Multi-Item Scale:

Item Text:

5. …because of mental or emotional problems in your work or your daily activities you have achieved less than you wanted?[... wegen seelischer oder emotionaler Probleme in Ihrer Arbeit oder Ihren alltäglichen Beschäftigungen weniger geschafft haben, als Sie wollten?]

Different Answer Format Tested:

Nein

Findings:

What do the test persons understand by "mental and emotional problems"?

Four test persons (across both languages and all three countries of origin) explicitly distinguished between mental or psychological problems on the one hand and emotional problems on the other (SY03, SY06, IR03, DA06). They related emotional problems to family ties, family life, or personal relationships. Two of these test persons explained that they were happily married and therefore had no emotional problems (SY03, SY06). Another explained that she was currently suffering from emotional problems because her spouse was ill (IR03). They defined emotional or psychological problems somewhat more heterogeneously. One respondent spoke of psychological problems due to experiences in the home country that led to flight (SY03). Another remained vague but seemed to refer to mental illnesses (IR03). One test person each mentioned homesickness (SY06) and discrimination or lack of attention (DA06) as psychological problems. The explanations indicate that the question was perceived as a double stimulus at least by individual test persons; however, none of the test persons mentioned having had problems with the question.

A total of four other test persons mentioned physical problems that impaired their work or everyday activities. Of these, one test person, even when asked, defined mental problems exclusively as physical problems (SY05). It should be noted that this test person generally showed reading difficulties and comprehension problems throughout the interview. Another test person, when filling out the question, stated that she had health problems that affected her work and that she therefore answered "always" (IR03). However, when asked, she explained what she meant by mental and emotional problems, suggesting that she had rather skimmed over the orientation of the item when first reading and answering. The third test person stated that she understood emotional problems to mean both physical and psychological stress, although in her case the psychological stress also had physical effects such as abdominal pain due to her family situation (IR02). The fourth test person first mentioned psychological problems and then wanted to talk about physical problems (SY03). The interpreter intervened, however, and pointed out to the test person that it was about psychological problems.

One test person did not answer the question because she did not currently have a job and felt that the question therefore did not apply to her (DA03). Even the interviewer's inquiry as to whether she had seen the addition of "everyday occupations" did not convince the test person that she could complete this question. For her, work was clearly related to occupation. In addition, she had not experienced any impairment due to mental or emotional problems in the last four weeks, although she attested to suffering from such problems. Another test person, on the other hand, explained that she was currently a housewife and that her daily occupation was therefore her children, even though this did not constitute work (DA05). She had no problems understanding the question or applying it to her circumstances.

None of the test persons understood the word "psychic" in a religious context.

Recommendations:

No changes recommended.