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Studies

Isaacowitz & Smith (2003): study DE Berlin 1990

Publication

Author(s):
Isaacowitz, D.M.; Smith, J.
Title:
Positive and Negative Affect in Very Old Age.
Source:
Journal of Gerontology, 2003, Vol. 58b, 143 - 152

Investigation

Public
70-100+aged, Germany, 1990-1993.
Survey name
DE-Berlin Aging Study
Sample
Probability stratified sample
Respondents
N = 516
Non Response
Assessment
Interview: face-to-face
Apart from some clinical medical assessments, all testing was carried out in the participant's place of residence (e.g., private home, nursing home, hospital) by trained research assistants and physicians. 75%of the participants resided in their own homes; 14% resided in institutions.

Happiness Measure(s) and Distributional Findings

Full text:
Self report on 20 questions.

This scale consists of a number of words that describe different feelings and emotions. Read each item and mark the appropriate answer in the space next to that word. Indicate to what extend you felt this way during the past few weeks?
A  nervous
B  distressed
C  afraid
D  jittery
E  irritable
F  upset
G  scared
H  ashamed
I  guilty
J  hostile
K  excited
L  active
M  determined
N  inspired
O  enthusiastic
P  alert
Q  attentive
R  proud
S  strong
T  interested

Answer options:  
1  very slightly or not at all
2  a little
3  moderately
4  quite a bit
5  extremely

Negative affect score (NAS): A to J
Positive affect score (PAS): K to T
Affect Balance Score  (ABS): PAS - NAS

Name: Watson et al's PANAS ('past few weeks' version)
Classification:
A-BW-cm-mq-v-5-e
Author's label:
Affect-Balance
Remarks:
Affect Balance computed by WDH team, subtracting average Positive Affect (3.3) from Negative Affect  (2.3 ) for young old and subtracting average Positive Affect (3.0) from Negative Affect  (2.2) for old old.
Page in publication:
145
Observed distribution
Summary Statistics
On original range -40 - 40 On range 0-10
Mean:
0.90 -
SD:
- -