Cutoff scores of the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire for the German population.

OBJECTIVE: The Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q) is one of the most widely used self-report measures for the assessment of eating disorder (ED) symptomatology. However, proposed cutoff scores that may indicate the presence of an ED have been heterogeneous. Therefore, the current study derived cutoff scores from two large samples: one representative for the German population and one composed of persons with EDs at admission to inpatient treatment. METHOD: Receiver operating characteristic analysis was used with the EDE-Q global score as independent variable and group (controls: n = 2519, patients: n = 2038) as dependent variable. These analyses were also conducted separately with the patient group divided into persons with anorexia nervosa (AN; n = 1456), bulimia nervosa (BN; n = 370), and other EDs (n = 212) and after matching groups for age and sex distribution. RESULTS: The EDE-Q global score discriminated well between controls and patients (AUC >91%, sensitivity >.84, specificity >.79). A score of 1.6 discriminated best between controls and patients in general and persons with AN in particular. Optimal thresholds for discriminating between controls and persons with BN and other EDs ranged between scores of 1.8 and 2.4. DISCUSSION: In the German population, cutoff scores between 1.6 and 2.4 may be used to screen for the presence or absence of an ED or evaluate treatment outcome, with slightly higher cutoff scores for persons with BN and other EDs than for persons with AN. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE: Questionnaire scores have little value when it is unclear which scores indicate the likely presence of an ED, as such scores can be used to estimate the prevalence of or screen for EDs in the general population and evaluate outcome at the end of ED treatment. The current study indicates a score around 2 on the EDE-Q as an optimal threshold for this.

Dealing with the challenges of the pandemic - results of a population-based survey during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic contrasting benefits and burden.

BACKGROUND: The pandemic and the associated consequences have been ongoing stressors with severe impacts on the population and particularly on families. Research focusing on groups dealing well with the challenges of the pandemic is scarce. Here, we aimed to identify groups being well-adjusted during the pandemic and associated predictors. METHODS: A representative sample of the German population (N = 2,515, 51.6% women, 50.09 years), and a subsample of persons with children or adolescents under the age of 18 (N = 453, 60.3% women, 40.08 years) was assessed from July to October 2021. As huge differences in coping with the pandemic are seen, cluster analysis was performed. RESULTS: Persons in the "well-adjusted cluster" were characterized by higher quality of life, better coping with the pandemic and lower burden of the pandemic. The family subsample well-adjusted cluster was characterized by lower pandemic-associated burden, lower parental stress compared to before the pandemic and a better relationship with the child. Fewer mental health symptoms and less pandemic-associated negative impact on career predicted membership of the well-adjusted cluster in both samples. An interaction between mental health symptoms and the negative impact of COVID-19 on the career was found. CONCLUSIONS: Our results underscore the importance of mental health and work-related factors for coping with the pandemic.

Gender differences in the prevalence of mental distress in East and West Germany over time: a hierarchical age-period-cohort analysis, 2006-2021.

PURPOSE: Mental distress has become a major public health concern. Temporal trends in psychological distress are complex and depend on numerous factors. In this study, we examined age-period-cohort effects for mental distress including gender and German region over a 15 years' time span. METHODS: Data on mental distress from ten cross-sectional surveys of the general German population, covering the years from 2006 to 2021, was used. Hierarchical age-period-cohort analyses including gender and German region as predictors were performed to disentangle age, period, and cohort effects. The Patient Health Questionnaire-4 was used as a brief screener for mental distress. RESULTS: We found significant period and cohort effects, with peek values for mental distress in the years 2017 and 2020 and for the oldest birth cohort (born before 1946). Age did not affect mental distress when cohort- and period effects as well as gender and German region were considered. An interaction effect for gender and the German region was found. Women in West Germany reported significantly higher mental distress compared to women in East Germany. Compared to men, women reported the highest prevalence in both regions. CONCLUSION: Important political events as well as major crises can lead to an increase of mental distress in societies. Furthermore, an association between birth cohort and mental distress could be linked to socialization effects of that certain time, causing traumatic experiences or a specific coping style within this cohort group. Prevention and intervention strategies could benefit from acknowledging structural differences linked to period and cohort effects.

