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Psychological well-being and location in the social structure
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Psychological well-being and location in the social structure
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P S Y C H O L O G IC A L W ELL-BEING A N D LO C A TIO N IN T H E SO CIAL S T R U C T U R E by Patricia Maureen Wall Braun A Dissertation Presented to the F A C U L T Y O F T H E G R A D U A T E S C H O O L UNIVERSITY O F S O U T H E R N CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy (Sociology) Copyright by Patricia Maureen Wall Braun September 1976 UMI Number: DP31771 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. DISBAMaflon PübüWmg UMI DP31771 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 /y t UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA T H E G R A D U A T E S C H O O L U N IV E R S IT Y P A R K U N IV E R S IT Y P A R K « N . j g / LO S A N G E L E S . C A L IF O R N IA 9 0 0 0 7 ( E àc) > This dissertation, written by P atricia Maureen Wall Braun ^ tZ under the direction of A.er.., Dissertation Com- mittee, and approved by a ll its members, has ^ been presented to and accepted by The Graduate School, in partial fu lfillm e n t of requirements of the degree of D O C T O R O F P H IL O S O P H Y Dean Date.U.UqU&Ï..J&'flâJk.... «DISSERTATION £OMMITTEE Chairman A B S T R A C T P S Y C H O LO G IC A L W ELL-BEING A N D LO C A TIO N IN T H E SOCIAL S T R U C T U R E Happiness is a major life goal pursued by people in all walks of life but not expected to be equally distributed throughout all segments of the social structure. Happiness, hereafter referred to as psycho logical well-being (PWB), is defined in this research as the degree to which pleasure (positive affect) predominates over pain (negative affect). The central purpose of this research is to test the theory that higher position in the social structure is associated with greater P W B , focusing on three primary objective locators--age, sex, and socio economic status. Individuals with higher status on these dimensions (youth, males, persons of higher education and income) are posited to have higher P W B , higher positive affect, and lower negative affect than lower status persons. Secondarily, adult respondents (ages 35-74) are studied to assess: (1) the impact on P W B of more subjective locators in the social structure (self-rated health, perceived financial situa tion and re lig io sity); (2) the relative and combined effect of the objective and subjective locators on P W B , using multiple regression analysis; and (3) the extent to which age group membership and sex of respondents influence the relationship of the other locators to P W B . n The data were collected by mail questionnaires for a larger study of generations designed to explore patterns of transmission and contrast in three-generational families. The 1,957 respondents in this study were drawn from the membership roles of a Los Angeles-based medical care plan and ranged in age from 16 to 74. Tw o measures of P W B were used--the self-reported happiness scale and the Bradburn Affect Balance Scale (ABS), with the positive and negative affect scales as components. N o age, sex, or socioeconomic differences in self-reported happiness were found. Neither did con sistent sex or socioeconomic differences materialize with the ABS. However, the four age groups (teenage, young adult, middle age, and old age) were significantly different in A B S scores, but in a direction opposite to that predicted--old people were happier than young people. Findings on the affect sub-scales were more consistent. The two scales were influenced by the primary locators in tandem, rather than inversely as predicted. Both positive and negative affect were signif icantly higher for the young than the old, for females than for males, and for persons of higher versus lower socioeconomic status. Findings with respect to the secondary objectives include: (1) self-rated health and perceived financial situation, followed by relig io sity, were the best correlates of P W B ; (2) the total variance in P W B explained by the total set of locators is very small (14%); and (3) the relative importance of the predictors and the extent of their combined influence on P W B varies by age group and sex of respondents. m The major conclusion is that the stratification theory presented in this research has not been substantiated. A n alternate theory sub stituting "perceived position in the social structure," might be m ore fru itfu l, since subjective locators were better predictors of P W B than the more objective locators of age, sex, and SES. The primary locators were better predictors of affect than of P W B , suggesting the need for , further assessment of the u tility of a balance scale score. Another major conclusion from this sample is that old people m ay be happier than the young i f old age is not accompanied by serious decrements in m arital, health, and financial status. I V 1/ C O N T E N T S Page ABSTRACT.............................................. .................................. 1 1 LIST O F TABLES...................................................................... x LIST O F APPENDIX TABLES.............................................. . xi Chapter I INTRO DUCTIO N .......................................................................... 1 Statement of the Problem . ........................................... 1 Objectives of the Research ............................................... 7 Preview of Proposed Research . ................................... , 8 Contributions of the Research ................................... 8 Theoretical......................................................... 9 Methodological .............................................. 9 P ra c tic a l................... 11 I I R E VIEW O F T H E LITERATURE.................................................. 13 Introduction.............................. 13 Impact of Primary Variables on PWB.............................. 16 Age ................... . . 16 Age and Psychological Well-Being .................... 16 Age and Affect ................. 21 S e x.......................................... 23 Sex and Psychological Well-Being ........................ 24 Sex and Affect ............................................. 25 Summary...................................................... 27 Socioeconomic Status . . . . . . . . 27 Socioeconomic Status and Psychological Well- Being .............................. 27 Socioeconomic Status and Affect .......................... 31 Impact of Secondary Variables on P W B ....................... 33 In tro d u c tio n ...................................................... 33 Physical Health .............................................................. 34 Religion . .................................................................. 38 Introduction................... 38 Specific Sphere of Religion ............................... 39 General Sphere of Social Participation . . . . 44 Self-Perceived Financial Situation ....................... 49 Chapter Page I I I THEO RETICAL F R A M E W O R K ....................... . . . . . . . . 51 Introduction .. . . . .................................................. 51 Concepts and Variables . ........................................... 53 Independent Variables ........................... 54 Dependent V a ria b le s .......................... ....................... 55 Linkage of Variables to O ne Another . . . . . . . . 55 Development of Propositions and Working Hypotheses. 58 General Theorem on Position in the Social S tru c tu re ........................... 58 Primary.Locators in.the.Social Structure . . . . 62 Age .................................. 62 Sex ............................................... 65 Socioeconomic Status ........................................... 68 Sum m ary .............................................. 71 Secondary Factors Influencing Position in the Social S tructure.............................. 72 H e alth .......................................... 74 R e lig io s ity .................................. 76 Self-Perceived Financial Situation.......................... 79 Related Areas ...................................................................... 80 Principle of Ceteris Paribus ............................... 81 IV M E T H O D S O F T H E R E S E A R C H . ............................................... 82 In tro d u c tio n .................................. 82 Sampling Procedures .......................................................... 83 Composition of the Sample . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Marital and Family Status . ............................... 87 Age D istrib u tio n ................... 89 Socioeconomic Status ................................................... 90 Health of Older Respondents . .......................... 94 Impact of Unique Sample Characteristics . . . . 94 Dependent Variables .................................. 95 Self-Reports of Happiness .. . . . .................... 95 Operationalization . ....................................... 95 D is trib u tio n ................... 96 Validity . .......................................................... 98 R e lia b ility . . 100 Bradburn Scales: Affect Balance, Positive and Negative Affect . . . . . . . ........................... 100 Operationalization ....................... 100 Distribution . ........................... 103 V a l i d i t y .................................................................. 104 R eliability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * . . 106 VI Chapter Page IV (cont'd) Independent Variables ................................... ................ 108 Age and Sex . . . . . . . . . . ........................... 108 Socioeconomic Status ................................................... 109 Perceived Financial Situation ............................... 111 Self-Rated Health ...................................................... 112 R e lig io s ity ................... .............................. 113 Attendance at Religious Services ................... 114 Orthodoxy of Beliefs . . . . . . ................... 114 Self-Assessed Devoutness . ............................... 115 Statistical Tools .............................................................. 115 T-tests .......................................................................... 116 Dunn's Multiple Comparison Technique . . . . . . 116 Analysis of Variance ....................... ....................... 116 G a m m a and Yule's Q .. . . . ................................... Pearson's Product M om ent Correlation Coefficient 117 ( r ) ................................................................................. 118 Multiple Regression .................................................. 118 V R E S U L T S Primary Locators . . . . . . . ................................... 121 Age................................................................................. 122 Psychological Well-Being . . . . . . . . . . 122 Affect . . . .......................................................... 127 S e x .................................................. ........................... 132 Psychological Well-Being ................................... 132 Affect . . . . . . ............................................... 137 Socioeconomic Status . . . . . ............................... 142 Psychological Well-Being ................................ . 143 Affect . . . . ...................................................... 147 Sum m ary and Discussion ............................................... 150 Psychological Well-Being ................................... 150 A f f e c t .......................................... ........................... 153 Secondary Factors ...................................................... . . 157 Total Adult Sample ....................................................... Relative and Total Impact of Variables in the 162 Model .......................................................................... . . . 163 Impact of Age and Sex on Variables in the Model . . 165 Comparisons Between Age Groups ............................... 167 Sex Comparisons ................................... .................... 168 Sex Comparisons Within Age Groups ....................... 169 Early Middle Age (35-44) . . . . . . . . . . 169 Middle Age (45?54), ................................... ... 170 Early Old Age (55-64) . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 Old Age (6 4 -7 5 ).................................................. ... 172 V - i : Chapter Page V (cont'd) S am e Sex Comparisons Across Age Groups ................ 172 Males .......................................................................... 173 Females ...................................................................... 173 Sum m ary and Discussion ............................................... 175 A ge.............................................................................. 176 S e x .............................................................................. 176 Sex Comparisons Within Age Groups .................... 176 S am e Sex Comparisons Across Age Groups . . . 176 VI FINAL A S S E S S M E N T .............................................................. 179 Conclusions .......................................................................... 179 Conclusion 1 .................................................................. 179 Primary Locators .......................................................... 180 Conclusion 2 .......................................................... 180 Conclusion 3 .......................................................... 185 Conclusion 4 . ...................................................... 189 Conclusion 5 ...................................................... ... 190 Relative and Total Impact of Primary and Secondary Variables .................................................. 195 Conclusion 6 .......................................................... 195 Conclusion 7 . ...................................................... 197 Methodological Conclusions ....................................... 197 Conclusion 8 .......................................................... 198 Contributions of the Research ....................................... 199 Theoretical .................................................................. 199 Theoretical 1 .......................................................... 199 Theoretical 2 .......................................................... 199 Theoretical 3 . ....................................................... 200 Theoretical 4 .......................................................... 200 Methodological .............................................................. 201 Methodological 1 .................................................. 201 Methodological 2 ................................................... 201 Methodological 3 ................................................... 202 Methodological 4 .......................................... 202 Practical ...................................................................... 203 Practical 1 ...................................................... ... . 203 Practical 2 .............................................................. 203 Practical 3 .............................................................. 204 Recommendations .................................................................. 205 Theoretical .................................................................. 205 Methodological .............................................................. 206 vi i ' Appendices Page A S T U D Y O F G E N E R A TIO N S QUESTIONNAIRE ITEM S UTILIZED IN THIS RESEARCH....................................... 208 B APPENDIX TABLES.......................................................... 213 BIBLIO G RAPHY .............................. 226 J L X _ LIST O F T A B L E S Table Page 4.1 Distribution of Total Sample by Age Group and Sex . . . 85 4.2 Sum m ary of Characteristics of the Sample by Age Group .......................................................... 86 4.3 Percent Married Los Angeles-Long Beach S M S A and Study of Generations Sample by Age G ro u p ................... 88 4.4 Age Distribution of Persons 15-75+ City of Los Angeles and Study of Generations Sample ............................... 91 4.5 Household Income: Los Angeles County and Study of Generations Sample . . . . . . . ................ 92 4.6 Years of School Completed: Los Angeles County and Study of Generations Sample . . . . . . . . . 93 4.7 Distribution of Self-Reports of Happiness . 97 4.8 Association of Various Satisfaction Measures with the Bradburn Scales .............................................................. 105 4.9 R eliability Coefficients for Bradburn Affect Items and S c a le s ....................... 107 5.1 Self-Reported Happiness by A ge Group ............................ 124 5.2 Bradburn Affect Balance Scale Scores by Age Group . . . 126 5.3 Distribution of Responses to Feeling-State Items by Age Group . . . . . . .............................................................. 128 5.4 Bradburn Positive Affect Scale Scores by Age Group . . 130 5.5 Bradburn Negative Affect Scale Scores by Age Group . . 131 5.6 Self-Reported Happiness by Sex ............................ 134 5.7 Bradburn Affect Balance Scale Scores by Sex ..................... 135 5.8 M eans and Standard Deviations of Psychological Well- Being and Affect Scale Scores by Age Group and Sex . . 136 5.9 Distribution of Responses to Feeling-State Items by S e x.................................................. 138 5.10 Bradburn Positive Affect Scale Scores by Sex ................... 139 5.11 Bradburn Negative Affect Scale Scores by Sex ................... 140 5.12 M eans and Standard Deviations of Psychological Well- Being and Affect Scale Scores by Household Income . . . 144 5.13 M eans and Standard Deviations of Psychological Well- Being and Affect Scale Scores by Educational Level . . 146 5.14 Distribution of the Adult Sample by Age Group and Sex . 159 5.15 Pearson's Correlation Coefficients and Total Explained Variance of Socioeconomic and Secondary Variables with Bradburn's Affect Balance Scale for Adult Respondents by Age Group and Sex . .................................. 160 5.16 Pearson's Correlation Coefficients and Total Explained Variance of All Nine Primary and Secondary Variables with Bradburn's Affect Balance Scale for Adult Respondents . 164 LIST O F APPENDIX TA B LE S Appendix Table Page 1 Present Educational Status of Respondents 16-26 Years O ld ................... .................................. ... . 214 2 Responses to Perceived Financial Situation Items ....................... 215 3 Responses to Self-Rated Health Items . . . . . . 216 4 Religious A ffilia tio n .................... 217 5 Frequency of Attendance at Church or Religious Services ................................................... . . . . . . 218 6 Degree of Agreement with Belief Items . . . . . . 219 7 Orthodoxy of Belief Scale Scores ............................ 220 8 Self-Assessed Devoutness ..................... . . . . . . 221 9 Pearson's Correlation Coefficients and Total Explained Variance of Socioeconomic and Secondary Variables with Bradburn's Positive Affect Scale for Adult Respondents by Age Group and Sex . . . 222 10 Pearson's Correlation Coefficients and Total Explained Variance of Socioeconomic and Secondary Variables with Bradburn‘s Negative Affect Scale for Adult Respondents by Age Group and Sex . . . 224 C H A P T E R I IN TRO DUCTIO N Statement of the Problem The pursuit of happiness as a major life goal persists throughout m uch of mankind's history, surfacing as a subject for debate am ong ancient philosophers and even appearing in the United States Declaration of Independence as an inalienable right. Yet despite this attempt to guarantee such a right, happiness, like other social commodities, does not appear to be equally available to all segments of the society. Several studies of the American population have substantiated that happiness is not randomly distributed throughout the social structure . (Gurin et a l., 1960; Bradburn and Caplovitz, 1965; Bradburn, 1969). These researchers have found that self-reports of happiness tend to be conditioned by sex, age, education and income. This tendency toward differential distribution of happiness is posited as a general theory: the higher the position in the social structure, the greater the happiness. Examination of this basic idea constitutes the purpose of the research to be described. This is ac^ ^ comolished through investigating the variation of happiness with location in the social structure as measured by age, sex and socio economic status. A s an effo rt to enlarge the perspective on variables associated with happiness, investigation along more exploratory lines is also conducted with respect to factors influencing location in the 1 ' social structure. Such a task firs t requires resolution of two central issues: (1) h o w shall happiness be defined and measured; and (2) which specific social-psychological variables can be expected to affect the selected measure of happiness. Although these are theoretical and methodological concerns, a lucid elaboration of the problem- hinges on h o w these two aspects are handled. For this reason, attention is given to both areas before continuing a discussion of what constitutes the focus of the research. In particular, a problem inherent to the study of happiness is pin ning d o w n the elusive nature of happiness. D ifficulties in so doing have hampered the progress of social scientists and even contributed to neglect of the area (W essm an and Ricks, 1966). The choice of definition w ill affect the direction of the research and, as such, is an integral aspect of describing the problem. Although this occurs to so m e degree in any research, i t is particularly true in the absence of widely accepted definitions of relevant concepts. Quantification of happiness has no ready solution. Obviously, choice of a measure relies heavily on the selected definition of happi ness. Several synonym s used interchangeably with happiness have created considerable confusion in the literature (Graney and Graney, 1973). A m o n g this plethora of terms are mental health, morale, life satis faction, adjustment and, most recently, psychological well-being. Although happiness and contentment have had wide currency as criteria of mental health (Menninger, 1945), such equating of terms fa ils to recognize that, in so m e situations, happiness would be an inappropriate response to the reality of the environment and, as such, would not be indicative of good mental health (Jahoda, 1958). Further-! more, mental health is its e lf an inadequately conceptualized umbrella term, an aspect which does not favor the use of mental health indicators as measures of happiness. / Happiness is perhaps best characterized as a m ood. A m o o d is a "long-lasting affective s ta te ..." (Harriman, 1965:110). In turn, affect is classified as "any experience of feeling or emotion" (Goldenson, 1970: 39). Cam eron has effectively described the relationship between happiness and affect. H e states that: A ffectivity is an important component in the calculation of a person's happiness (or life-satisfactio n). In ordinary dis course, affectivity is a continuum with m o o d anchoring one and emotion the other end. Persons, at a ll waking moments, are in an affective state. While not continually experiencing an emotion, persons are always experiencing a m o o d which locates somewhere along the pleasant-unpleasant continuum. (Cameron, 1975:216) Happiness, according to such a view, would be one type of m o o d or