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Studies

Ehrhardt et al. (2000): study XZ Germany West 1984

Publication

Author(s):
Ehrhardt, J.; Saris, W.E.; Veenhoven, R.
Title:
Stability of Life-Satisfaction over Time. Analysis of Change in Ranks in National Population.
Source:
Journal of Happiness Studies, 2000, Vol. 1, 177 - 205

Investigation

Public
18+ aged general public West-Germany, followed 10 years, 1984-1994
Survey name
DE-SOEP
Sample
Probability multistage stratified area sample
Respondents
N = 5483
Non Response
Assessment
Interview: face-to-face

Happiness Measure(s) and Distributional Findings

Full text:
Self report on single question:

Taking all things together, how satisfied are you with your life these days? Please answer with the help of this scale. For instance, when you are totally satisfied with your life, please tick '10'. When you are totally unsatisfied with your life, please tick '0'. You may use all values in between to indicate that you are neither totally satisfied nor totally unsatisfied."
10 totally satisfied
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0  totally unsatisfied
Classification:
O-SLW-c-sq-n-11-d
Author's label:
life satisfaction
Remarks:
interval T1-T2 Mean  = 7.54 SD = 2.06
interval T2-T3 Mean  = 7.33 SD = 2.01
interval T3-T4 Mean  = 7.33 SD = 1.90
interval T4-T5 Mean  = 7.18 SD = 1.89
interval T5-T6 Mean  = 7.11 SD = 1.89
interval T6-T7 Mean  = 7.10 SD = 1.90
T7             Mean  = 7.24 SD = 1.79
Page in publication:
5
Observed distribution
Summary Statistics
On original range 0 - 10 On range 0-10
Mean:
7.26 7.26
SD:
- -

Correlational Findings

Author's label Subject Description Finding stabillity of life satisfaction over time Long term happiness (< 10 years ago) Overtime correlations of life-satisfaction total sample HAPPINESS: DISPERSION OF HAPPINESS
Change age
Trend inequality of happiness in places
Repeated questioning over time
Trend average happiness in European Union