human development and social change friedrich schiller university of jena center of applied...

Human Development and Social ChangeFriedrich Schiller University of Jena Center of Applied Developmental Science Sonderforschungsbereich 580 – C6

Research in Jena onSocial Change

New Projecton Social Change

Former Studies on Social Change

Theoretical Model onSocial Change

Research questions &first results

Rainer K. SilbereisenCenter for Applied Developmental Science

Friedrich Schiller University of Jena

Germany

Department HDFS

The Pennsylvania State University

USA

[email protected]

www.uni-jena.de/svw/devpsy

Individuals’ Coping with Challenges of Individuals’ Coping with Challenges of Social and Economic Change –Social and Economic Change –

A German StudyA German Study







Aim of Lecture Present insights from recent research on German

unification and similar social and political transformations in Europe

Social change = change in social structures and institutions, norms, values, cultural products, symbols of a society

Surprisingly little research in psychology under headings of social change or related topics

Show how psychology helps to distinguish between established knowledge and unwarranted assertions








Change in Contexts and Challenges to Habits as Source of Re-Adjustment

Unification affected many contexts of human development (macro, exo, meso, micro), although at different pace and with different directions, through profound changes in law, economy, political system etc., and its consequences for social institutions related to school, work etc.

Elder‘s landmark study „Children of the Great Depression“ taken as point of departure for own research

Accordingly, social change causes disparity between claims and resources, and can result in loss of control that initiates „control cycles“ with the aim of finding a new balance

Cohort comparisons 1991 versus 1996 in East and West used








New Project onDemands of Social Change

Social change does not affect all individuals to the same degree and in the same way

Individuals vary in the amount of exposure to change

Individuals vary in processes of coping with social change

Individuals differ in the availability of individual and social resources








Main research goals

Identify the prevalence of certain aspects of social change in the current period of transformations

Assess how individuals cope with social change

Identify resources that promote effective coping with social change

Relate social change to a broad range of subjective and objective developmental outcomes

Test the proposed multivariate interplay of demands, resources, coping, and outcomes








Project-Team

PTA

Jacqueline von Lipinski

Sekretariat

Annett Weise

Dipl. Psych.

Sebastian GrümerPD Dr. Martin

Pinquart

PD Dr. Matthias Reitzle

Developmental Psychology and CADS

Cand. Psych.

Astrid Körner

Dipl. Psych.

Martin Tomasik

Dipl. Psych.

Karoline Fabel

German National Science Foundation (DFG)

Prof. Dr. Rainer K. Silbereisen

Verona Christmas-Best,PhD

Dipl. Psych.

Claudia Haase







Model of social change

Higher-order ecological system (e.g., community, region)

Individual time

Distal social change

Demands on the individual

Individualcoping processes

(control strategies)

Psychosocialoutcomes

Individual, social, and socio-structural

resources








Facets of social change There is no generally accepted classification of social change at hand Nevertheless, a number of societal trends is repeatedly mentioned in

the literature These trends can be assigned to 3 broad clusters:

Globalization and economic liberalization Technological advancement in production and communication Knowledge-based society Cultural diversity

Individualization and pluralization of life course Emancipation from social background Self-responsibility

Demographic change Life expectancy Fertility rate








MV

TH

SH

BW

16 to 43 Year-olds

4 Federal States: Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (East)

Thuringia (East)

Schleswig-Holstein (West)

Baden-Württemberg (West)

Sampling Rationale: Equal distribution across

counties/regions within states

Selection of sampling points within counties/regions

Expected representativeness within states for age, gender, community size

Sample








Unemployment rate

> 20 %

15 % - 20 %

10 % - 25 %

< 10 %








Sampling procedure

high demands/low resources

N=3000 about

N=600N=450

Random sample

3 Waves

Oversampling of overall high demands / low resources group

Complementary random sampling of remaining sample








Quality of dataDemands, resources, coping behaviors and

outcomes were measured via both well-established and newly developed instruments, in all about 20