affect. Affect can be either positive or negative in tone, just as a person can be described as relatively happy or unhappy. ^ Bradburn, w h o has incorporated both positive and negative com pon ents / into his happiness model, describes an individual's happiness or well-being "in terms of the degree to which pleasure predominates over pain in his life experiences" (Bradburn, 1969:9). Empirically, a person is high in psychological well-being to the extent that positive affect predominates over negative. Psychological well-being, which is more readily operationalized than so m e of the vague substitutes for happiness, w ill be the concept utilized throughout this dissertation. The elusive commodity happiness is of importance not only because ; millions seek after i t with the sam e fervor that Ponce de Leon gave to ' his search for the Fountain of Youth, but because psychologists n o w acknowledge that "affect plays a critical part in in itia tin g , maintain ing, and regulating man's environmental encounters" (W essm an and Ricks, 1966:3). Degree of happiness, or psychological well-being, as one kind of affective state, clearly has an influential role in an individual's j response to life . In turn, stratum location influences life chances and life experi ences. Included in this realm of influence would be one's psychological well-being. Therefore, i t becom es important to examine assorted social- structural dimensions to determine the relative impact they have in dividual ly and collectively upon a person's psychological well-being. Just h o w does one's position in the social structure affect life chances and life experiences? Such answers constitute a core concern in the field of sociology, where considerable attention has been given to the matter of social structure. However, to date, no conceptual framework has been employed to systematically examine a series of major social variables as they m ay affect psychological well-being. In developing such a framework, which variables are logically included? Resolution of this issue is the second of two preliminary tasks set forth" in an earlier paragraph. Briefly, social structure is "the established pattern of internal organization of any social group" (House, 1944:293). According to Williams (1960:264), "no social system can survive unless the persons w ho com pose i t can be institutionally placed (positioned) in relation to one another." Three basic positions are age, sex and social class. In commenting'' on the commonality of these three dimensions, Williams calls attention to the usual evaluations m ade upon meeting som eone for the fir s t time, stressing that " it would be d iffic u lt, i f not impossible to relate to him unless one know s h o w old the person is , what is the person's sex, and from what general stratum of society he com es" (Williams, 1960:265).' The significance of these three variables, which permeate our 1ives at every turn, warrants their inclusion in any examination of the im pact social position m ay have on psychological well-being. Further more, analysis of age is im plicit in any research with a gerontological orientation, and a leading authority on aging recom m ends that the field should develop separate theories for m e n and w o m e n (Neugarten, 1963). For these reasons, age and sex are used as major independent variables throughout the research. Socioeconomic status is also accorded high priority. Since lit t le information exists concerning the relative impact of a wide range of variables with respect to psychological well-being, i t w as decided to choose three additional variables which m ay be of importance as indicated by the literature (see Chapter I I ) . The additional variables selected for inclusion in this study are perceived financial situation, self-rated health and self-assessed religiosity. In this research, less attention is devoted to these m ore subjective factors in favor of an emphasis o n position in the social structure as indexed by age, sex and socioeconomic status. Assignment of these factors to a subordinate role does not imply that they are of less _______ - - .5 ; importance. I t is possible that one's definition of the situation is at least as relevant to psychological well-being as are the more objective measures of location in the social structure. However, the objective aspects have been chosen as the main focus for this research. W hich of these several variables correlates most highly with psychological weitl-being? W hat is the collective impact of these variables on psychological well-being? D o the two major variables of age and sex intervene as modifiers of the relationship between the remaining variables and psychological well-being? Answers to these questions would help pin do w n patterns of psychological well-being as influenced by social structure. Such insights could illuminate not only the sociological specialties of gerontology and stratification but also social-psychological and psychological areas of inquiry. In addition to seeking answers about psychological well-being and social-structural variables, i t would be useful to know i f either amount or kind of affect differs am ong assorted groups.. I t has already been mentioned that psychological well-being is defined as an excess of positive over negative affect or vice versa. Each of these effectual components is important in its e lf also. They represent opposite points in affect tone and indicate the pleasurable or unpleasurable character of a given experience (Bradburn, 1969:54). Separate scrutiny of these two types of feeling states could lead to a m ore complex analysis of psychological well-being in which subtle differences m ay appear which would not materialize w hen a sum m ary measure is used. For instance, is positive affect greater am ong the 6 young than the old? D o females have more negative affect than males? I f such differences exist, what is the ultimate impact o n psychological well-being? Thus, a secondary theme of this research is the examina tion of differential levels of positive and negative affect according to location in the social structure. It is intended as a complement to the basic analysis of psychological well-being. Objectives of the Research The research to be described has four specific objectives which form guidelines to organization of the work. Most important is the testing of the central postulate that a higher position in the social structure w ill be associated with greater psychological well-being. A related secondary concern is to examine h o w the individual components of psychological well-being, that is positive and negative affect, are associated with location in the social structure. These can be stated as a question: 1. W hat is the level of association of location in the social structure with (a) psychological well-being and (b) positive and negative affect? Specifically, are age, sex and socio economic status associated with a sense of well-being and amount of positive and negative affect? The other three objectives are concerned only with the overall measure of psychological well-being and m ay also be posed as questions. 2. What is the level of association between various factors influencing position in the social structure and psychological well-being? 3. What is the total impact on psychological well-being of a set of variables including (a) primary locators in the social structure and (b) secondary factors influencing position in the social structure? 4. Are there age and sex differences in the relative and total impact on psychological well-being of a set of variables including (a) socioeconomic status and (b) secondary factors influencing position in the social structure? Preview of Proposed Research To meet these stated objectives, data from a large three- generational study (N=l,957) w ill be examined. Following presentation of the literature in Chapter I I , the conceptual framework, including hypotheses, is set forth in Chapter I I I . Methods employed in u tilizin g the data, originally collected for a larger study, are described in Chapter IV. The results of this research project are given in Chapter V, followed by a final chapter which offers conclusions, describes the contributions of the research and m akes recommendations for future research. Contributions of the Research Together, the stated objectives comprise a project designed to add to the sociological literature on happiness in several ways. While fu ll assessment of the contributions from a particular research effort can be m ade only after drawing conclusions from the data, a carefully planned study includes specific advance development of those dimensions which w ill supplement previous work in the area. Such aspects are des cribed below as theoretical, methodological and practical contributions expected from the examination of the social structure as i t pertains to psychological well-being. Additional contributions which derive from results, rather than research design, are discussed at the close of the dissertation. Theoretical While social-structural variables have been given consideration by other researchers in studies of happiness, a systematic approach has been lacking. This research w ill use a conceptual framework based o n the key postulate that higher location in the social structure is associated with greater psychological well-being. In conjunction with this approach is a systematic exploration of the relationship between location in the social structure and the affectual components of psychological well-being, that is , positive and negative affect. Not only w ill three central status locators—age, sex and socio economic status—be employed, but the investigation is extended to three other variables of potential importance: perceived financial situation, self-rated health and self-assessed relig iosity. B y choosing a set of locators which are of key importance to our culture's social structure, as well as som e factors which m ay be less central, i t becom es possible to test the stated theoretical position both directly and by comparison to other alternative factors. Such a strategy allows for a more complete assessment of the proposed m odel while simultaneously including an exploratory angle which m ay contri bute toward a more sophisticated grasp of h o w position in the social structure affects psychological well-being. Methodological The inclusion of three generations in the sam e sample is of major Bthudological Importance. I he psychological well-being of respondents as well as their positive and negative affect, can be compared across a wide range of the life cycle (16-74), including teenagers, w h o have 2 _ seldom been part of other similar research efforts. Poverty and old age frequently g o hand-in-hand. Here all respondents, including the aged, are non-impoverished. This enables an evaluation of psychological well-being am ong the elderly which is not biased in the direction of extreme deprivation. Another advantage of this research is that use of a new and sizeable sample m ay possibly resolve so m e of the contradictory findings in the literature concerning happiness. The current project also expands the ways in which the impact of several social-structural variables are examined. F irst, previous studies seldom combined the effects of both age and sex. Yet i f patterns for m e n and w o m en d iffe r over the life cycle, simultaneous consideration of these two basic variables becom es crucial to a clear comprehension of the aging process as i t affects psychological well being. It w ill be recalled that Neugarten (1963) has stressed the importance of separate theories on aging for each sex. Another useful strategy is the inclusion of multiple regression analysis to explore the relative contributions of a set of variables to psychological well being. In fact, a fu ll range of statistical tools is employed, unlike m any past studies which simply presented tables of percentages. Development of useful instruments necessarily precedes any significant advancement in understanding the relationships between a set of variables. Bradburn (1969) has attempted to produce instruments useful in measuring psychological well-being. Here the re lia b ility and validity of his scales are examined by the researcher, w h o con ducted an independent study for the purpose of assessing these measures. Inclusion of these scales in the three-generational study , allows evaluation by another researcher and adds to the available store of information o n these relatively new instruments. Practical The development of any social policy is ideally based o n adequate background information. Assuming that happiness is an accepted goal ^ in our society, the adoption of practices to promote that goal for those I \ not already possessing i t fir s t requires knowledge about h o w such a goal m ay be reached. I f greater psychological well-being is strongly associated with higher location in the social structure, possibilities for increasing the psychological well-being of m any individuals within the society m ay be more limited than i f i t is not clearly linked to a zero-sum gam e. Since status is by definition of a relative nature, the raising of one individual's position m ay result in the lowering of another's. To what extent would w e then be w illing to redistribute status positions as a m eans of redistributing happiness? For instance, i f m oney really can buy happiness, increased social security payments m ay help equalize the distribution not only of goods, but of good feelings. If i t is found that the elderly are more unhappy, efforts could be m ade to mitigate the effects of aging. While sex cannot be changed for any significant number of the population, institutionalized practices which m ay contribute to less happiness am ong m em bers of one sex or the other could be altered. The ramifications of the proposed work stretch into m any far 11 corners but hinge on learning which variables are most closely linked to psychological well-being. Once this is known, strategies for creating a more equitable distribution of happiness can be developed. 12 C H A P T E R II R EVIEW O F TH E LITERATURE Introduction The stereotypes of "poor but happy" and "carefree youth" are only two of the m any images commonly projected in American culture concern ing w h o is happy and why. Although serious attention has been given to the subject of happiness by sociologists, psychologists, and other professionals, in a b ility to adequately substantiate or refute either of the above cliches is testimony to the noncumulative nature of m uch research on happiness. A critique of literature on happiness is com plicated, because pertinent presentations are frequently lacking in conceptual equivalence, in carefully constructed theory, and in consensus concerning results. The relevant sociological selections are checkered with an assort ment of conceptual definitions, which m akes comparisons d iffic u lt (Adams, 1971; Bradburn, 1969; Graney, 1975). Generally these investi gations have also been conducted in the absence of an exp licit theo retical perspective, a co m m o n characteristic of m uch gerontological research (Lem on et a l., 1972). A catalogue of contradictions accom panies the patchwork of projects which have considered assorted corre lates of happiness (Adams, 1971; Blazer and Palmore, 1976; Bull and Aucoin, 1975; Wingrove and Alston, 1971). Wherever possible, an effo rt w ill be m ade in the review to consolidate this diversity of results 13 into a condensed statement representative of each relevant area. Such a tactic is employed to aid the reader in attaining som e overal1 per spective on a highly variegated landscape. Major tra il blazers, whose efforts represent the most comprehensive approach to the subject of happiness in recent years, are Gurin et al. (1960), Bradburn and Caplovitz (1965), and Bradburn (1969). Such an assessment is based on these authors' selection of happiness as the focus for systematic investigation, their methodological innovations, and the size and breadth of their samples. Although these writers had no theory to guide their research and m ade only minimal use of s ta tis ti cal techniques, their contributions are substantial additions to the understanding of happiness. Their work w ill be referenced frequently throughout this review, and their scales w ill be employed in the present research (see Chapter IV). A number of other studies in which happiness w as a less central issue w ill also be cited. In the following pages, i t is to be rem em bered that the dependent variable w ill fluctuate from study to study. ^ Although psychological well-being is the term used by Bradburn and Caplovitz (1965), Bradburn (1969) and others, including the current study, m any researchers have substituted life satisfaction, morale, adjustment or other terminology. Presentation of previous findings is organized according to the importance of the dependent and independent variables in this researcher's o w n investigation. Psychological well-being (PW B ) and affect (positive and negative) are the two dependent variables treated in the present work, with more emphasis on the sum m ary measure of P W B . : 14' P W B , as stated earlier, is the degree to which positive feelings exceed; negative feelings, or vice versa, while affect is a feeling-state which m ay be either positive or negative in tone. I t is important to keep these two aspects clearly distinguished from one another. In past work by its developers, P W B offers an overall view of a person's dominant affective state. The score used for this depiction is the Affect Balance Scale (ABS), created originally by Bradburn (1969). The com ponents upon which this sum m ary score is based are scores from the Positive Affect Scale (PAS) and the Negative Affect Scale (NAS). Analysis of the positive and negative components of the A B S is compar able to the chemical analysis m ade possible by a centrifuge, which separates a com pound into individual parts. Different information becom es accessible w hen scrutinizing each separate aspect versus the combined whole. In this way, depth is added to the discussion. (For details on scale construction of the ABS, N A S and PAS, see Chapter IV.) Although there are several independent variables contained in the current study, three of these--age, sex and socioeconomic status--are accorded greater attention. The literature review is organized in keep ing with the focal position of P W B and age, sex and socioeconomic status. In the fir s t section, the three key independent variables are in itia lly discussed with respect to P W B and then with regard to affect. The second section examines findings about the other selected independent variables--self-rated health, self-assessed re lig io s ity , and self- perceived financial situations^as they relate only to P W B . Justification for inclusion of each of these independent variables in this study is provided in the succeeding chapter, together with 15 expectations for bow each is likely to influencë~PWB and affect. Hypo-' theses are developed in that chapter also, based not-only on the lite ra ture reviewed here, but on the basic premise that a higher position in the social structure is more probably associated with greater P W B . The concepts constituting the hypotheses are operationalized in Chapter IV, Methods and Procedures. Impact of Primary Variables on P W B Age The entire adult life span has seldom been represented in work where age is employed as an independent variable which m ay influence happiness. Often only segments of the life cycle, such as the retire ment period, are selected for study. I t is essential to notice the age range comprising a given sample, since patterns m ay differ exten sively when, for instance, speaking of persons 21 to 75 versus another case where respondents are 35 to 55. In the two divisions of this section, findings about various age groups will be described firs t with respect to psychological well-being and then with regard to affect. Age and Psychological Well-Being Literature describing the relationship between age and psychologi-' cal well-being (PW B) is a prime example of the contradictions to be found when surveying the subject of happiness. Three separate patterns have been reported. These are: 1. P W B decreases with age. 2. P W B increases with age. 16 3. There are no age differences in P W B . Supporting evidence for each of these patterns will be examined in turn. Decreases with Age. Tw o of the pioneering studies cited earlier are am ong those reporting a pattern of decreasing happiness as age increases. The firs t of these was Gurin et al. (1960) who, while focusing on the mental health of adult Americans, covered a more ex tensive age range in the sample than did most comparable investigations.; They found that the proportion self-described as "very happy" dropped steadily from 40% for those 21 to 34 to 27% for those over 55. Al though few gave a self-assessment of "not too happy," such a response constituted nearly a fifth of the replies am ong persons over 55 in contrast to 5 % for those 21 to 34. Research by Bradburn and Caplovitz (1965) also generally confirms the finding of lower P W B am ong older respondents. A m ong their sample, the percent "very happy" declined from 30% for persons under 30 to almost half that proportion am ong persons over 70. Similarly, the percent "not too happy" rose from 11% to 30% across this sam e age range. It should be mentioned here, however, that Bradburn (1969), w ho also conducted a study credited as a leading investigation, found only small age differences in self-reported happiness. Furthermore, age had no independent effect after its correlation with education and income were removed. But this particular work by Bradburn excluded respondents over age 59, considerably restricting the age range. Another study by Kutner et al. (1956) also found a gradual 17 ; systematic decrease in morale. However, their sample consisted only of! I persons over age 60. All 500 were noninstitutionalized. The largest | I decline occurred in the 65 to 69 category. High morale dropped from | '47% am ong those 60 to 64 to 27% am ong those 75 and older. , ' Just an examination of these few studies already illustrates the ‘ problems encountered with dissimilar age ranges and variation in measurement techniques. However, the main theme of these authors is that happiness appears to decline with age. Increases with Age. In contrast, several studies have found higher levels of happiness am ong older people than am ong younger : people. For instance, Cantril (1965) reported a small increase in the proportion of persons age 50 and over w ho had high satisfaction as I I compared to those 30 to 49. 