[Psychological and psychosocial characteristics of those affected by SED injustice in a representative survey in the New Federal States of Germany].

More than 35 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, there is still a lack of representative data on the various forms of SED injustice in former East Germany. There is also a lack of answers to the question how those affected by SED injustice differ from those not affected related to psychosocial characteristics, which forms of repression occurred together and which groups of those affected can be differentiated. This is important for creating a clearer understanding of the repression during the SED dictatorship and deriving implications for further reprocessing and dealing with the past in the coming years.In a representative cross-sectional study in former East Germany a total of N=3011 individuals (response rate 45%) were surveyed between May and September 2022. First, group differences between those affected and those not affected by SED injustice were calculated for psychosocial variables. Next information provided on repression was evaluated using a latent class analysis for younger respondents who did not experience the GDR themselves, and for older respondents who were socialized in the GDR (cutoff point: date of birth January 1st, 1980). Subsequently, further analyses of group differences between the class solutions were performed.Those affected by SED injustice exhibit more anxiety, depression and somatic symptoms than those who were not affected. GDR socialization appears to be associated with more psychological symptoms and less trust in institutions, especially among those affected by SED injustice. The class analyses revealed a two-group solution for the younger respondents and a four-group solution for the older ones. The groups differed in terms of personal proximity to the repression and the total number of reported repressions. The groups showed further differences with regard to resilience factors. No group differences were found related to mental health.On the one hand, interventions should focus on the mental health of all people affected by SED injustice. On the other hand, group-specific measures should be taken into account, as e. g. interventions on (re)building trust in institutions. The reprocessing of SED injustice still plays a key role today.