This study investigated whether developmental states and changes in adolescence (i.e., Grades 7-10) predict central life outcomes at the age of 30 within and between domains. We focused on predictors and outcomes in three key developmental domains: academic-vocational development, social development, and intrapersonal development/well-being. We addressed academic achievement during adolescence and occupational prestige in adulthood for academic-vocational development, perceived peer acceptance in adolescence and perceived social integration in adulthood for social development, and self-esteem in adolescence, as well as life satisfaction and depression in adulthood, as indicators for intrapersonal development/well-being. We followed a large sample of German seventh graders (N = 10,503; 50.4% females; baseline Mage = 12.3) at four measurement points over a period of 18 years and estimated latent regression models as well as latent growth curve models. The results showed that earlier states and changes within one domain predicted outcomes within the same domain. Hence, the state of academic achievement and the degree of increase in academic achievement across adolescence predicted adult occupational prestige, the state of perceived peer acceptance in adolescence predicted perceived social inclusion in adulthood, and the state and change of adolescent self-esteem predicted life satisfaction and depression in adulthood. We highlight the important role that developmental processes in adolescence play as a precursor for developmental success later in life and the need for integrative research that takes a comprehensive perspective on development across the lifespan. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

Am Übergang ins Gymnasium bestehen seit Jahrzehnten Ungleichheiten nach sozialer Herkunft. Obwohl die Forschung zu diesem Ungleichheitsphänomen bereits verschiedene Erklärungsansätze entwickelt hat, fehlt weiterhin ein systematischer Überblick darüber, welche Rolle den verschiedenen Akteur*innen im Übergangsprozess zukommt und über welche genauen Mechanismen die sozialen Ungleichheiten zu erklären sind. Der vorliegende Beitrag greift diese offenen Punkte auf und ermöglicht über die Integration der Überlegungen der kulturellen Reproduktionstheorie (Bourdieu 1982), der Rational Choice-Theorie (Boudon 1974) sowie der Theorie zur institutionellen Diskriminierung (Gomolla und Radtke 2009) ein umfassenderes Verständnis über die Entstehung sozialer Ungleichheit in den verschiedenen Phasen des Übergangs ins Gymnasium. Die Analyse basiert auf Daten der BERLIN-Studie zu den Rahmenbedingungen, Bildungsentscheidungen und Bildungswegen von Schüler*innen in Berlin. Anhand dieser Paneldaten ist es möglich, die verschiedenen Passagen des Übergangs ins Gymnasium zu betrachten und dabei sowohl die Perspektive der Schüler*innen, der Eltern als auch der Lehrkräfte zu berücksichtigen. In der Analyse wird zwischen Notenerwerb, Gymnasialempfehlung und tatsächlichem Übertritt ins Gymnasium unterschieden. Auf Basis von Pfadanalysen und KHB-Effektdekompositionen lässt sich zeigen, dass alle drei Akteur*innen an der Entstehung sozialer Ungleichheiten beteiligt sind, sich die Ungleichheitsmechanismen aber in den verschiedenen Phasen des Übergangs in ihrer direkten und indirekten Wirkungsweise unterscheiden.

The genesis, meaning, and significance of school grades have been subjects of socio-political and scientific debates for many decades. Beyond research specifically focused on school grades, they serve an important role as a control variable in many studies. Thus, a substantial amount of educational research and knowledge is based on grades, primarily report card grades. However, remarkably few studies focus on oral grades, even though they hold significant legal weight in the formation of report card grades. So far, it remains largely unclear which criteria teachers use when assigning oral grades, whether there are specific preference groups among teachers in selecting criteria, and to what extent teachers consider oral grades when determining report card evaluations. This study investigates these aspects in greater detail and is based on a representative sample of 762 lower secondary school teachers from Germany. The results suggest that teachers particularly consider quality criteria when assigning oral grades but that aspects of work and social behavior were also relevant. Three groups of teachers were identified in latent class analyses: Teachers in the first group (All-in group; 49%) assigned high importance to nearly all criteria. Teachers in the second group (Quali group; 18%) focused mainly on the quality criteria of oral performance. Teachers in the third group (Quali plus group; 33%) included criteria related to work and social behavior in addition to the quality criteria when evaluating oral performance, but for whom, for example, notebook organization and homework were less important than for the All-in group. The significance of explicitly considering and investigating oral grades in educational research will be discussed.