1 Spreitzer and Snyder (1974), in a work which suggests sex-age interaction effects, describe higher life satisfaction am ong older male ; groups. M en 65 to 70 reported the highest percentage w ho were "very happy" (46%), while the low point w as 18 to 24 (20%). However, for wom en, the alternate pattern of lower happiness am ong older people appeared to prevail. The greatest proportion of "very happy" was in I the 25 to 34 age group (40%), whereas the lowest was am ong females 65 to 70 (26%). ' Also supportive of less happiness am ong youth are two reports I iwhich include information about high school students. Chiraboga and Lowenthal (1974) studied individuals undergoing crucial life-stage ‘transitions: high school seniors, newlyweds, pre-empty nest parents and pre-retirees. High school seniors, an age level not included in the 18 studies previously discussed, were the least happy, especially males. The lower satisfaction for males fits with the finding by Spreitzer and Snyder (1974), whose younger males were also the least happy. Newlyweds in the Chiraboga and Lowenthal sample were the happiest group followed by pre-retirees. This non-linear pattern suggests that individuals under age 21 m ay be unhappier than adults. There :is also som e suggestion that happiness goes up after the empty nest period. Further corroboration regarding less happiness am ong youth is given by Robinson and Shaver (1969), w ho found that both high school and college students in a Michigan sample showed more personal dissatis faction than adult samples. N o Age Differences. Most of the studies indicating no significant age differences in level of happiness are employing various controls absent from the studies previously described. In other words, w hen som e of the factors closely linked to age are held constant, the differences disappear. For instance, Birren et al. (1963) suggest that there are few differences in adjustment measures between older and younger people when disease is absent. Consistent with this statement is Graney's (1973) finding for elderly females (66-92) that unhappiness w as influenced more by physical ability than chronological age. Cam eron (1975) too has concluded that most empirical literature suggests no causal relationship between life satisfaction or happiness : and age per se. Critiquing both Gurin et al. (1960) and Bradburn and Caplovitz (1965), he suggests inadequacies in analysis are responsible for their conclusions concerning age and happiness. In Cameron's view, i t is other significant variables associated with 19 age (such as income and education) which produce the differences. Gaitz and Scott (1972), w ho employed the Bradburn A B S also to be used in the current research, found that scores from this scale showed no significant relationship with age for respondents over 21. They did report a tendency for younger age groups to have a larger percent age of high scorers on the ABS. They also found that the percentage of respondents w ho were "not too happy" increased as age increased. This seemingly confirms the firs t pattern of declining happiness with age. However, when sex and skill level were controlled, they found no significant age differences. Furthermore, when employing the 22-Item Screening Scale as a measure of mental health, they found no signifi cant age differences. Edwards and Klemm ack (1973) found a significant negative correla tion between age and life satisfaction for respondents 45 and older, but this relationship did not remain significant after controlling for socioeconomic status. Robinson and Shaver (1969) report that age differences showing lower satisfaction for old people disappeared when unmarried people were excluded from the analysis. The following studies, using various measures of the dependent variable, found no significant age differences in happiness: Palmore and Lui kart (1972), Beiser (1974), and Havighurst (1963). Summary. In summary, research findings regarding age differences in levels of P W B are inconclusive. Differences, when they do occur, sometimes support the position that there is an inverse relationship and sometimes confirm a positive relationship. S om e studies,^particu larly when introducing other variables as controls, have found no age 20 differences in happiness. Such a state of confusion in the literature is unfortunate. It is hoped that som e clarification in this area will be attained by careful analysis of the results of this present research. Age and Affect A s noted in Chapter I, "persons, at all waking moments, are in an affective state" (Cameron, 1975:216). Studies in the area of age and affect have generally concluded that there is a decline in emotional or affective response in old age. For example, older persons frequently express fewer feelings and less affect than younger subjects in response to Thematic Apperception Test pictures and Reitman stick figures (Rosen and Neugarten, 1964; Lakin and Eisdorfer, 1962). Most relevant to the present work are previous indications about age and affect based on data using Bradburn's Positive and Negative Affect Scales (PAS and NAS). These scales were also selected as instru ments on the questionnaire to which the current author has access. Not only is each of importance by its e lf, but together they comprise the Bradburn Affect Balance Scale (ABS). (For a full discussion of the items, scoring, etc., see Chapter IV.) Use of the P A S and N A S has produced a consistent trend of lower affect am ong older age groups. Bradburn and Caplovitz (1965) relay that advancement through the age hierarchy from those under 30 to those over 70 brought about a steady increase in the percentage of respondents reporting no feeling and a decrease in the percentage reporting m any feelings of both kinds. Another investigation by Bradburn (1969) showed the sam e pattern. The probability of a high score on the positive dimension declined steadily with age in this second sample. 21 ' For the negative dimension, differences am ong the age groups were smaller, but younger persons were s till somewhat higher in negative affect than older respondents. Gaitz and Scott (1972) also support the position that increasing age is associated with a significant tendency to report less of either type of affect. These researchers used three age groups (20-39, 40-64, and 65+) in their study of affect. Thus, three separate investigations all concur that older persons report fewer feelings, both positive and negative, than do younger persons. Other work based on different measures tends to further support / the view that affect declines with age. In a comprehensive series of studies on adult personality, Neugarten and her associates (1964) con cluded that as age increases, there is a greater preoccupation with inner life and a decline in the ability to relate emotionally to people or objects. Older people "tend less often to perceive affect as an important part of their life and tend toward inactivity or passivity rather than toward more active, assertive forms of behavior" (Neugarten and associates, 1964:189). Neugarten interprets her data as supporting the notion that as age increases, there is less energy available.. .for responding to, or maintain ing former levels of involvement in, the outside world. The implication is that the older person tends to respond to inner stimuli rather than outer stimuli, to withdraw emotional invest ments, to give up self-assertiveness, and to avoid rather than embrace challenge. (Neugarten and associates, 1964:99) Dean (1962) studied the expression of four emotions--irritation, boredom, loneliness and anger--among people over 50. She discovered a steady decline in fe lt irritation with each decade from the 50's through those in their 80's, confirming results from a m uch earlier 22 study (Cason, 1930) in wbich 1 f H t'âbi 1 ity and anhoyance declined am ong ' I persons after age 60. While feelings of loneliness tended to increase am ong the older age groups, the pattern was not linearly related to age in a consistent way (Dean, 1962). Also, no consistent age differ ences were found in the tendency to feel bored (Dean) or to perceive oneself as "rude," "nagging," or "violent" (Friedman and Granick, 1963), Finally, with respect to anger, conflicting evidence emerges. Dean reported an abrupt decline in fe lt anger am ong persons in their 60's. Apparently, retirement is a factor in reducing anger, since Dean found a greater tendency to feel angry am ong those employed than am ong those no longer working. In contrast to this finding is that of Friedman and Granick w ho reported that older persons 66 to 85 were more likely than subjects 46 to 65 to describe themselves as "furious." Cameron (1975), however, w ho conducted an in-vivo study asking persons to evaluate their m ood of the past half hour, found no signifi cant age differences in frequency of pleasant or unpleasant m ood. Despite som e dissension, there is strong evidence for the position that a decline occurs in emotional or affective response as persons age. Sex Examination of sex differences concerning happiness highlights the relevance of probing not only psychological well-being but also the specific dimensions of positive and negative affect. O n the one hand, lit t le in the literature supports sex differences for assorted measures of happiness. But on the other hand, important differences consistent ly appear with respect to affect. Each is discussed separately in the ' following sections. 23 Sex and Psychological Well-Being The three investigations most central to the present undertaking all concluded there were no significant sex differences in avowed hap piness (Gurin et a l., 1960; Bradburn and Caplovitz, 1965; Bradburn, 1969). However, Bradburn (1969) did find a slight tendency for w om en to be lower than m en on the ABS. The source for this trend was higher negative affect am ong w om en than am ong m en. Gaitz and Scott (1972), w ho also employed the ABS, concur in the lack of consistent sex differences for this measurement technique. However, they also used the 22-Item Screening Scale, which produced higher average scores for females in each ethnic group than for males within the sam e category. Tw o other recent studies (Palmore and Lui kart, 1972; Edwards ahd Klemmack, 1973) also stated that significant sex differences in P W B did not exist am ong their respondents. There are exceptions to this trend of no differences. Kutner et al. (1956), w ho examined morale am ong persons over age 60, reported higher morale am ong m en than am ong w om en for each five-year category. A m ong wom en, morale gradually declined with increasing age; for men, there was a mild upturn in the early seventies and another decline in the late seventies. It is to be noted that the age range in this study is more restrictive than for som e of the others described (see Age and Psychological Well-Being, this chapter). Spreitzer and Snyder (1974) more recently found sex differences in happiness. Their contrasting patterns for each sex have already been nentioned (see Age and Psychological Well-Being). This particular 24 piece Qf research m akes clear the importance of examining the combined impact of age and sex, a technique which was not carried out in m any of the studies. These researchers report a tendency for happiness to decline with age for w om en but to increase with age for m en. Interest ingly, while m en in their study reached a peak level of happiness in the category 55 to 70, w om en in this age group were at their low point and less happy than m en. A m ong persons under 65, the reverse occurred, with females reporting a higher degree of life satisfaction than did males. In addition, their results showed sex as a more important pre dictor of life satisfaction am ong persons over 65 than for those under 65. Although contradictions again appear, the bulk of the evidence in the literature points to a lack of significant sex differences in happiness. Sex and Affect In contrast to the available information on similarity of the sexes with respect to happiness, most studies support the existence of distinct differences in affect for m en and wom en. Such a pattern was confirmed by the three most important studies pertaining to this topic (Gurin et a l., 1960; Bradburn, 1969; Bradburn and Caplovitz, 1965). Gurin et al. (1960) firs t pointed to the possibility of a sex difference in expressed feelings. A m ong their respondents there was more expression of problems of every kind for w om en than for m en. W o m en worried more, more often fe lt they had a personal problem that could have benefited from professional help, and were more likely to feel they had experienced a nervous breakdown. Not only were w om en more i ntrospeçti ye, but they were al so morè^nëgati ve'Th their sel f-Image, and more likely to stress their interpersonal weaknesses and strengths. In contrast, m en put more emphasis on their shortcomings in external achievements. These findings are consistent with culturally defined sex-role differences, discussed in depth as part of Chapter I I I , Theoretical Framework. Tw o possible explanations for these diffey^ences are suggested by Gurin et a l.: (1) w om en in society are subject to greater strains or (2) are more willing to face them and to admit difficulties in handling them. The authors favor the second alternative, since no significant sex differences appeared with respect to reported unhappiness. They write; "Apparently, the women's greater expression of tensions, prob lems and dissatisfactions in specific areas is not reflected in the overall evaluation of happiness" (Gurin et al., 1960:42). This once again confirms the importance of breaking happiness into its separate components rather than concentrating solely on a sum m ary measure. Bradburn and Caplovitz (1965) found that m en and w om en differ in the degree to which they report experiencing feelings, both positive and negative. W o m en were more likely to report having m any feelings of both types, and m en were more likely to report experiencing neither positive nor negative feelings. Using scores on the P A S and NAS, also to be used in the present study, Bradburn (1969) also found w om en were significantly higher than m en in negative affect. While w om en were also more likely to be high in positive affect, this difference was not significant. Using a different methodology, Cameron (1975) inquired about m ood 26 of the past half hour, requesting respdhdents të categorize i t as ^ happy, neutral or sad, This work is the firs t 1arge-scale in-vivo assessment of m ood as a function of age, sex, social class and situa tion.A sex difference appeared within each of the ten age-groupings, ‘ with males reporting a significantly higher portion of neutrality. W o m en registered higher percentages of both happy and sad moods. Sum m ary Various researchers have sought sex différences in happiness, but few have found them to any significant extent. Yet the social scien tists w ho have explored the subject in greater depth by dividing happiness into positive and negative components have discovered females to be more expressive of feelings of both types, particularly the negative dimension. Socioeconomic Status Socioeconomic Status (SES), which is usually measured in terms of income, education and occupation, accounts for considerable variation in the attitudes and behavior of individuals. The relationship of income and education to P W B and affect will be examined here as it is set forth in the social science literature. The findings are more consistent in this area than those for either age or sex, showing a definite trend toward a positive relationship with SE S for both P W B and affect. Socioeconomic Status and Psychological Well-Being The three major works selected as a focus for this review all report that higher income is associated with higher levels of P W B . In 27 fact, Bradburn (1969) informs us that income was the most important ; variable in his study. The percent "very happy" rose from 18 for people with yearly incomes below $2,000 to 38% for $15,000 or more. However, Bradburn is careful to note that the channels through which income influences P W B have yet to be specified. The author acknow ledges the intricacies of income as i t pertains to one's education, phase in the life cycle, number of dependents, subjective meaning of income, and other such factors. Education also shows a linear effect when considered separately with respect to P W B . In Bradburn's sample, the proportion claiming to be "very happy" rose from 26% for persons with an eighth grade education to 39% for college graduates. In a similar vein, individuals with higher education and greater income were more likely to have a surplus of positive over negative affect on the ABS. But the complexities pertaining to interpretation of the relation ship age, education or income m ay have with P W B becom e evident w hen these three variables are considered simultaneously. W hen combining them, Bradburn discovered that: (1) the effects of education were (a) attentuated at higher income levels, and (b) important only am ong those under 35; and (2) age had no independent effect after its correlation with income and education were removed. It is to be recalled that Bradburn' s sample contains persons ages 21-59 only. Bradburn's earlier work with Caplovitz (1965) also pointed to the importance of the interplay between age, income and education. : They found, for instance, that the negative relationship between age and happiness was the strongest am ong the poor. The least educated, 28 I lowest income, oldest group had the highest proportion of persons : :"not too happy" (32%). These researchers also indicate that income i ' . , - . Im akes lit t le difference in reported happiness of younger people but I considerable difference am ong those 40 and older. Such a result rein forces Bradburn‘s (1969) recognition that stage in the life cycle ■ m a y be a relevant factor in assessing the impact of income on happiness. Additionally, Bradburn and Caplovitz (1965) report that at every leducational level, more m oney was associated with being happier. Yet I having more education per se was not always related to being happier. iSpecifically, for the majority of the sample earning less than $7,000 jper year, education and happiness were positively related. Where in- I com e exceeded the $7,000 figure, the relationship between education and happiness was negative. The researchers posit that the low in cidence of unhappiness am ong poorly educated people with income over $7,000 per year might be due to achievements which exceeded their ex pectations. Other testimony to the importance of economic factors in deter mining P W B is provided by Gurin et a l. (1960), w ho asked respondents which things brought them a sense of happiness or unhappiness. Economic and material considerations were mentioned more often than anything else. In fact, i t was the only category heavily mentioned by respond ents both as a source of happiness (29%) and unhappiness (27%). In another effort to measure the relationship, these researchers asked whether the respondents worried about economic and material things. 'People with higher income worried less. Interestingly, Gurin et al, report that people with som e college education were not less worried : [about ffh'âncial” matters than those limited to a grade school education! . I Despite this, the college-educated persons tended to be happier. Both • I - ' ! these relationships pertaining to education remained after controlling for age. Nearly a fourth of the grade-school educated respondents were '"very happy" compared to 43% of the college-educated portion of the sample. Correspondingly, the percent "not too happy" decreased from I 20% at grade-school educational level to 5 % am ong the college educated. I Within each educational category, greater happiness was reported by I those with greater income, a finding which concurs with Bradburn and jCaplovitz (1965). I Turning to other researchers, one discovers results supportive of Ipatterns already described. A dam s (1971) has remarked on the wide spread tendency of researchers to report a positive association between ,S E S and happiness. S E S emerges as the primary determinant of life satisfaction in work by Edwards and Klem m ack (1973), w ho studied a set of variables for their sample aged 45 and older. Family income and education were the two most important components in the variables examined. Furthermore, after holding S E S constant, the relationships between life satisfaction and m any other variables such as age or mari tal status were considerably reduced or became statistically nonsignifi cant. Also corroborating the link between P W B and income, Kutner et a l. (1956) write that a rise in morale accompanies an income rise for respondents over age 60. Earnings had the biggest impact on the morale of the employed respondents, as contrasted to those w ho were retired. The tendency for people of higher social status to report higher levels of satisfaction was found in several different countries by Inkeles 30 and Cantril (1965) and in a U.S. sample by Cameron (1975), I i I Less supportive are the findings by Palmore and Luikart (1972) and! !Spreitzer and Snyder (1974). The investigation by Palmore and Luikart < showed S E S to be m uch more weakly related to P W B than did other work. ■ i While the link between income and satisfaction was s till of a moderate-, ly positive nature, education had lit t le relationship to life satis faction for the total group. A moderate association of income with 1ife satisfaction was also described by Spreitzer and Snyder. Con trolling for SES, however, did not eliminate statistically signifi cant relationships between life satisfaction and other independent ; variables, as was the case in the work by Edwards and Klem m ack (1973).■ Thus, the sharp contradictions found with respect to age and sex as they influence happiness are not present for SES. There is general agreement that a positive relationship exists between P W B and SES. However, the m any subtle ways in which age, income and ; education m ay interact with one another and with other variables to produce such a relationship is not well understood. Socioeconomic Status and Affect Com pared to the preceding section, less information is available about the relationship between positive and negative affect and either income or education. Actual use of the scales designed to measure positive and negative affect showed educational level to be associated with level of P W B only through positive affect (Bradburn, 1969). In other words, higher education led to a higher probability of m any I ' positive feelings; i t did not appear to also consistently produce correspondingly fewer negative feelings, although a slight decline was observed am ong those with higher education. With respect to in come, earnings over $5,000 a year increased the probability of report ing m any positive feelings. But unlike the relationship for education, negative affect decreased am ong persons at higher income levels (i.e ., those over $5,000 per year). Thus, a link between income and both forms of affect was shown by Bradburn. For positive affect, the relationship was direct; for negative affect, i t was inverse. A n inverse relationship between income and negative affect was also substantiated by Beiser (1974). However, Beiser did not confirm the direct association between income and positive affect nor did his work uncover a significant relationship between education and affect. The earlier studies involving affect also suggest that higher education and higher income seem to lead to increased emotional sensitivity and psychological responsiveness to the environment. Upon moving from the lowest to the highest education and income categories, Bradburn and Caplovitz (1965) determined that the percent age of respondents reporting no feelings declined while the proportion experiencing m any positive and negative feelings rose. In keeping with this perspective is Gurin et a l.'s (1960) description of better-educated respondents as more introspective, more worried, more plagued by a sense of inadequacy, and more generally aware of both positive and negative aspects of their lives. It can be concluded from the literature that positive affect increases with both higher education and higher income. With respect 32 ito negative affect, the results are unclear. Bradburn and Caplovitz ^ ! and Gurin et a l. offer som e support for general increase in affect, i ! including negative, at higher levels of education and income. Bradburn, I . . ; however, notes a decline in negative affect with an increase in either education or income. The research that follows is intended to clarify this area, allowing assessment of the most probable relationship be tween affect (both positive and negative) and levels of education and ' income. I Impact of Secondary Variables on P W B . Introduction The preceding section reviewed available material on happiness as i t relates to age, sex and SES, the three major variables selected ! as the focus of this study. Both overall measures, as well as indices for the separate components of P W B , were considered. In this portion ,of the literature review, som e additional variables believed to be of ; relevance in the assessment of an individual's P W B are examined, but only in relation to sum m ary measures, such as general life satisfaction. This attenuated approach was selected, not only because treatment of these variables comprises a secondary goal in the research, but because the authors w ho developed the affect scales did not correlate I ; scores from their new instruments with all of these variables. To ; date, other researchers have not fille d the gap. I The variables included in this section are health, religiosity, : and self-perceived financial situation. The least information is available for self-perceived financial situation. Its inclusion in the present project represents a new step in the research process, 33 i^because previous inspection of this variable's association with I happiness is restricted to one study (Spreitzer and Snyder, 1974) in {which the gradations for both concepts are m uch coarser than those i ;to be utilized by the present author. Physical Health I I A large number of studies have found health to be an important ! predictor of P W B , especially am ong older respondents (Beiser, 1974; jBull and Acoin, 1975; Cutler, 1973; Edwards and Klemmack, 1973; Gaitz !and Scott, 1972; Graney, 1973; Gurin et a l., 1960; Kutner et a l., 1956; Maddox, 1962; Maddox and Eisdorfer, 1962; Palmore and Luikart, 1972; Spreitzer and Snyder, 1974; Suchm an et a l., 1958; Tornstam, 1975; Thom pson et a l., 1960). The individual's self-perception of his health status has even been found by som e researchers to be am ong the best of several predictors for P W B when considering an entire set simultaneous ly (Edwards and Klemmack, 1973; Palmore and Luikart, 1972; Spreitzer and Snyder, 1974). That health should be a central variable in explaining happiness is not surprising. Health influences participation in most spheres of life , including family, work, community and leisure. A dam s (1971), w ho com m ents on the consistency of findings concerning health as it relates to happiness, suggests that the impact of this tra it is prin- iCipally as an intervening variable which mediates possible social [contacts, thereby influencing satisfaction. 