Gender, Migration & Diversity

Principal investigators

Univ.-Prof. Dr. med. Dipl.-Psych. Manfred E. Beutel
Dr. Dipl.-Psych. Ana Nanette Tibubos
Prof. Dr. rer. biol. hum. habil. Elmar Brähler

Research topic

Sex- and gender-sensitive research is particularly relevant in the health context. In German, the term „Geschlecht“ encompasses both the biological sex and the social gender. Clinical studies were mostly limited to (young) males, while experimental "animal models" were mostly male animals. Thus, male health and health behavior became the norm. This means diagnostic and therapeutic decisions for men and women of all ages were based on these models, without testing whether these findings really apply to women and for different ages. For this reason, we are dedicated to researching sex- and gender-related differences, but also commonalities in mental and psychosomatic health. The so-called gender gap is also of special interest. It describes differences between men and women in social, political, intellectual, cultural or economic achievements or attitudes.

The Migration, Mobility & Mental Health working group investigates the connection between migration and mental health. The aspects of migration and mobility we study includes both, intended migration as well as experiences of flight at the national (internal migration) and international level. With the results of various funded projects, we aim to improve the clinical care of immigrants.

The foundation stones for our work are:

• Culture-sensitive diagnostics
• Epidemiological studies on population level in the region, in Germany, and worldwide
• Target group-specific and needs-based clinical care

Selected publications

• Beutel ME, Brähler, E., Wiltink, J., Ghaemi, J., Burghardt, J., Michal, M., Schulz, A., Wild, P. S., Münzel, T., Schmidtmann, I., Lackner, K. J., Pfeiffer, N., Borta, A. & Tibubos, A. N. (2018). New onset of depression in aging women and men – contributions of social, psychological, behavioral, and somatic predictors in the community.Psychological Medicine, 1-8. doi: 10.1017/S0033291718001848
• Burghardt J, Tibubos, A. N., Otten, D., Brähler, E., Binder, H., Grabe, H. J., Kruse, J., Ladwig, K.-H., Schomerus, G., Wild, P. S. & Beutel, M. E. (2020). Cohort Profile: A multi-cohort consortium for GEnder-Sensitive Analyses of mental health trajectories and implications for prevention (GESA). BMJ open, 10(2), e034220. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-034220
• Tibubos AN*, Kröger, H.* (2020). A Cross-Cultural Comparison of the Ultrabrief Mental Health Screeners PHQ-4 and SF-12 in Germany. Psychological Assessment. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1037/pas0000814
• Tibubos AN, Beutel ME., Schulz, A., Klein, E. M., Brähler, E., Michal, M., Münzel, T., Wild, P. S., Lackner, K. J., König, J., Pfeiffer, N. & Wiltink, J. (2018). Is assessment of depression equivalent for migrants of different cultural backgrounds? – Results from the German population-based Gutenberg Health Study (GHS). Depression and Anxiety, 5(12), 1178-1189. doi: 10.1002/da.22831