The German Ageing Survey (DEAS) is a main source of information about ageing and old age as a stage of life in Germany. It is a nationally representative, cross-sectional and longitudinal survey of people in the second half of life (i. e. aged 40 and over). The comprehensive study of people in their mid- and older adulthood provides individual data for use both in social and behavioural scientific research and in reporting on social developments. The data is thus a source of information for political decision makers, the general public and for scientific research. The DEAS allows to form a comprehensive picture of life situations and life contexts of old and ageing people in Germany and to respond to current political and academic questions.
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Funding, history and structure of the study
The German Ageing Survey (DEAS) is funded by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ). The first survey wave was conducted in 1996. It was designed and carried out by the research group on ageing and the life course from the Freie Universität Berlin, the research group on psychogerontology of the University of Nijmegen and infas Institute for Applied Social Sciences, Bonn. From 2000 onwards, the German Centre of Gerontology (DZA) was responsible for the implementation and further development of the project. The second survey wave of DEAS followed in 2002, the third was conducted in 2008, the fourth was conducted in 2011 and the fifth was conducted in 2014. The data assessments are furthermore carried out by infas Institute for Applied Social Sciences. Starting from 2008, the DEAS panel is conducted every three years. The most recent survey in 2011 therefore considered panel participants only. A new cross-sectional sample is drawn every six years. This approach enables the investigation of social change as well as individual development over a 18-year span. A book containing the key findings of the fifth wave will be published in 2016. Various other papers will be published in scientific journals.
Main research areas
Covering a broad spectrum of topics, the DEAS reflects the complex life situations and life concepts of the German population in the second half of life. The survey’s interdisciplinary conception allows for the linking of gerontological, sociological, psychological, socio-political, nursing science, and economic issues. In every new wave the questions aim to balance actuality and continuity. On the one hand, adaptation of the questionnaire to accommodate new insights makes it possible to respond promptly to urgent political and academic questions. On the other hand, the retention of a sizable number of questions from the previous waves ensures comparability and the monitoring of long-term developments. The following topics are examined:
This broad spectrum of topics makes it necessary to examine them as a whole and to analyse their interrelationship and interactions during the life course. Some examples for this are issues relating to quality of life in old age and social inequality.
Sampling
The German Ageing Survey enables analyses of cohort differences, i.e. a comparison of individuals of the same age at different points in time and thus an examination of social change. Moreover, it allows longitudinal analyses, i.e. the comparison of information at certain points in time and hence a study of individual developments over time. The DEAS makes possible a comprehensive description of life situations and life contexts of the German population aged over 40 in the year 2014 (current cross-sectional analysis), an analysis of social changes over the points in time 1996, 2002, 2008 and 2014 and an investigation of intra-individual development over either six, twelve, fifteen years or eighteen years (1996-2002, 1996-2002-2008, 1996-2002-2008-2011 or 1996-2002-2008-2011-2014). Another perspective results from the comparison of individual development over a six-year period in the three time-frames 1996 to 2002, 2002 to 2008 or 2008 to 2014, i.e. a comparison between the development of two or three birth cohorts in a specific age segment.
The following samples are available from the survey waves conducted between 1996 and 2014:
Wave I
Wave II
Wave III
Wave IV
Wave V
The sixth wave will be conducted in 2017.
Wave VI
Findings
The findings of the German Ageing Survey are published in edited volumes, refereed journals and press informations. Press information is free of charge and available online at [1], where you will also find a list of selected DEAS publications in English. The Research Data Centre of the German Centre of Gerontology (FDZ-DZA) now also provides anonymised data sets for research purposes and advises researchers on its use.