Page 29 - JCBP-2-2

Journal of Clinical and
Basic Psychosomatics Life values in representative general population

levels, and profiles of life values at the societal level. If there Writing – original draft: Beate Muschalla
were practically important population-wide changes in Writing – review & editing: Beate Muschalla
life values, they would have been observable in such large
cohorts. This study reported on life values before and after Ethics approval and consent to participate
a short health crisis. Future research should investigate life The research protocol was approved by the Ethics
values and health status longitudinally in individuals with Committee of the University of Leipzig. The participants
long-term health problems. were aged 14 years or older. Informed consent was

5. Conclusion obtained from all subjects and/or their legal guardian(s).
All methods were performed in accordance with relevant
Similar to findings from other studies that compared guidelines and regulations.
life values before and after the pandemic, no relevant
15
changes in life values were observed from before to after Consent for publication
the pandemic in this study. Human values, being basic Participants gave written informed consent for
beliefs learned in youth and remaining stable throughout participation in the study and anonymized publication of
life, exhibited only a slight variance in values from before group-aggregated data.
to after the pandemic, and did not impact the societal
profile of values. There were more nuanced differences Availability of data and materials
in the value profiles of the older and younger age groups
than between the two measurement time points (2018 The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study
and 2022). In summary, the data from the two large are available from the corresponding author on request.
representative samples indicate the stability of values in Further disclosure
society, with only a small situational reactivity (such as
slight differences before and after a pandemic). However, Part of the findings was presented at a German national
15
pandemic management policies also came along with rehabilitation medicine conference (Rehawissenschaftliches
breaks in society, misunderstandings, conspiracy theories, Kolloquium) in 2023.
and changed hygiene behaviors, which may further
impact the health behavior of individuals in the long run. References
Therefore, further empirical research is necessary at this 1. Lindeman M, Verkasalo M. Measuring values with the short
point. Schwartz’s values survey. J Pers Assess. 2005;85(2):170-178.
According to the findings of this study, an episode doi: 10.1207/s15327752jpa8502_09
of a global health crisis, such as a pandemic, would not 2. Boer D. SSVS-G. Deutsche kurzskala des wertefragebogens
trigger profound, practically important life value shifts in von S. H. Schwartz (Short Schwartz‘s Value Survey).
societies. However, health professionals should be aware In: Kemper C, Zenger M, Brähler E, editors. Handbuch
of differently nuanced life values in younger and older Kurzskalen Psychologischer Merkmale. Berlin: Medizinisch-
patients and potential individual changes in values due to Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft; 2013.
personal life events.
3. Twito L, Knafo-Noam A. Beyond culture and the
Acknowledgments family: Evidence from twin studies on the genetic and
environmental contribution to values. Neurosci Biobehav
We thank USUMA GmbH for representative data collection. Rev. 2020;112:135-143.
Funding doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.12.029
4. Koscielniak M, Bojanowska A, Gasiorowska A. Religiosity
None.
decline in Europe: Age, generation, and the mediating role
Conflict of interest of shifting human values. J Relig Health. 2022.
doi: 10.1007/s10943-022-01670-x
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
5. Sagiv L, Schwartz SH. Personal values across cultures. Annu
Author contributions Rev Psychol. 2022;73:517-546.

Conceptualization: All authors doi: 10.1146/annurev-psych-020821-125100
Formal Analysis: Beate Muschalla 6. Linden M, Rutkowski K. Hurting Memories and Beneficial
Investigation: Elmar Brähler Forgetting: Posttraumatic Stress Disorders, Biographical
Methodology: Beate Muschalla Developments, and Social Conflicts. New York: Elsevier; 2013.

Volume 2 Issue 2 (2024) 6 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcbp.2192