional wealth, and contextual factors.

Suicides at the End of the Second World War

This paper presents forensic, bioarchaeological and historical research on eight human skulls discovered during the 2018 restoration of a nineteenth-century pastor’s tomb in the village of Gostków in Poland (which, until 1945, had been Giesmannsdorf in Germany). Local rumours suggested that the tomb had been used as a mass grave at the end of World War II for the remains either of war-crimes victims or of a murder-suicide incident. The research was undertaken at the request of the Fundacja Anna w Gostkowie (Anna Foundation in Gostków), which maintains the cemetery, and confirmed detailed witness accounts that the tomb contained the remains of two related German families in which some individuals had killed the others, including several children, and then themselves. The authors also discuss the phenomenon of suicides under war conditions and the cognitive, social and ethical problems of researching this topic.

Synergetic Properties of Lexical Structures in Chinese and English

ABSTRACT The synergetic lexical model provides a unique framework for exploration of the interrelationships between the lexical properties of languages. Previous studies concerning several properties of this lexical model have yielded many successful fittings results, but very few studies have investigated synonymy, a major property of this model. The present study uses 825 Chinese and 848 English tokens retrieved from Chinese and English corpora, dictionaries, and thesaurus to conduct a contrastive study on the interrelations between four major properties of this lexical model: word length, word frequency, polysemy, and synonymy. The successful fittings of both languages demonstrate the cross-linguistic validity of the synergetic lexical model, though English belongs to the Germanic language family, while Chinese, a highly analytical language, is of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Moreover, our analysis of the parameters of the fitting results shows that, compared to English, Chinese possesses a greater resistance to shortening word length and a quicker response to semantic change.

COHABITATION AND CIVIL UNION According to the French Civil Code as of November 14, 2022

After the Civil Code of Georgia entered into force in 1997, more than 25 years, the analog of the German family law at that time – Georgian family law – has not become the object of legislative changes. While all over Europe, around the fundamental core of so- ciety called the family, the states establish new regulations, create institutions, expand the concepts and support all this to the free de- velopment and choice of the individual, our family law is more and more distant from reality. In this article, the types of relationships between couples provided by the French Civil Code, different from marriage, are reviewed, which, according to the French national statistics, are much more in demand among young couples than marriage. These types allow individuals to decide of their own free will which legal institution is the most favorable for their relationship and goals. Georgian society belongs to the big family of Europe, that is why it is necessary for the legislation of Georgia to follow the dynamics of European development and take into account the changes made by the neighboring states, of course, adjusting it to its reality.

Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 35 Caused by a New TGM6 Variant: Video Documentation of a German Family.

Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 35 Caused by a New TGM6 Variant: Video Documentation of a German Family.

Economic hardship and intimate partner violence: An analysis of perpetrators in Germany

Objective: Based on the family stress model, we examine whether respondents are more likely to perpetrate physical IPV when experiencing economic hardship and pressure. Background: Research has demonstrated an association of intimate partner violence (IPV) and economic factors. However, as the bulk of studies is limited to the female victim’s perspective, the picture remains incomplete; factors driving gender-specific effects and perpetration rates have thus far been overlooked. Method: Using data from a large sample of individuals from the German Family Panel pairfam, which covers the period between 2009 and 2019, we employ pooled logistic regression models (n=6,661 individuals with 21,321 observations). Given the rich data source, we are able to control for a number of possible confounding effects. To correct for sample selection, we use calibrated design weights. Results: Our analyses show that IPV perpetration is associated with poverty and economic pressure among women, but not men. When accounting for confounding factors such as the Big 5 personality traits and childhood experiences, these associations become insignificant. For men, unemployment is linked to IPV perpetration, but only when personality traits and childhood experiences are not accounted for. Conclusion: Results imply that the association between adverse economic conditions and IPV perpetration is mainly due to unobserved heterogeneity. Thus, physical IPV perpetration is not primarily caused by the distress of financial strain, but rather by underlying factors such as personality traits and adverse childhood experiences, which are associated with both socioeconomic status, economic pressure, and aggressive behavior in intimate relationships.

Die Frauen und Kinder deutscher Kriegsgefangener. Integriert, ignoriert und instrumentalisiert, 1941–1956

With her book, Ann-Kristin Kolwes provides important new insights into the history of German prisoners of war (POWs) of the Second World War. Her study primarily emphasizes the history of the families of those who were taken captive. As Kolwes notes, ‘The absence of husbands and fathers was a mass phenomenon during the war, which characterized the everyday life of most German families, and even in the years after the war, the so-called incomplete family remained part of everyday life for many women and children’ (p. 8). Kolwes is quick to note, however, that conditions for families varied between the National Socialist, West German and East German states. Her work presents a comparative study between these three major political regimes across what would become the British and Soviet occupation zones. She organizes her work primarily around three chronological eras to explore what effect the status of a husband or father had upon their family during captivity. Across these three regimes, she gives insight into the welfare regimes for families of captives; societal attitudes towards the family, marriage and motherhood; and how politics and families dealt with the phenomenon of mass postwar captivity.