Attachment styles and healthcare utilization: exploring the role of the patient-doctor relationship.

BACKGROUND: With the purpose of improving healthcare, past research has examined the link between healthcare utilization and attachment. It is suggested that an individual's attachment style influences both the quality of their patient-physician relationship and healthcare utilization patterns. Nevertheless, most studies concentrate on the individual aspect, overlooking the dyadic dimension; specifically, the investigation of how insecure attachment relates to health behavior within patient-physician relationships. This gap leaves the role of the patient-doctor relationship in this process unclear. Therefore, to elucidate this complex interplay, we hypothesized that the correlation between attachment and healthcare utilization is mediated by the quality of the patient-physician-relationship. METHOD: Participant selection was based on electoral districts, a random-route procedure, and the Kish selection grid. The participants were visited by a trained interviewer who collected psychometric and sociodemographic information. Participants answered the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised questionnaire (ECR-RD8) and the Patient-Doctor Relationship Questionnaire (PDRQ-9). Additionally, participants were asked about their healthcare utilization. The final sample consisted of N = 2.275 participants. RESULTS: In average the participants reported consulting their primary health care practitioner M(SD) = 4.44 (4.76) times in the past 12 months. Generally, the participants rated the quality of the relationship with their primary health care practitioner close to "totally appropriate" (M = 4.12 ± .69). The degree of insecure attachment manifested towards the lower extremity of the scale. The total effect of the mediation analyses was significant. Regardless, the indirect effect indicated a trend result with minimal effect sizes. CONCLUSION: The findings of the current study bridged the gap between attachment styles and healthcare utilization. Nonetheless, our results suggested insufficient support for the mediating role of the primary care physician in the relationship between attachment style and healthcare utilization. Considering the characteristics of the sample, this outcome may not apply in a clinical context. However, further research is needed to shed light in the revealed trends and indicate implications.

Psychometric properties of the German version of the Pre-loss Grief Questionnaire (PG-12-R).

This study aimed to develop a German version of the revised Pre-loss Grief Questionnaire (PG-12-R) and examine its factor structure, reliability and validity. The PG-12-R was assessed in a representative German sample (N = 2,515). Of these, 362 (14.4%) reported to have a loved one suffering from an incurable disease and 352 provided full data sets. Principal component factor analysis, scree-plot and parallel analysis were conducted. Results supported a one-factor model of PG-12-R with high internal consistency. Convergent validity was confirmed by negative correlations with psychological well-being and time since diagnosis and positive correlations with a more difficult perception of circumstances surrounding the illness and unpreparedness. The German version of the PG-12-R represents a reliable and valid measurement tool of pre-loss grief. It may be used as a screening measure for high levels of pre-loss grief to identify individuals who may need additional support.

A powerful safety net: Social support moderates the association of quality of life deficits with suicidal ideation in long-term childhood cancer survivors.

OBJECTIVES: Cancer survivors are at risk for suicidality. We aimed to expand the knowledge about protective factors and their interplay with risk factors by testing social support as a modifier of the association of Quality of Life (QoL) deficits with suicidal ideation. RESEARCH APPROACH: We surveyed N = 633 childhood cancer survivors (CCS) using validated questionnaires (EORTC Core Quality of Life questionnaire QLQ-C30, Patient Health Questionnaire PHQ-9). The interaction of QoL and social support was investigated using multiple linear regression analysis. FINDINGS: CCS reporting suicide attempts and current suicidal ideation (SI) had lower QoL. CCS with SI reported less social support. QoL and social support were independently associated with SI and interacted: among CCS with less social support, low QoL was more strongly associated with SI. CONCLUSION: The results highlight the need for interdisciplinary survivorship care, and to focus on risk and protective factors to strengthen suicide prevention.

[Assessing Relationship Satisfaction with Four Items? Psychometric Evaluation of the Ultra-short German Version of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS-4)]. / Erfassung der Partnerschaftszufriedenheit mit vier Items? Psychometrische Evaluation der deutschen Version einer Kurzform der Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS-4).

