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Studies

Thurnher (1983): study US 1969

Publication

Author(s):
Thurnher, M.
Title:
Turning Points and Developmental Change: Subjective and 'Objective' Assessments.
Source:
American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 1983, Vol. 53, 52 - 60

Investigation

Public
People in transition, followed 8 years, Metropolis USA, 1969-77
Sample
Respondents
N = 180
Non Response
Sample attrition: 17%
Assessment
Interview: face-to-face
Lengthy interviews

Happiness Measure(s) and Distributional Findings

Full text:
Self report on 3 questions:

A. " Dissatisfied" and "Unhappy" responses on the Block (1961) Adjective Rating List.

B. Overall happiness. Single direct question: "Taking all things together,  how would you say things are these days?  Would you say you are .......?"
3  very happy
2  pretty happy
1  not too happy

C. Present-year score on Life-Evaluation Chart, ranging from:
1  low
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9  high
Classification:
M-AO-u-mq-*-*-c
Author's label:
Life Satisfaction
Full text:
Self report on 8 questions.

"During the past week, did you ever feel.....?"
A  very lonely
B  restless
C  bored
D  depressed
E  on top of the world
F  excited or interested
G  pleased about accomplishment
H  proud

Answer options:
1  never
2  once
3  several times
4  often

Summation:
-Positive  Affect Score (PAS): E+F+G+H
-Negative Affect Score (NAS): A+B+C+D
-Affect Balance Score (ABS): PAS-NAS+13

Name: Bradburn's Affect Balance Scale (modified version)
Classification:
A-BB-cw-mq-v-4-d
Author's label:
Affect Balance Score

Correlational Findings

Author's label Subject Description Finding Perceived turning point impact in life Major life-change or not Change in happiness Change happiness over life time