During the COVID-19 pandemic, additional survey modules were developed and conducted as part of the TwinLife study. Key aspects of the four supplementary surveys included current behaviors, attitudes, stressors, health, and socioeconomic changes resulting from the pandemic.
What data was collected?
The COVID-19 supplementary surveys served to collect psychological and socioeconomic information related to the pandemic. This information is presented in the table below. More detailed information can be found in the data documentation ( ➔ Codebooks and
➔ Questionnaires).
Since the first COVID-19 supplementary survey served as a retrospective analysis of the pandemic outbreak, the questions in that survey referred to that point in time. All subsequent supplementary surveys referred to the current survey period.
Table 1. Survey content of the COVID-19 supplementary surveys
| Survey content | Measuring instruments used | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Socio-demographic data | Items developed for TwinLife | Age, gender |
| Migration and nationality | Items developed for TwinLife | Country of birth, citizenship, migration background, language spoken in the household |
| Education and Career (Cov2 only) | Items developed for TwinLife | School attendance, employment relationship |
| Emotional impairments | Items from the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-D) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) Questionnaire | Nervousness, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, joy |
| Domestic environment | Confusion, Hubbub and Order Scale (CHAOS) | Noise level, order and atmosphere of the household |
| Health | Items developed for TwinLife | COVID-19 illness, doctor's visits, general health |
| Professional and educational changes | Items developed for TwinLife | Changes in employment relationship, working hours, place of work and school activity |
| Perceived impact of the pandemic | Items developed for TwinLife | Perceived impact on social life, personal freedom, relationships, and health |
| Stress, strain and social support | Items developed for TwinLife | Stress and strain due to isolation, less structure, working from home/homeschooling and fewer leisure activities, family cohesion and togetherness |
| Behavioral changes | Items from the EMOTIONS-C study (WWU Münster) | Disinfection, visiting public places and activities, meeting friends and family |
| Resilience and Coping | Items from the Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS) and the scale for assessing coping behavior | Controllability, distraction, use of social support, acceptance, alcohol consumption |
Investigations into potential epigenetic changes
In addition to the data collected in the supplementary surveys, ➔ saliva samples were requested from participants before and during the pandemic. These samples offer a unique opportunity to investigate potential epigenetic changes in the context of the pandemic. The TwinLife satellite project ➔ TECS is dedicated to this research . Together with scientists from the Institute of Human Genetics at the University Hospital Bonn and the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich, the project is investigating whether differing experiences of stress also affect gene activity. For example, it is possible to examine which groups were particularly psychologically burdened by the pandemic—or which were well protected—and what factors contributed to this. This allows researchers to deduce how specific pandemic-related stressors affected the various groups. It also enables researchers to identify which groups will require special protection in the future and in which areas of life such protective measures could be implemented.