Gesundheitswesen 2018; 80(06): 522-531
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-108642
Übersichtsarbeit
© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

Lebenslaufforschung in der Epidemiologie und den Sozialwissenschaften. Gemeinsam einsam?

Life Course Epidemiology and the Social Sciences: Living Apart Together?
M. Richter
1   Institut für Medizinische Soziologie, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Halle
,
S. Günther
1   Institut für Medizinische Soziologie, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Halle
,
M. Herke
1   Institut für Medizinische Soziologie, Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Halle
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
17 June 2016 (online)

Zusammenfassung

Der Lebenslauf wird zunehmend als Schlüssel zu einem besseren Verständnis der Entwicklung von Gesundheit und gesundheitlicher Ungleichheiten angesehen. Ziel des Aufsatzes ist es, das Potenzial einer umfassenden, interdisziplinären Perspektive auf den Lebenslauf und die Gesundheit zu untersuchen, die soziologische und psychologische Theorien und Modelle integriert und so einen stärkeren Dialog zwischen der Epidemiologie und den Sozialwissenschaften ermöglicht. Dabei werden zentrale Prinzipien und Konzepte aus den verschiedenen Forschungsdisziplinen diskutiert, die sich mit der Bedeutung des Lebenslaufs auseinandersetzen. Es wird ein theoriegestützter Forschungsrahmen abgeleitet, der den interdisziplinären Austausch fördert und illustriert, wie eine bio-psycho-soziale Perspektive auf den Lebenslauf stärker in den Bereich der Epidemiologie übertragen werden kann. Die paradigmatischen Prinzipien der interdisziplinären Lebenslaufforschung (human agency, timing, linked lives und historical context) bieten einen wichtigen theoretischen Rahmen für eine holistische, theoriebasierte Sicht auf den Lebenslauf und seine ineinander verflochtenen Verläufe. Der Stressprozess repräsentiert in diesem Kontext einen wichtigen ätiologischen Mechanismus zwischen den Lebenslaufprinzipien und Gesundheit. Um die Entwicklung von Gesundheit und gesundheitlicher Ungleichheiten besser als bislang zu verstehen, bedarf es eines interdisziplinären Ansatzes. Die hier vorgeschlagenen theoretischen Beiträge zur Lebenslaufepidemiologie ergänzen den wertvollen methodischen Fokus des Forschungsfeldes und können den interdisziplinären Dialog stärken.

Abstract

Life course influences are being increasingly considered as a key to better understanding of health and social inequalities in health. Our aim is to examine the potential of a broader interdisciplinary perspective on the life course and health, one that integrates sociological and psychological theory and generates greater dialogue between epidemiology and the social sciences. The paper reviews major principles and concepts applied in different disciplines that deal with life course and proposes a theory-driven research framework which better informs interdisciplinary exchange and illustrates how a bio-psycho-social perspective on life course can be infused more fully into epidemiology. The paradigmatic principles of interdisciplinary life course research (human agency, timing in lives, linked lives, historical context) provide a strong theoretical framework for a holistic and theory-based view of life course and its interdependent pathways. The stress process represents an important aetiological mechanism between the organising concepts of the life course and health. To better understand the development of health and health inequalities across the life course, an interdisciplinary approach is required. The suggested theoretical contributions to models of epidemiological life course research supplement the long appreciated methodological focus of the field and will encourage interdisciplinary dialogue.

 
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