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Studies

Brunstein (1993): study DE 1988

Publication

Author(s):
Brunstein, J.C.
Title:
Personal Goals and Subjective Well-Being: A Longitudinal Study.
Source:
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1993, Vol. 65, 1061 - 1070

Investigation

Public
Students, Germany, 1988, followed 14 weeks
Survey name
Unnamed study
Sample
Probability sample (unspecified)
Respondents
N = 97
Non Response
9
Assessment
Questionnaire: Conputer Assisted Web Interview (CAWI)
T1 intructions were carried out in group sessions, T2-T4 intructions were mailed to the subjects and they were to reply.

Happiness Measure(s) and Distributional Findings

Full text:
Self report on 2 questions:

A  At present I am completely satisfied with my life
B  In the near future a lot of things will have to change before I feel satisfied with my life

Rated
1  completely disagree
2
3
4
5
6
7  completely agree

Computation: (A+B)/2, B reversed
Classification:
O-SLW-c-mq-n-7-a
Remarks:
Assessed 4 times with an interval of 4 weeks:
M = T1: 4.17, T2: 3.82, T3: 4.23, T4: 4.22.  Average: 4.12
SD = T1: 1.23, T2: 1.56, T3: 1.54, T4: 1.22.  Average: 1.52
Page in publication:
1064
Observed distribution
Summary Statistics
On original range 1 - 7 On range 0-10
Mean:
4.12 -
SD:
1.51 -
Full text:
Self report on 8 questions

… extent to which moods were experienced during the past few days (full text not reported}
A happy
B  joyful
C  pleased
D  confident
E  sad
F  depressed
G  frustrated
H  anxious

Rated:
1  not at all
:
7  very frequently

Computation: (A+B+C+D) -(E+F+G+H)/4
Classification:
A-AB-c-mq-n-7-a
Author's label:
elated and depressed mood
Page in publication:
1063-65
Full text:
Self report on 10 questions:

A  8 questions about current mood
     extent to which moods were experienced during the past few days (full text not reported}
     a happy
     b  joyful
    c  pleased
    d  confident
    e  sad
    f  depressed
   g  frustrated
   h  anxious
   Rated: 1  not at all   to  7  very frequently

B  2 questions on life satisfaction
     a  At present I am completely satisfied with my life
     b  In the near future a lot of things will have to change before I feel satisfied with my life
      Rated: 1  completely disagree  .. 7  completely agree

Computation: (A+B)/2
Classification:
M-AO-c-mq-n-7-a
Author's label:
subjective wellbeing scale
Remarks:
Satisfaction with life measured by substracting scores on depressed mood from scores on elated mood (the original scores are divided by 4).
M = T1: 5.42, T2 = 5.39, T3: 6.99, T4: 6.03
SD = T1: 1.09, T2: 1.44, T3: 0.18, T4: 0.50
Page in publication:
1065
Observed distribution
Summary Statistics
On original range 0 - 0 On range 0-10
Mean:
5.96 -
SD:
0.80 -

Correlational Findings

Author's label Subject Description Finding Commitment to personal goals Involvement in life-goals Attainability of personal goals Perceived chances for realization Progress in goal achievement Perceived realization of life-goals Well-being over time Recent happiness (< 1 year ago)