Die Genese, Bedeutung und Aussagekraft von Schulnoten sind seit vielen Jahrzehnten Gegenstand gesellschaftspolitischer und wissenschaftlicher Debatten. Neben Forschungsarbeiten, die explizit Schulnoten untersuchen, erfüllen diese in zahlreichen Studien auch eine wichtige Funktion als Kontrollvariable. Somit fußt ein nicht unbeträchtlicher Anteil bildungswissenschaftlicher Forschungsarbeiten und Erkenntnisse, wenn nicht explizit, so zumindest partiell, auf Schulnoten und hier vorrangig auf Zeugnisnoten. Auffällig ist, dass zu mündlichen Noten bisher kaum Forschungsarbeiten existieren, obwohl ihnen rechtlich ein substanzielles Gewicht bei der Bildung von Zeugnisnoten eingeräumt wird. Bisher ist daher noch weitgehend unklar, welche Kriterien Lehrkräfte bei der Bildung mündlicher Noten verwenden, ob sich unterschiedliche LehrerInnentypen bei der Wahl dieser Kriterien identifizieren lassen und welche Bedeutung mündliche Noten für Lehrpersonen bei der Bildung von Zeugnisnoten haben. In der vorliegenden Studie werden diese Forschungsfragen auf der Grundlage einer für Deutschland repräsentativen Stichprobe von 762 Lehrpersonen der Sekundarstufe I näher beleuchtet. Die Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass Lehrkräfte insbesondere Qualitätskriterien bei der Bildung mündlicher Noten berücksichtigen, aber auch Aspekte des Arbeits- und Sozialverhaltens relevant sind. In latenten Klassenanalysen ließen sich drei Lehrkraft-Typen identifizieren: Eine Gruppe (All In-Gruppe; 49

Research on the self-regulation of motivation within the SRL framework has recently undergone significant advancements, underlining both the relevance and complexity of motivational regulation processes. However, prior studies seldom accounted for distinct motivational regulation constructs, their predictors, or developmental patterns over time. This longitudinal study, covering several semesters of university education, focused on the intraindividual trajectories and relevant predictors of interindividual differences in students' (Nt1 = 922) self-efficacy for motivational regulation and frequency of use of motivational regulation strategies (overall and specific strategies). Results of latent growth curve modeling revealed unique developmental patterns in these constructs and unique associations of their initial levels and trajectories with cognitive and achievement-related, personality-related, and socio-demographic variables. Overall, conscientiousness was the most robust and powerful predictor of motivational regulation processes. Furthermore, lower-achieving students, more neurotic students, males, and first-generation students may especially benefit from individualized support programs to improve their motivational regulation skills. Educational relevance statement: This longitudinal research provides novel insights into the complexity of motivational regulation processes in university students. Our findings indicate that self-efficacy for motivational regulation and frequency of use of different motivational regulation strategies unfold uniquely over time. Furthermore, their initial levels and developmental patterns are affected to a different extent by student background characteristics such as cognitive ability, prior academic achievement, personality factors, gender, and university generational status. These results underline the importance of empirically considering distinct motivational regulation components and may help provide more optimal support for specific groups of students.

Social inequalities in the transition to upper secondary education have existed for decades. Inequality research has already developed various approaches to explain this phenomenon of inequality. Nevertheless, there is still no systematic overview of the role of the various actors in this status reproduction process and the exact processes through which social inequalities arise. This article addresses these ambiguities in the findings and, by integrating the considerations of cultural reproduction theory (Bourdieu 1982), rational choice theory (Boudon 1974) and theory of institutional discrimination (Gomolla and Radtke 2009), enables a more comprehensive understanding of the emergence of social inequality at the transition to upper secondary education.The analysis is based on the BERLIN-study on conditions, educational decisions and educational pathways of students in Berlin. Using this panel data, it is possible to look at the transition to upper secondary education over the period of the transition process, taking into account the perspectives of students, parents and teachers. In the analysis, a distinction is made between grade acquisition, recommendation status and actual transfer to upper secondary education. Based on path analyses and KHB-decomposition analyses, it can be shown that students, parents and teachers are involved in the emergence of social inequalities, but the mechanisms of inequality differ in their direct and indirect effects during the various phases of transition.

