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Studies

Nawijn et al. (2010): study NL 2006

Publication

Author(s):
Nawijn, J.; Marchand, M.A.; Veenhoven, R.; Vingerhoets, A.J.
Title:
Vacationers Happier, but Most not Happier after a Holiday.
Source:
Applied Research in Quality of Life, 2010, Vol. 5, 35 - 47

Investigation

Public
16+ aged, general public, Netherlands, followed 21 weeks, 2006
Sample
Probability sample (unspecified)
Respondents
N = 1530
Non Response
470
Assessment
Questionnaire: Conputer Assisted Web Interview (CAWI)
Completed every 8 weeks

Happiness Measure(s) and Distributional Findings

Full text:
Self report on 3 questions:

Over the last time
A  I felt blue
B  I felt unhappy
C  I enjoyed my daily activities

Rated:
1  never
2  seldom
3  now and then
4  very often
5  always

Computation: (A+B)2 - C
Classification:
A-AB-cm-mq-v-5-c
Author's label:
Affect balance
Remarks:
Ss answered questions every 2 months on how happy they had felt
T1: week 11  (March)
T2: week 19  (May)
T3: week 27  (July)
T4: week 35  (September)
T5: week 43  (November)

Non-vacationers:
T1: M = 2.04, SD = 1.43
T2: M = 2.01, SD = 1.42
T3: M = 2.04, SD = 1.46
T4: M = 2.00, SD = 1.44
T5: M = 2.02, SD = 1.44

Vacationers:
T1: M = 2.26, SD = 1.20
T2: M = 2.26, SD = 1.21
T3: M = 2.29, SD = 1.20
T4: M = 2.35, SD = 1.20
T5: M = 2.21, SD = 1.31
Observed distribution
Summary Statistics
On original range -4 - 4 On range 0-10
Mean:
2.11 -
SD:
1.36 -

Correlational Findings

Author's label Subject Description Finding Vacationing Traveling Holiday quality Satisfaction with leisure activities