1 I Although this variable has been measured in a variety of ways, [findings agree that a person's self-rating of his overall health condition is a better predictor of P W B than a rating of health by a j 34 physician or a rating compiled from self-reported sym ptom s (Suchm an jet a l., 1958; Tornstam, 1975). For instance, am ong older people given I I similar medical assessments, those with unfavorable self-health ratings are more likely to feel unhappy or to cut dow n their activities (Suchman et a l., 1958), They are also more likely to be depressed, to 'score low on morale, or to report feeling neglected (Maddox, 1962). This illustrates a fundamental principle expressed years ago by W . I. Thomas: I f m en define situations as real, they are real in their con- f sequences (Timasheff, 1957:151). Thus, the individual's ow n perception ! 'Of his health becomes the critical factor. i Further substantiation for the greater relevance of self-reports ! compared to medical assessments is provided by Suchm an et a l. (1958), 'who found that although individuals are more likely to view their o w n health favorably i f reports from their physician are favorable, the majority of persons with low medical ratings s till assigned themselves relatively high health scores. Palmore and Luikart (1972) lis t a correlation of .43 between self-rated health and performance status as evaluated by a doctor. Thus, although older people's self-health ratings are frequently consistent with medical ratings, there is a trend toward an upward bias, especially i f the SE S or social participa tion of the individual is high. ' Of the three investigations given most attention in this review, ;only Gurin et a l. (1960) specifically inspected the relationship between health and happiness. These researchers indicated that sizable minorities of old people presented good health as a reason for happiness. While Bradburn (1969) gave som e attention to physical 35 ! condition and negative affect, health was not a major variable em - | ployed in studying factors influencing the ABS, which measures overall P W B . However, Graney (1973), w ho also m ade use of the ABS, did find t a statistically significant relationship between that particular P W B .measure and physical ability, such that the least able persons were the I I least happy. His respondents were a small group of older w om en over .age 65. ' In various other studies, a positive association persistently appears between health and life satisfaction. O ne of these is Maddox and Eisdorfer's (1962) study where three separate health indices ;(medical ratings, self-estimates and self-reported symptoms) were used I in crossetabulation with a measure of life satisfaction (Cavan- Havighurst inventory). Similarly, Kutner et a l. (1956), w ho conducted la thorough investigation frequently cited in this review, report a positive link between self-reported health and morale. A number of others are in agreement (Beiser, 1974; Edwards and Klemmack, 1973; Gaitz and Scott, 1972; Palmore and Luikart, 1972; Spreitzer and Snyder, 1974; Tornstam, 1975). Although various measures of both health and P W B were used in these studies, most relied on som e form of self- I jreported health. The trend toward a positive association between health and happiness is,unmistakable. In yet another indication of the importance of health, Cantril (1965) conveys that upon inquiring about the "best" and "worst" possible •life conditions, just under half of the respondents in his survey mentioned good health as part of the best possible life . Conversely, over half also mentioned poor health as part of the worst possible life . 36 I Poor health was mentioned by more respondents than undesirable I I economic circumstances or unhappy occurrences in the family. Studies also show that shifts in perceived health are associated with shifts in life satisfaction. Decreased satisfaction with life over a two-year time period was more noticeable am ong older m en w ho I 1 regarded their health as poor, rather than good, even when retirement ! status was held constant (Thompson et a l., 1960). Furthermore, deteriorating health, as measured by stating one's health to be worse ! I than formerly, has been found to be associated with poor adjustment ! j(Schmidt, 1951). i A n intervening factor in the relationship between health and P W B appears to be SES, one of the core variables discussed at length i {earlier in this review. Streib (1956) reported a positive association between health and morale at both high and low S E S levels. Both Spreitzer and Snyder (1974) and Edwards and Klemmack (1973) found that the relationship between health and life satisfaction was mitiigated when controlling for SES, although it s till remained significant. A somewhat different angle on SES as a mediating variable between health and satisfaction is provided by Tornstam (1975), w ho discovered interaction effects between low SE S and a large number of reported aches. Persons with both characteristics experienced a decrease in Igeneral satisfaction, whereas there was lit t le impact on satisfaction ! am ong those faced with one tra it or the other. : O ne major exception to the positive association between health land satisfaction was reported by Kutner et a l. (1956), w ho found that poor health did not substantially influence morale am ong those of high ' 37 "status, while i t exerted a profound negative effect am ong those of low ; status. Such an exception requires explanation. ; Further exploration is needed to better pinpoint the apparently subtle and complex ways in which SES m ay impinge upon the individual's I ' ^ interpretation of his health, a perception which in turn affects P W B . ! However, the evidence is abundant that physical health, especially self- I 1 rated, is in fact a major predictor of PW B , particularly am ong older respondents. This is unquestionably one of the most consistent and I I strongly supported findings in the social science literature concerning; I happiness. I ‘ Rel igion Introduction The potential impact of religion on happiness derives both from its spiritual role and from its social role. The institution of religion is basic to most cultures, and one's place in the religious world for a given society affects both kind and amount of social interaction for the individual. A n examination of literature pertaining to the importance of religion in connection with happiness reveals that: ' 1. findings vary according to whether religious activities or religious attitudes are under scrutiny. 2. the material is not restricted to religion per se, but is I also part of a broader area, social participation. 3. most of the work, both specifically on religion and more ; generally on social participation, focuses primarily on I respondents 55 or older, i 4. a preponderance of cross-sectional and restrospective studies, as opposed to longitudinal investigations, limits 38 ability to evaluate the significance of age differences | occurring am ong those 55 and older. | I ! iTreatment of the relevant information is organized with these four : {points in mind. First, findings concerning the immediate sphere of : interest, religion, will be described, both with respect to activities and to attitudes. Then the data will be viewed from the broader perspective of social participation. Specific Sphere of Religion Most of the social science studies of religious activities and attitudes, as they relate to P W B , are comprised of samples aged 55 or older. Researchers apparently have not given consideration to religion as an important variable in accounting for happiness either am ong younger age groups or across the full age span. For example, Bradburn 'and Caplovitz (1965) and Bradburn (1960), two of the basic investiga tors frequently referred to in this chapter, included items about religious a ffilia tio n , participation, and self-assessed devoutness on their interview schedules and questionnaires, but did not utilize the 'information in their analyses of variables contributing to P W B or to its positive and negative components. Although a third major effort on {happiness by Gurin et al. (1960) does in fact discuss the relevance 'of religion, data is not reported by age groups. The restrictive age range of these studies is to be kept in mind when evaluating the find- ! ings described in succeeding paragraphs. : Inspection of research about the impact of religion variables as they impinge upon happiness reveals different findings for attitudes than for activities. Furthermore, within each of these subareas, 39 I results are not always consistent. Separate examination of each : i ■ ■ ' . - . - . , category is intended to help sort out the patterns, even though som e I iof the sam e projects delved into both dimensions. ! Religious Activities. Although an assortment of religious activities has been investigated, the most prominent indicator selected for cross-tabulation with happiness measures is church attendance. Gurin et al. (1960) expected that i f religion were a positive force in feelings of adjustment, those w ho attend church most frequently would experience less distress than those w ho attend church infrequently or |not at a ll. They did not find that church attendance produced any !"major" variation in general adjustment am ong their sample of respond- lents aged 21 and over. However, for Catholics, infrequent church attendance was associated with more worries, less happiness, and a : greater likelihood of experiencing feelings that a nervous breakdown impended. For Protestants, infrequent or nonattendance at church w as associated only with lower happiness ratings. The rest of the studies cited pertain to older respondents. M any authors have attested to the positive correlation of church-going and religious interests with P W B (Blazer and Palmore, 1976; Edwards and iKlemmack, 1972; Graney, 1975; McCrary, 1956; Moberg, 1965; Scott, 1955; Shanas, 1949; Spreitzer and Snyder, 1974). O ne of the most pertinent projects is purusal of data on religious activity and attitudes am ong the elderly over an 18-year period by Blazer and Palmore (1976). A n in itial sample of 272 persons aged ;60-94 gradually shrank to one fifth that number by the close of the study. The Chicago Inventory of Activities and Attitudes (Burgess, 40 et a l., 1948) and the Cavan Adjustment Scale (Cavan et a l., 1949) were the measures employed. Tw o strong points of the Blazer and Palmore (1976) study are their application of longitudinal analysis and their ability to supply current information. These researchers conclude that religious activities are significantly related to happiness. Furthermore, they note som e tendency for the correlation to be higher am ong the older persons, suggesting that despite the decline in religious activities in late old age, religion becom es increasingly important to the adjustment of older persons as they age. Moberg (1965), w ho conducted several studies of institutionalized older persons, also concluded that religious activities are signifi cantly correlated with high adjustment scores. As with Blazer and Palmore (1976), adjustment was measured by the Burgess-Cavan- Havighurst inventory. The various religious activities included church attendance in the past and present, lay leadership in the church, grace at meals, reading from the Bible and other religious books, and family prayers. Even after controls were interjected, the reported relationships were sustained. Using a somewhat different approach, Moberg and Taves (1965) showed that adjustment scores of church leaders, other church m em bers and non-church m em bers were significantly different from one another, with leaders consistently highest and nonm embers lowest in adjustment. This wide survey covered 5,000 persons 60 and older in four midwestern states. 41 ; In other supportive evidence, O'Reilly and Pembroke (1956) found ' that happiness was significantly related to frequency of church I I I attendance am ong both Catholics and non-Catholics. The "very happy" attended church most frequently, the "moderately happy" attended next most often, and "less happy" persons attended the least of a ll. Additional confirmation for church attendance as an important factor is supplied by Graney (1975), w ho found that attendance at I religious services approached statistical significance in its relation ship to happiness for 60 females aged 62-89. Nearly 20 years earlier ! McCrary (1956) wrote that religion and church participation provided I old people in a small midwestern community with feelings of ! satisfaction and security. ' Thus, the hypothesis that church participation is positively 'related to good personal adjustment in old age seem s to be overwhelm ingly supported. Whether this sam e association would be sustained across the entire life span is not known, although work by Gurin et al. (1960) suggests this m ay not be the case. A link between religion and adjustment could m ean that the better-adjusted persons are the most religiously involved or that f I religious involvement enhances adjustment. A third alternative, in which som e other variable accounts for the difference, is another possibility which will be discussed in the section on social ; participation. ! I Religious Attitudes. Nearly a quarter of a century ago, Havighurst land Albrecht (1953) found lit t le relationship between professed attitudes toward religion and personal adjustment am ong the aged. The view that ; 42 ireltgious attitudes are not significantly related to happiness am ong I ' holder persons is sustained by a longitudinal research effort spanning ! : imost of the time from Havighurst and Albrecht's work to the present. 'Blazer and Palmore (1976), as earlier noted, employed the Chicago Inventory of Activities and Attitudes in their 18-year investigation. ^The religion scale of the attitude inventory is based on agreement or disagreement with such statements as "religion is a great comfort" and i"religion is the most important thing to me." As mentioned previously, the Cavan Adjustment Scale (Cavan et a l., 1949) was the happiness [instrument. The in itia l sample size was 272 in the 1950's. About a I Ififth survived the entire length of Blazer and Palmore's study. > Taking a somewhat different tack, Cameron (1975) in his in-vivo examination of mood, learned that for a sample of nearly 7,000 persons, ;frequency of thinking about religion was negatively correlated with a happy m ood. This particular piece of research is one of the few where the full life span is represented (4 to 65 and over) in an examination of happiness and religion. Moberg's (1965) results differ. He wrote that when other factors .were controlled, a positive relationship emerged between adjustment in old age and conventional beliefs about the following: sin, prayer, the 'future, the Bible, and Jesus. However, his sample also differs in that respondents were institutionalized elderly. In line with Moberg's I findings, Scott (1955) and Shanas (1949) found adjustment to be higher ! jfor old people w ho believe in an afte rlife . - Thus, findings for religious attitudes are less clearcut than for religious activities when correlated with happiness measures. Religious ' 43 : activities are positively linked to adjustment, at least am ong persons ■ I about 55 and older. However, som e results show a negative relationship; I ' , between religious attitudes and happiness, while other researchers t I describe a positive correlation or none at a ll. I t m ay be more ! d iffic u lt to trace the impact of attitudes, which can exert influence through diffuse channels to m any other aspects of one's life , including behavior. In the next section, attention is turned toward the broader I spectrum of social participation. Discoveries about this variable m ay cast light upon the religious variables just discussed. General Sphere of Social Participation I A positive relation between social contact and life satisfaction am ong the elderly frequently appears in the literature (Adams, 1971). Religious participation is only one of m any possible social contacts ; an individual m ay choose to maintain. However, the characteristics of religious participation are similar in som e respects to the more general concept of social participation. In particular, religious participation has m uch in com m on with participation in other voluntary organizations. But while the positive relationship between social participation and P W B is recognized by many, dispute has arisen over the reasons for this association (Bull and Aucoin, 1975; Cutler, 1973).' Cutler (1973) was the firs t to control for specific social characteristics, such as health and SES, when examining the significance of participation in voluntary organizations as i t affects life satisfaction. Although Cutler was not the instigator of doubt about i I a direct association between these two factors, earlier investigators w ho questioned the assumption lacked empirical evidence which could I 44 back them up. Cutler supplied that evidence. H e showed that after i : ' ! controlling for the distributive effects of health and SES, a signifi- : I I I cant relationship between voluntary organization participation and * I ' ■ : ! life satisfaction did not materialize. The small sample of 159 ren- ‘ dered his conclusion tentative, but since that time Bull and Aucoin : (1975) have further validated this view. Their replication of Cutler ; with 97 respondents over age 65 substantiated the original study. ' Both Cutler and Bull and Aucoin believe the positive relationship between participation in voluntary organizations and life satisfaction 1 of the aged is due to differences between participants and nonpartici pants. They discovered that the elderly w ho have higher levels of participation are more often in better health and have higher SE S than those with lower levels of participation. : Bull and Aucoin stress that to justify any statement that parti ci- :pation in voluntary associations leads to an increase or decrease in life satisfaction requires empirical information oyer time. In fact, Graney (1975) conducted just such a longitudinal study of 60 elderly w om en over a four-year period. Increases in activities over time were often related to happiness, and declines in activities were related to unhappiness. Graney' s efforts are of special interest to this researcher, not only because it is a rare instance of a time study, .! I but because the A B S to be used in the current work was also selected ;by Graney for measuring P W B . Three types of social participation iwere probed: media use, interpersonal interaction, and voluntary associations. Of the activities highly associated with happiness, Imost involved face-to-face interaction. There w as som e suggestion I 45 I that activity increments or decrements m ay be more important to the : ‘ happiness or unhappiness of the older respondents (82-92). It will be : I recalled that this aligns well with a similar observation by Blazer I and Palmore (1976) concerning the increasing importance of religious ■activities am ong the oldest segment of the sample, even in the face of decreasing participation in such activities. Graney's (1975) contribution lies in providing longitudinal data I which suggests that changes in social participation over time do in I fact have a bearing on happiness; his work does not add information about factors contributing to this link. Health, SES, or other ! factors were not controlled in Graney's rather limited sample. A larger time study, which could combine the advantages of longitudinal ! research with the analytic tools employed by Cutler (1973) and Bull 'and Aucoin (1975), has m uch to recom mend it . I Not all literature supports the notion that increased social con- ! tact leads to increased happiness. In a study of 640 residents of a retirement community. Lem on et al. (1972) concluded that such a rela- ■tionship did not exist to a significant degree. The outstanding aspect :of these authors' efforts lies in their systematic presentation of the [activity theory of aging. Their development of formal axiomatic theory {provides an example for other sociologists to follow, even though m any of the propositions tested were not supported by the data. While the I ;full value of their efforts was also limited by reliance on secondary jdata, they nonetheless provide an example of how to systematically examine a set of ideas. 