Poster Session
The posters will be exhibited throughout the entire NEPS conference. The presentation and discussion is scheduled for Thursday, December 11, starting at 5:30 pm, but will also take place informally during the breaks between the sessions. The presenters are marked with an asterisk. Please click on ≡ to open the abstract of the poster.
- Impact of mother’s employment orientation and childcare availability on the transition to a subsequent birth: Evidence from Germany
Christoph Mayer* (Leipzig University)
Thorsten Schneider (Leipzig University)
Corinna Zollner (Leipzig University)
≡ Abstract
Numerous cross-national studies indicate that fertility rates in (post-)industrialized countries are shaped by institutions that enable mothers to combine employment and childrearing. Countries supporting maternal employment generally show higher fertility levels (Rindfuss, Choe, & Brauner-Otto, 2016). Focusing on Germany, this study investigates how women’s employment orientation and childcare arrangements influence the transition to a subsequent child. We consider mothers’ employment orientation alongside their actual and perceived childcare opportunities, measured a few months after a recent birth.
According to classical economic theory, higher education increases earning potential. Since having a child often entails mothers’ employment interruptions or reduced working hours, opportunity costs rise with education, making highly educated women less likely to have a first or a subsequent child (Becker, 1994). Preference theory, however, highlights that women with similar education may differ in their career orientation, and a strong work orientation can result in childlessness or fewer children among mothers (Hakim, 2003). Moreover, these opportunity costs — whether in the form of foregone earnings or career constraints — depend on childcare availability. When formal or informal care is accessible, the negative effect of higher education or strong career orientation on the decision to have another child may be reduced (Impicciatore & Tomatis, 2020).
Focusing on mothers who gave birth in 2012 in Germany, this study investigates the transition to a subsequent child. The data come from Starting Cohort 1 of the National Educational Panel Study (Blossfeld & Roßbach, 2019; NEPS Network, 2025), which follows families annually. Alongside socio-demographic information, mothers report their employment orientation, current formal and informal childcare arrangements, and perceived childcare opportunities when their 2012-born child was 6–8 months old.
At the time of abstract submission, survivor functions and multivariate transition rate models are currently being specified, with results expected soon. The study provides new insights into the interplay between maternal employment orientation, childcare arrangements, and the decision to have a subsequent child.
- Structural differences in daycare facilities as moderators of developmental psychopathology: Early predictors of negative emotion dysregulation in a longitudinal framework
Nazli Arlier (Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich)
≡ Abstract
Early difficulties in regulating negative emotions are recognized as developmental risk factors for later psychopathology, forming transdiagnostic pathways to both internalizing and externalizing outcomes (Cicchetti, 2002; Thompson, 2019). From a developmental psychopathology perspective, these vulnerabilities emerge within transactional and bioecological systems in which children’s dispositions interact with family processes and structural contexts across time (Sameroff & Fiese, 2000; Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006). The present study investigated how infant temperament, parental mental state, and the quality of parent–child interaction in the first year of life predict negative emotion dysregulation at age five, and whether the structural quality of institutional childcare moderates these pathways.
Data came from 930 families in the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS SC1). Parental psychological state (parental perinatal mental condition, parental self-worth, parental coping ability), child temperament (negative affectivity, self-soothing ability, positive affectivity), and parent–child interaction quality (caregiver sensitivity, child’s engagement with parent, positive regard of the parent) were assessed in infancy between 7 and 18 months (Wave 1: 7-11 months; Wave 2: 16-18 months). The outcome, negative emotion dysregulation, was measured longitudinally at preschool age (Wave 3: 5 years), capturing maladaptive patterns of frustration and affect regulation. Structural quality of childcare at Wave 3 was operationalized using adjusted caregiver-to-child ratios and group age homogeneity. Structural equation modeling (SEM) with robust estimation was applied to test both main and moderation effects across waves.
