[Social class index in the Federal Health Survey].

Since the first scaling of social status for the German National Health Interview and Examination Survey, relevant socio-economical circumstances and constraints have changed. This prompted an examination of relevant developments such as changes in income distribution and increasing income in the West and since 1990 in the East of Germany, changes in educational levels, and changes in social prestige of professional groups. In spite of these changes we must assume that the relations between social strata remained constant over time. The task is to assess how and to what extend the developments mentioned above have been reflected and to examine the necessity of bringing social status scaling in line with these developments, as well as to adjust social status scaling.