• Kura, M., Rentsch, K., & Thalmayer, A. G. (2025). Big Six Personality Traits in the Africa Long Life Study. Journal of Research on Personality, 117, 104603, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2025.104603

• Uugwanga, S.N., Naudé, L., & Thalmayer, A.G.  Becoming an Ovambo Adult: Growing into Agentic Communalism in Sub-Saharan Africa. Psychological Science. Preprint: https://osf.io/preprints/osf/qnxec  

• Rotzinger, J.S., Jensen, L.A. & Thalmayer, A.G. Ubuntu in Namibia and Kenya: How emerging adults live an essential African value today. Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology. Preprint: https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/cye2s

• Thalmayer, A. G., Maher, K. A., Saucier, G., Naudé, L., Shino, E. N., Asatsa, S., Florence, M., Witzlack-Makarevich, A., Bächlin, L. M., & Condon, D. (2024) The Cross-Cultural Big Two: A Culturally De-Centered Theoretical and Measurement Model for Personality Traits. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000528

• Thalmayer, A. G., Asatsa, S., Shino, E. N., Naudé, L., Laher, S., Hassem, T., Florence, M., Adonis, T.-A., Uugwanga, S. N., Rotzinger, J. S., Hofmann, D., Makunda, J., Botha, C., Murangi, A., & Shirima, C. M. (2024). Lifespan Research in Kenya, Namibia, and South Africa: Cohort Profile of the Africa Long Life Study. Personality Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/27000710241264492

• Furrer, A., Hofmann, D., & Thalmayer, A. G. (2024, April 25). Talking Mental Health with Kenyan Youth: Cognitive Interviews on the International Mental Health Assessment. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/kyb3x

• Florence, M., Adonis, T., Botha, C., Mpisane, N., Thalmayer, A. G., & Naude, L. (2023). An International Longitudinal Research Project Investigating the Psychological Development of Young Adults in South Africa: Managing Attrition. https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/233600/

To retain participants, the key strategy is local RAs, under whom participants are ‘nested’. During recruitment RAs requested detailed contact information including that of caregivers or close family members. They typically recruited participants in areas where they live and have wide acquaintanceship, providing credibility for the study, and bringing local know-how to re-finding participants. Recruitment included a variety of strategies: at schools, through church groups, neighbors, relatives, and friends and in a snowball approach.

African countries include incredible diversity. Although home to only one sixth of the world’s population, Africa is home to a third of the living languages. Our sample at Wave 1 includes over 50 ethnographic-linguistic groups.

Find more Information on the ALLS Wave 1 Sample Demographic Characteristics here: Lifespan research in Kenya, Namibia, and South Africa: Cohort profile of the Africa long life study

• October 22, 2025: Invited talk in the Association for Psychological Science online plenary Challenges to developing a global psychological science.

• October 2025: Keynote talk at INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON EMERGING TRENDS IN PSYCHOSOCIAL WELLBEING, 
  University of Namibia

• Keynote talk for 7th Annual meeting of Society for the Cognitive Science of Culture, April 27, 2025 https://culturalcogsci.org/AnnualMeeting.html

• Invited speaker at University of Zurich Healthy Longevity Innovation Days, June 5, 2025 https://www.ema.uzh.ch/en/register/5th-healthy-longevity-innovation-days-day-1.html

• Featured speaker, Challenges and Opportunities in Global Mental Health, June 3, 2025 Universitätspital Basel, June 3, 2025

2025

• "Lessons from Africa: Cognition, Emotion, Values, and Intergroup Relations" , Sympoisum with Shinobu Kitayama, Tosin Olonisakin, and Cristina Salvador, at the 2025 SPSP Annual Convention, Denver, February 20-22, 2025

• Amber Gayle Thalmayer, invited presentation in the “Advances in Cultural Psychology Pre-Conference of the Society of Personality and Social Psychology Meeting Denver Colorado, February 19, 2025

2024

• “The Africa Long Life Study: lifespan research in Kenya, Namibia and South Africa ” Symposium at the Psychological Society of South Africa’s Annual Psychology Congress, Johannesburg, South Africa, October, 2024, chaired by Amber Gayle Thalmayer. Talks:

  • Thalmayer A.G. “The Africa Long Life Study: lifespan research in the majority world”

  • Uugwanga, S.N. “Markers of adulthood in Sub-Saharan Africa: contextualized findings ”

  • Hofmann, D. “The assessment and structure of psychopathology among emerging adults in Southern and Eastern Africa ”

  • Chopdat, S. “Contextual impacts on anxiety and wellbeing amongst emerging adults in South Africa: evidence from the ALLS study ”

  • Kura, M. “Personality traits in the Africa Long Life Study: culturally-de-centered approaches for assessing individual differences in African contexts ”

• Thalmayer, A.G & Laher, S. Invited roundtable discussion on “African cultural models in psychology” at the Psychological Society of South Africa’s Annual Psychology Congress, Johannesburg, South Africa, October, 2024

• Thalmayer, A. G. "THE AFRICA LONG LIFE STUDY: EARLY RESULTS FROM A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF PERSONALITY AND MENTAL HEALTH AMONG YOUNG ADULTS IN NAMIBIA, KENYA, AND SOUTH AFRICA“ UMTHOMBO LECTURE SERIES, 2024.

• Hofmann, D., Hopwood, C. J, & Thalmayer, A. G. (2024). The structure of psychopathology in Namibia, Kenya and South Africa is almost the same. Poster presented at the Masterstudierenden- und Doktorierenden-Kongress 2024, University of Zurich, Switzerland, May 2024.

• Thalmayer, A.G &  Asatsa, S. “Personality Research in the Africa Long Life Study” in symposium “Keynote - Presidential Address: Personality Science Around the World” at the European Conference on Personality, Berlin, August, 2024.

• “Early Results from the Africa Long Life Study” Symposium at the European Conference on Personality, Berlin, August, 2024, chaired by Amber Gayle Thalmayer & Marie Kura. Talks:

  • Uugwanga, S.N. “Introduction to the Africa Long Life Study”

  • Kura, M. “The HEXACO in Kenya, Namibia, and South Africa”

  • Hofmann, D. “The assessment and structure of psychopathology among young adults in Namibia, Kenya, and South Africa”

  • Asatsa, S. “Proneness to Aggress in Kenya and Namibia: The role of Culture of Honor Logic among Young Adults from diverse groups”

• Thalmayer, A.G. "The Africa Long Life Study: Cohort Description and Preliminary Findings” In symposium “Advances in Cultural Psychology beyond the West” at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, San Diego, February, 2024.

• Thalmayer A.G. & Hofmann, D. “Emic and Etic Approaches to Assess Trauma Related Symptoms in Namibia, South Africa, and Kenya” invited address at Conference on The Role of Culture in the Exploration of Post-Trauma Suffering, Collegium Helveticum April 23–24, 2024.

2023

• "The Africa Long Life Study: An African-centered exploration of the mental health and wellbeing of emerging adults." Symposium at the 27th Annual South African Psychology Congress, Johannesburg, October 2023, chaired by Luzelle Naudé and Amber Gayle Thalmayer.

• Thalmayer, A.G. "Including the Majority World in Lifespan Research: The Africa Long Life Study.” Early Career Award Talk given at the Association for Research in Personality annual meeting, July 21, 2023  

• Thalmayer, A.G. “Psychological assessment in the majority world” Keynote talk given at the  17. Arbeitstagung der Fachgruppe Differentielle Psychologie, Persönlichkeitspsychologie und Psychologische Diagnostik (DPPD) in der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Psychologie

• Uugwanga, S.N., Thalmayer A.G., "Markers of Adulthood in Sub-Saharan Africa: contextualized findings” Presentation given at The Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood 11TH Conference on Emerging Adulthood Emerging Scholars Work-in-Progress pre-conference workshop, June 15, 2023, San Diego, CA

• Uugwanga, S.N., Thalmayer A.G., "Becoming an Adult in Namibia: An emerging adult perspective among the Owambo ethnicity” Presentation given at The Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood 11TH Conference on Emerging adulthood in sub-Saharan Africa: An insight into Namibia, Kenya, and South Africa, June 16, 2023, San Diego, CA