The quality of an individual's relationship plays a central role in their personal well-being as well as their mental and physical health. Despite its great importance, there are only a few ultra-short self-report measures for the assessment of relationship quality. An exception is the four-item version of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS-4), which is gaining increasing popularity internationally. In this study, the German version of the DAS-4 was evaluated for the first time with regard to its psychometric properties in a general population sample of individuals in a romantic relationship (N=1296). In addition to satisfactory item characteristics, the unidimensional measurement model showed sufficient goodness of fit and the internal consistency was satisfactory (ω=0.80). Measurement invariance was shown for men and women based on the latent construct of the DAS-4. In line with the hypothesis, associations of the DAS-4 with gender, general life satisfaction, psychopathology and attachment styles were found, which suggests construct validity. Despite the lack of application experiences and pending psychometric analyses of the DAS-4 in relevant target groups, such as individuals in couples counselling or therapy, the four-item version can be recommended for assessing relationship satisfaction.

[Aspects of Utilization of Psychotherapy in Germany in Times of the GDR and Later]. / Aspekte der Inanspruchnahme von Psychotherapie in Deutschland zu Zeiten der DDR und danach.

Objective The aim of the study was to examine real differences in the use of psychotherapy in the New Federal States during the GDR era and today. In addition, differences according to the willingness seeking psychotherapy as well as barriers in opinions and contact to the mentally ill between people from the New Federal States, the Old Federal States and people who moved from the New Federal States to the Old Federal States (internal migrants) should be recorded, taking into account generational effects (experience of the Cold War - birth before / after January 1st, 1980). Methods To investigate these questions, the data from a representative survey in the New Federal States of N=2729 people as well as the data from a second online based survey of people from the New and Old Federal States as well as internal migrants with a total of N=4789 participants were evaluated.Results There was a prevalence of 1% for the use of psychotherapy during the GDR era. Overall, the prevalence of therapy experiences among people who experienced the GDR and were born before January 1st in 1980 was almost 13%. They also reported greater willingness seeking help for mental suffering since the end of the Cold War. The prevalence among younger people was about 12%. In the second survey, there were significant differences, among the older respondents. East Germans today and even during the GDR era were less willing to seek psychotherapy for mental suffering, they also have less contact to mentally ill people. Differences according to desires for distance from mentally ill people, self stigmatization in the presence of a mental illness and discrimination against mentally ill people emerged between East Germans, West Germans and internal migrants depending on generational affiliation.Discussion Barriers that prevent the use of psychotherapy should be taken into account on a generational and socialization specific basis. Socialization as a relevant factor might explain a lack of willingness to utilize psychotherapy amongst people that experienced the GDR era and still live in the new Federal States.

Functional Somatic Disorders, Their Subtypes, and Their Association With Self-Rated Health in the German General Population.

OBJECTIVE: The heterogeneous conceptualizations and classifications of persistent and troublesome physical symptoms impede their adequate clinical management. Functional somatic disorder (FSD) is a recently suggested interface concept that is etiologically neutral and allows for dysfunctional psychobehavioral characteristics as well as somatic comorbidity. However, its prevalence and impact are not yet known. METHODS: We analyzed 2379 participants (mean age = 48.3 years, 52.5% female) from a representative German community survey using operationalized FSD criteria. These criteria defined FSD types based on somatic symptom count, type, and severity assessed by the Bodily Distress Syndrome Checklist. In addition, the associations of those types with health concerns, comorbidity, psychological distress, and self-rated health were determined. RESULTS: There were four clearly demarcated groups with no relevant bothering symptoms, with one or with few bothering symptoms from one organ system, and with multiple bothering symptoms from at least two organ systems. Psychological distress, health concerns, and comorbidity steadily increased, and self-rated health decreased according to the number and severity of symptoms. Somatic symptom burden, health concerns, and comorbidity independently predicted self-rated health, with no interaction effect between the latter two. CONCLUSIONS: Our data support an FSD concept with two severity grades according to persistent and troublesome symptoms in one versus more organ systems. The delimitation of subtypes with psychobehavioral characteristics and/or with somatic comorbidity seems useful, while still allowing the demarcation of a group of participants with high symptom burden but without those additional characteristics.

