Work-related internal migration and changes in mental and physical health: A longitudinal study using German data.

Work-related internal migration can be associated with various labor market benefits such as improved career opportunities. However, benefits can be offset by specific burdens (relocation stress) which, in turn, can lead to adverse health outcomes. These burdens include organizing the move, difficulties in maintaining social relationships, homesickness or feelings of displacement. However, there is a particular lack of longitudinal studies which deploy advanced methods to examine how internal migration affects shifts in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) over time. Also, there has been little research into whether the consequences of relocations differ by socio-economic position. In order to address these gaps, we apply fixed effects (FE) panel regression models to representative data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). We use the SF-12 Health Survey items to capture the subjective assessment of overall mental and physical well-being. Overall, we find an increase in physical HRQOL after the relocation event. Mental HRQOL tends to decrease before the event and then increases afterwards, on average, but there seems to be very little lasting change. Subgroup analyses, however, reveal differential trajectories by educational level, i.e. a clear educational health gradient around migration. While physical and mental HRQOL increases among movers with high educational attainment, individuals with lower levels of education show decreases in both health dimensions upon moving.

Postoperative Pain Trajectories and Pain Chronification-an Empirical Typology of Pain Patients.

Background: High intensity of acute postsurgical pain is one of the strongest predictors of chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP). We investigated if different types of patients with distinct combinations of initial pain intensity and rate of pain resolution exhibit different risks for increased pain intensity six months after surgery. Methods: Data from 174 patients were examined using growth mixture analysis by means of structural equation modeling. Results: Three types of patients were distinguished on the basis of acute pain trajectories. The majority of patients (57%) showed an unproblematic pattern of little initial pain on the first postoperative day, combined with further pain resolution over the four subsequent days. There also was a substantial group of patients (30%) who started out with severe pain but exhibited a high rate of pain resolution. Finally, we found a problematic group of patients (13%) who reported high pain intensities throughout all five postoperative measurements, with no signs of pain resolution. Even after controlling for preoperative pain intensity, these patients exhibited significantly higher pain intensities six months after surgery than the remaining patient groups. Conclusions: In this study, we demonstrated that there is substantial variation in postsurgical pain trajectories, not only with regard to postsurgical initial pain intensity, but also with regard to individual rates of pain resolution. Successful pain resolution appeared to be a better predictor of absence of increased pain intensities six months after surgery than initial pain immediately after surgery. Hence, attention should be given to appropriate pain treatment in order to minimize the risk of CPSP.

Is fertility contagious? Using panel data to disentangle mechanisms of social network influences on fertility decisions.

Using panel data (N = 1.679 married and cohabiting couples), this paper investigates the presence and causal mechanisms of social contagion processes regarding first births. Results confirmed the hypothesized positive association between the number of network members (friends, acquaintances, siblings) with young children and the respondents' transition rate into parenthood, particularly among younger couples. Several potential intervening mechanisms underlying this social contagion effect were tested. First, evidence was found for observational learning processes in which Ego obtained information on the joys and challenges of parenthood from network members with children. Second, childless respondents tended to feel pressured from couples with children in the network to start a family. Third, results supported the notion of social opportunity costs in that the anticipated loss of social ties after becoming a parent was more likely the fewer parents there were in the network. All three mechanisms exerted a positive impact on both fertility intentions and behavior. Panel regression models relying on intraindividual change scores showed that social learning was the most robust mechanism. An additional indirect test for causality suggested that the findings were unlikely to merely reflect parental status homophily (i.e., selection effects).