Objective: This study examines gender and socioeconomic inequalities in parental psychological wellbeing (parenting stress and psychological distress) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. Background: The dramatic shift of childcare and schooling responsibility from formal institutions to private households during the pandemic has put families under enormous stress and raised concerns about caregivers' health and wellbeing. Despite the overwhelming media attention to families’ wellbeing, to date limited research has examined parenting stress and parental psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in Germany. Method: We analyzed four waves of panel data (N= 1,771) from an opt-in online survey, which was conducted between March 2020 and April 2021. Multivariable OLS regressions were used to estimate variations in the pandemic's effects on parenting stress and psychological distress by various demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Results: Overall, levels of parenting stress and psychological distress increased during the pandemic. During the first and third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, mothers, parents with children younger than 11 years, parents with two or more children, parents working from home as well as parents with financial insecurity experienced higher parenting stress than other sociodemographic groups. Moreover, women, respondents with lower incomes, single parents, and parents with younger children experienced higher levels of psychological distress than other groups. Conclusion: Gender and socioeconomic inequalities in parents' psychological wellbeing increased among the study participants during the pandemic.

The detrimental impact of poverty on child behavioral problems is well-established, but the mechanisms that explain this relationship are less well-known. Using data from the Families in Germany Study on parents and their children at ages 9–10 (middle childhood), this study extends previous research by examining whether or not and to what extent different parenting styles and parents’ subjective well-being explain the relationship between poverty and child behavior problems. The results show that certain parenting styles, such as psychological control, as well as mothers’ life satisfaction partially mediate the correlation between poverty and child behavioral problems.

An emerging body of evidence shows that parents’ non-standard work schedules have a detrimental effect on children's well-being. However, only a limited number of studies have investigated mediating factors that underpin this association. Likewise, only a few studies have examined the impact of fathers’ non-standard work schedules on children's well-being. Based on data from the Families in Germany Study (FiD), this study aimed to address these research gaps. The sample consists of parents and their children at ages 7–8 and 9–10 (n = 838 child observations in dual-earner families). The data were collected in the years 2010–2013. Non-standard work hours were defined as working in evenings and or at night (every day, several times a week, or changing as shifts). Children's social and emotional well-being was measured with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The findings show that both mothers’ and fathers’ evening and night work schedules are linked to an increase in children's externalizing and internalizing behavior and that this association is partially mediated by mothers’ and fathers’ harsh and strict parenting, with a stronger mediation effect for fathers parenting.

To better understand the occurrence of major changes in people´s lives like job changes or relocations, we test a model of motivational consequences of life and domain satisfaction using data of the German socio-economic panel study (SOEP) (waves 2005–2015; Ns between 2,201 and 28,720). We examined job and location changes as outcomes that people may actively initiate as a result of dissatisfaction with these domains. One of our results indicates that for similar levels of job satisfaction, individuals with higher levels of life satisfaction were more likely to report a subsequent job change, presumably because they possess necessary resources to actively initiate such a major life change. The patterns were similar for relocation satisfaction and subsequent relocation, but not all effects were significant. Generally, the effects of life satisfaction and domain satisfaction on life events were independent of affective well-being. Contrary to what we expected based on life-span theories, perceived control did not significantly moderate the tested mechanisms. These findings furthermore show that examining life satisfaction and domain satisfaction in isolation can lead to theoretically and empirically false conclusions. Contrary to previous research, high life satisfaction appears to not be a general driver for stability but rather should be seen as an indicator of resourcefulness that allows people to strive for changes in specific life domains.

Various studies have examined the relevance of either cultural capital or personality traits for academic achievement. Integrating these two fields of research, this study compares cultural participation in ‘highbrow activities’ and personality and their possible impact on the intergenerational transmission of educational inequalities in primary school. It also examines whether cultural participation in ‘highbrow activities’ and personality substitute for a non-academic background. The differences and similarities of the sociological concept of habitus and the psychological concept of personality are discussed on a conceptual level. Data are drawn from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP) and the Families in Germany Study (FiD). Results show that the effect of parental education on school grades is partially mediated by three personality facets – Focus, Intellect, and Curiosity – as well as the cultural activity of playing music. Furthermore, the effect of parental education on school grades is multiple-mediated via playing music and Focus, as well as Curiosity to a small extent. Results of a multiple group analysis between children from academic and non-academic households show that participation in cultural activities and personality does not substitute for parental education.