Depressive symptoms predict the incidence of common chronic diseases in women and men in a representative community sample.

BACKGROUND: Depression, the most frequent and harmful mental disorder, has been associated with specific somatic diseases as the leading cause of death. The purposes of this prospective study were to predict incident chronic diseases based on baseline depressive symptoms and to test sex-dependent effects. METHODS: In a representative German community sample of over 12 000 participants, baseline depressive symptoms (assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9) were tested as a predictor of new onset of cardiovascular disease (CVD), chronic obstructive lung disease, diabetes, cancer, and migraine at 5-year follow-up. To study disease incidence, we created subsamples for each chronic disease by excluding participants who already had the respective disease at baseline. Potential confounders were included in logistic regression models and sex-specific analyses were performed. RESULTS: Controlling for demographic characteristics and loneliness, in men and women, baseline depressive symptoms were predictive of CVD, chronic obstructive lung disease, diabetes, and migraine, but not of cancer. When we additionally adjusted for metabolic and lifestyle risk factors, there was an 8% increase of chronic obstructive lung disease and migraine per point of depressive symptoms. There was a trend for CVD (4%; p = 0.053). Sex-sensitive analyses revealed trends for the relevance of depressive symptoms for CVD in men (p = 0.065), and for diabetes in women (p = 0.077). CONCLUSIONS: These findings underscore the need to implement screening for depression in the treatment of major somatic illnesses. At the same time, depressed patients should be screened for metabolic and lifestyle risk factors and for somatic diseases and offered lifestyle interventions.

Quality of life after pediatric cancer: comparison of long-term childhood cancer survivors' quality of life with a representative general population sample and associations with physical health and risk indicators.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to compare the quality of life (QoL) reported by childhood cancer survivors (CCS) drawn from a cohort of the German Childhood Cancer Registry with a representative general population sample and, within CCS, to test associations between QoL and health behavior, health risk factors, and physical illness. METHODS: CCS (N = 633, age at diagnosis M = 6.34 (SD = 4.38), age at medical assessment M = 34.92 (SD = 5.70)) and a general population sample (age-aligned; N = 975) filled out the EORTC QLQ-C30. Comparisons were performed using General linear models (GLMs) (fixed effects: sex/gender, group (CCS vs. general population); covariates: age, education level). CCS underwent an extensive medical assessment (mean time from diagnosis to assessment was 28.07 (SD = 3.21) years) including an objective diagnosis of health risk factors and physical illnesses (e.g., diabetes and cardiovascular disease). Within CCS, we tested associations between QoL and sociodemographic characteristics, health behavior, health risk factors, and physical illness. RESULTS: CCS, especially female CCS, reported both worse functional QoL and higher symptom burden than the general population. Among CCS, better total QoL was related to younger age, higher level of education, being married, and engaging in active sports. Both health risk factors (dyslipidemia and physical inactivity) and manifest physical illnesses (cardiovascular disease) were associated with lower total QoL. CONCLUSIONS: In all domains, long-term CCS reported worse QoL than the comparison sample. The negative associations with risk factors and physical illnesses indicate an urgent need for long-term surveillance and health promotion.