46 The basic hypothesis tested by these researchers was: "the greater the frequency of activity, the greater one's life satisfaction 1 I is likely to be" (Lem on et al . , 1972:515). Life satisfaction was measured by the Neugarten, Havighurst and Tobin scale (1961), while the : independent variables of different activity types were developed by comparing frequency for engaging in formal, informal and m ass media ; activities. I Since consistent empirical support was not found for any of the j I hypotheses relating frequency of activity to life satisfaction for ’retired persons, their work calls activity theory into question. These I ;writers suggest that activity theory is too simplistic to capture the I ; complex interchange between an individual and his social world over :time. H ow does their work f i t in, then, with other studies on social participation described in these pages? Both Cutler (1973) and Bull ;and Aucoin (1975) stressed the intervening influence of health and ■ S E S on the relationship between social participation and life satisfac- ition. While Lem on et al. (1972) did not deliberately control for such factors, 83% of their sample was described as middle and upper middle class. Since i t has been shown by investigators (for instance, Kutner et a l., 1956) that social interaction is less important for predicting the life satisfaction of persons with high SES, i t would be expected ithat the relationships would be less apparent in this relatively well- 1 off group. By virtue of their socioeconomic position, i t can be infer red that these respondents also probably possess better than average health for persons their age. Thus Lem on et a l. can be interpreted I as not too divergent from other recent research on social participation : 47 by Cutler (1973) and Bull and Aucoin (1975). , It is to be emphasized that none of these authors deny the importance of social contact in contributing to life satisfaction. However, the relevance of frequency per se has been called into ques tion, and i t has been suggested that other characteristics of the individual influence the impact of level of social participation on life satisfaction. S om e researchers have pointed to health and S E S as two such factors (Bull' and Aucoin, 1975; Cutler, 1973), while others stress previous life style and personality traits (Lem on et a l., 1972). ! How, then, does work on social participation contribute to our iunderstanding of religion variables as they relate to happiness? First, the differing findings for religious activities versus re li- !gious attitudes as each relates to happiness impels one to go beyond ithe realm of religion for further answers. If religious activities I engender greater happiness, while religious attitudes do not, perhaps it is the participation in a social activity which is responsible for the relationship between church-linked contact and happiness, rather ,than any intrinsic spiritual aspect of religion. Studies of social participation in general support such a contention. However, control ling certain other social factors reduced or eliminated the relation ship in som e research efforts, while Lem on et a l. (1972) did not find frequency of activity to be directly associated with happiness at all ,in their rather homogeneous sample. O n the other hand, Graney (1975) Ifound changes in level of activity to be linked to shifts in happiness over time. It could be deduced from this finding that changes in 48 la specific activity, such as church-linked contacts, might also be ; S ! associated with shifts in happiness over time. However, as these ' iresearchers on social participation have implied, individual inter- ;pretation of the importance of social participation, including church- '1 inked contacts, m ay m ake a crucial difference. Similarly, subjective , ; assessment by a person as to the meaning of an increase or decrease in such participation over time m ay be a key factor. ! At present, the status of information on social participation and ihappiness offers som e possible explanations for the findings concerning religious activities and happiness. Additionally, i t enlarges the scope of what needs to be done in order to adequately understand both ; ,the general relationship and the more specific ones. The type of study required is one combining the several advantages of the studies described here: longitudinal investigation, an explicit theoretical framework, specification of control variables, and inclusion of information on individual perceptions about the relative importance of soqial participation. Although not all of these features are incor porated into the present work, som e progress can be anticipated through examination of the full adult age range with respect to religious activities and attitudes. Self-Perceived Financial Situation In the regression model tested by Spreitzer and Snyder (1974), one of the best predictors w as self-evaluated financial situation. The question was phrased: I W e are interested in how people are getting along financially I these days. So far as you and your family are concerned, would you say that you are pretty well satisfied with your present : 49 financial situation, more or less satisfied, or not satisfied at all ? (Sprei tzer and Snyder, 1974:455) These authors report the subjective assessment of economic position to be strongly and positively associated with life satisfaction. To date, ' Spreitzer and Snyder are the only ones know n to have studied a i subjective financial indicator as it relates to P W B . 50 : C H A P TE R I I I I I THEORETICAL F R A M E W O R K Introduction Systematic investigation of happiness in which certain hypothesized relationships are subjected to the rigor of statistical inquiry is decidedly lacking. In the preceding chapter describing relevant literature, theory development is notable for its absence. Yet find ings flounder when not accompanied by explanation. In turn, piece meal explanation enlarges one's perspective only slightly. It is the integration of information into an overall schema which creates the greatest opportunity for additional insight. Toward that end, an effort is m ade in this chapter to develop a set of interrelated propositions pertaining to position in the social structure and psychological well being (PWB), a substitute in this research for the less-explicit phrase of happiness. Development of such a systematic, logically-related set of [propositions is intended to facilitate meeting the four stated object ives of this research project, phrased as questions in Chapter I. They iare: I 1. What is the level of association of location in the social 1 structure with (a) psychological well-being and (b) positive and negative affect? Specifically, are age, sex and socio economic status associated with a sense of well-being and ; amount of positive and negative affect? 51 2. What is the level of association between various factors , influencing position in the social structure and psychological; well-being? | 3. What is the total impact on psychological well-being of a set I of variables including (a) primary locators in the social structure and (b) secondary factors influencing position in the social structure? 4. Are there age and sex differences in the relative and total impact on psychological well-being of a set of variables including (a) socioeconomic status and (b) secondary factors influencing position in the social structure? Each will be treated in the following pages. The general theorem to be examined has already been presented in the introductory chapter. This theorem states that there w ill be a ’ positive association between location in the social structure and P W B . ' In the succeeding pages justification will be offered for this basic postulate and for the propositions derived from it . Each variable scheduled for later scrutiny is here examined for its expected rel a tion- ; ship with P W B as interpreted through the more general postulate. The format for developing and presenting the theoretical framework is drawn from Burr's (1973) discussion of deductive theory. According to Burr (1973:3): Deductive theory can be described as an attempt to increase hum an understanding by providing explanations of why certain things occur. It provides this explanation by having a set of propositions and then deducing that, i f these propositions are true, and i f certain other conditions are met, certain I specified and observable events occur. The more specific events are then "^^'explained" by the more general propositions I that have been used as premises in deducing that the specific events occur. Components of deductive theory include: concepts, variables, relation- iships, propositions, logical relationships between propositions, and the principle of ceteris paribus. 52 r Reflective of the varying emphasis on the four separate objectives, ’ organization of this chapter is in accord with the format already | I I established in the literature review where the primary variables are treated most extensively, followed by an examination of the secondary variables. Before focusing on primary and secondary variables, how- iever, all concepts and variables will be defined in a separate section. ,The next portion describes how these variables are linked to one another. Then the third major division of the chapter. Development of Propositions and Working Hypotheses, contains the discussion of ^primary variables. At the end of this third division is a sum mary in- : eluding a lis t of all propositions, together with the actual working I hypotheses to be tested. The secondary variables, which influence 'position in the social structure more indirectly and subtly than the ; primary variables, are treated in a fourth division. This description of how each is expected to exert influence on location in the social structure is intended to justify their inclusion in the study. Next, i a fifth section describes how the proposed framework relates to object ives 3 and 4 concerning the relative and total impact of all selected ‘predictors and the possible interaction effects of age and sex. Finally, a brief statement on the principle of ceteris paribus concludes the chapter. I Concepts and Variables , For Burr (1973), concept is an inclusive category which also encompasses variables. Unlike som e sociologists. Burr does not dis tinguish between concepts and constructs, nor does he use operational definitions as the concepts themselves. Operational definitions are 53 'regarded as a m eans to measure concepts. Those concepts which m ay vary iare regarded as variables. His distinction between independent and ; dependent variables follows traditional social science. Another dis tinction is that of categorical variables versus continuous. Whereas categorical variables have discrete categories with values attached to distinctly differentiated parts (e.g., sex), continuous variables possess values which form a continuum, and the categorical systems [assigned them are generally arbitrary (e.g., height). All the concepts employed in this study are part of the sub- i 'category variables. Of these, only sex is categorical. Definitions I for all these variables are offered below. I Independent Variables 1. Sex This dichotomy of gender features males and females 2. Age Length of time measured in years since birth of an individual (i.e ., chronological age) 3. Socioeconomic Status A n individual's position in the social structure as measured by such indices as income and education 4. Perceived Financial An individual's view of himself in Situation relation to others with respect to financial aspects of life 5. Self-Rated Health An individual's view of himself in relation to others with respect to i physical well-being ! 6. Self-Assessed Devoutness A n individual's view of himself in I relation to others with respect to ' religious commitment I 7. Self-Described An individual's view of himself in Religious Orthodoxy relation to others with respect to ; traditional Christian religious thought 54 Self-Reported Church Attendance Position in the Social Structure Dependent Variables 1. Psychological Well Being 2. Positive Affect 3. Negative Affect An■ Individual' s reported frequency of| presence at religious services The sum of an individual's various roles and statuses in the society relative to the roles and statuses of other m embers The relative possession of positive and negative affect for an individual at a given time; to the extent that positive affect exceeds negative affect, the individual is high in P W B . Feeling states which evoke a pleasant or satisfied sensation for the individual Feeling states which evoke an un pleasant or dissatisfied sensation for the individual Linkage of Variables to O ne Another All independent variables just defined are influential in deter mining a person's location in the social structure. While som e operate more directly than others, each is either a quality by which persons tend to be ranked in American society or one by which persons m ay rank themselves. Subjective dimensions are included because i t is acknow ledged that self-assessment of one's position relative to others could influence the individual's affective state as profoundly as the selected objective dimensions. Implicit in each of these variables are expecta- :tions and limitations for the individual possessing that characteristic lor a certain level of it. I One's general position in the social structure has been defined i as a composite of several separate statuses which one simultaneously 55 occupies. While the independent variables chosen for inclusion in thiS; research do not necessarily constitute a complete 1ist of important i I factors determining one's social position, there is reason to believe that each will have som e impact. It is recognized that these assorted ! ’ : statuses, whether objective or subjective, m ay not be of equal import- lance. The resultant overall position in the social structure for a I given individual based on the variables chosen for this research project would be accurate to the extent that appropriate weights are assigned ; in accordance with the relative importance of each and to the extent ,that these variables are in fact of significance for m em bers in American society. While a composite score for social position is not part of the projected analysis, recognition of the potential for doing so is essential to comprehension of the connection between the defined independent variables. It has been predicted that examination of one's overall location 'in the social structure would reveal a positive association with P W B . What, then, does this imply about each separate independent variable which is a component contributing to one's overall social ranking? It is here put forth that for each of the separate primary characteristics defined on the lis t, persons higher on the scale for that specific I ’tra it would have greater P W B than those lower on the scale. For I example, the higher a person's position with respect to socioeconomic Istàtus, the greater the personas P W B . Similarly, to the extent that Itbe secondary variables favorably influence position in the social i [Structure, they would also have a positive impact on P W B . 56 Such expectations furnish the link.between all these independent i variables and the dependent variables. But why is this impact ex- : , pected? In general, a higher position in the social structure, as • t I : influenced by any one of these independent variables, accords the individual more prestige and privilege relative to other members. Such, a position fosters positive affect and/or reduces negative affect, a process which tends to produce a person quite high in P W B . : The manner in which each independent variable is expected to pro duce this pattern will be described in the next two major divisions of I the chapter. In the firs t of these, the goal is to develop a consistent, series of working hypotheses which all relate back to the general theorem earlier posited: the higher the position in the social structure, the greater the P W B . ; Only through the systematic testing of a series of variables which determine one's position in the social structure can one con clude whether this broader postulate has merit. For these reasons, som e of the propositions drawn from the discussion will be in accord with findings from the literature while in other instances i t m ay be contradictory and yet s till have a logical foundation in the established : principles concerning social status. I ; Secondary variables are handled separately in another key portion. Working hypotheses are not developed for the secondary variables I : because these factors are neither as pervasive nor as directly connected I to location in the social structure as are the primary variables. Rather, they are intervening variables which ultimately influence one's position in the social structure. Too lit t le is know n at this time 57 i about the complex and subtle ways in which these variables operate [With respect to P W B . However, to eventually delineate their place in I ; the model, i t is essential that they be further explored within a theoretical context. Therefore, the sam e perspective concerning ,position in the social structure is applied to these variables. The I discussion is intended to clarify the role for these variables and to justify their presence in the project. Development of Propositions and Working Hypotheses I The bulk of the theory chapter is contained in this subheading, 1 organized into two sections. Before spelling out each specific propo sition, the general theorem is firs t examined. Such a prelude to I further specification of expected relationships serves to orient the I reader to the perspective applied throughout the remainder of the chapter. Propositions and working hypotheses pertinent to the primary variables are then presented. A complete listing of these propositions m ay be found at the end of the section. : General Theorem on Position in the Social Structure The higher the position in the social structure, the greater ; the P W B . Social structure is such a fundamental concept in sociology that it is almost taken for granted, since the field its e lf is devoted to examining, describing and predicting a broad assortment of patterns which occur within the social structure of any given society. However, lit is necessary to reiterate these fundamentals rather than assum e them as givens when the crux of a project is one's relative social position. _____________ 58 î Bfiefly, social structure is the "established pattern of internal I organization of any social group. It involves the characteristics of i ■' ' ■ - the sum total of the relationships which exist between the m em bers of : ; the group with each other and with the group itself" (House, 1944:293).' This pattern of internal organization is formed by all the I positions within the social structure. In describing the relationship i between social structure and social positions, Williams (1960:264) writes that "persons are 'positioned' or placed in relation potential 1y I 'to all other persons in the sam e system of action." Hence, a position : in a social group can be understood only in relation to another I I position; in other words, it is a relative rank or standing. A partic- Iular position is a locus in the social scale. It is essential to i junderstand that within this complex whole called social structure, leach individual m ay have numerous positions or statuses. : Each position is associated with certain duties and privileges, j often referred to as the role. This assortment of positions and I [Statuses, and the accompanying roles, is not a collection of equally ■desirable locations in the social structure. S om e positions are accorded more privileges than others. It is the existence of ranking or stratification which renders position an important variable. The reason social position is expected to have an impact on P W B is because "position in the stratification system exerts considerable influence on one's life chances and privileges" (McCall and Simmons, 1966:28). r ' ; A multitude of details in everyday life , including behavior and thought, are influenced by one's position in the stratification system. This view is supported by Lundberg (1974) and Heller (1969), while 59 ; Broom and Selznick (1968) report that hundreds of studies back this : statement. 1 If a person occupies several positions, and most of them are of ; high rank compared to other m em bers in the social structure, this person will have a greater number of privileges and opportunities I - ; relative to those located at a lower rank. Since positive affect is more probable when persons have more privileges and opportunities, the ■prediction is then m ade that: ; The higher the location in the social structure, the greater ! the P W B . J The m any social positions each individual f ills are not all of I equal importance. Som e positions are more pervasive, spreading into imost corners of the world an individual inhabits, while less signifi cant positions are far more restrictive in their sphere of influence. A m ong the most important positions are age, sex and social class , (Williams, 1960), These three factors are core objects of focus for this research. I There are other com m on social characteristics which are used to classify persons and which constitute positions in the social structure. Race and marital status are two widely employed indicators. This type of locator can be classified as objective, in the sense that the 'characteristic is based on concrete criteria. For instance, a report of actual income is an objective indicator, whereas the person's report 'that he is wealthy constitutes a subjective indicator. Although the meaning attached to an objective observation is obviously subjective in nature, the characteristic its e lf can be enumerated without additional interpretation. : _ - .60, In contrast to this type of "pigeonholing" is subjective social status^ which is an evaluation by the individual regarding his ow n ! f ■ ■ 1 I I relative social standing. The example above, where the person rated I himself as wealthy, vmuld be a case of subjective social status. Of course, such a rating m ay well be based on the objective status of a high income. Involved here, however, would be an individual's level of aspiration. A n individual w ho expects to achieve more than he Iactually does achieve m ay rate his ow n social status somewhat lower than an individual w ho actually achieves more than he expects' to ’achieve. I H ym an (1942) investigated subjective social status and discovered that the reference group used as a comparison for the self-assessment affected the individual's response. For example, i f a person is asked how poor he thinks he is, his answer will depend on the comparison group used to estimate the degree of poverty (Kelley, 1952). Judgments about one' s subjective social status m ay be m ade with respect to several criteria separately or in conjunction with one another for a general perception of one's location within the social structure, just as with objective social status. Som e of these self- assessed ratings are included in the research here, but are accorded secondary position. As indicated in the introductory chapter, this does not necessarily reflect the relative importance of these variables; i t is simply a matter of selecting areas to be given major and minor i attention at this time. Since no propositions are included for these secondary variables, they are treated in a separate section. 