German Ageing Survey

Summary

Differences in wellbeing and changes in wellbeing over time and between cohorts, age groups and other sub-groups can be described and investigated using the DEAS due to the cohort-sequential design. The assessment of multiple facets of wellbeing and the interdisciplinary focus of the DEAS allows detailed analysis of underlying mechanisms and effects of wellbeing. In contrast to other surveys, emotional wellbeing is assessed using a standardised measurement. Most surveys focus on cognitive wellbeing and ask about life satisfaction or domain-specific satisfaction. Although the DEAS assesses participants over the age of 85 and participants living in care facilities, the sample is not representative of people of a very old age (85 years and older) and individuals living in retirement or care homes; hence wellbeing and changes in wellbeing within these important sub-populations cannot be investigated without loss of data quality.

Type of data

Data Source
Survey

Type of Study
Survey same
Crosssection regular
Other: Cohort-sequential design

Data gathering method
Face-to-face
Self administered questionnaire

Access to data

Conditions of access
Available for scientific, non-profit use

Type of available data (e.g. anonymised microdata, aggregated tables, etc.)
anonymised microdata

Formats available
SPSS, STATA

Coverage

Coverage Years of collection, reference years, and sample sizes
Wave 1: Data collected in 1996 (DOI 10.5156/DEAS.1996.M.001) with a sample size of 4, 838 individuals. Wave 2: Data collected in 2002 (DOI 10.5156/DEAS.2002.M.001) with a base sample of 3,084 individuals, a migrant sample of 586 individuals, and a panel sample of 1,524 individuals. Wave 3: Data collected in 2008 (DOI 10.5156/DEAS.2008.M.001) with a base sample of 6,205 individuals and a panel sample of 1,995 individuals. Wave 4: Data collected in 2011 with a panel sample of 4, 855 individuals. Wave 5: Data will be collected in 2014. A new base sample will be drawn and the panel sample will be reassessed.

First year of collection
1996

Stratification if applicable
age (40-54, 55-69, 70-85 years), sex, region (East/West)

Base used for sampling

Geographical coverage and breakdowns
national, NUTS3-level (Kreise)

Age range
baseline samples: 40-85 years; Panel sample: 40-90 years

Statistical representativeness
Other, please specify

Coverage of main and cross-cutting topics
The DEAS assesses different facets of wellbeing. In all waves, the same indicators for cognitive (life satisfaction in general, domain-specific satisfaction) and emotional wellbeing (frequency of experiencing positive and negative emotions) are available. Since 2002, a screening instrument for depression has been applied. Loneliness and optimism as further proxies for wellbeing are assessed as well in all waves. In 2014, the wellbeing module will be expanded by adding a measure of stress and by extending how wellbeing is measured.

Linkage

Standardisation
The data set contains various internationally harmonised standards (e.g. ISCED-97 (International Standard Classification of Education), ISCO-88 (International Standard Classification of Occupation)). All well-being instruments are standardised, validated questions and scales. In international research, the same measurements of life satisfaction and emotional well-being are often used.

Possibility of linkage among databases
Only regional linkage on district level via NUTS3-level (Kreise) is possible.

Data quality

Entry errors if applicable
Raw data is cleaned by project organisers and checked for inconsistencies, data is further checked by the Research Data Centre, then the scientific use file (SUF) is created.

Breaks
Research group changed between first and second wave (1996: Freie Universität Berlin, since 2002: German Centre of Gerontology). In 1996, interviews were conducted via PAPI, since 2002, however, they have been conducted via CAPI.

Consistency of terminology or coding used during collection
Due to a change in the research group, the documentation for 1996 is incomplete.

Governance

Contact information

Research Data Centre of the German Ageing Survey, German Centre of Gerontology (DZA Berlin)
Manfred-von-Richthofen-Straße 2
12101 Berlin Germany Phone: +49 (0)30 - 260740-0
Email: fdz(at)dza.de
Url: http://www.dza.de/en/fdz/research-data-centre-of-the-german-ageing-survey-fdz-deas/access-to-deas-data.html

Timeliness, transparency
The scientific use file is available about 2 years after data collection.