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The LifE study is a continuing longitudinal study in the field of educational sociology, initiated in Germany and ongoing since 1979. The study examines the individual development of approximately 1500 participants in the context of familial relationships and various life domains across multiple life stages.[1]

History

Initiated by educational researcher Helmut Fend at the University of Konstanz, the LifE-Study initially involved approximately 2000 children and adolescents born between 1962 and 1969 from both urban and rural regions in the German state of Hesse. Participants were surveyed annually from 1979 to 1983. The original phase included additional data collected from parents and teachers, expanding the total sample size to around 3,000 individuals.[2][3]

Follow-up surveys were conducted in 2002 (participants then aged around 35), 2012 (age ~45),[2] and 2024 (age ~57).[4] Over time, the study has expanded to include the children of the original participants, creating a multi-generational dataset. It addresses research questions regarding continuity and change across generations, educational and occupational trajectories, family relationships, personality development, health outcomes, and social integration.

Methodology and funding

The study uses standardized questionnaires, structured interviews, and systematic tracking of participants to ensure reliable and consistent results. Participation rates remained high through subsequent waves, with approximately 80% of original participants reached again in 2024. Comparisons with external datasets such as the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and the German Microcensus have been conducted to assess representativeness.[5][6]

The LifE-Study is a collaborative project involving several academic institutions, notably the University of Potsdam, the University of Zurich, and the University of Innsbruck. Funding has consistently been provided by research bodies such as the German Research Foundation (DFG), the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF).

Re-using the data

Data from the LifE-Study have been utilized in numerous peer-reviewed reports published in international journals, including Developmental Psychology and the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, as well as leading German educational journals. Independent evaluations have highlighted the value of the study’s extensive longitudinal data, particularly for investigating developmental patterns across multiple life stages and generations.

Data from earlier waves have been made available through repositories such as GESIS (Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences), enabling researchers to conduct independent analyses and verify findings.[7]

Results

The LifE-Study is a resource for longitudinal research on education, family sociology, developmental psychology, and related disciplines. Its findings demonstrate early and high predictability of educational attainment and career paths from age twelve onward.[8] The study validates the meritocratic function of educational systems: For highly gifted children from lower social classes, it is evident that academic performance is the most significant factor determining the level of educational attainment. Conversely, for students from higher social classes, career outcomes are less dependend on cognitive competencies and more by social background.

The study also examined the impact of school tracking systems, showing that integrated schools did not significantly reduce educational inequality compared to tracked schools.[9][10] Additionally, gender disparities were observed in educational and career trajectories, with pronounced income and status differences between men and women, especially after child-rearing years.[11] The German vocational system effectively provides qualifications early in life but restricts further educational advancement, unlike more permeable systems found in countries such as Canada.[12][13]

Social relationships exhibit significant long-term continuity and predictability. Early family relationship quality and adolescent friendships strongly influence adult romantic[14][15] and parental relationships,[16] psychological well-being, emotional stability, and life satisfaction,[17] outweighing educational and career trajectories in impact. Additionally, the study reveals gender-specific relationship patterns,[18][19][20] notably highlighting the enduring closeness of mother-daughter relationships.[21]

The home and school are identified as core determinants of cultural, religious, and political orientations in adulthood.[22][23] Surprisingly, parental influence remains highly significant, with many individuals closely adhering to their parents’ orientations into adulthood.[24] Schools primarily foster refined cultural orientations absent from home environments, while religious beliefs predominantly stem from parental models. Positive parent-child relationships and constructive parenting practices in childhood and adolescence are key factors for the intergenerational transmission of values and behaviors .[25]

Personality and health analyses underscore the roles of self-efficacy and self-esteem, identifying low self-esteem as a significant vulnerability factor for the development of depression.[26][27] Relational quality during adolescence and adulthood profoundly affects self-esteem levels and mental health outcomes.[28]

Furthermore, over three decades, the study notes substantial changes in respect and empathy toward adolescents in schools and families,[29] documenting a crucial humanization of school education.