Young adults’ labour market transitions and intergenerational support in Germany

AbstractResearch has shown that parents provide considerable support to their children; however, we know little about the influence of young adults’ employment experiences on the support they receive from their parents. We draw on data from the German Family Panel pairfam for birth cohorts 1981–1983 and 1991–1993 and use a first difference panel estimator with asymmetric effects to examine the extent to which young adults’ employment transitions affect material, emotional, and instrumental support from parents. We find stark differences across types of support: parental material support changes in response to transitions in and out of employment, especially when to and from education. Other types of support seem less contingent on labour market transitions. Instrumental support only increases for transitions from education to employment and from employment to NEET. The latter effect is mainly driven by women entering parental leave. We do not find strong evidence of differences between transitions to standard and non-standard work. The association between employment transitions and intergenerational material support flows suggests that families act as safety nets, raising concerns about those whose families are unable to help.

Unraveling the Bidirectional Associations between Parental Knowledge and Children’s Externalizing Behavior

Although within- and between-family bidirectional associations between parental knowledge and children’s externalizing behavior have been theoretically proposed, studies that unravel these associations simultaneously remain scarce. This study examined these bidirectional associations within and between German families. 3611 families participated across one-year intervals between children ages 8 to 15 (50.6% boys, 34.5% fathers, 89.0% German-born, Mwaves = 3.63, SDwaves = 2.00). Random intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPM) with linear slopes revealed negative between-family associations between parental knowledge and children’s externalizing behavior, and a negative association between the random linear slopes. Generally, no within-family cross-lagged effects were found, but there were some correlated slopes across families. When teasing apart paternal and maternal knowledge, father-driven but not mother-driven lagged effects of increased knowledge predicting decreased externalizing behavior were found. The findings illustrate the importance of fathers’ knowledge and new directions for within-family studies of parent-child interactions.

Family firm ambidexterity: the influence of paradoxical tensions and the Entrepreneurial Family’s cohesion

This study presents paradoxical tensions as the ‘missing link’ at the intersection of the entrepreneurial family and family firm management: a link that crucially affects innovation-related decisions such as ambidexterity. Specifically, the study argues that the relationship between family cohesion and organizational ambidexterity within entrepreneurial family firms is mediated by paradoxical tensions (latent and salient). Drawing on survey data from 206 German family firms, support is found for the hypotheses advanced. Building on cognitive resource theory, this study demonstrates that differently perceived paradoxical tensions in entrepreneurial family firms have different meaningful effects on organizational ambidexterity. Implications for theory and future research are discussed.

Genotype and Phenotype Analyses of a Novel WFS1 Variant (c.2512C>T p.(Pro838Ser)) Associated with DFNA6/14/38.

The aim of this study is to contribute to a better description of the genotypic and phenotypic spectrum of DFNA6/14/38 and aid in counseling future patients identified with this variant. Therefore, we describe the genotype and phenotype in a large Dutch-German family (W21-1472) with autosomal dominant non-syndromic, low-frequency sensorineural hearing loss (LFSNHL). Exome sequencing and targeted analysis of a hearing impairment gene panel were used to genetically screen the proband. Co-segregation of the identified variant with hearing loss was assessed by Sanger sequencing. The phenotypic evaluation consisted of anamnesis, clinical questionnaires, physical examination and examination of audiovestibular function. A novel likely pathogenic WFS1 variant (NM_006005.3:c.2512C>T p.(Pro838Ser)) was identified in the proband and found to co-segregate with LFSNHL, characteristic of DFNA6/14/38, in this family. The self-reported age of onset of hearing loss (HL) ranged from congenital to 50 years of age. In the young subjects, HL was demonstrated in early childhood. At all ages, an LFSNHL (0.25-2 kHz) of about 50-60 decibel hearing level (dB HL) was observed. HL in the higher frequencies showed inter-individual variability. The dizziness handicap inventory (DHI) was completed by eight affected subjects and indicated a moderate handicap in two of them (aged 77 and 70). Vestibular examinations (n = 4) showed abnormalities, particularly in otolith function. In conclusion, we identified a novel WFS1 variant that co-segregates with DFNA6/14/38 in this family. We found indications of mild vestibular dysfunction, although it is uncertain whether this is related to the identified WFS1 variant or is an incidental finding. We would like to emphasize that conventional neonatal hearing screening programs are not sensitive to HL in DFNA6/14/38 patients, because high-frequency hearing thresholds are initially preserved. Therefore, we suggest screening newborns in DFNA6/14/38 families with more frequency-specific methods.

Nipple Day

Nipple Day