Item List

Item Text	Antwort Format	Ergebnis
Reliving a trauma (emotional injury) from the past; behaving or feeling as if it were happening again now (10) [Ein Trauma (seelische Verletzung) aus der Vergangenheit wieder zu erleben; mich zu verhalten oder zu fühlen, als würde es jetzt wieder passieren (10)]	Nein	What do the test persons understand by the term "trauma"? The word trauma only caused problems for one test person from Afghanistan, who knew the word but in the sense of a physical trauma from the medical field (DA03). This test person spontaneously asked how the word was to be understood, because she noticed that the explanation as "mental injury" in brackets behind it contrasted with her understanding of the term. All other test persons were able to define the term without any problems. Trauma exists when events from the past have a negative influence on the future (SY01) or when one is psychologically impaired by the past (DA05, DA06). Negative sensations are considered a trauma if one cannot escape them, but one's thoughts revolve around them again and again (SY02). Traumas are events that cannot be explained (IR02). The test persons named a wide variety of events that could trigger trauma. The most frequently mentioned were experiences from home that had led to flight (SY03, SY05, IR03, IR04, IR06, DA02, DA03), or the flight itself (SY02, DA02, DA03). In Syria, the events described included the shelling of civilians by the air force and the sight of the dead, as well as the unaccounted for whereabouts of relatives (SY03, SY05). The test persons from Iraq told that they had witnessed murders and acts of IS and Al-Qaeda and that terrorists had come to their place of residence and kidnapped young people who had never returned (IR03, IR06). In addition to the flight-related aspects, the loss of important people (e.g., parents or own children) was named as the most frequent trigger of trauma, especially by test persons from Syria (SY02, SY03, SY04, SY05, SY06, IR01). Two test persons mentioned occupational events as possible triggers of trauma (SY01, DA03), such as a dismissal or the frustration of not finding a job in Germany. In addition, the family situation in marriage, betrayal or cheating up to separation (SY01, IR01, IR04) could trigger trauma. Lastly, the reason for trauma could also lie in childhood (DA04). How do the test persons arrive at their answers? Five test persons stated that they suffered "quite" or "extremely" from reliving traumas from the past. The explanations of three of these test persons indicated that they suffered from a re-experiencing of past situations that clearly went beyond a mere recollection. One test person from Iraq had experienced terrorists coming to her hometown in Iraq and kidnapping young people who never returned. She said she had to think about that when she went to sleep. These memories still caused her such anxiety that she feared it might happen to her as well (response: extreme). Another test person stated that memories from home "buzzed around" in her head as if they were happening now (IR03, response: extreme). The third test person stated that her memories even preoccupied her more since she was in Germany (IR04, response: quite). For the other two test persons, it remained unclear whether they were reliving traumatic events as if they were happening now, or whether they "merely" had to think about these events often and intensely. One of these test persons spontaneously asked how it was to be understood that something occurred to one "as if it were happening again now" (SY05). She understood it as grief or sorrow and thought of the unresolved whereabouts of relatives and the death of a parent, which bothered her a lot. The second test person had thought of the separation of her own family, which had thrown her into a deep crisis (IR05). In both cases, the test persons suffered from traumatic events that strongly influenced their current lives. On the other side of the response scale, four test persons stated that they relive traumas from the past "a little". Two of them stated that they had suffered more from recurring traumas in the past. One test person had been repeatedly traumatized in the course of her life and had always relived these situations internally until about a year ago. In recent months, she had been able to work on this with the help of a psychiatrist, which is why she gave "little" as her answer (IR02). Another test person stated that in the meantime she no longer had to think only of negative events in and in a sad mood about her homeland but could enjoy beautiful memories again (SY06). Six test persons stated that they did not relive traumas "at all," two of whom stated that they had experienced traumatic events in their homeland; however, they would not take such events with them so easily (SY01) or had come to terms with them in the meantime (SY02). The other test persons stated that they had not experienced any traumas (DA01, DA04, DA05, DA06). What time periods do test persons think of when answering the question? To answer the item, test persons had to consider two time spans: First, Item 10 vaguely asked about a trauma "from the past"; in addition, test persons were asked to indicate whether they had relived such a trauma "in the past four weeks". Regarding the phrase "from the past," seven test persons stated that they would refer exclusively to the time in their home country and their flight (SY03, SY06, IR03, IR04, IR06, DA01, DA02), while six test persons stated that the question referred to their entire life, from birth to yesterday (SY01, SY02, SY04, IR02, DA03, DA06). Two test persons from Iraq related the question exclusively to their immediate past in Germany and mentioned a period of no more than two years (IR01, IR05). One test person was also of the opinion that it was primarily about childhood (DA04). Regardless of the different time spans, the test persons included all potentially traumatizing events from their lives. Several test persons also stated that they were less likely to relive trauma in the meantime, indicating that they related the question to their current situation in the last four weeks. There were no differences regarding the time periods mentioned by language or country of origin.