Further reading

See also

References

  1. ^ Thomas, Mareike (2013). Mehrfachausbildungen: Wer sie macht und was sie bringen: Befunde der LifE-Studie (in German). Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. p. 118. doi:10.1007/978-3-658-03962-2. ISBN 978-3-658-03961-5.
  2. ^ a b Jung, Jana (2023). “Partnership trajectories and their consequences over the life course. Evidence from the German LifE Study”. Advances in Life Course Research. 55 100525. doi:10.1016/j.alcr.2022.100525. PMID 36942643.
  3. ^ Glaesser, Judith (2008). Soziale und individuelle Einflüsse auf den Erwerb von Bildungsabschlüssen. Analyse und Forschung Sozialwissenschaften. Konstanz: UVK-Verlagsgesellschaft. p. 105. ISBN 978-3-86764-043-5.
  4. ^ Gleirscher, Lena. “LifE3G Study”. University of Innsbruck. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
  5. ^ Thomas, Mareike (2013). Mehrfachausbildungen: Wer sie macht und was sie bringen: Befunde der LifE-Studie (in German). Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden. pp. 153–157. doi:10.1007/978-3-658-03962-2. ISBN 978-3-658-03961-5.
  6. ^ Glaesser, Judith (2009). “Arbeitslosigkeit als Risiko auf dem Berufsweg – Psychosoziale Bedingungsfaktoren”. In Fend, Helmut; Berger, Fred; Grob, Urs (eds.). Lebensverläufe, Lebensbewältigung, Lebensglück (in German). Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. pp. 123–139. doi:10.1007/978-3-531-91547-0_5. ISBN 978-3-531-15352-0. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
  7. ^ Fend, Helmut; Lauterbach, Wolfgang; Berger, Fred; Grob, Urs; Maag Merki, Katharina; Georg, Werner (2012), LifE-Studie, GESIS Data Archive, doi:10.7802/1924, retrieved 2026-04-08
  8. ^ Fend, H. (2014). “Bildungslaufbahnen von Generationen: Befunde der LifE-Studie zur Interaktion von Elternhaus und Schule”. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft. 17: 37–72. doi:10.1007/s11618-013-0463-4. ISSN 1434-663X.
  9. ^ Georg, W. (2016). “Transmission of cultural capital and status attainment – an analysis of development between 15 and 45 years of age”. Longitudinal and Life Course Studies. 7 (2): 106–123. doi:10.14301/llcs.v7i2.341.
  10. ^ Lauterbach, W.; Fend, H. (2016). “Educational mobility and equal opportunity in different German tracking systems – Findings from the LifE study”. Models of Secondary Education and Social Inequality. Edward Elgar Publishing. doi:10.4337/9781785367267.00015. ISBN 978-1-78536-726-7.
  11. ^ Lauterbach, W. (2016). Educational capital and unequal income development over the life course. Society for Longitudinal and Life Course Studies, Bamberg, 5.-8.10.2016.
  12. ^ Andres, L.; Lauterbach, W.; Jongbloed, J.; Hümme, H. (2021). “Gender, education, and labour market participation across the life course: A Canada/Germany comparison”. International Journal of Lifelong Education. 40 (2): 170–189. doi:10.1080/02601370.2021.1924302. ISSN 0260-1370.
  13. ^ Kaliga, S. N. (2018). Eine Frage der Zeit. Wie Einflüsse individueller Merkmale auf Einkommen bei Frauen über ihre familiären Verpflichtungen vermittelt werden. Eine Untersuchung mit den Daten der LifE-Studie. Universität Potsdam.
  14. ^ Jung, J. (2021). “Does youth matter? Long-term effects of youth characteristics on the diversity of partnership trajectories”. Longitudinal and Life Course Studies. 12 (2): 201–225. doi:10.1332/175795920X15980339169308. ISSN 1757-9597.
  15. ^ Umhauer, A. (2020). Die Bedeutung von Beziehungserfahrungen und Beziehungsvorstellungen in der Adoleszenz für Paarbeziehungen im Erwachsenenalter. Universitat Innsbruck.