• Rotzinger, J. S., Thalmayer, A. G., “Ubuntu/harambee among emerging adults in Namibia and Kenya” Presentation given at the Regional European Conference of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology, IACCP 2023, August 4, 2023, Limerick, Ireland

• Thalmayer, A. G., “The Africa Long Life Study: An African-centered exploration of the mental health and wellbeing of emerging adults” Presentation given at the 27th Annual South Africa Psychology Congress, Johannesburg, October 4-6, 2023, South Africa

• Thalmayer, A.G. "Assessing Personality and Mental Health in Sub-Saharan Africa: Etc and epic approaches for comparison and contextualisation” Talk given at Evolutionary Psychiatry: From Theory to Therapy' mini-symposium, May 15, 2023, University of Zürich

2022

• Rotzinger, J. S. & Thalmayer, A. G. (2022). Ubuntu/botho: A qualitative exploration in Namibia, Kenya, and South Africa. Poster presented at the Swiss Psychological Society Conference, University of Zurich, Switzerland, September 2022.

• Hofmann, D. & Thalmayer, A. G. (2022). Mental health and religious and spiritual protective factors in Namibia, Kenya and South Africa. Talk given at the Swiss Psychological Society Conference, University of Zurich, Switzerland, September 2022.

• John Makunda (The Catholic University of Eastern Africa, 2024) " Unveiling Longitudinal Patterns in International Mental Health Assessments: A Systematic Evaluation of Clustering Techniques." Supervisors: Hellen Waititu & Cornelius Nyakundi.

• Matsidiso Bambo (University of the Witwatersrand 2024), “Depression Demographic Profiling of Young Adults in South Africa.” Supervisor: Tasneem Hassem.

• Elena Orsi (UZH 2024), “The Ethics of Autonomy, Community, and Divinity in Namibian Youth: An Examination of Guiding Moral Values and the Impact of Globalization.” Supervisors: Lene Arnett Jensen & Amber Gayle Thalmayer.

• Franka Schneider (UZH 2023), “Ubuntu/Harambee: A qualitative exploration in Namibia. Reflection of Ubuntu/Harambee in young adults' lives.” Supervisors: Julia Rotzinger & Amber Gayle Thalmayer.

• David Schröder (UZH 2023), “Socio-economic status and mental health in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Supervisors: Julia Rotzinger & Amber Gayle Thalmayer.

• Lilly Schmidt-Tophoff (UZH 2023), “The Role of Religiosity in the Mental Health Among 18-Year-Olds in Sub-Saharan Africa.” Supervisors: Daniel Hofmann & Amber Gayle Thalmayer.

• Myrjam Suter (UZH 2023), “Markers of Adulthood of Emerging Adults in Namibia: Psychometric Testing, Endorsement, and Attainment of the Markers of Adulthood (MoA) Scale.” Supervisors: Selma Uugwanga & Amber Gayle Thalmayer.

• William Viella Martins (University of Bern 2023), "A cross-culturally convergent personality model of three dimensions." Supervisors: Amber Gayle Thalmayer & Stephen Troche.

• Aleyna Ekinci (UZH 2022), “The experience of ‘pain in the heart’ and its relations to major depressive disorder.” Supervisors: Daniel Hofmann & Amber Gayle Thalmayer.

• Christoph Flückinger (UZH 2022), “Motivations for alcohol consumption among young adults in Namibia - A comparison across Oshiwambo speakers.” Supervisors: Selma Uugwanga & Amber Gayle Thalmayer.

• Gayong Son (Universität Basel 2022), “Measurement Invariance of the Satisfaction with Life Scale in Three Languages of Namibia.” Supervisors: Amber Gayle Thalmayer & Roselind Lieb.

• Milena Claudius (Universität Bern 2022), “Still Standing Inside: Local Idioms of Trauma among Namibian Speakers of Khoekhoegowab.” Supervisors: Amber Gayle Thalmayer & Thomas Berger.