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Happiness Measures

Characteristics

Code:
A-BB-cw-mq-v-4-i
Focus:
Affect: Balance (Bradburn's index) (A-BB)
Time frame:
last week (cw)
Mode:
multiple questions (mq)
Scale Type:
verbal scale (v)
Scale Range:
4

Description

Self report on 9 questions:

We are interested in the way people are feeling these days. The following list describes some of the ways people feel at different times. Please indicate how often you felt each way during the last week.

How often last week did you feel .....?
A  On the top of the world
B  Very lonely or remote from other people
C  Particularly excited or interested in something
D  Depressed or very unhappy
E   Pleased about having accomplished something
F   Bored
G  Proud because someone complimented you on something  
     you had done
H  So restless you couldn't sit long in a chair
I    Vaguely uneasy about something without knowing why

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

Summation:
Positive Affect Score (PAS): summed scores on A, C, E, G
Negative Affect Score (NAS): summed REVERSED scores on B, D, F, H, I

Affect Balance Score (ABS):  PAS plus NAS

Name: Bradburn's `Affect Balance Scale' (modified version)

List of Studies Using this Measure

Study Population N Mean
Standard Deviation
Peters et al. (1977): study US 1974 Employees, USA, 1974 N = 178
Mean
= 24.100