Each scale was evaluated with regard to itsPsychometric indices, such as consistencyItems and scale distribution propertiesDimensionality of scaleMeasurement equality and comparability

between gender groupsacross age groupsamong federal states

Convergent and divergent validity









Quality of data Brief example:

Life-Orientation-Test (LOT-German; Wieland-Eckelmann & Carver, 1995) Psychometrics:

All eight items and scale are negatively skewed

Cronbach‘s Alpha = .72

Measurement model: LOT is not one-, but two-dimensional

(measuring both optimism & pessimism)

Validity: High correlations between convergent

scales (e.g. self-esteem, life-satisfaction) underscores validity of LOT

Measurement equality: Invariance of factor loadings and residuals

between genders, age groups andregional groups except Baden-Württemberg







To summarize,

Except for two instruments, all scales werereliablevalid andshowed factor invariance across gender and age

groups

Interestingly some measurement inequality between the 4 federal statesNo simple East/West differenceMay be rooted in the large variation in contextual

issues related to social change

Quality of data








Demands of social change



Individual time







resources







Demands in Work and Occupation “As compared to five years ago, my career path is more

difficult to schedule.” “… it is more likely the case that I have to reckon with

unvoluntarily working only part-time instead of full-time.”

“… the risk of loosing my job has increased.” “… my occupational plans are more often obstructed by

unforeseen event and circumstances.” “… it is now more likely that I am forced to accept a job

below my qualification.” “… there are currently less job opportunities for me.”








High Relevanceof Demands Assessed

3,94

4,2

4,43

4,43

4,53

4,66

4,71

4,73

5,15

5,18

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Moral Orientation

Schedule Career

Unexpected Events

Ambivalent re Child

Part-Time Work

Family Decisions

Unemployment

Below Qualification

Political Parties

Fewer J obs

Mean Endorsement








Demands in Family andIntimate Relationship

“As compared to five years ago, I have to take more things into account when it comes to decisions concerning my family or relationship.”

“… given my present life cirumstances, it is more dificult to decide, whether I want to have a(nother) child or not.”

“…the knowledge and experience of my parents now provide less sense of direction in my life.”

“… it is more likely the case that I will become financially dependend on my parents.”

“… my personal contacts are now less reliable.” “… it is more likely that my partner could leave me.”








Demands in Leisure andPublic Life

“As compared to five years ago, my personal view of life is now more strongly challenged by other philosophies.”

“… political parties are less able to offer me answers to important questions.”

“… there are less points of reference for me concerning what is right or wrong”

“… my everyday life is now more strongly influenced by customs and traditions from foreign cultures.”

… I am now more greatly restricted in my everyday behavior by political and religious extremism.”

It is now more likely to happen that modern possibilities of paying without cash lead me to lose track of my finances.”








Demands:Significant Group Differences








Demands: Conclusion

Demands assessed of high relevance for the individuals

Domain of work particularily relevant

High variability between groupsEast vs. West

Unemployed vs. others

High vs. low education








Processes of coping



Individual time




(control-strategies)



resources







Theory of Control byHeckhausen & Schulz

Protection of motivation potential /

Ease goal disengagement

Use of external resources

Meta-volitionInvestment of

internal resources

Secondary

(emotion-centered)

Primary

(problem-oriented)

Control

Fun

ctio

n Sel

ectiv

e (g

oal-

orie

tent

ed)

Com

pens

ator

y

(loss

-orie

nted

)








OPS: Item Wording „In order to cope with these demands, I‘m willing to

put in a great deal of effort“ (SPC) „In order to cope with these demands, I say to myself

that I‘m sure I can make it if only I really try“ (SSC) „If I can only hardly advance by my own means, I ask

others about ways and means to make some progress anyway“ (CPC)

„If I fail to cope with these demands, I look for explanations to justify it to myself“ (CSC I)

„If I fail to cope with these demands, I stop thinking about it“ (CSC II)








OPS: First Results








OPS: Conclusions Efficient and reliable instrument for the assessment

of coping

Comparability of coping across domains

Lower engagement and higher disengagement in leisure and public life as compared to the other two domains