Easier infant temperament, characterized by lower negative affectivity alongside higher soothability and positive affectivity, and higher-quality early parent–child interactions significantly predicted lower levels of negative emotion dysregulation at age five. Parental perinatal mental state did not show a significant direct effect when modeled alongside other predictors. Moderation analyses revealed that high-quality childcare at Wave 3 buffered temperament-related risk: temperamentally vulnerable children displayed fewer negative emotion dysregulation at Wave 3 when placed in well-structured care environments. No significant moderation effects were observed for parental mental state or interaction quality.
Taken together, the findings support a developmental psychopathology perspective, highlighting the interplay and importance of early vulnerabilities and contextual factors. While temperament appears to set a strong baseline for risk, both caregiving relationships and care environments offer opportunities for support and resilience. Future studies should further explore how structural and process quality in daycare settings interact with different types of early risks, and identify the developmental periods when these interactions are most consequential.
- Empathy and perspective-taking in text comprehension in primary students and their relations to reading motivation, reading competence and social skills
Nora Heyne (University of Bamberg)
Axel Zinkernagel (University of Wuppertal)
≡ Abstract
Learning to read is one central educational goal in primary school, including abilities to understand feelings and to adopt perspectives of literary characters (KMK, 2022). While current studies show little about primary students' abilities to adopt perspectives concerning literary figures, they reveal a considerable need for support with regard to primary students' competences and motivation in reading (McElvany et al., 2023). According to previous assumptions, abilities to adopt perspectives of literary characters and involvement are of high importance for the development of motivation and thus competences in reading as well as of social skills (Hurrelmann 2011; Spinner 2016). At least, earlier findings have shown that social skills are closely linked to literary reading (Bal & Veltkamp, 2013; Mar et al., 2006; Kidd & Castano, 2013). However, to date little is known about the relations between abilities to take perspectives and to understand feelings with regard to literary figures and motivational and social characteristics of primary students.
Against this background, the study focuses on examining primary students' empathy and affective perspective-taking in text comprehension, as abilities to infer the valences and types of feelings of the characters described in texts. In particular, their relations to reading competence, reading motivation, and empathy as well as perspective-taking in social interactions are examined. Furthermore, analyses investigate (mediated) effects of empathic text comprehension to account for reading motivation and reading competence.
The analyses are based on data from a pilot study with third and fourth Grade students (N=105). Therein, empathic text comprehension when listening to a story was assessed by means of a scale in which the valences of the emotional perspectives of characters portrayed in given scenes were to be estimated on five-point Likert scales (Heyne et al., 2021). In addition, reading competence was measured by means of the ELFE test (Lenhard et al., 2017). Furthermore, children's reading motivation (Bos et al., 2010; Wendt et al., 2016) and abilities in perspective-taking and empathy in social interactions were assessed using a questionnaire (Wendt et al., 2016).
The outcomes predominantly show correlations between the analysed characteristics as expected. In addition, path analyses indicate effects of empathic text comprehension in explaining reading competence mediated by reading motivation. The results are discussed in terms of implications for future studies and open questions about the corresponding skills in the course of promoting competences and motivation in reading.
- Beyond the simple view of reading: Cognitive and metacognitive predictors of reading comprehension in German adolescents
Kerstin Schwenkschuster (LIfBi Bamberg)
Jan Lenhart (University of Bamberg)
≡ Abstract
Reading comprehension is a crucial skill in today’s information-driven society. Theoretical models such as the Simple View of Reading (SVR; Hoover & Gough, 1990) and its more recent extension, the Active View of Reading (AVR; Duke & Cartwright, 2021), provide frameworks to explain the cognitive underpinnings of reading comprehension.
Using data from ninth-grade students (N = 6,102) in the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), we examined the contribution of cognitive and metacognitive predictors to reading comprehension at the end of compulsory schooling. Predictors included decoding, language comprehension, vocabulary, reasoning, perceptual speed, and declarative metacognition. Path analyses were employed to assess incremental contributions of predictors.
