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Studies

Bohn (1972): study ZZ Various nation sets 1960

Publication

Author(s):
Bohn, C.J.
Title:
The Effect of Children upon Life Satisfaction. A Thesis in Child Development and Family Relationships.
Source:
Unpublished Master Thesis, Pennsylvania State University, 1972, USA

Investigation

Public
21+ aged, general public, Dominican Republic, Panama and Yugoslavia, ± 1960
Sample
Respondents
N = 5228
Non Response
Assessment
Interview: face-to-face
Half-structured interview by native interviewers in each country.

Happiness Measure(s) and Distributional Findings

Full text:
Self report on single question:

Here is a picture of a ladder. Suppose we say that the top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the  bottom represents the worst possible life for you. Where on the ladder do you feel you personally stand at the present time?   
[  10  ]  best possible life
[    9  ]
[    8  ]
[    7  ]
[    6  ]
[    5  ]
[    4  ]
[    3  ]
[    2  ]
[    1  ]
[    0  ]  worst possible life
                          
                                                                                
Preceded by 1)  open questions about what the respondent imagines as the best possible life and the worst possible life. 2) ratings on the ladder of one's life five years ago and  where on the ladder one expects to stand five years from now.

Name: Cantril's self anchoring ladder rating of life (original)
Classification:
C-BW-c-sq-l-11-a
Author's label:
Life satisfaction.
Observed distribution
Summary Statistics
On original range 0 - 10 On range 0-10
Mean:
- 3.38
SD:
2.59 -

Correlational Findings

Author's label Subject Description Finding Age Young versus old Having children Current parental status Child-centered attitude Attitudes to children Male sex Sexe: male (vs female) Socio-economic level Current socio-economic status Urban residence Rural dwelling (vs urban) Married Married (vs never married)
Married vs earlier married (widowed + separated + divorced)
Never married Never married (vs formerly married: widowed + divorced+ separated)