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Studies

Alexander (1969): study US 1964

Publication

Author(s):
Alexander, W.E.
Title:
Some Sociological Aspects of Psychological Well-Being in a Schizophrenic Population: Social Class, Participation and Work.
Source:
Unpublished PhD Dissertation, Syracuse University, 1969, USA

Investigation

Public
Schizophrenic males non-hospitalized, Monroe County, New York, USA, 1964-65
Sample
Respondents
N = 178
Non Response
28%, most of them patients'or family member refusal
Assessment
Register data
Analysis of case registers and clinical interviews with family members

Happiness Measure(s) and Distributional Findings

Full text:
Self report on single question:

Taken all together, how would you say things are these days?   Would you say that you are....?
3  very happy
2  pretty happy
1  not too happy
Classification:
O-HL-c-sq-v-3-aa
Author's label:
Psychological well-being
Observed distribution
Frequencies
1: 10%,   2: 59%,   3: 22%   (total 91%)
Summary Statistics
On original range 1 - 3 On range 0-10
Mean:
2.13 7.04
SD:
0.58 1.50
Full text:
Self report on 10 questions:

We are interested in how people are feeling these days. The following items describe some of the ways people feel at different times. Please indicate how often you felt each way during the last week
A   Pleased about having accomplished something.
B   That things were going my way.
C   Proud because someone complimented me on something I  
     had done.
D  Particularly excited or interested in something I had done.
E  On top of the world.
F  Upset because someone criticized you
G  So restless that you could not sit long in a chair
H  Bored
I    Very lonely or remote from other people
J   Depressed or very unhappy

Answer options:
0  not at all
1  once
2  several times
3 often

Summation:
- Positive Affect Score (PAS): Average A to E
- Negative  Affect Score (NAS): Average F to J
- Affect Balance Score (AB): PAS minus NAS
Possible range: -25 to +25

Name : Bradburn's "Affected Balance Scale' (modified version)
Classification:
A-BB-cw-mq-v-4-f
Author's label:
Psychological well-being
Remarks:
Recoded to range -4 to +4: PA =  2.9, NA =  2.7, ABS = + 0,2
Page in publication:
42-45
Error estimates:
Reliability:Equivalence: positive items : r ranging from +.13 to +.43 negative items r ranging form +.09 to +.45 positive x negative items: r ranging from -.25 to +.14 positive affect score x negative affect score: r = .07 (ns)

Correlational Findings

Author's label Subject Description Finding Educational prestige Level of school-education
Vocational education
Affect balance O-HL by A-AB Severity of pathology Expert ratings of mental health Being definitely schizophrenic Schizophrenic (f20) Income Current income level (unspecified) Job satisfaction Satisfaction with work-as-a-whole Social participations Current total social participation S.E.S. 'Objective' socio-economic status Employed status Current employment status Employment history Earlier unemployment Occupation Occupational level Extent of necessary interaction in the job setting Interaction at work Attending parties Attendance of parties Contacts with friends Current contacts with friends Organizational memberships Membership of voluntary organizations Extent of potential interaction in the job setting Interaction at work