[Who is using outpatient psychotherapy in Germany?]. / Wer nimmt in Deutschland ambulante Psychotherapie in Anspruch?

Facing the current political controversies concerning health care, the present study examines the question who is using outpatient psychotherapy in Germany. Using data drawn from a nationally representative survey of 5120 Germans 7% stated they had used oupatient psychotherapy in the former 6 years or being actually in outpatient psychotherapy. Comparisions of socio-economic variables between persons with and without use of outpatient psychotherapy showed, contrary to expectations, that psychotherapy is not utilised by so called "YARVIS" (young, attractive, rich, verbal, intelligent, successful) patients.

Egg donation, surrogate mothering, and cloning: attitudes of men and women in Germany based on a representative survey.

OBJECTIVE: To determine opinions and attitudes of the German general population toward the treatment methods of reproductive medicine: egg donation, surrogate mothering, and reproductive cloning. DESIGN: Representative survey. SETTING: German general population: face-to-face interviews at home with 2,110 persons, aged 18-50 years. PATIENT(S): Patients were not included. INTERVENTION(S): No interventions took place. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Approval and disapproval of treatment methods of reproductive medicine and preimplantation genetic diagnosis were assessed by questionnaires regarding medical, age, reasons, or general. RESULT(S): Overall, the diverse treatment methods of reproductive medicine found comparable rates of approval and disapproval. Legalization of egg donation was approved by a slight majority (50.8%), particularly for medical reasons (35.9%). Surrogate mothering found lower overall rates of approval (43.7%), 28.5% supported an admission for medical reasons. Reproductive cloning was rejected by the vast majority (82.9%). Attitudes to reproductive medicine were affected by age and the individual reproductive experiences. CONCLUSION(S): New techniques in reproductive medicine and their development provide hope and health promises for affected couples but also entail long-term risks and ethical issues. Balancing the individual's right to a reproductive autonomy and choice and ethical standards will constitute a future challenge for society. Results demonstrate considerable uncertainty and information deficits in the community.