  16. ^ Berger, F.; Fend, H. (2005). “Kontinuität und Wandel in der affektiven Beziehung zwischen Eltern und Kindern vom Jugend- bis ins Erwachsenenalter”. Zeitschrift für Soziologie der Erziehung und Sozialisation. 25 (1): 8–31. doi:10.25656/01:5663. ISSN 0720-4361.
  17. ^ Schudel, K. (2016). Long term trait and state effects of self-esteem and social integration on satisfaction. SLLS Annual International Conference, Bamberg, 6.-8.10.2016.
  18. ^ Berger, F. (2009). “Intergenerationale Transmission von Scheidung – Vermittlungsprozesse und Scheidungsbarrieren”. Lebensverläufe, Lebensbewältigung, Lebensglück. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. pp. 267–303. doi:10.1007/978-3-531-91547-0_10. ISBN 978-3-531-15352-0.
  19. ^ Gläßer, J.; Lauterbach, W.; Berger, F. (2018). “Predicting the Timing of Social Transitions from Personal, Social and Socio-Economic Resources of German Adolescents”. Comparative Population Studies. 43. doi:10.12765/CPoS-2018-11. ISSN 1869-8999.
  20. ^ Jung, J. (2023). “Partnership trajectories and their consequences over the life course. Evidence from the German LifE Study”. Advances in Life Course Research. 55 100525. doi:10.1016/j.alcr.2022.100525. ISSN 1569-4909. PMID 36942643.
  21. ^ Berger, F. (2008). Kontinuität und Wandel intergenerationaler Beziehungen von der späten Kindheit bis ins Erwachsenenalter. Universität Zürich.
  22. ^ Berger, F.; Grob, U. (2007). Jugend und Politik: Eine verständliche aber nur vorübergehende Kluft? Politische Sozialisation im Jugendalter und ihre Folgen für politische Haltungen im Erwachsenenalter. Zurich: Rüegger Verlag. pp. 109–140.
  23. ^ Grob, U. (2010). Der Beitrag der Schule zur Entwicklung von politischem Interesse und Toleranz im Spiegel der LifE-Studie. Fachvortrag gehalten im Rahmen des Kongresses „Bildung in der Demokratie“ der DGFE, Mainz.
  24. ^ Berger, F. (2016). “Wertetransmission von Eltern zu Kindern. Zur »Vererbung« von Einstellungen und Überzeugungen in Zeiten sozialen Wandels”. Schüler: Wissen für Lehrer. Heft zum Thema Werte. Frankfurt am Main: DIPF, Leibniz-Institut für Bildungsforschung und Bildungsinformation. pp. 56–61. ISSN 0949-2852.
  25. ^ Grob, U. (2016). Intergenerational Transmission of Political Orientations. SLLS-Conference, Bamberg, 6.-8.10.2016.
  26. ^ Harris, M. A.; Orth, U. (2020). “The link between self-esteem and social relationships: A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies”. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 119 (6): 1459–1477. doi:10.1037/pspp0000265. ISSN 1939-1315. PMID 31556680.
  27. ^ Steiger, Andrea E.; Allemand, M.; Robins, R. W.; Fend, H. (2014). “Low and decreasing self-esteem during adolescence predict adult depression two decades later” (PDF). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 106 (2): 325–338. doi:10.1037/a0035133. ISSN 1939-1315. PMID 24467425.
  28. ^ Steiger, Andrea E.; Fend, H.; Allemand, M. (2015). “Testing the vulnerability and scar models of self-esteem and depressive symptoms from adolescence to middle adulthood and across generations” (PDF). Developmental Psychology. 51 (2): 236–247. doi:10.1037/a0038478.
  29. ^ Fend, H.; Berger, F. (2016). “Ist die Schule humaner geworden? Sozialhistorischer Wandel der pädagogischen Kulturen in Schule und Familie in den letzten 30 Jahren im Spiegel der LifE-Studie”. Zeitschrift für Pädagogik. 62 (6): 861–885. ISSN 0044-3247.