Feeling emotionally numb (for example, feeling sad but not being able to cry, not being able to feel loving feelings) (12) [Mich emotional taub gefühlt (zum Beispiel traurig fühlen, aber nicht weinen können, keine liebevollen Gefühle empfinden können) (12)]	Nein	What do the test persons mean by feeling "emotionally numb"? Two test persons from Afghanistan did not receive this item because it had been accidentally replaced by another item in the Dari translation. The interpreter read the item to be tested orally to the other four test persons and asked the test persons to answer using the answer scale. All Arabic-speaking test persons received the item. Two Arabic-speaking test persons spontaneously expressed problems understanding the question (SY05, IR05). One of them asked about the meaning of "numb" in this context (SY05) but seemed to understand the explanation in the brackets behind it. The other found feeling sad but not being able to cry contradictory (IR05). This test person made no statement because of the perceived contradiction. One Dari-speaking test person commented that she did not find the question easy to understand but was able to answer the item without further difficulty (DA05). A total of seven test persons stated that they felt "quite" or "moderately" emotionally numb. Most of the explanations showed that they had correctly understood the feeling described in the item text. For example, one test person explained that she currently felt rather emotionally cold because of bad events she had experienced (IR01, response: moderate). Another stated that although she was very emotional, especially when witnessing the suffering of others, she was unable to cry (IR06, response: quite). One test person from Syria stated that showing one's emotions openly is a sign of weakness and that even one's partner should not know when one is crying inside (SY02, response: moderate). Another test person from Syria explained that she consciously tried not to deal emotionally with events from the past, but to ignore them (SY05, response: moderate). Meanwhile, in the case of one test person from Afghanistan, it remained unclear whether she was refer-ring to internal numbness. She stated that she had been in very severe pain but had not been able to cry (DA06, response: moderate). She seemed to be referring to an injury to her leg from the previous month. Likewise, seven test persons stated that they did not feel emotionally numb "at all". These test persons either stated that they considered themselves to be an emotional person who could weep easily (SY04, SY06), or commented rather succinctly that they did not feel as described in the item.
all in all, with your life (1) [alles in allem, mit Ihrem Leben? (1)]	Nein
with your health? (2) [mit Ihrer Gesundheit? (2)]	Nein
…with your living situation in general? (4) [mit Ihrer Wohnsituation im Allgemeinen? (4)]	Nein	What do the test persons understand by the word “living situation”? Among the Arabic-speaking test persons, there was no difference between the countries of origin Syria or Iraq in their understanding of the term “living situation”. On the one hand, the term was understood as the living constellation, i.e., with whom one lives (alone, in a shared apartment or with one's family) and the number of persons in the household (SY01, SY04, SY06, IR05). On the other hand, this includes things like whether one lives in an apartment or a house (SY05, IR03), the size (SY01, IR02) and the cut of the apartment (SY02), the furnishings (IR01) and the rent (SY06). The place of residence (SY03, IR01, IR04), neighbors, living environment and neighborhood (SY03, SY05, SY06, IR02) were also included in "housing situation". In addition, two test persons also linked the term to emotional matters, namely to whether one has an apartment in which one feels comfortable and to which one can retreat (SY02, IR02). The Dari-speaking test persons from Afghanistan, on the other hand, referred to their entire living situation when using the term "living situation" without exception and did not limit themselves to their housing situation. The housing-related things mentioned by the test persons from Afghanistan were living in an apartment or a house (DA04), living in a city (DA06), having water (DA04), and having a home (DA02), for example. In addition, many different living situation-related aspects were listed: One's own health as well as that of one's family (DA05), one's financial situation (DA05), having a job (DA03, DA06), coping with the demands in life (DA03, DA04), having friends (DA06), the status of one's asylum application (DA02), living in Germany as a refugee (DA05), the support you get from the city (DA04), the society you live in (DA06), the opportunities there are in Germany (to get educated, to study, to put your children in kindergarten) (DA04), living in safety (DA04) and peace (DA05).