Self-regulation profiles reflecting distinct levels of eating disorder and comorbid psychopathology in the adult population: A latent profile analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Previous research showed that individuals with eating disorders (EDs) can be subtyped by their levels of psychopathology and self-regulation abilities. However, nothing is known about whether self-regulation abilities are solely suited to depict the heterogeneity in ED and comorbid psychopathology in nonclinical samples. Therefore, this study sought to explore self-regulation profiles and their ability to discriminate ED, depression and anxiety disorders, and personality dysfunction in the adult population. METHODS: Within a German representative sample, N = 2391 adults (18-92 years) were examined using latent profile analysis to identify profiles based on established cognitive and emotional self-regulation scales including attention control, cognitive reappraisal, and difficulties in identifying feelings. Profiles were validated with ED, depression, anxiety, and personality dysfunction measures. RESULTS: The final solution selected as best balancing goodness of fit and interpretability included four profiles-High-Functioning, Moderate-Functioning, Dysregulated, and Alexithymic-with high explanatory power of R2  = .99. Profiles were characterized primarily by differences in difficulties in identifying feelings followed by differences in attention control and differed significantly regarding ED, depression and anxiety disorders, and personality dysfunction, with the Dysregulated profile showing the most unfavorable correlates. CONCLUSIONS: This study uniquely revealed that low cognitive and emotional self-regulation were indicators for ED, depression, anxiety, and personality dysfunction in the adult population. Future research should investigate whether the identified profiles predict the development of ED and comorbid psychopathology longitudinally. PUBLIC SIGNIFICANCE: Individuals with eating disorders present with difficulties in cognitive and emotional self-regulation, likely maintaining their symptoms. This representative study in the German adult population sought to build profiles based on cognitive and emotional self-regulation that differed in eating disorder and comorbid psychopathology. We discuss the potential to detect individuals with elevated eating disorder and comorbid psychopathology based on the identified profiles in nonclinical settings.

Regional differences in the assessment of depressive symptoms in the former German Democratic Republic and Federal Republic of Germany.

AIM: The present study investigated regional differences in response behaviour for the Patient Health Quetionnaire-9. We tested for measurement invariance and differential item and test functioning between formerly divided East- and West-Germany: the former German Democratic Republic and Federal Republic of Germany. Diverging socialization experiences in socialist versus capitalist and collectivist versus individualist systems may affect culturally sensitive assessments of mental health. SUBJECT AND METHODS: To test this empirically, we used factor analytic and item-response-theoretic frameworks, differentiating between East- and West-Germans by birthplace and current residence based on several representative samples of the German general population (n = 3 802). RESULTS: Across all survey, we discovered slightly higher depression sum scores for East- versus West-Germans. The majority of items did not display differential item functioning-with a crucial exception in the assessment of self-harm tendencies. The scale scores were largely invariant exhibiting only small amounts of differential test functioning. Nonetheless, they made up on average about a quarter of the observed group differences in terms of effect magnitude. CONCLUSION: We explore possible causes and discuss explanations for the item-level differences. Overall, analyses of East- and West-German depressive symptom developments in the wake of reunification are feasible and statistically grounded.

Historical and regional particularities in the prevalence of traumatic events and posttraumatic stress disorder in East and West Germany.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological research on the prevalence of traumatic events and PTSD has shown that there are significant differences between countries, due to their different history and socialization processes. In the case of Germany, this is particularly relevant. Germany was divided into two states from 1949 to 1990. This study examines the prevalence of traumatic events and PTSD in the formerly divided East and West Germany. METHODS: For the prevalence of traumatic events, we used data from four representative surveys (years 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2016) with a total of N = 9,200 respondents. For the analyses of PTSD prevalence, we used data from three representative surveys (years 2005, 2007, 2008) with a total of N = 6676 respondents. We compared different birth cohorts, persons living in the former West vs. East Germany, and the application of different diagnostic criteria using a chi-square test. RESULTS: The overall one-month prevalence rate for PTSD was 3.4% (3.0% for men and 3.8% for women). We found significant differences in the occurrence of traumatic events between genders, different age cohorts as well as between people who live in East and West Germany. Significant differences in the prevalence of PTSD can only be observed for different age cohorts. Most of the age effects are due to traumatic events related to World War II (WWII). Prevalence rates for PTSD were higher when the diagnostic criterions of the DSM-V were applied compared to the criterions of the DSM-IV. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggests that socio-political factors may need to be considered when accounting for differences in occurrence rates of traumatic events, but not for prevalence rates of PTSD, between East and West Germany. People who have experienced WW II have a higher risk of suffering from PTSD. Future epidemiological trauma research should take historical and regional peculiarities of countries into account.

Mental resources, mental health and sociodemography: a cluster analysis based on a representative population survey in a large German city.