We investigated whether adolescent optimism moderates the association between parenthood and adult psychosocial and occupational outcomes. We examined 1596 German adolescents (63.8% female, baseline Mage = 12.9, 37.6% were parents at T2) at two measurement points 18 years apart using latent moderated regression models. At age 30, parents had lower occupational status and income, but higher life satisfaction than nonparents. Optimism predicted higher income, life satisfaction, social integration, and fewer psychosomatic and depressive symptoms in parents and nonparents. Optimism moderated the association between parenthood and mental health nonlinearly, with poorer outcomes among parents observed only at very low optimism levels (approximately two standard deviations below the mean). These findings highlight optimism as a long-term resource promoting adaptation to challenges.

Verwaltungskontrolle durch Gesellschafterrechte. Eine vergleichende Studie nach deutschem Verbandsrecht und dem amerikanischen Recht der corporation

Does the personal component of aspiration add to social background’s effects on the transition to study? Often neglected in research, our study examines the interplay between personal (Big Five) and socio-structural components of aspirations at the transition to higher education. Drawing on a large-scale longitudinal German study, the National Educational Panel Study, NEPS, we analyse impact of a student’s personality in grade 9 on their aspirations in grade 11 and the transition to study after graduating with a higher education entrance certificate of 4042 students including 1667 from non-academic families. We employ logistic regression analysis followed by average marginal effects (AME). Findings show that—beyond social origin—aspirations encompass a personality component which independently impacts the transition to studying; even when adjusted for achievement differences. We find an overall effect of openness, but its effect is largely driven by non-academic students. Our study therefore highlights the importance of including both social and psychological perspectives when researching topics of inequality.

What shapes (occupational) success in later life? This study examines the differential importance of intelligence in late childhood, socioeconomic background, and education across later occupations. The quantity and quality of educational success are thought to mediate the other dimensions. We analyzed data from N = 4387 participants in a German longitudinal large-scale study in multiple regression and mediation models to examine how childhood intelligence and socioeconomic background predict income and occupational status at different career stages. Both childhood intelligence and socioeconomic background predict status and income in adulthood, with childhood intelligence being the stronger predictor. However, education is an even stronger predictor and—once included in the model—mediates virtually all effects of childhood intelligence and socioeconomic background. This pattern remains stable across career stages, and education has unique effects on income and occupational status in later work life, even when controlling for work experience. Our results emphasize the pivotal role of education in transitioning to the labor market and further development at work, even at later career stages. Given the stronger link between childhood intelligence and educational success in Germany than in other countries, we find that Germany is one of the more intelligence-driven systems.

This study investigates the psychological costs of intergenerational social mobility, focusing on both upward and downward mobility. While prior research has often overlooked the role of selection effects, we explicitly disentangle whether disparities in mental health and well-being are attributable to the experience of social mobility itself or to pre-existing individual differences. Using data from a German panel study that follows individuals from late adolescence (age 18) into work-life (age 30), we assess psychological adjustment for different forms of social mobility based on individuals' own educational attainment relative to their parents'. We apply entropy balancing to compare models with and without adjustment for selection effects. Initial results, unadjusted for selection, show that downward mobility is linked to poorer mental health and well-being, supporting the "falling-from-grace" hypothesis. In contrast, upward mobility shows no significant association with mental health outcomes, aligning with the "acculturation" hypothesis. Crucially, when accounting for selection, the apparent disadvantages of downward mobility disappear. Our findings suggest that psychological costs attributed to social mobility are primarily the result of pre-existing vulnerabilities rather than mobility itself, emphasizing the importance of considering selection processes in research on social mobility and health.

Heinrichs, Philipp: Freiheit der Advokatur. Die Singularzulassung beim Bundesgerichtshof im Wandel der Zeit. (Zugl.: Münster, Univ., Diss., 2021). – Baden-Baden: Nomos 2021. 497 S. (Münsterische Beiträge zur Rechtswissenschaft – Neue Folge.) – ISBN 978–3-84–878579–7 – DOI 10.5771/978–3-74–892996–3

