How Did GDR Socialization in Adolescence Shape Political Attitudes More Than Thirty Years Later?

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Kristine Khachatryan - , Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Author)
  • Julia Petersen - , Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Author)
  • Christoph Kasinger - , Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Author)
  • Manfred E. Beutel - , Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Author)
  • Yve Stoebel-Richter - , Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences (Author)
  • Markus Zenger - , Leipzig University (Author)
  • Hendrik Berth - , Division of Psychological and Social Medicine and Developmental Neurosciences (Author)
  • Elmar Braehler - , Leipzig University (Author)
  • Peter Schmidt - , Justus Liebig University Giessen (Author)

Abstract

In this article, we investigate the question of whether political socialization in the German Democratic Republic before the fall of the Berlin Wall has had an effect on current attitudes toward German unification and the role of intra-German migration in this context. We used the data of the Saxon Longitudinal Study to measure GDR identification of the respondents in 1987 and to test their influence on attitudes toward unification more than 30 years later. Results show that a consolidation of GDR identity in adolescence shapes the affinity for socialism in the further course of life, but does not seem to play a role in the later approval of unification and in the feeling of being disadvantaged as an East German.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)48-70
Number of pages23
JournalGerman Politics and Society
Volume43
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2025
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0002-1491-9195/work/187563278
Scopus 105009631833

Keywords

Keywords

  • Affinity for socialism, German Democratic Republic, German unification, Political socialization, Saxon Longitudinal Study