Unemployed report strategies of disengagement, probably an adaptive reaction to their living cirumstances








Resources



Individual time







resources







Resources: Composition and Structure

Personal Resources

‚Adaptability‘

Optimism Self-efficacy Exploration

Proximal: Social Support

Social Resources

Distal: Community Support

Emotional and Instrumental Support Caring community Formal involvement

(20, N=2463)=152.38, p<.001; CFI=.982, RMSEA=.05 Count-variable: Range: 0 - 2; Mean 0.93 (SD=0.77)

(12, N=2721)=33.25, p=.001; CFI=.985, RMSEA=.03








-0,3 -0,2 -0,1 0 +0,1 +0,2 +0,3

z-standardized Scores

Resources: Some Differences in Selected Groups

- 0,3 - 0,2 - 0,1 0 0,1 0,2 0,3

Pers

on

al

Resou

rces

unemployed

other

employed

non-college-bound

college-bound

Baden-Württemberg

Schleswig-Holstein

Thüringen

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

employment

region

education








z-standardized Scores

- 0,3 - 0,2 - 0,1 0 0,1 0,2 0,3

- 0,3 - 0,2 - 0,1 0 0,1 0,2 0,3

east

employment

employment

region

region

gender

unemployed

other

employed

east

female

male

unemployed

non-employed

employed

west

west

Resources: Some Differences in Selected Groups

Socia

l S

up

port

Com

mu

nit

y

Su

pp

ort

Socia

l R

esou

rces








Resources:Evaluation of assessment

Personal resources - adaptability Higher in well educated and employed people, probably due to higher

competencies Higher levels in the East, perhaps due to more experience with social

change

Perceived social support – emotional and instrumental Women report higher levels of perceived emotional and instrumental

support Lower among unemployed, probably due to negative effects on personal

relationships Higher levels in the East, perhaps reminiscent of the past

Community support – caring community and involvement in groups Lower in the East and among the unemployed








Outcomes



Individual time







resources







Outcomes A portfolio of outcomes was gathered – maladjustment

such as depressive mood as well as positive adjustment such as life satisfaction and stable career development

We were particularly interested in individual outcomes that have the potential to give an impulse ultimately to changes of the social system, rather than simply represent an adjustment to constraints perceived as stable

Intimate partnerships are also relevant – many demands of social change refer to an increased instability of close relationships








Intimate relationshipsResearch Questions 1

Are family-related demands, control-processes, and psychosocial resources related to the kind and quality of intimate relationships?

Do control processes buffer the effects of family-related demands?

Dependent VariablesQuality of the current intimate relationship

(subsample of respondents with partner)








Intimate relationships

R2= .40; ** p < .01, *** p < .001

Predictors of a high quality of the intimate relationship (N=1,447)

- 0,2 - 0,1 0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5 0,6

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1 0

1 1

1 2

1 3 AgeFemale gender**

# of demands***

Personal resources***Social support***

Distal resources

Active Coping*Distancing Coping

Demands x active copingDemands x distancing coping









Subjective well-being

Research Question 2: Are demands of social change related to subjective well-being? Are psychosocial resources and attitude towards social change related to well-

being? Do resources or attitude buffer the negative effects of change related demands?

Attitude towards social

change

CumulatedWork relatedDemands

Cumulated Family relatedDemands

CumulatedLeisure relatedDemands

Subjectivewell-being

PsychosocialResources









-0,1 0 0,1 0,2 0,3 0,4 0,5

w o rk x so c ia l

w o rk x p e rso n a l

w o rk x a ttitu d e

so c ia l su p p o rt

p e rso n a l re so u rc e s

a ttitu d e

le isu re re la te d d e ma n d s

fa mily re la te d d e ma n d s

w o rk re la te d d e ma n d s

E d u c a tio n

w o rk -sta tu s

a g e Age**

Work status**

Education

Personal resources**

Social support**

Attitude towards change**

Family related demands

Leisure related demands

Work related demands**

Work x Personal

Work x Social*

Work x attitude

Multiple regression

R2= .48; ** p < .01, * p < .05









Strongest negative effect on well-being for work-related demands, no negative relationships between family and leisure related demands and well-being