BACKGROUND: Mental resources such as optimism and social support are important to face different stressors. The aim of this study is to identify groups in the population that are similar in terms of their mental resources. METHODS: For this purpose, a randomly selected general population community sample was used, representative for the city of Leipzig, Germany. In a two-stage process, three clusters were identified using hierarchical cluster analysis and the K-means method and then tested with a multinomial logistic regression analysis for differences in sociodemographic characteristics. RESULTS: Three clusters were identified which vary in their extent of social support and optimism. In distinguishing between those with higher and lower (medium or poor) mental resources, male gender, unemployment, being born abroad and low household income are risk factors for having fewer mental resources. Internal migrants from West Germany and persons with children at home have a higher chance of being in the type with good mental resources. The groups with medium and lower mental resources differ significantly only by variables living with a partner and employment. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that good mental resources are associated with good mental health. Special mental health care programs, focusing in particular on the needs of vulnerable groups with poor mental resources within a society, should be implemented.

Hedonic Overeating-Questionnaire: Exploring interactive effects between wanting, liking, and dyscontrol on body mass index.

The Hedonic Overeating-Questionnaire is a brief self-report measure for the trait assessment of liking (pleasure to eat; consummatory reward component), wanting (food craving; anticipatory reward component), and dyscontrol (loss of control over eating). In the original validation study, higher scores on each of the three subscales related to higher body mass index (BMI). However, theories on food reward and self-regulation suggest that overeating and obesity may also result from interactions between these aspects. Therefore, we reanalyzed the data of the original, cross-sectional study (N = 2504, 53% female) and explored whether liking, wanting, and dyscontrol scores interactively predicted BMI. Indeed, there was a significant interaction effect Wanting × Dyscontrol on BMI such that higher dyscontrol scores related to higher BMI, particularly at high wanting scores. The other two-way interactions and the three-way interaction were not significant. Results do not support certain theories on food reward (e.g., the incentive-sensitization theory of addiction and its application to obesity), which would suggest an interactive effect between liking and wanting on BMI. However, they do support dual systems models of self-regulation that suggest that overeating and obesity result from an interplay of strong bottom-up impulses (here: wanting) and weak top-down control (here: dyscontrol).

Self-Criticism in the General Population: Development and Psychometric Properties of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire Self-Criticism 4 (DEQ-SC4).

Self-criticism is a stable personality trait identified as a serious risk factor for psychopathology and weight-related health problems. Therefore, it is relevant to epidemiological research, which requires a relatively brief instrument for measuring trait self-criticism in the general population. The current study introduces a brief measure of self-criticism and presents empirical results that inform on its reliability and validity. Based on the six-item version of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire Self-Criticism (DEQ-SC6), thorough psychometric analyses on a German representative sample (N = 2,516) were conducted and resulted in the final four-item scale: the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire Self-Criticism 4 (DEQ-SC4). Its internal consistency was good and a one-dimensional factor structure showed a good model fit. In terms of construct validity, the DEQ-SC4 was moderately linked to symptoms of depression and a non-linear association between the DEQ-SC4 and body mass index was observed, with the highest levels of self-criticism reported by underweight participants. In addition, the DEQ-SC4 showed high positive correlations with another short version of the DEQ-SC and the Big Five personality dimensions assessed in samples of university students (N = 206) and patients (N = 55), meeting theoretically-based expectations. The DEQ-SC4 therefore represents a brief screening measure of self-criticism in the general population with good psychometric properties.

[Communicating about Parental Cancer with Minor Children: Necessity, Burden, and Issues from a Parent's Perspective]. / Kommunikation über die elterliche Krebserkrankung mit minderjährigen Kindern: Notwendigkeit, Belastung und Themen aus Elternsicht.