Results did not support the central assumptions of the SVR. While both decoding and language comprehension explained substantial proportions of variance in reading comprehension, their interaction did not significantly predict performance. Instead, adding declarative metacognition to the model accounted for additional unique variance. Vocabulary, reasoning, and perceptual speed showed weaker or inconsistent effects once decoding and language comprehension were included. Overall, the final model explained 45% of the variance in reading comprehension.
These findings highlight the limitations of the SVR in adolescence and underscore the relevance of the AVR, which posits a more active and multifaceted interplay of component skills. Reading comprehension in German ninth-graders appears to be driven not only by basic decoding and language comprehension but also by higher-order metacognitive processes. The results suggest that educational interventions should address both foundational skills and students’ ability to reflect on and regulate their comprehension processes.
- Boosting counseling self-efficacy with H5P simulations: The role of academic risk-taking
Vanessa Hübner (University of Bamberg)
Carmen Herrmann (University of Bamberg)
≡ Abstract
Counseling self-efficacy, defined as the confidence in one’s ability to remain capable of acting competently, even in uncertain counseling situations (Johnson et al., 1989), is a central prerequisite for professional practice in counseling contexts. Interactive, experience-based learning formats are considered effective in enhancing counseling self-efficacy, particularly when they provide opportunities for mastery experiences (Ikonomopoulos et al., 2016; Tang et al., 2004), vicarious learning (Drechsel et al., 2020; Schlosser et al., 2022), and productive engagement with errors (Gartmeier et al., 2022). The H5P Branching Scenario (H5P Group, 2024) is a digital learning tool that allows learners to explore decision scenarios with multiple outcomes. By making choices that shape the scenario’s development, students experience both positive and problematic consequences of their actions. To benefit from this format, however, learners must be willing to confront uncertainty and potential failure. That is, they must be willing to take academic risks (Beghetto, 2009; Clifford, 1991).
The present study compares three different didactic approaches to systemic counseling regarding their impact on students’ counseling self-efficacy, with a particular focus on two approaches that employ the H5P Branching Scenario. Additionally, it examines whether students’ academic risk-taking influences these effects.
A longitudinal design with two measurement points (t0=seminar start, t1=seminar end), was applied. The sample comprised N=72 student teachers and pedagogics students (69.0%=female, Mdage=20.5 years) who participated in one of four seminars: a production-oriented “H5P Bottom-Up” counseling seminar (EG1, n=16), a reflective “H5P Top-Down” counseling seminar (EG2, n=13), a theory-oriented counseling seminar (RG, n=16), or a thematically non-related control seminar (CG, n=27). Counseling self-efficacy was measured using the questionnaire by Hertel (2009), and academic risk-taking was measured using the instrument by Hübner and Pfost (2023). Data was analyzed using non-parametric methods. Results: The results indicate that participation in an interactive seminar using the H5P Branching Scenario (EG1 and EG2) led to significant gains in counseling self-efficacy between t0 and t1, exceeding those of the theory-based seminar (RG) and the control group (CG). In contrast, no consistent relationship was found between academic risk-taking and improvements in counseling self-efficacy.
These findings suggest that digitally supported simulations of complex counseling situations provide effective learning opportunities for fostering student teachers’ and pedagogics students’ counseling self-efficacy, independent of their individual propensity to take academic risks.
- Who expects to succeed? Gender differences in academic career prospects in Germany
Isabelle Schiffer-Fiedler* (DZHW Hannover)
≡ Abstract
In Germany, women have reached near parity with men in earning doctoral degrees. Yet, this parity diminishes with increasing qualification levels—a phenomenon often referred to as the “leaky pipeline”. Although women receive almost half of all doctorates, their representation declines toward professorship. Earlier explanations pointed to gender discrimination in appointment procedures (Färber & Spangenberg, 2008; Long et al., 1993), but recent studies find little evidence of systematic bias (Auspurg et al., 2017). Instead, self-selection seems more decisive: fewer qualified women apply for tenured positions, and more leave academia after their doctorate.
Against this backdrop, my study examines (1) whether gender differences exist in doctoral students’ self-perceptions of academic career prospects, and (2) whether network quality can mitigate such disparities.