Personal and social resources positively associated with well-being

A positive attitude towards social change corresponds to a higher well-being

Significant, but small buffering effect by social resources on relation between work-related demands and well-being







Civic Engagement


Theoretical Premise Civic engagement (CE) represents an important

intersection between individual and society in all modern democracies

But: Civic engagement is difficult to predict and only few variables are known to have a substantial influence

Research Questions 3 Consistent with notions of societal tendencies

towards individualization psychological variables should play an important role in predicting CE







Civic Engagement 2 items were crosstabulated

Engagement in „Ehrenamt“ (volunteer activity) during

last 12 months

Current active participation in an institution („Verein“), citizens' initiative or church


„Ehrenamt“ (12 month prevalence)

0 1

0Non-activeN = 1212

Individually engaged N = 128

1Organised via institution

N = 512

Civic Engagement in an institutionN = 268

Activeparticipation







Civic Engagement


0 0,25 0,5 0,75 1 1,25 1,5 1,75 2

Individually engaged

Organized via institution

Civic Engagement in aninstitution

Multinomialregression (selected variables shown)

**

****

****

**

**

****

**

****

**

Parenthood

East-Germany

Work-related demands

Family-related demands

Personal resources

Social resources

Coping: problem-focused

Coping: disengagement

Goal: high social status

Goal: affection

Goal: many friendships

Goal: exciting life







Civic Engagement Found some small but significant effects of some

sociodemographic conditions

Accumulation of change-related demands is negatively correlated with civic engagement, but effects disappear once supports & coping are included

Psychological variables play a major role in predicting CE. Found significant correlations with Psychosocial resources (positive)

Control strategies (notably distancing from or downplaying of former and unreachable goals, positive)

Life goals: high social standing (positive), exciting life (negative)








Macrocontextual influences Research Questions 4

Are the relationships between demands, coping and well-being moderated by macrocontextual influences?








low high

Economic Power of the Region (Brutto Industrial Product/Mean Level of Income)

0

0,5

1

1,5

2

2,5

3Number of perceived demands

Regional differences in theperceived number of work-related demands

Macrocontextual influences








Adaptive Behavior under Constrained Ecology

Theoretical Premise Unemployment is a case of lacking opportunities and

uncertainty In principle less pronounced associations expected in

economically less well-off regions, due to psychological processes of self-immunization

“Social mechanisms” also relevant, such as belief-formation by following what others do








Moderating effects of the Regional Unemployment Rate on the Association between Problem-focused Coping and Psychological Well-being

Employed respondents; *** p < .001

Low unemployment Medium unemployment High unemployment

0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

Regression Coefficient

*** *** ***









Moderating Effect of the Regional Unemployment Rate on the Association between Perceived Work-Related Demands and Psychological Well-Being

Sample of employed respondents. ** p < .01, *** p < .001

Low unemployment Medium unemployment High unemployment

0

0,05

-0,05

-0,1

-0,15

-0,2

Regre

ssio

n C

oeffi

cient

*** **










Research Questions 5 Are self-protective and disengagement strategies

(compensatory secondary coping) under unfavorable economic conditions more adaptive?

Theoretical Premise Coping of demands relies on opportunity structures

provided (or not) by proximal environment Regions differ with regard to the sociostructural

conditions they provide for effective coping (e.g., unemployment rate: 5% … 30%)









Compensatory Secondary Coping

Sati

sfact

ion

Wit

h L

ife

- - - Opportunity Structures + + +

Self-protection/disengagement high

Self-protection/disengagement low








OutlookThe current study will…

increase the knowledge on the interplay of demands, resources, coping, and outcomes

enrich insights into the interplay of personal conditions and contextual constraints in adolescent and young adult development

provide well-tested instruments to be used in further studies on human development in times of social change

indicate possible ways to optimize thriving vis-à-vis challenges of social change

establish a model of social change on the individual and the aggregate level, amenable to social policies


human development and social change friedrich schiller university of jena center of applied...

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