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Studies

Gurin et al. (1960): study US 1957

Publication

Author(s):
Gurin, G.; Feld, S.; Veroff, J.
Title:
Americans View their Mental Health. A Nationwide Interview Survey.
Source:
Basic Books, 1960, New York, USA ( Reprint in 1980, Arno Press, New York, USA)

Investigation

Public
21+ aged, general public, USA,1957
Sample
Respondents
N = 2460
Non Response
13%; 5% not at home, 8% refusals
Assessment
Interview: face-to-face
Structured interview at home

Happiness Measure(s) and Distributional Findings

Full text:
Self report on single question:

Taken all together, how would you say things are these days?   Would you say that you are....?
3  very happy
2  pretty happy
1  not too happy
Classification:
O-HL-c-sq-v-3-aa
Author's label:
Happiness
Observed distribution
Frequencies
1: 11%,   2: 54%,   3: 35%   (total 100%)
Summary Statistics
On original range 1 - 3 On range 0-10
Mean:
2.24 7.32
SD:
0.63 1.65

Correlational Findings

Author's label Subject Description Finding Age Current age (in years) Male sex Sexe: male (vs female) Educational level Level of school-education Broken home background (separation) Number of parents (broken home) Broken home background (death) Number of parents (broken home) Family size Children in the household Expected future happiness In the long run Perceived sources ofhappiness Perceived sources of one's own happiness Perceived sources ofunhappiness Perceived sources of one's own happiness Number of sources of happiness mentioned Perceived sources of one's own happiness Number of sources of unhappiness mentioned Perceived sources of one's own happiness Readiness for self- referral Readiness to seek professional care Income Current income level (unspecified) Community size Community size Region in USA Region in USA Married vs never married Married (vs never married) Married vs widowed Married (vs widowed) Married vs divorced Married (vs divorced) Never married vs widowed Never married (vs widowed) Never married vs divorced Never married (vs divorced) Widowed Widowed (vs divorced) Being a wife of a skilled worker Social status of spouse Extent of worries Amount of worrying Catholic religion Current religious denomination Church attendance Participation in church Marital happiness Satisfaction with marriage Occupation Current occupation Skilled workers Skill level of occupation Wife of skilled worker Social status of spouse