I draw on Eccles’ Expectancy-Value theory (Eccles et al., 1983), which argues that individuals’ career-related choices depend not only on objective opportunities but also on expectations of success, i.e. their subjective career prospects. Anticipated lower success may discourage female doctoral students from investing in competitive processes. In addition, network theories stress the importance of access to supportive professional ties in shaping perceived opportunities. Theories of academic socialization argue that doctoral training also involves internalizing norms, values, and career models of the academic profession. Gendered experiences of supervision, integration into research communities, and exposure to role models can therefore significantly influence how doctoral students perceive their prospects in academia.
The analysis uses data from the 2018 cohort of the National Academics Panel Study (Nacaps), the first longitudinal study of doctoral candidates and doctorate holders systematically collecting data on career paths of highly qualified academics in Germany (Briedis et al., 2022). The 2018 cohort includes all doctoral students registered as of December 1, 2018 (n=28,349). The first panel wave was conducted in 2019, followed by six annual survey waves.
Preliminary findings show that female doctoral students consistently evaluate their academic career prospects more pessimistically than men throughout their studies. This gender gap persists across disciplines even after controlling for grades and abilities. Accounting for network quality slightly reduces the gender effect, but it remains significant. The results suggest that strengthening academic networks may help reduce disparities. However, a part of the gender gap in career perceptions seems to reflect differential processes of academic socialization. Other explanations may be that women might assess their academic career prospects differently because they more often carry, or anticipate carrying, additional care responsibilities.
- Differences in linkage consent for NEPS-ADIAB: Does the informed consent requirement result in a selective sample?
Nadine Bachbauer (IAB Nuremberg)
Clara Wolf (LIfBi Bamberg, IAB Nuremberg)
Andreas Filser (IAB Nuremberg)
≡ Abstract
The NEPS-ADIAB project combines survey and test data from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) with administrative records from the Institute for Employment Research (IAB). This linkage enriches the NEPS data for the target persons in Starting Cohort 3, 4, 5, and 6, as well as for the parents of the target persons in Starting Cohort 1, by adding detailed administrative information on employment histories, benefit receipt, job-seeking activities, and program participation.
As with many similar projects, linking NEPS information and administrative data on an individual level requires informed consent from respondents. However, not all respondents agree to this linkage, and prior research has identified differences between consenting and non-consenting individuals across various survey variables. Findings regarding which factors influence consent vary considerably across studies.
In this paper, we examine patterns of linkage consent across all starting cohorts included in the NEPS-ADIAB project. Specifically, we investigate whether individual-level and interviewer-level characteristics as well as characteristics of the interview situation are associated with participants’ willingness to consent to the linkage of their survey data with administrative employment records. The design of the NEPS with its different cohort samples allows us to evaluate differences in consent across these starting cohorts. Thus, NEPS presents a valuable opportunity to investigate whether variations in consent are driven by differences in sample composition. The ability to compare results across the multiple starting cohorts in NEPS will provide insights into whether factors influencing consent may be attributable to the composition of the sample.
Finally, future steps will include starting cohort-specific analyses to contrast how results differ between consenters and non-consenters. Given the wide range of consent rates — between 60% and 93% — these sample analyses will help to better understand the implications of consent bias in linked data research.
- Educational and employment trajectories of adolescents with a migration background
Sandra Horvath (DeZIM Berlin)
Julian Jäger (DeZIM Berlin)
Maria Metzing (DeZIM Berlin)
≡ Abstract
Education is a key determinant of successful integration. It enables access to vital societal resources, supports social mobility, and fosters personal development as well as civic participation. This study examines how the educational and employment trajectories of young people with and without a migration background in Germany unfold, and which factors shape their opportunities and risks at crucial transitional stages. Particular attention is devoted to the transition following grade 10, when decisions are made about progressing to upper secondary education (Gymnasiale Oberstufe), entering vocational training, moving into the transitional system, joining the labor market directly, or experiencing initial unemployment.
