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Studies

Schulz & Decker (1985): study US 1985

Publication

Author(s):
Schulz, R.; Decker, S.
Title:
Longterm Adjustment to Physical Disability: The Role of Social Support, Perceived Control and Self-Blame.
Source:
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1985, Vol. 48, 1162 - 1172

Investigation

Public
40+ aged, spinal-cord-injured, non-institutionalised, Portland Oregon, USA, 198?
Sample
Respondents
N = 100
Non Response
4%
Assessment
Interview: face-to-face
Structured interview, partly by telephone

Happiness Measure(s) and Distributional Findings

Full text:
Self report on 8 questions:

"Here is a list that describes some of the ways people feel at different times. How often do you feel each of these ways?"
A  Very lonely or remote from other people
B  Depressed or very unhappy
C  Bored
D  So restless you couldn't sit long in a chair
E  Vaguely uneasy about something without knowing why
F  On top of the world
G  Particularly excited or interested in something
H  Pleased about having accomplished something

Answer options:
0  never
1  sometimes
3  often
Summation:
Positive Affect Score (PAS): summed scores on F, G, H
Negative Affect Score (NAS): summed scores on A, B, C, D, E
Affect Balance Score (ABS): PAS minus NAS

Possible range  -15 to +9
Transformed to a 7 point scale, where 1 is all or almost all positive feelings and 7 is all or almost all negative feelings.
1 = neg 0-1 and pos 7-9
2 = neg 0-1 and pos 4-6
2 = neg 2-3 and pos 7-9
3 = neg 0-1 and pos 3
3 = neg 2-3 and pos 4-6
3 = neg 4-5 and pos 7-9
4 = neg 0-1 and pos 0-2
4 = neg 2-3 and pos 3
4 = neg 4-5 and pos 4-6
4 = neg 6-15 and pos 7-9
5 = neg 2-3 and pos 0-2
5 = neg 4-5 and pos 3
5 = neg 6-15 and pos 4-6
6 = neg 4-5 and pos 0-2
6 = neg 6-15 and pos 3
7 = neg 6-15 and pos 0-2

Name: Berkman modified variation of Bradburn's `Affect Balance Scale'
Classification:
A-BB-g-mq-v-3-a
Author's label:
Psychological well-being
Observed distribution
Summary Statistics
On original range 1 - 7 On range 0-10
Mean:
4.00 5.00
SD:
- -

Correlational Findings

Author's label Subject Description Finding Satisfaction with quality of social contact