…that you miss the company of others? (1) [... dass Ihnen die Gesellschaft anderer fehlt? (1)]	Nein
… being on the outside? (2) [... außen vor zu sein? (2)]	Nein	What do the test persons understand by “being on the outside”? With one exception, all test persons understood "being left out" to mean being excluded and ignored. There were neither country-specific nor language-related differences. In addition to the two expressions "being excluded" and "being ignored", terms such as not being noticed by others (SY01, SY02), feeling disinterested by others (SY06, IR02), not being paid attention to (DA01), feeling isolated and left alone (DA03), not being taken seriously (DA04), not being wanted (DA05), and being distanced by others (DA05) were mentioned. One test person also mentioned that she understood this to mean having a degree and being educated, but not being able to find a job or work (SY02). Only test person IR06 understood "being on the outside" to mean the other perspective, i.e., with-drawing, excluding oneself from others and isolating oneself. However, this test person said shortly before that it rarely happened that, for example, a friend on the street pretended not to see her, and thereupon selected the answer category "rarely". Furthermore, she stated that she saw a difference between items 2 and 3, but could not explain it further, and made different statements for items 2 and 3 ("rarely" vs. "sometimes"). Therefore, the comprehension problem seemed to be minor or possibly due to a comprehension problem of the probing question and not of the item itself.
…that you are socially isolated? (3) [... dass Sie sozial isoliert sind? (3)]	Nein	What do the test persons understand by “being socially isolated”? When the test persons were asked what they understood by "being socially isolated", two things immediately stood out. While on the one hand, with one exception, all those who had answered this item with "very rarely" or "rarely" stated what they understood by the opposite, i.e., by "not being socially isolated", those who had selected one of the other answer categories or had not stated anything explained the social isolation in question. On the other hand, this was only the case for the Arabic-speaking test persons. Without exception, the Dari-speakers stated what they understood by "being socially isolated", regardless of the answer category selected. The Arabic-speaking test persons understood social isolation to mean having little or no contact with other people, be it family, friends, acquaintances, etc. (SY02, SY05, IR01), feeling lonely (SY02, IR04), withdrawing socially (SY01, IR06), and wanting to be alone (IR06). In addition, the lack of ability to interact with others or to build relationships with others (SY01, IR04, IR06) and the feeling of being in between the Arab and German cultures and not being able to connect to either the Arab or German cultures (IR02) were also mentioned. On the contrary ("not being socially isolated"), the Arabic-speaking test persons indicated sociability (SY04, SY06, IR03), having and maintaining contacts with other people, be it family, friends, acquaintances (SY03, IR05), and meeting new people (SY06, IR03). A further difference of a content-related nature was noted between the two language versions. While the focus of the Arabic-speaking test persons was on the pure fact of (lack of) contact with fellow human beings, the responses of the Dari-speaking test persons were on the emotional level and on their own active behavior. Accordingly, the test persons from Afghanistan understood social isolation to mean withdrawing socially (DA04, DA05), distancing oneself (DA03), not communicating with others (DA05), not making contact with unknown people (DA02), building a protective wall (DA01), not belonging to a social environment (DA04, DA05), not being noticed (DA04) and feeling left alone by society (DA06). Test person DA02 also stated that she understood this to mean not being able to afford many things if she did not have enough money. However, the aforementioned differences did not lead to a "false" understanding of the term "being socially isolated".
You were treated rudely or unkindly. (1) [Sie wurden unhöflich oder unfreundlich behandelt. (1)]	Nein
People act as if they think you are stupid. (4) [Leute tun so, als hielten sie Sie für dumm. (4)]	Nein	What does it mean to “think someone is stupid”? Four test persons expressed problems with the wording of the item (SY05, SY06, IR05, DA02), and in all cases the core of the misunderstanding was ambiguity about whether it was about "acting stupid" or "being thought stupid". In addition, one of these test persons asked whether it was about someone else behaving in a way that made them think they were stupid, or whether it was about behaving stupidly oneself (IR05). Two other test persons understood the item to mean that they were considered stupid if they said illogical things (SY06, DA02). For another test person it remained unclear whether she had understood the item text. She claimed not to be able to explain how "thinking someone is stupid" is expressed, because she had never experienced anything like it (IR01, answer: rarely). The other 13 test persons showed a good understanding of the item. Two test persons from Syria and four from Afghanistan stated that "thinking someone is stupid" is expressed primarily in the way one is spoken to. One test person gave the example of professional instructions being repeated several times, even though they were already clear the first time (SY01). Another test person explained that she understood German quite well but could not express herself well in German. This bothered her, for example, when she could not articulate herself well in conversations while shopping and her counterpart behaved as if she did not understand anything (SY04). Another test person also expressed frustration that others thought they did not understand even simple sentences (DA03). One test person explained that the tone of the other person's voice also changed (DA04). Another suggested that Germans pretend not to understand them as an excuse to treat them worse (DA05). The Arabic-speaking test persons in particular also mentioned cases in which they were made fun of or teased. For example, two test persons said they were taken for fools when someone made fun of them (IR06) or when someone took something from them (IR03) and pretended it was fun. One test person felt sold for stupid when Germans demanded that she stand up for them on the bus and clear the seat (SY03). Another test person said that she was kind-hearted and liked to give, which was often interpreted as naivety (IR04).

Previous 1..138 139 140 141 142143144 145 146 147..185 Next