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Studies

George (1978): study US NorthCarolina 1973

Publication

Author(s):
George, L.K.
Title:
The Impact of Personality and Social Status Factors upon Levels of Activity and Psychological Well-Being.
Source:
Journal of Gerontology, 1978, Vol. 33, 840 - 847

Investigation

Public
50+ aged, whites, Durham, North Carolina, USA, 197?
Sample
Respondents
N = 380
Non Response
Assessment
Questionnaire: Paper & Pencil Interview (PAPI)

Happiness Measure(s) and Distributional Findings

Full text:
Self report on 10 questions:

During the past few weeks, did you ever feel ....?  (yes/no)
A   Particularly excited or interested in something?
B   So restless that you couldn't sit long in a chair?
C   Proud because someone complimented you on something  
     you had done?
D   Very lonely or remote from other people?
E   Pleased about having accomplished something?
F   Bored?
G   On top of the world?
H   Depressed or very unhappy?
I    That things were going your way?
J    Upset because someone criticized you?

Answer options and scoring:
yes = 1
no  = 0
Summation:
-Positive Affect Score (PAS): A+C+E+G+I
-Negative Affect Score (NAS): B+D+F+H+J
-Affect Balance Score (ABS): PAS minus NAS
Possible range: -5 to +5

Name: Bradburn's 'Affect Balance Scale' (standard version)
Classification:
A-BB-cm-mq-v-2-a
Author's label:
Psychological well-being

Correlational Findings

Author's label Subject Description Finding Activity levels on aweekly basis Attendance to meetings Outgoing Outgoing Intelligence Test-intelligence Emotional stability Stable Dominance Dominant Soberness Sober Conscientiousness Conscientious Social boldness Bold Tough mindedness Tough Sense of trust Trusting Practicality Pragmatic Naiveté Naive Security Secure Conservation Conservating Self sufficiency Modest (vs supercilious) Control Impulsive (vs self controlled) Tenseness Tense Extraversion Extraverted Anxiety Anxious Cortical arousal Vigorous Independence Independent Male sex Sexe: male (vs female) Age Age difference among elderly Education Years schooling Occupational prestige Social prestige of occupation Health impairment Expert rating of health Marital status Married state (compared to non-married states) Employment status Current employment status Personality PERSONALITY: CURRENT TRAITS Sociodemographic variables and personality Summed socio-demographic + personality