The focus is on German-born descendants of immigrants with one or two foreign-born parents. While these groups participate in the German education system from the outset, their often precarious socio-economic conditions expose them to greater risks compared to peers without a migration background. For broader understanding, the study also considers first-generation immigrants, who face even more pronounced economic and social vulnerabilities, often compounded by experiences such as forced migration and extended stays in reception centers.
The empirical basis of the study is the NEPS Starting Cohort 4, linked with administrative data (NEPS-SC4-ADIAB). This dataset makes it possible to trace educational and employment trajectories from grade 9 into early adulthood and to link them with information on employment status, income, and participation in labor market policy measures.
Theoretically, the study draws on approaches from the sociology of education and migration, which conceptualize educational choices at transition points as the outcome of individual aspirations, family resources, institutional expectations, and structural conditions. Special emphasis is placed on the influence of socio-economic circumstances and parental educational attainment.
The analyses reveal that adolescents with one or two foreign-born parents are increasingly successful in attaining upper secondary education and pursuing further educational pathways. At the same time, however, they remain disproportionately represented in the transitional system and often experience delayed entry into vocational training and employment. Moreover, the results underscore the significance of family resources, especially parental education, in shaping young people’s educational and employment trajectories. Taken together, the findings highlight both the integrative potential and the structural barriers encountered by young people with a migration background as they enter education, training, and the labor market. In doing so, the study contributes to scholarly and policy debates on educational and labor market integration.
- Education pathways, ICT literacy and income returns: A comparative analysis of German and French labour markets
Silvia Annen (University of Bamberg)
Melanie Hochmuth (University of Bamberg)
Julia Hufnagl (University of Bamberg)
Olivier Joseph (Centre for Study and Research on Qualifications Marseille)
Jake Murdoch (Université de Picardie Jules Verne Amiens)
≡ Abstract
In the context of rising technological advances, information technologies are becoming progressively essential in numerous professional sectors. This is leading to a greater demand for ICT skills (Kiener et al., 2019). ICT literacy encompasses technological skills, such as working with hardware and software, as well as information literacy. The latter includes the ability to search for, critically evaluate, and utilise digital information effectively.
Previous studies (e.g. Greenwood et al., 2011; Falck et al., 2016) confirm that ICT skills and the relevant educational programmes are important for individuals' labour market outcomes. STEM occupations are associated with macroeconomic benefits (Croak, 2018). This paper contributes to this body of research by focusing on the impact of ICT literacy and a vocational or academic qualification in a STEM occupation on income.
In order to consider educational history and ICT literacy, as well as longitudinal income data, data from the SC5 starting cohort of the National Education Panel Study (n=5,949) and the French Génération Survey by the Centre for Studies and Research on Qualifications (n=13,342) are used. Germany and France are two important European economies with different labour markets, industrial structures, and education systems. This comparative study allows us to analyse the importance of ICT skills in the national workplace and their impact on wages in these two countries. It also allows us to address the question of how ICT skills translate into financial rewards in these countries' labour markets. Based on human capital theory (Becker, 1964; Schultz, 1961), we hypothesise that higher levels of ICT skills are associated with better labour market outcomes.
First, linear regression models are calculated for both countries using logarithmic income (Mincer, 1974) as dependent variable and individual ICT skill scores as independent variable. We take into account gender, labour market experience, migration status, type of education, field of study and occupation (STEM versus non-STEM). The results for both countries confirm the basic Mincer model. They also demonstrate that ICT skills significantly increase wages in both countries. Finally, quantile regressions were calculated to further differentiate the effects.
The results demonstrate that ICT skills have a positive impact on wages, particularly in higher wage quantiles. Gender pay gap is clearly evident, particularly in the lower wage quantiles. The results for Germany and France are comparable overall, indicating a high degree of robustness in the findings.
- NEPScomp: A simplified data offering of the National Educational Panel Study for students and NEPS beginners
Daniel Fuß (LIfBi Bamberg)
Tobias Koberg (LIfBi Bamberg)
Katja Vogel (LIfBi Bamberg)
≡ Abstract
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