BACKGROUND: In addition to coping with their own stresses, parents of minor children with cancer face the difficult task of communicating the diagnosis and its effects to their children. The aim of this study is to examine parents' perceptions of conversations with their children and to identify key topics for psychosocial support. METHODS: Using a questionnaire, N=82 cancer patients with N=162 minor children were asked about their experiences when talking to their children about the disease. RESULTS: Communication about the disease was perceived as necessary by most parents. This was especially the case for older children. With 143 out of 162 children (88.3%), the conversation was held. Of the 82 parents interviewed, 16.5% felt no burden as a result of the talks, 15.2% reported a very high burden. The feeling of not being able to protect the children was perceived as particularly stressful. DISCUSSION: Most parents consider communication with the children to be important and seek it. However, many find this difficult, e. g. because they actually want to protect their children. Additional stress can be caused by questions from the children to which the parents cannot give an answer. CONCLUSION: Psychosocial support can be helpful here. Experiences discussed by parents can help other parents in similar situations.

[Psychometric Evaluation of a Single-Item-Screener for Sleep Disturbances]. / Psychometrische Überprüfung eines Ein-Item-Screeners für Schlafbeschwerden.

OBJECTIVE: Sleep disturbances are one of the most prevalent health complaints in the general population. Thus, the need for validated screening instruments and prevention measures is high. The aim of the current study is to evaluate a potential single-item screening instrument and therefore, contribute to an improved early detection. METHODS: Data from Saxony Longitudinal Study (SLS) is being analyzed. Based on data of 32nd wave (n=321, 172 women, 149 men, M age=48.42, SD=0.64), the G-Score Item #3 ("Have you had the following complaints in the last 12 months? Please indicate how often they occurred. - sleeplessness"), a potential screening instrument, is psychometrically evaluated. A Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC)-Analysis is calculated to assess the predictive validity of the G-Score Item #3. RESULTS: Retestreliability for the G-Score Item #3 is 0.70 (p<0.001). Correlation with the Jenkins Sleep Scale (JSS) was r=0.79 (p<0.01). The area under the curve (AUC) is 0.92, providing evidence for a very good predictive validity. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: This study provides evidence for the use of the G-Score Item #3 as a screening instrument for sleep disturbances by showing good psychometric properties and brevity.

Variables associated with oral health-related self-efficacy - results of a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Oral health-related self-efficacy (OH-SE) is pivotal for oral health and is associated with other oral-health related variables, such as dental fear and anxiety (DF/A) and dental hygiene behaviors (DHB). This study attempts to analyze associations between OH-SE and oral healthrelated variables in a German population to extend previous research by analyzing whether OH-SE can be predicted by these variables, as this might contribute to the development of treatment interventions. METHODS: OH-SE, DF/A, oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL), self-perceived dental condition, satisfaction with general health, DHB, and socioeconomic status were assessed as a part of the Saxon Longitudinal Study in an adult sample (n = 309, 56.3% female, all Saxon secondary school 8th graders in 1987). The associations of OH-SE with these variables were examined by means of correlation, multiple linear regression analyses, and group comparisons. Significance (p), standardized regression coefficients (ß), and effect size (Cohen's d) were calculated. RESULTS: The correlation analyses revealed increased OH-SE to be accompanied by low levels of DF/A, high levels of OHRQoL, high levels of self-perceived dental condition, increased satisfaction with general health and socioeconomic status (all r ≥ 0.142; all p ≤ 0.013). In the regression analysis, OH-SE was mainly predicted by self-perceived dental condition and satisfaction with general health (R2 = 0.157) as well as by daily frequency of toothbrushing, OHRQoL, and socioeconomic status on a trend-level basis. In the group comparisons OH-SE was lower in participants with moderate for manifest DF/A and higher in individuals with higher OHRQoL, better self-perceived dental condition, increased satisfaction with general health, increased daily frequency of toothbrushing, more dental appointments, and above-average socioeconomic status (trend level; all t ≥ 1.57; p ≤ 0.059). CONCLUSIONS: In this cross-sectional study, high levels of OH-SE were mainly predicted by general health as well as self-perceived dental condition. It was also associated with decreased DF/A, increased DHB, higher OHRQoL, and higher socioeconomic status. Future research should analyze these associations in longitudinal designs to address whether interventions focusing on adherence to good DHB improve (dental) health and thus OH-SE. This might be a promising approach, particularly in relation to the treatment of DF/A.