61 Foil owing the sam e organization as the literature review, the three main locators of age, sex and socioeconomic status will comprise I three distinct parts of the next section. For each locator, the I .related proposition will be presented, and following a discussion to ; justify the proposition, the actual working hypotheses will be stated. i 'Primary Locators In the Social Structure Age and sex are two universally ascribed characteristics of the Individual which determine behavior expected and privilege granted to that person (Gulliver, 1968), A number of cultures, including our own, also use social class (SES) as a means of ranking the individual. t I These three locators are basic to the present investigation. The relevance of each is treated separately. Age Compared to mem bers of the old age group, those in younger age groups will experience greater P W B . In sociological terms, aging is a process of change without inherent aspects of good or bad (Breen, 1960). The significance and timing of events in an individual's life are chronologically regulated and are also subject to biological, psychological, social and cultural influences (Bengtson, 1973). In all societies, there is a link I jbetween chronological age and hum an behavior, which means that knowledge I [about the age stratification system for a given society is essential jfor comprehension of people's actions within that group (Linton, 1936). I As Friedmann (1960) points out, age groups represent a categorical I assessment of the individual' s ability to perform. As such, behavioral expectations for a particular age stratum relate less to individual - 62 ; ability to do the task than to the social definition of appropriate | I behavior. Such age group assignments based on the convention of chron-1 ! ological age extend to all major institutions in our culture including i I education, economics, politics, legal, religious, family, recreation : and others. Examples include voting age, marrying without parental consent, retirement and receiving social security benefits (Friedmann, 1960; Riley, 1971). Assuming that Riley et al. (1972) are correct in stating that one's position in the age structure conditions one's activities and I attitudes toward all areas of life , and also has an impact on physical I fitness and biological capabilities, what link can be expected between 1 I age and P W B ? To answer this, i t is necessary to perceive how role expectations ^ ivary as one passes through different age strata. In general, stigma I is often attached to persons occupying the position of advanced age I in society (Atehiey, 1972). Conversely, most everyone in American society is aware of and affected by the high value attached to youth fulness. Parsons wrote that "by comparison with other societies, the U.S. assumes an extreme position in the isolation of old age from participation in the most important social structures and interests" I(Parsons, 1948:615). * In summarizing research about stereotypes attached to age groups, Bengtson (1971:86) states that these tendencies emerged: (1) old ipeople are viewed more negatively than other age groups; (2) old people themselves tend to believe the negative stereotypes attributed to their age group; and (3) young people are positively valued, i f not for ! 63 I their behavior, at least for their potential. : i ! Thus, i t would appear that, am ong the adult population, a higher I iposition in the social structure is accorded to persons in the younger age strata while less rewards accrue to individuals in the older age strata. Given this interpretation, i t would follow from the general theorem on position in the social structure that younger adults would report greater P W B than older adults. It is acknowledged that som e of I ; ithe elements of high status, such as power and prestige, are often more, I , ; ' characteristic of the middle segment of the life cycle than is true 1 I either for children, teens and young adults or for the elderly. I Therefore, patterns of P W B could be curvilinear rather than linear. I Either form could f i t the basic precept that those with higher status will have greater P W B . It is not expected that the elderly will be I am ong those age groups accorded high status in our society, i Confirmation of such a view is offered in the literature by Gurin et al. (1960), Bradburn and Caplovitz (1965) and Kutner et al. (1956). However, as discussed in Chapter I I , contradictory results also exist. Also in keeping with thé general theorem, the components of P W B — positive and negative affect--would be expected to exhibit opposite trends from one another, with positive affect being more characteristic of younger persons and negative affect more com m on am ong older persons. ‘In fact, the literature shows both types of affect to be more com m on 1 am ong younger than older respondents (Bradburn, 1969; Bradburn and i Caplovitz, 1965; Gaitz and Scott, 1972). However, the hypotheses pre- jsented here are those consistent with the general theorem rather than those supportive of research findings in which a theoretical framework ^ 64 ' is absent. j Working hypotheses which emerge in accordance with the prediction I of greater P W B am ong younger age groups are listed below. For each I independent variable, there are four different hypotheses, each using 1 ' a separate measure of P W B or its affective components. Self-reported .happiness, a relatively crude m eans of estimating the net result of positive over negative affect, or vice versa, is the firs t of these. : It has only three response categories, but these can be construed as roughly indicating predominance of positive or negative feelings. The ! more sophisticated Affect Balance Scale is the other measure employed. !Then the Positive Affect Scale and the Negative Affect Scale are : examined separately for more detailed information on affect. A dis cussion of the operationalization of all variables nam ed in the working hypotheses on these pages m ay be found in the Methods and Procedures ,chapter (Chapter IV). Compared to m em bers of the old age group (55-74), those in younger age groups will experience (1) higher levels of self-reported happiness (SRH). (2) higher scores on the Affect Balance Scale (ABS). (3) higher scores on the Positive Affect Scale (PAS). (4) lower scores on the Negative Affect Scale (NAS). Sex I j Compared to females, males will experience greater P W B . I Sex, as an aspect of social differentiation, m ay be the most basic I I status identification a person carries with him or her throughout a 1 lifetime. With few exceptions, i t is unchangeable and immediately ' 65 recognized. Certainly i t conditions the experiences of an individual's, entire life span. For instance, males and females in American society | experience differential life chances, such as health and life expectan- I cy, and differential personal resources or prestige. Differentiation according to sex is not limited to our ow n I culture. All societies are stratified on the basis of sex. According to Gulliver (1968:157), age and sex appear to be the only two reference points universally used for ascription in all societies. The importance ’of age has already been discussed. Within the field of gerontology, Neugarten (1963) regards sex as so crucial a division in American society that separate theories of aging are recommended for m en and women. Adam s (1971) concurs in this view. The status of females around the world is always different, and ('usually lower, than that of males (Stephens, 1963). Our ow n culture, like m any others, is characterized by male-dominant role patterning (Hartley, 1970), resulting in different expectations and opportunities for m en and women, with m en occupying the higher social position. ‘This superior location in the social structure, documented by several rsearchers (see, for example. Brown, 1955; Freeman, 1973; Goldberg, 1969; Myrdal, 1944), is cited by Goode (1965:70), w ho noted that "whatever the strictly male tasks are, they are defined as more honorific" (emphasis his). I The very existence of a renewed effort to achieve equal rights ‘for w om en in the U.S. testifies to perceived past inequities. There is ‘presently an attempt underway to alter the U.S. Constitution with an Equal Rights Amendment. This recent surge of interest in sex roles 66 -was touched off over a decade ago by Betty Friedan's (1963) Feminine : Mystique, gathered sufficient m om entum in the early 70's to bring equal ! rights to the fore of the political scene, and then met with backlash 'in various forms, including vigorous efforts to stop the ERA. In the 'past decade, a proliferation of publications documenting discrimination against w om en throughout our history have m ade an appearance. (See, for I ; example, Babcox and Belkin, 1971; Friedan, 1963; M illett, 1969). : Therefore, i t is not necessary to elaborate further in these pages. ! With respect to expression of emotion, the two sexes are social- ^ ,'ized differently in our society. Females are allowed, perhaps even en- j j jcouraged, to be more emotional and expressive, while males are expected / I to be logical and unemotional. A n early study of personality d iffe r ences between the sexes concluded that "females express themselves as more compassionate and sympathetic, more timid, more fastidious, and aesthetically sensitive, more emotional in general" (Terman and Miles, ,1936:448). Nearly 40 years later, Udry found that these sam e types of differences reported by Terman and Miles persist in present times, leading the author to write that "every standardized personality test provides evidence that male and female personality scores are systema tically different" (Udry, 1974:25). Also consistent with culturally defined sex role differences is j 'Gurin et a l.'s (1960) report that w om en expressed more problems*of 1 every kind, were more negative in their self-image, more introspective, and more concerned about weakness and strengths in areas of inter personal relationships than was true for men. 67 ^ From this "cliscussion of sex differences, i t is anticipated that I females, w ho occupy a lower position in the social structure, would be jless happy. Support in the literature is not consistent. Som e studies I - I have found no sex differences in happiness. While findings support the ! notion of more negative affect for females, the sam e is true of positive affect. However, the consistent theoretical approach adopted dictates ! ' ; an inverse relationship between positive and negative affect. The hypotheses therefore follow this expectation. ' Compared to females, males will experience I (1) higher levels of SRH. I (2) higher scores on the ABS. I (3) higher scores on the PAS. I ' (4) lower scores on the NAS. i ' Socioeconomic Status Compared to m em bers of lower socioeconomic categories, those in higher socioeconomic categories will experience greater P W B . Î A s with age and sex, socioeconomic status (SES) is a pervasive variable which has bearing on m any facets of the individual's existence. Usually, such characteristics as income, occupation, place of residence and education determine one's general position in the class structure and are used to construct indexes of SES (Williams, 1960). The major ^significance of SES, according to Adam s (1971:66) is the manner in which iits components serve as "discriminating indices of differential life styles, values, status, and role relations and expectations." The sam e idea is expressed by Lundberg (1974:13), w ho writes that "social class position affects personality development by providing 68 ^dTffëfëhtiâ^l'1 ëarni 1 1 experiences, which for any given class consist I of its distinctive value systems and interaction patterns, or its sub- ' I culture." Any introductory sociology text is replete with examples of I how social class affects career choice, mate selection, sexual behavior, childrearing, religious practices, and nearly every other area of life , jSocial class consistently appears as a variable of major importance I throughout a broad range of sociological investigations (Lasswell, jl966). Therefore, i t should not be necessary here to further document I the extensive impact of this particular locator in the social structure. I Rather, let us consider why a higher SES position is expected to ! be associated with greater P W B . Tw o closely related SES indicators, ; income and education, will be discussed in this context. They are the two variables selected as SES indices and are operationally defined in Chapter IV. First, i t is expected that income of an individual will be related to level of P W B , not simply because the possession of m oney m ay in 'its e lf be a source of gratification, but because income has an impact on m any other important areas of lif e —access to education, occupation al prestige, health, extent of freedom from worries about money, travel, and other things. Money potentially gives a person the opportunity to 'do things one would not be able to do or to obtain without it. ; A similar positive relationship would be expected for education y land P W B ; that is, the higher the education, the greater the P W B . ! Higher education is an important m eans to upward mobility in our I I society and is a major factor in access to more prestigious occupations and higher income. 69 ^ In fact, existent literature strongly supports both suppositions about income and education (Adams, 1971; Bradburn, 1969; Bradburn and Caplovitz, 1965; Edwards and Klemmack, 1973; Gurin et a l., I960; Kutner I et a l., 1956). It follows that higher income and education would also be associ- ■ i I Iated with higher levels of affect. Those w ho have had more education ' I and are better off financially should also enjoy a surplus of positive lover negative feelings. However, Gurin et al. (1960) found that more education generally brings higher self-awareness of both positive and ! negative aspects of life . There is lit t le else in the literature to date on this aspect. As with age and sex, the hypotheses are formulate ed to be in accordance with the general postulate. I I In accordance with the concept that a higher position in the social structure will produce greater P W B , the following working hypotheses are offered for testing. Compared to members of lower income categories, those in higher U income categories will experience y (1) higher levels of SRH. (2) higher scores on the ABS. (3) higher scores on the PAS. I (4) lower scores on the NAS. Compared to members of lower education categories, those in higher education categories will experience ! (1) higher levels of SRH. j (2) higher scores on the ABS. I I (3) higher scores on the PAS. (4) lower scores on the NAS. 70 r Sum m ary • ; A series of propositions has been presented, as derived from the ; i I general theorem that the higher the position in the social structure, I |the greater the P W B . The impact of three primary locators—age, sex i i and SES—will be tested by examining how objective measures of each j ^locator influence specific measures of P W B and of affect. This con stitutes the main objective of this research. All of these propositions are listed below, followed by a lis t of the explicit working hypotheses. Basic Propositions Derived from the General Theorem. Compared to members of the old age group, those in younger age groups will experience greater P W B . Compared to females, males will experience greater P W B . Compared to m embers of lower socioeconomic categories, those in higher socioeconomic categories will experience greater P W B . Working Hypotheses Derived from Basic Propositions. Compared to m em bers of the old age group (55-74), those in younger age groups will experience (1) higher levels of self-reported happiness (SRH). (2) higher scores on the Affect Balance Scale (ABS). (3) higher scores on the Positive Affect Scale (PAS). (4) lower scores on the Negative Affect Scale (NAS). Compared to females, males will experience I (1) higher levels of SRH. ! (2) higher scores on the ABS. (3) higher scores on the PAS. 1 (4) lower scores on the NAS. 71 h Compared to m em bers of lower income categories, those in higher income categories will experience , (1) higher levels of SRH. (2) higher scores on the ABS. (3) higher scores on the PAS. (4) lower scores on the NAS. Compared to m embers of lower education categories, those in higher education categories will experience (1) higher levels of SRH. (2) higher scores on the ABS. (3) higher scores on the PAS. (4) lower scores on the NAS. Secondary Factors Influencing Position in the Social Structure Like mountains in a level landscape, age, sex and social class are , peaks am ong assorted locators in the social structure. Marital status I and race are two more variables of significant elevation, yet are not ; given attention in this project, because the sample consists only of white persons, all of w hom are married in the two oldest age categories. But i t is recognized that a variety of other factors contribute to the I individual's social position. Examples include ethnic heritage, length t : of community residence, religion and what Lasswell (1965) journalisti- jcally labels "cliques, clans, clubs and cleavages." I Beyond the assortment of locators which directly place an individ- jual at som e point in the stratification of a society, there are other 'factors which influence position in the social structure more indirect^' Ty. It has already been stated that the complex and subtle interaction - _____ 72 rof such variables m ay be of equal or greater importance than primary I I locators. However, when a variable asserts its impact through less ■ direct paths, i t becomes more complicated to discover and explain the I dynamics involved. Thus, for these secondary variables, treatment is limited to exploring their influence on P W B . Anticipated relation ships are noted without formal specification of working hypotheses. ' Instead, the selected variables are simply discussed within the I theoretical perspective employed for the primary locators. : Three categories of secondary variables are included: self-rated ! health, self-assessed religiosity and self-perceived financial situ- I ation. They are largely of a subjective nature. A s stated earlier, I the logic behind this selection is based on the recognition that self- I evaluation by the individual m ay have an impact on happiness which iequals or even exceeds that of the m ore objective locators. Accord ing to Riley & Foner (1968) several studies point to a relationship between a favorable regard for one's self and a positive view of one's ' life . Conversely, an unfavorable self-assessment tends to coincide with low levels of life satisfaction. It has even been suggested by Riley & Foner(1968:356) that "individuals with favorable self-regard m ay even be comparatively satisfied with life despite certain disadvan tages often connected with old age." Such statements strongly suggest that subjective evaluations of one's social position be examined. Additional support for this I approach is offered by Suchm an et al. (1958), w ho found self-reported health to be the indicator which best linked health and happiness. 73 iThe importance of self-assessed health was discussed further in the I ; literature review. I Ideally, one's model would include an objective and subjective dimension for each variable. However, the constraints of using second- ;ary data for testing the propositions preclude such a blanket approach at this time. Instead, three factors for which subjective information is available were chosen as areas in which the relevance of self- ! assessment could be explored. These variables, self-rated health, self^ [assessed religiosity, and self-perceived financial situation, are each ; discussed in the succeeding pages. I Health i . - ' 1 There are two chief ways in which health influences an individual's ' location in the social structure. First, individuals with significant ' disabilities are frequently assigned an inferior position. Stigma is ’ attached to a broad assortment of physical impairments in varying degrees (Goffman, 1963). While v is ib ility of the impairment is a major factor in this stigma, i t is also often experienced by persons with 'cancer or other internal aberrations once the health problem becomes known. Secondly, to the extent that health interferes with social participation, curtailment of one's abilities to interact occurs. Since one's physical state sets limits on social adjustment and on contritu itions one m ay make to society, i t follows that less prestige and privi llage is likely to be accorded to those in poorer health. ; While these two factors clearly are related, ability to interact is not identical to being accepted as part of the interaction. Operating I 74 in tandem, each serves to lower a person's position in the social structure. From the general theorem, then, i t would be anticipated that poorer health would be associated with lower P W B . Generally, the health of older people is poorer than that of the young. According to Riley and Foner (1968), older people are compara tively less often afflicted with acute conditions but more often afflicted with chronic conditions and more likely to suffer disability restrictions on their activity because of their health. Thus, the variables of age and health are closely linked. However, Riley and Foner (1968:204) also stress that "pronounced variability am ong aging individuals does show that poor health is by no m eans an inevitable concomitant of old age." Therefore, while part of the stigma typically attached to the elderly no doubt relates to the greater predominance of health prob? lems am ong them, m any older persons do not f i t the category of un healthy, while other individuals at younger age levels are included. This m eans health must be considered separately, even though its association with the aging process is acknowledged. Additional justification for the inclusion of health in this study com es from past research in which a positive association has been observed between health and life satisfaction. Most investigations of health as a variable affecting happiness have been restricted to per sons 55 and older; this project will expand that age range. In summarizing available data concerning health and happiness, Riley & Foner (1968) conclude that i t is the individual's ow n beliefs about his health that are most clearly associated with life 75 I satisfaction. (For further discussion of these results, see Chapter j I I I I I . ) Therefore, it is anticipated that self-rated health will be link- I , Ied in like manner am ong the respondents to be investigated here, sug- I gesting higher scores on the A B S for those with higher self-rated ' health. Reliqiosity A basic institution in all cultures is that of religion, defined I by Durkheim (1912:47) as "a unified system of beliefs and practices ; relative to sacred things, uniting into a single moral community all those w ho adhere to those beliefs and practices." A n even broader idefinition from contemporary sociologist O'Dea (1966:1-2) states that I"religion is a socially recognized way of entering into a relation- I ship with the aspects of reality that are nonrational or nonempirical." The institution of religion almost always has a strong influence on the larger social structure of the society, which in turn sustains and shapes i t (Popenoe, 1971). O ne means through which religion serves as a status locator is through the relative position of the various religious groups found in ,a given society. Acknowledgement of membership in a particular group I locates a person in the social structure, because not all religious I groups are accorded equal status. According to Popenoe (1971), the : religion with the highest status is usually the one to which the I leaders and the upper stratum belong. Influence flows in both I directions, with m em bers of lower status religious groups perhaps 'denied opportunities to advance to the elite while, on the other hand, certain religions m ay have high status because of their connection with : 76 j the elite. There is also a clear link between religious affilia tio n ; and level of both income and education (Popenoe). The focus here is on the more subtle aspects of religiosity ' rather than religious affiliatio n per se. Religiosity indexes a per son's religious behavior and attitudes. Three different levels of analysis for which multi-dimensional indices have been created are: individual, institutional and societal (Popenoe). Concern here is i I with those indicators measuring individual religious commitment, since I ; the goal is to determine which characteristics of an individual are : linked to personal happiness. ; Glock (1962) has identified five dimensions of individual re li- I gious commitment, each a separate manifestation of religiosity: ' ritu alistic (attendance, prayer, etc.); intellectual (knowledge about I basic tenets); ideological (beliefs); experiential (feeling) and : consequential (effect). ' Three of these dimensions are examined in this research. They are ritu a lis tic , ideological and experiential. The objective measure of church attendance is classified as ritu al, while orthodoxy is an aspect of ideology, and devoutness reflects the experiential dimension. : Religiosity as a status locator differs somewhat from the other ; independent variables utilized in this research. First, it is of a ; more subtle and complex nature. Observations by sociologists about 1 religion in America usually include an emphasis on the diversity of I available religious groups. For each of these, the relative impor- I tance of assorted dimensions of religiosity m ay vary, making i t 77 d iffic u lt to offer generalizations. Secondly, there is less emphasis : on overall hierarchical placement than is the case for other variables. Instead, i t is more limited in nature. While religious a ffilia tio n with a specific group is readily linked to overall satisfaction in American society, religiosity is a less central kind of characteristic by which persons are ranked. Where greater religiosity is most likely . to matter with respect to location in the social structure is within a ! specific religious group. It seem s safe to assume that greater I ; religiosity would bring a person higher status within his or her ow n ■ religious group. I Certain dimensions of religiosity m ay accord the individual a I I higher status in the broader community more clearly than do other dimensions. For instance, church attendance would be more likely to ! be related to a more general location in the social structure than I som e of the other aspects of religiosity. First, i t is more visible; secondly, it is direct social participation. Greater participation in ; social activities would tend to be linked with a higher position in 1 the social structure. O n the other hand, the less visible aspects of religiosity such as devoutness or orthodoxy m ay be know n to fellow i members, but not to society-at-large. Nonetheless, considerable merit is s till attached to religious , values by m any segments of American society, despite contemporary I trends toward secularization. Thus, while the links between religios- I ity and position in the social structure m ay be more d iffic u lt to I trace, the general expectation remains that greater religiosity will be rewarded with a higher position in the social structure. 