Life satisfaction is an indicator of successful psychological adjustment, especially in adolescence, and a predictor of important developmental outcomes such as agency beliefs, self-acceptance, risk behavior, and mental health. For immigrant youth, it also indicates subjective integration into the host society. In societies with increasing ethnic diversity, it is therefore crucial to understand how life satisfaction develops among immigrant youth. To date, little is known about how educational transitions affect the life satisfaction of immigrant youth. The present study contributes to closing this gap by using latent growth curve models and autoregressive structural equation models to investigate life satisfaction development in immigrant youth from midadolescence to young adulthood as dependent on transition decisions and cultural identification. It uses data from the German National Educational Panel Study-Start Cohort 4, which surveyed N = 16,378 15-year-olds from 2010 to 2020 in 12 survey waves. The results of latent growth curve models showed that intraindividual trajectories of life satisfaction were strongly dependent on the educational and vocational transitions made at the end of compulsory schooling. Deliberate and self-determined transitions into new social environments boosted life satisfaction and at the same time offered less well-adjusted adolescents a second chance to compensate for developmental risks. Autoregressive structural equation model analyses showed that, with regard to the development of interindividual differences in life satisfaction, secure identifications with either the culture of origin or the culture of the host country were mutually substitutable resilience factors during midadolescence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Zusammenfassung Der Beitrag gibt einen Überblick zum Stand der Forschung zu sozioemotionalen Charakteristika (mitunter auch als nicht-kognitive Fähigkeiten bezeichnet) und ihre Beziehung zu Bildung und die Entwicklung über den Lebensverlauf. Im Beitrag werden mehrere Punkte adressiert: Es werden aktuelle taxonomische Überlegungen vorgestellt und terminologische Probleme diskutiert. Zudem werden theoretische Ansätze und Prozessüberlegungen skizziert, warum und wie sozioemotionale Charakteristika und Bildung in Zusammenhang stehen und sich wechselseitig beeinflussen. Darüber hinaus wird ein Überblick über zentrale empirische Befunde zu diesen Zusammenhängen gegeben, wobei sowohl korrelative als auch kausale Evidenz systematisiert wird. Der Beitrag schließt mit Überlegungen zu zentralen Problemen und Aufgaben künftiger Forschung.

Developmental science suggests that the consequences of mental health problems for life-course outcomes may depend on the timing of their onset. This study investigated the extent to which mental health predicted educational attainment at ages 17, 20, and 25 and whether gender moderated the links between mental health and educational attainment. It used data from Next Steps, a nationally representative panel survey of individuals born in 1989/1990 in England (N = 15,594, 48% female, 33% ethnic minority). The findings suggest that differences in mental health were more consequential for educational attainment during adolescence than in young adulthood. On average, girls attained higher levels of education than boys, but gender did not moderate the role that mental health played for educational attainment.

This study examined whether optimism in early adolescence predicts occupational and psychosocial outcomes in early adulthood and explored the functional form of this relation. We also investigated whether these associations continue to hold after accounting for concomitant factors and whether optimism acts as a protective factor that helps early adolescents deal with socioeconomic adversity. We followed a large sample of German seventh graders ( N = 1596; 63.8% females; baseline M age = 12.9) at two measurement points over a period of 18 years and estimated latent regression models. Optimism in early adolescence predicted several adult outcomes, including occupational prestige, social integration, psychosocial symptoms, and depression. Analyses with social integration, depression, and life satisfaction revealed a nonlinear association: Optimism promoted life outcomes, but this positive association reached a plateau in above-average ranges of optimism and a minimum value in below-average optimism ranges. Moreover, optimism in early adolescence buffered the negative effects of low parental socioeconomic status on occupational prestige, job satisfaction, and psychosomatic symptoms in adulthood. The findings offer increased knowledge about the long-term significance of optimism and underscore the necessity of considering these effects from a more comprehensive and interactional point of view.

As Western societies become more ethnically and culturally diverse, understanding the acculturation of immigrant youth is essential for fostering social cohesion. How the cultural identity formation of ethnic minority adolescents relates to their academic, social, and psychological adjustment is an important and as yet unresolved research question. This study examined to what extent identifying with the heritage and/or host culture is an individual resource or risk factor for the adjustment of immigrant youth in Germany. A random sample of 15–17-year-olds ( N = 1992; M age_w1 = 15.3 years, SD = 0.64; 44.5% girls; 44.7% students with immigrant background) was assessed twice: at the end of 9th and 10th grade. Academic performance and three dimensions of social/psychological adjustment (school attachment, self-esteem, and life satisfaction) were examined. Results showed that biculturalism was the modal identification pattern. Contrary to expectations, cultural identification did not differ systematically with perceived distance from the majority culture. Multivariate structural equation modeling revealed that both heritage and host identification can be developmental resources, but that their effects are dependent on the dimension of adjustment; biculturalism only proved to be a cumulative resource for school attachment. The domain specificity of the findings challenges the generalization claims of predominant acculturation theories.