78 j" And how does religion influence P W B ? W ays in which religion I j X ' appears to meet psychological needs of hum an beings have been dis- I I cussed by scholars. Popenoe (1971) has summarized the major points I concerning the gratifications offered by religion. These are: (1) support and consolation in an unpredictable world; (2) provision of meaning and purpose to hum an existence; (3) transcension of the "self" and the everyday reality of the present; (4) definition of I ' i one's identity; and (5) assistance in coping with certain transitional 1 stages in life , such as death of a loved one. These needs are basic ' to a person's ability to manage in a complex world. i ' To the extent that increased religious commitment does in fact I offer the satisfactions nam ed above, religiosity would then be expected, to be positively associated with P W B . Self-Perceived Financial Situation The inclusion of this variable affords the only opportunity for comparison of an objective and subjective measure to assess which appears most relevant for explaining variance in P W B . A s mentioned previously, an ideal research design would feature objective and sub jective measures for each characteristic. A step in that direction is taken by the present researcher. ! The broad impact of SE S on one's position in the social structure ; has already been documented and the case presented for its expected influence on P W B . It is here posited that the individual's ow n view of his SES also affects P W B . Here one's reference group contributes to the slant an individual has on personal finances. I f an individual 79 Iperceives that his income is high relative to the majority of one's Ireference group, the resulting impression is likely to boost the per- ! {son's perception of his financial situation, and thereby positively {influence P W B . Of course, self-perceived financial situation is also undoubtedly affected by the actual level of income and/or education I attained. While both income and education were examined for the objec-' I tive SES measure, only financial situation is covered in the subjective measure. I I { Related Areas ^ The remaining two objectives of the research are more exploratory - in nature and specific hypotheses were not developed for them. However, ,as with the secondary variables, i t is appropriate to briefly indicate how these objectives are related to the theoretical framework just presented. O ne goal is to ascertain the total and relative impact of the vari ables investigated. The continued elaboration of a m odel which can adequately explain fluctuations in P W B requires knowledge about the relative contribution of those variables included in the model. If the total explained variance of these chosen indicators is very low, the implication is that alternative indicators should be sought and a new {m odel developed. Thus, such a tactic is seen to be an integral part of ithe explanatory process. I Another stated goal is to discover whether age and sex act as I intervening variables on the relationship between the other social hocators and P W B . The life-long importance of age and sex has already 80 been descrlbçd. It is not unreasonable to anticipate that such per vasive factors could exert influence both directly and indirectly on P W B . While sufficient information is not available to substantiate ! I explicit predictions, i t is projected that these variables will be of importance in understanding how other variables in the social structure [influence P W B . Principie of Ceteris Pari bus I A key consideration when developing theory is the principle of jceteris paribus, which is Latin for "other things being equal." W hen ever a proposition is asserted, there is the assumption that all other {variables are invariant or held constant. This is necessary, because 'it would be impossible to take into account the wide variety of influ ential factors for a given relationship in the social sciences (Burr, I 1973). For instance, other factors besides locators in the social structure m ay influence an individual's happiness. A n example might be a positive or negative world view. It is this type of factor which is assumed invariant while giving consideration to the variables in the model. That is the use of the principle of ceteris paribus. 81 I C H A PTER IV I M E TH O D S O F THE R E S E A R C H ; Introduction A study designed to explore patterns of transmission in three- generational families was initiated in 1971 at the University of; [Southern California Gerontology Center, Los Angeles, and supported by !the National Institute of Mental Health. Data from that larger study iwere extracted for the analysis reported in this text. [ Selection of a sample where all respondents are a part of a three- ; generational family produces a group with unique characteristics. The sampling procedures for obtaining such a set of respondents are des- jcribed in the firs t section of this chapter. A second major division details the composition of the sample used for investigation of psychological well-being and location in the social structure. Tw o additional sections in this chapter feature presentation of the dependent variables and of the independent variables. In each of {these segments, both the operationalization of the variables and their distribution am ong the respondents are described. Dependent variables (include self-reported happiness, the Affect Balance Scale, the Positive I Affect Scale and the Negative Affect Scale. Independent variables are age, sex, socioeconomic status, self-perceived financial situation, self-rated health and religiosity. 82 i Sampling Procedures I I . . . I ! The families for the larger study of generations were drawn from I : |a population of 840,000 mem bers of a medical care plan which services m any large labor unions in the Los Angeles area. In an effort to locate [intact, three-generational families of adults, a random sample of 7,112 potential grandfathers was firs t drawn from this membership. Males over age 55, with at least one dependent enrolled in the health plan, were sent a one-page sampling survey to ascertain which of them were members of three-generation families including at least one living child w ho was himself a parent of a 16- to 26-year old youth. In a random sample 'of the general population, they would be underrepresented due to a higher mortality for older males than older females. : A very low number of such males reported having such families and were able to provide addresses of the middle-aged and young adult family members. Although 70% returned these surveys, only 595 respondents met I the criteria. I i These respondents, together with their family m em bers from three generations, formed a potential data base of 3,207. Each of these eligible participants was mailed a lengthy structured questionnaire during the latter part of 1971. ' Completed forms were received from 2,044 individuals, representing a return rate of 65%. Four follow-up efforts were conducted in order to obtain such an excellent response, which is especially notable in [light of the average time required to respond: 105 minutes or close to two hours. Self-reported completion time ranged from 45 minutes to 5-1/4 hours. : 83 A reduction in the sample used for the present research occurred ; I - [through deletion of 87 Individuals, bringing the final set of respond- I jents considered in the present work to 1,957. These omissions included 18 respondents between the ages of 27 and 34. Such individuals are in the age group between the young adult and middle age generations and are too few for adequate representation. Also eliminated were 58 respond- 'ents ages 75 and over. Exclusion of the advanced old age group is justified because: (1) they are too few in number to be included in the statistical comparisons of age groups, particularly the multiple ! {regression analysis; and (2) they m ay differ considerably from other im em bers of the sample in important characteristics, such as income and [ [health. Finally, one 15-year old was also excluded due to scarcity of [Cases. ! This revised data base of 1,957 ranges in age from 15 to 26 (youth) ;and from 35 through 74 (adults). From this point forward, i t is this sub-sample which will be examined. Composition of the Sample A sample distribution by both age and sex shows the respondents to be quite evenly split between males and females at all age levels, with a trend toward somewhat more females except in the Old age category i(Table 4.1). Over a third of the respondents are in the middle age category, while the fewest are found in the young adult group. Characteristics of the sample according to age group are shown both for dependent and independent variables in Table 4.2. Range, m ean or I . median, and standard deviation are supplied for each of the four divi sions by age: teenage, young adult, middle age and old age. I 84 I Age Group ' Teenage ! I Young Adult i ' Middle Age [ Old Age , TO TAL Table 4.1 DISTRIBUTION O F TO TA L S A M P LE B Y A G E G R O U P A N D SEX (Percent and Frequency) Age Range (yrs ) M ean Age (yrs) Male Female Total Age Gnoup Percent of Total Sample 16-19 17.5 44.5 (221) 55.5 (276) 100.0 (497) 25.4 20-26 22.2 48.6 (155) 51.4 (164) 100.0 (319) 16.3 35-54 43.6 44.5 (303) 55.5 (378) 100.0 (681) ‘ 34.8 55-74 65.3 52.2 (240) 47.8 (220) 100.0 (460) 23.5 16-74 - 47.0 (919) 53.0 (1038) 100.0 (1957) 100.0 85 Table 4.2 S U M M A R Y O F CHARACTERISTICS O F THE SA M PLE B Y A G E G R O U P (Range, M ean or Median, Standard Deviation) 1 Dependent Variables Teenage (497) Young Adul t (319) Middle . Age (681) Old Age (460) Total Sampli (1957 I Self-Reported Happiness X 2.14 2.19 2.19 2.19 2.18 1 (Range: 1-3) ( s.d. .62 .61 .57 .59 .60 Affect Balance Scale J 3.97 4.27 5.02 5.28 4.69 1 (Range: 0-8) s.d. 1.68 1.74 1.89 1.99 1.91 Positive Affect Scale X 2.84 2.93 2.75 2.37 2.71 j (Range: 0-4) s.d. 1.19 1.17 1,28 1 .28 1.26 Negative Affect Scale X 2.87 2.65 1.73 1.09 2.02 • (Range: 0-4) s.d. 1.25 1.30 1.43 1.28 1.50 Independent Variables Income Med. 15.89 10.18 17.55 8.79 13.75 (Range: 4-50) s.d. 9.98 9.54 9.96 7.51 10.02 Education Med. 3.38 4.95 4.81 3.63 4.28 (Range: 1-8) s.d. .85 .92 1.37 1.62 1.40 Perceived Financial Situation* X - - 25.37 24.52 25.07 (Range: 0-36) s.d. - - 6.48 5.65 6.21 Self-Rated Health* X 14.17 11.87 13.34 ' (Range: 0-18) } s.d. - - 3.56 4.39 4.03 Attendance J 2.72 2.38 2.80 2.86 2.72 : (Range: 1-6) s.d. 1.82 1.71 1.82 1.81 1.81 Orthodoxy of Beliefs X 10.98 10.76 12.21 13.27 11.92 I (Range: 4-16) s.d. 3.56 3.76 3.44 3.27 3.61 Self-Assessed pevoutness X 2.65 2.66 2.83 2.84 2.76 I (Range: 1-4) s.d. .92 .96 .85 .81 .88 * Data not collected for teenage and young adult respondents. 86 study of Generations respondents are different in several respects: from Los Angeles residents in general. Som e of these differences are due to the three-generational sampling procedure. Because such differ- ' ’ . ; iences would be expected to influence the psychological well-being of I ' sample members, these unique characteristics of the sample will be I briefly contrasted to those of the larger population. Depending on (level of analysis provided by the Census Bureau, the comparison popu lation is either the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, or the Los Angeles-Long Beach Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA). Variables contrasted are marital and family status, age and socio economic status. Although self-rated health information is not avail able from the Census data, probable health :differences between older Los Angeles residents and older sample respondents are also discussed. Marital and Family Status Married pairs are m uch more predominant in the sample than in the larger population. Over 93% of adult sample respondents 35 and older are married while am ong Los Angeles-Long Beach S M S A residents, the highest proportion is 80%, with an ever-widening gap accompanying an ,increase in age (Table 4.3). Such a gap can be explained by recalling that old age and middle age respondents selected to participate in the Study of Generations were married parents. Thus, each respondent is a ■m em ber of a three-generation family, either directly or through marri age. Less than 100% over age 35 are married due to divorces or [widowhood during the course of the study. 87 Tablé 4.3 PER CEN T M ARRIED LO S ANG ELES-LO NG B E A C H S M S A A N D STU D Y O F G ENERATIO NS S A M PLE B Y A G E G R O U P ____________ Percent Married______________ Age Group L.A.-L.B. SMSA* Study of Generations 15-19 7.4 6.7 20-24 48.5 64.7 35-44 80.9 93.4 45-54 80.4 94.8 55t64 73.0 96.5 65-74 55.6 93.8 No. of Respondents 2,389,638 1,957 * Data from U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census of Population: 1970, Detailed Characteristics, California, Section 1, Table 152. * * 20-26 for Study of Generations sample. 8 8 I All of the adult couples in the sample have at least one child, | I ' ' i whereas in the United States " it is estimated that about 10 percent of i [ - i all married couples will be childless" (Bell, 1971:417; Freedman et a l., 1959:26; Blood and Wolfe, 1960:137). Furthermore, the older couples have at least one grandchild between the ages of 16 and 26, and they are sufficiently in contact with at least one adult child and young adult grandchild to provide their addresses. Marital and parental status are highly salient for psychological well-being. Married people are happier than the unmarried (Bradburn, |l969; Gurin et a l., 1960). Gurin et al. found that about one-fifth of their respondents saw marriage as a major source of happiness and three- tenths regarded their children as one of the primary sources of happi.- ness. Greater happiness thus would be predicted in a group saturated by married couples with children. O ne other aspect of the familial nature of the sample should be noted. Sample m embers are not unrelated individuals, but they belong to I lineages of up to 15 people. This reduces the cross-generation variance in the sample since intergenerational transmission might be expected to operate in m any areas. As Bengtson and Lovejoy (1973:896) point out, jthis would increase the homogeneity on any characteristics examined. The error thus introduced, however, is in the conservative direction since any observed contrasts between age groups must be even more pronounced to override within-family, cross-generational sim ilarities. I hqè D istribution The age pattern imposed by choosing only persons 16 and older w ho are located within a three-generational family creates major differences __________ _____ . — . 89 in the age distribution between this sample and Los Angeles residents (Table 4.4). Specifically, those ages 27-34, 75 and over, or under 16 I were eliminated. Since more than one teenager per family lineage could be included in the sample, their representation is quite extensive. Over-representation of those in their early 40's and in their 60's can I I be accounted for by noting that these are peak ages for parenthood or ! 'grandparenthood of a 16- to 26-year old. Similarly, under-representa- jtion of individuals in their 50‘s occurs because, in this range, one finds both the upper lim it of the parenthood generation and the lower ! lim it of the grandparent generation. The latter began with males 55 and over. I I [Socioeconomic Status As members of a major medical health plan, the in itia l sample of m en age 55 and over might be expected to be economically stable. Tables [4.5 and 4.6, comparing household income and education of sample respond- jents to Los Angeles residents, indicate that sample members are higher [in socioeconomic status than Los Angeles residents generally. A smaller percentage of the former have incomes below $5,000. Further more, a higher percentage of sample respondents have incomes between '$15,000 and $24,999 and over $25,000. I With respect to education, 73% of the sample are high school [graduates, as compared to 63% of Los Angeles residents. Forty-six ,percent of sample respondents and 29% of Los Angeles residents have fat least som e college education. 90 Table 4.4 A G E DISTRIBUTION O F P E R S O N S 15-75+ CITY O F LO S A N G ELES A N D STU D Y O F GENERATIONS S A M P LE (Percent) Age Group 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65-69 70-74 75+ TO TAL No. of Respondents City of Los Angeles* 11.0 11.6 10.3 8.5 7.9 8.4 8.6 7.7 6.9 5.7 4.7 3.6 5.3 100.2 ** (16-19) (25-26) Study of Generations 25.4 13.8 2.5 7.8 13.2 9.0 4.8 3.1 7.1 8.4 5.0 2,103,616 100.1 1,957 ** * Data from U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census of Population: 1970, Detailed Characteristics, California, Section 1, Table 138. ** Rounding error. 9 1 Table 4.5 H O U S E H O LD INCOM E: L O S A N G ELES COUNTY* A N D STUDY O F GENERATIONS SA M PLE (Percent) Los Angeles County Study of Generations Sam pl e (20-74) Income Category Percent Code Income Category Percent Less than $1,000 2.2 $1,000-$1,999 2.2 $2,000-$2,999 3.3 $3,000-$3,999 4.0 $4,000-$4,999 4.2 4 $3,000-$4,999 9.7 $5,000-$5,999 4.6 $6,000-$6,999 5.2 6 $5,000-$6,999 11.0 $7,000-$7,999 5.8 $8,000-$8,999 6.1 8 $7,000-$8,999 8.3 $9,000-$9,999 6.2 $10,000-$11,999 12.5 10 $9,000-$10,999 11.5 $12,000-$14,999 15.2 12 $11,000-$12,999 10.0 14 $13,000-$!4,999 6.9 $15,000-$24,999 21.3 16 $15,000-$16,999 8.7 18 $17,000-$18,999 6.3 20 $19,000-$20,000 8.7 22 $21,000-$22,999 3.0 24 $23,000-$24,999 3.2 $25,000-$49,999 5.9 27 $25,000-$29,999 4.6 32 $30,000-$34,999 2.5 37 $35,000-$39,999 1.9 45 $30,000-$49,999 1.7 $50,000 or more 1.3 50 $50,000 or more 2.1 TO TAL 100.0 100.1 No. of households 1, 769,331 No. of respondents** 1,373 Median Income $10,972 $12,905 * Data from U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census of Population: 1970, Detailed Characteristics, California, Section 1, Table 124, page 1059. ** Each respondent (except for teenagers, 15-19, who were excluded from this analysis) reported on the income of his household. Since there are three related generations in the sample , plus spouses, there will be som e overlap in reported household incomes since som e individuals will be members of the sam e household. 92 Table 4.6 YEA R S O F S C H O O L CO M PLETED: LO S A N G ELES COUNTY* A N D STU D Y O F GENERATIONS SA M PLE (Percent) Los Angeles County Study of Generations Sample Years of School Completed (25 yrs. old & over) Percent Code Years of School Completed (35-74 yrs. old) Percent N o school 1.5 Elementary 1-4 years 2.7 1 Grade school 5-7 years 7.2 (0-6 years) 4.2 8 years 8.3 2 Junior high (7-9 years) 8.2 High School 1-3 years 18.3 3 Som e high school (10-11 years) 15.0 4 years 32.7 4 High school graduate (4 years) 26.4 College 1-3 years 16.6 5 Som e college (1-3 yrs) 30.0 4+ years 12.7 6 College graduate (4 yrs) 5.1 7 Som e graduate study 7.7 8 PhD, DDS, M D, JD, etc. 3.4 TO TAL 100.0 100.0 No. of respondents 3,960,744 No. of respondents 1 ,130 Median school years Median school years completed 12.4 completed 12.9 % high school graduates 62.9 % high school graduates 72.6 * Data based on U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census of Population: 1970, Detailed Characteristics, California, Section 1, Table 120, page 1039. 93 Higher socioeconomic status should lead to a higher level of ) ,happiness for sample respondents. This expected association was dis- I I cussed in the literature review and theory chapters (see Chapters II land I I I ) . i Health of Older Respondents i All sample males over age 55 were m em bers of a prepaid health plan Although i t is not certain that the wives of these respondents were also enrolled in the program, i t is assumed that the majority were in- Ieluded, because enrollment of a dependent was one of the requirements ’for retention of a male in the sample. The medical policy requires Ithat dependents other than spouse be under age 21. Since the existence of a grandchild over 15 was another criterion for choosing the in itia l set of men, i t is not likely that these sam e persons would also s till 'have dependents under 21. Thus, i t is safe to assume that in most instances the dependent enrolled in the medical program was the respond ent's wife. I t would be expected that all those enrolled in a program providing access to prepaid preventive and curative medical care would be healthier than Los Angeles residents of the sam e age. Impact of Unique Sample Characteristics The unique characteristics of the sample, due to its three- generational design and selection of older males from the rolls of a health insurance plan, will require som e caution in interpreting re- I suits. Findings will not be generalizable to the Los Angeles popula tion nor will they be directly comparable to other samples. 94 1 Nevertheless, i t is fruitfu l to explore the correlates of psychological i ; I well-being and affect within this sample as long as these constraints I j are kept in mind. i I Dependent Variables I The major dependent variable in this research project is psycho- : logical well-being (PWB). Tw o measures of P W B were included in the ■Study of Generations questionnaire—self-reported happiness (SRH) and Bradburn' s Affect Balance Scale (ABS). Also utilized as dependent variables are Bradburn's Positive and Negative Affect Scales (PAS and NAS), the two components of the ABS. The following sections will dis- jcuss the operationalization, sample distribution, validity and re lia b ility of the dependent variables. Self-Reports of Happiness Operationalization The simplest, most straightforward method of determining the happi ness of respondents is through direct self-ratings. Respondents were asked whether they fe lt "very happy," "pretty happy," or "not too happy" these days (see Appendix A). The ambiguity of the term happiness has been referred to in I Chapter I. While people undoubtedly define happiness idiosyncratically, iwith a wide range of nuances and unique meanings ascribed, i t is I reasonable to expect som e commonality in these definitions. In their research on positive mental health, Gurin et al. (1960) utilized this I - Imeasure of self-reported happiness (hereafter referred to as SRH), because i t reflects the terminology people themselves use in evaluating 95 their ow n emotional and psychological states. According to Bradburn (1969), self-ratings of happiness are "a good place to begin in laying . out the groundwork for building a more comprehensive and complex study [ ! of psychological well-being" (Bradburn, 1969:39). J \ Distribution i ; Bradburn (1969:40) has compiled a comprehensive table showing the ' y jdistribution of S R H as found in 12 samples collected from 1957 to 1963. I Here, the only two offered for comparison with the present work are [Gurin et a l.'s (1960) sample and W ave I of Bradburn's ow n ten metro- I poli tan area sample (Table 4.7). ' In nationwide surveys, and in his ow n ten metropolitan area sur vey, Bradburn found that about one-third of the respondents reported ,being "very happy," while 8 to 15% were "not too happy." Fewer re- spondents in this sample (28%) are "very happy," which is surprising in light of the expectation that this sample would be happier due to its marital and socioeconomic characteristics (see Composition of the [Sample, this chapter). However, this distribution is within the range found by Bradburn in his extensive review of the dozen samples. A I possible reason for the lower percentage of "very happy" respondents iin this sample is the utilization of mailed questionnaires rather than the personal interviews used in most of the other studies. Sudm an et al. (1967) found that when people are interviewed they are more likely to report being "very happy" than when a questionnaire is self-adminis tered. The desire to give a socially-acceptable response would operate more strongly during a personal interview than in the relative 96 Table 4.7 DISTRIBUTION O F SELF-REPORTS O F HAPPINESS (Study of Generations, Gurin et al. and Bradburn Samples) Sample (Percent)_______ Self-Reports of Happiness 3. Very happy 2. Pretty happy 1. Not too happy Total Percent Study of Gurin Generations et al. (Los Angeles, (National, 1971) 28 61 11 100 1957) 35 54 11 100 Bradburn (TO Metro- politan Areas, 1963)* 33 59 8 100 No. of Respondents M ean Standard Deviation 1,947 2.2 .6 2,460 270 Data from Bradburn (1969:40). 97 anonymity of a self-administered questionnaire. "Not too happy" respondents in this and Gurin et a l.'s (1960) sample only numbered 11% . However, in economically depressed areas (Bradburn and Caplovitz, 1965, four small Illin o is towns), as m any as 20 to 34% of the sample gave a "not too happy" response. These "vari ations in level of reported happiness am ong som e of the special samples lend credence to the belief that the self-reports are, in fact, measur ing something more than a desire to present a pleasant front to the interviewer" (Bradburn, 1969:42). The central limitation of the S R H measure is the high proportion of "pretty happy" respondents—almost two-thirds of this sample's respondents. With so lit t le variation to explain, the instrument's u tility is highly constricted. Validity Validity is the extent to which a question or item really measures what i t is intended to measure (Oppenheim, 1966:70). Empirical evi dence of the validity of an instrument usually consists of a correla tion coefficient relating that instrument to another instrument which is believed to measure the sam e or a similar property. A high correla tion between the two measures indicates high validity. Social scientists question the validity of self-reports as a method of determining feeling states, believing that people are unable or unwilling to te ll the truth. O n the other hand. All port (1953) con tends that social scientists should pay more attention to people's self- evaluations of their situation. Bradburn and Caplovitz (1965) concur that self-ratings of happiness are an adequate starting point for __________________________________________________ 98 developing a measure of happiness. Self-reports undoubtedly yield different classifications of individuals than do other types of measures (such as expert or psychiatric ratings of clinical interviews or psy chological tests), but there is no evidence that they are less (or more) valid than other techniques for rating people on a mental health dimension. Self-reports have the further advantage of face validity, directness and ease of use. Bradburn (1969) extensively assessed evidence concerning the re lationship between S R H and other measures of happiness—other self statements by the individual, projective psychological tests, and rat ings given by other people. Validity coefficients between S R H and friend or expert ratings ranged from .34 to .68 (Hartmann, 1934). Al though not impressive, these coefficients are similar to those found in measures of other personality traits (Goldings, 1954; Jasper, 1930; Washburne, 1941; W essm an and Ricks, 1966; Wilson, 1967). Bradburn (1969) collected self-reports on m any different types of behavior and subjective feelings reflecting states of PW B , including measures of "how your life is going now" and "how you're doing in get ting the things you want from life ." At the individual level there was a high level of association between responses to these two questions and S R H (.57 or higher between waves I and H I in which Bradburn's entire sample was interviewed). The Study of Generations questionnaire also included several questions which measured self-rated conditions similar to SRH. Correla tions (Pearson's r) of S R H with these measures are: getting the things you want from life , .56; marital satisfaction, .46; parental satisfaction, .32; and work satisfaction, .37. Each of these correlation _______________________________________________________ _ 1 9 S Ü coefficients was significant at the .001 level. A number of other studies have confirmed the meaningful correlation of S R H with other indicators of happiness (Bradburn and Caplovitz, 1965; Gurin et a l., 1960; Inkeles, 1960; S ailer, 1931; Watson, 1930; and Wessman, 1956). The va lid ity of the S R H measure appears to be well- substantiated and thus w ill be the major criterion variable for assessing the valid ity of the ABS. Reli abi1i ty R e lia b ility pertains to consistency or s ta b ility , to obtaining the sam e result more than once (Oppenheim, 1966:69). R e lia b ility can be assessed by administering an instrument to a group of individuals at two separate time periods, and then correlating time one with time two scores. Such a procedure was followed by Bradburn (1969), and he found the r e lia b ility of the S R H measure to be quite high (over .70, using gam m a). A separate r e lia b ility study was conducted by this researcher at a university in the Los Angeles area. A questionnaire containing the self-reported happiness measure, the Bradburn affect items, and other related measures was administered twice to each of five sociology classes (N=121 students) during the 1974-75 academic year. G a m m a s were comparable to those obtained by Bradburn (.72 for a two-week interval and .65 over a three-week period). Evidence consistently points toward high r e lia b ility of the S R H measure. Bradburn Scales: Affect Balance, Positive and Negative Affect Operationali zation A more elaborate measure of well-being was devised by Bradburn and ____________________________________________________________________________i m Caplovitz (1965), w ho incorporated both positive and negative com po nents into their happiness model. They describe an individual's happi ness or well-being "in terms of the degree to which pleasure predomi nates over pain in his life experiences" (Bradburn, 1969:9). Empirically, a person is high in psychological well-being to the extent that positive affect predominates over negative affect. The Bradburn Affect Balance Scale (ABS) consists of two sub-scales the Positive Affect Scale (PAS) and the Negative Affect Scale (NAS). These scales were employed in the current work. Five positive and five negative affect items were presented alternately to the respondents w ho were asked whether they had experienced any of the pleasurable or un- pleasurable feeling states "during the past few weeks." The P A S taps feelings of excitement, pride, accomplishment, elation and pleasure. The N A S taps feelings of loneliness, restlessness, boredom, depression and upset at criticism . (See Table 5.3 which presents the distribution of this sample by age group on each affect item.) Bradburn (1969) has effectively illustrated that the P A S and the N A S are in fact two distinct scales. H e found relatively high in te r correlation am ong the positive items (average Yule Q of .50) as well as the negative items (average Q of .54). Interestingly, the positive and negative dimensions are independent of each other, not inversely re lated as one would expect. The average Yule's Q between items in the two clusters is .05. This researcher's data lend further support to the independence of the two sub-scales. A computerized factor analysis of the ten feeling-state items isolated the positive and negative 101 dimensions. Correlations, using Pearson's r , are somewhat lower than those obtained by Bradburn using Yule's Q. The average inter-item Pearson's correlations are .28 between the positive items and .33 between the negative items. The average inter-item correlation between items in the two clusters is .03. The scales were constructed by assigning a zero to every "no" response and a one to every "yes" response. A respondent's score on the P A S or the N A S would thus range from 0 to 5. In this research, the affect scales have been altered to range from 0 to 4 by combining T o w frequency scores. O n the PAS, scores of 0 and 1 were combined into one category; on the NAS, scores of 4 and 5 were combined. In order to obtain an individual's A B S score, his N A S score is sub tracted from his P A S score. A constant of +4 is added to the resulting number in order to produce a positive score from 0 to 8. This approach generates a score which indexes the balance between positive and negative affect, ignoring the total amount of affect registered by a respondent. Bradburn' s (1969) studies ju s tify use of this technique since he found that the best predictor of an individual's overall w ell being was the difference between his two scale scores, not the total amount of reported feeling. Apparently, the surplus of positive over negative feelings determines an individual's level of well-being. The A B S has som e significant advantages over the S R H measure. Since the A B S is obtained by a combination of responses to several different items, i t is probably less subject to distorting influences than the more obvious question requesting a self-rating of overall happiness. By relying on a number of items instead of a single one, 102 errors should be reduced, thus resulting in a more valid measure (Oppenheim, 1965). A further advantage of the A B S is that i t allows finer discrimina tion between individuals with respect to happiness—nine points on a scale instead of three with the S R H measure. Thus the A B S is a better measure for investigating the correlates of P W B , since i t is not skewed like the SRH. Distribution The distributions of this sample by age group on the ABS, the individual affect items, the P A S and the N A S are presented in Tables 5.2 through 5.5. The m ean A B S score for the total sample is 4.7, which indicates a slight skewing of the sample toward an excess of positive over negative affect (see Table 5.2 ). Very few respondents had scores as low as 0 or 1 or as high as 8. Responses clustered around scores of 4, 5 and 6, with 4 indicating an equal number of positive and negative responses or "balance." Only a quarter of the sample reports an excess of negative over positive affect (scores of 0 through 3). Thus, the majority of the respondents seem to be re lative ly happy, at least as indexed by a predominance of positive over negative feelings. With respect to positive affect (Table 5 .4 ), respondents tend to be quite high on this dimension. Over one-third of the sample respond ents report a m axim um of positive affect (a score of 4), and the sample m ean is 2.71. Very few respondents experience no positive affect. In contrast to this pattern, negative affect scores are m uch lower, 103 with a sample m ean of 2.02. Responses are more evenly distributed, with one-fourth of the sample reporting m axim um negative affect and one-fourth reporting no negative affect (see Table 5.5). A s expected from the scale distribution, respondents are consider ably less lik e ly to agree with individual negative affect items than with positive affect items. For example, almost 90% of the sample had fe lt "excited or interested in something" and "pleased about having accomplished something." Between one-half and 80% of the respondents agreed with the other positive items. O n the other hand, negative items generally were affirmed by no more than half of the respondents, with this level of agreement on "restless" and "bored," and consider-, ably less agreement (about one-third of the sample) on "lonely" and "upset for being criticized" (see Table 5.3). In summary, the sample seem s to predominate in positive feelings and to skew towards the happier end of the ABS. This is consistent with the distribution of respondents on the S R H measure, with the majority of respondents being "pretty happy" and a sizeable number reporting they are "very happy." Validity Validity of the Bradburn scales has been assessed extensively via correlation with a variety of measures of lif e satisfaction. The association of several "criterion" variables with the Bradburn scales, for this sample and Bradburn's sample, is indicated in Table 4.8. Based upon the coefficients in this table, the va lid ity of the Bradburn scales is moderately supported (.3 to .4). Bradburn further assessed the valid ity of the N A S by correlating _________104 Table 4.8 ASSOCIATION O F VARIO US SATISFACTION M E A S U R E S W ITH TH E B R A D B U R N S C A LE S (Bradburn and This Sample) Satisfaction Measures Bradburn Sample (gamma) This Sample (Pearson's r) A B S P A S N A S A B S P A S N A S S R H .48 .36 -.36 .52 .42 - . 31 Setting things you want in lif e .44 .37 -.31 .41 .33 -.25 Like to change your life .35 .18 -.35 Marital satisfaction .30 .21 -.22 Parental satisfaction .22 .18 -.14 Job satisfaction .31 .27 -.16 105 i t with five measures of poor mental health which were included in his interview schedule. G am m as ranged from .35 to .48. He concluded that conventional measures of "mental health" in fact seem to measure "mental illness" and thus correlate highly with the N A S but not at all with the P A S or ABS. In conclusion, association of the Bradburn scales with related variables in this and Bradburn's data bases lends support to the acceptable valid ity of the scales. Other researchers have also found the valid ity of these scales to be adequate (Beiser, 1974; Berkman, 1971; Gaitz and Scott, 1972; Hacker et a l., 1970; Moriwaki, 1972). R e lia b ility R e lia b ility estimates for the Bradburn scales are available from a National Opinion Research Center (NORC) probability sample of the ten largest metropolitan areas in the country (Bradburn, 1969). The ten Bradburn feeling-state items were included in the interview schedule, and r e lia b ility data were collected with NORC's normal interview validation procedures. Approximately three days after the fir s t interview, 200 respondents were reinterviewed by area supervisors (half by telephone and half personally). Coefficients of association between time 1 and time 2 were computed for each feeling-state item (Yule's Q) and for each of the three scales (gamma). Q-values for the individual items in Bradburn' s study are very high, generally over .90 (see Table 4 .9 ). The gam m as for the three scales, although somewhat lower, are also quite high (.76 to .83). R e lia b ility data were also collected by this researcher from lOd Table 4.9 RELIABILITY COEFFICIENTS F O R B R A D B U R N AFFECT ITEMS A N D S C A LE S (Bradburn and University Student samples) University University Students Students Bradburn Fall '74, 2 wks Spr '75, 3 wks 3 days Affect Items* (N=59) (N=62) (N=174) Yuleis Q Positive Excited .75 .94 .86 Proud .75 .88 .95 Pleased .77 .57 .91 O n top of the world .91 .79 .96 Things going your way .85 .71 .91 Negative Restless .66 .92 .90 Lonely .77 .84 .91 Bored .88 .82 .92 Depressed .80 .85 .90 Upset .67 .91 .97 Affect Scales G a m m a P A S .69 .60 .83 N A S .61 .77 .81 A B S .60 .53 .76 * For exact phrasing of items, see Table 5.2. 107 students in five state university sociology classes. A two- to three- week interval between time 1 and time 2 (rather than three days) was considered to be more appropriate for measuring r e lia b ility of the Bradburn items, since the instrument refers to feelings "during the past few weeks." (See the re lia b ility portion of the S R H section of this chapter for a b rief description of this r e lia b ility study.) In light of the longer time period and the smaller samples in this study, i t is not surprising that the Q's and gam m as are somewhat lower than Bradburn's. What is noteworthy, however, is that the coefficients are s t ill quite high, ranging from .57 to .94. In summary, available evidence supports high r e lia b ility of the Bradburn scales over time periods of three days to three weeks. Independent Variables In this research the impact of a set of independent variables on P W B is explored. Of central interest are the primary locators in the social structure--age, sex, and socioeconomic status (SES). Secondary factors examined are perceived financial situation, self-rated health and re lig io s ity . The following sections discuss the operationalization and d is tri bution of each of these independent variables. Several of these variables (age, S E S and health) were discussed earlier in this chapter under "Composition of the Sample" and thus w ill be dealt with only b riefly here. Age and Sex The sample is broken into four age groups for the analysis of the 108 impact of the primary locators in the social structure on P W B . Table 4.1 shows the age range, m ean age, sex distribution and size of these four age groups (teenage, young adult, middle age and old age). These particular age groups were chosen on the basis of logical life cycle divisions, in addition to constraints imposed by the sample design. Teenage respondents range in age from 16 to 19. Sample design led to the bottom cutoff, and 19 is the obvious last year of the teens. Young adult respondents range from 20 to 26. The sample design indi cated that parents in the middle generation must have an offspring between 16 and 26, so 26 is the necessary cutoff. The middle age group begins at age 35, half of the traditional "three score and ten" life span. F ifty -fiv e was selected as the beginning of old age. Again, sample design selected fifty -fiv e as the age for older genera- tionzmen to be included in the sample. Although this is somewhat young as a start of old age, i t is becoming more c o m m o n for people to re tire around age 55. Table 4.1 also shows the sample distribution by sex. The sample is 53% female and 47% male, not too far from the general population distribution of the United States (approximately 51% female and 49% male). Socioeconomic Status Tw o different indicators of S E S are u tilized in this study, house hold income and education. These are not combined to form an index of SES, as the sample bases d iffe r sligh tly. Respondents w ho are s t ill attending school are excluded from the education analysis, as the record of their fu ll educational attainment is not yet complete. 109 Individuals participating in the study were asked to estimate the combined annual incomes of a ll m em bers of their household. The 16 re sponse categories for this question can be seen in Table 4.5. For the analysis, these were cut to five categories (see Table 5.12), as this seemed a more appropriate number for sta tis tica l manipulations and m ean ingful discussion of the results. The sample median household income is $12,905. For the other index of SES, sample m em bers were queried as to the number of completed years of schooling. The eight response categories for this question are indicated in Table 4.6 which compares the educa tional attainment of sample respondents to that of Los Angeles County residents. Since Los Angeles County data are reported only for those over age 25, and there are no sample respondents between the ages of 27 and 34, education is reported for sample respondents between 35 and 74 only. Appendix Table 1 presents data on the present educational status of respondents 15 through 26. The exclusion of younger respondents from the sample educational distribution would lower the educational attainment of the sample som e what since younger respondents are more lik e ly to acquire more educa tion than older respondents in the sample. Nevertheless, the median education is quite high (12.9 years), and 46% have had at least som e college education (Table 4.6). M any of the younger respondents were in school at the time of completing the questionnaire, with 32% attending high school and 31% in college (Appendix Table 1). Furthermore, m any (22%) of those young people not currently in school planned to go back to school eventually. Thus, the younger generation is highly involved in the educational 110 process. Perceived Financial Situation A subjective measure of S E S is provided by the perceived financial situation scale developed by Smith et al. (1969) for the Cornell Study of Satisfactions. This scale, and the self-rated health scale to be discussed in the next section, are part of the Retirement Descriptive Index designed to measure the attitudes of those w ho have retired from the work force. A s a result of these purposes, the 18 financial items and 9 health items were included only in the questionnaires mailed to the parent and grandparent generations (N=1141). Respondents were asked to check "yes," "no," or "?" ( i f that was h ow they fe lt or the item did not describe th eir situation) adjacent to each of 18 adjectives or phrases referring to th eir general financial situation. Positively-worded items were: "satisfactory," "well o ff," "steady," "high income," "good pension plan," "income from investments," "income provides luxuries," "self-supporting," and "good lif e insur ance plan." The other nine items describe a negative financial pic ture, namely, "barely live on income," "insecure," "bad," "need outside help," "worry about it ," "have to m ake do," "no money to meet emergen cies," "receive public assistance," and "need help from other family members." (See Appendix Table 2 for the distribution of sample re sponses on each item.) This sample appears to be quite satisfied with their financial situation. For example, 14% gave "yes" responses to the phrase "high income"; one-fourth described themselves as "well o ff"; and over 111 of the respondents considered th eir financial situation to be "satis factory" and/or "steady." Negative descriptors received l i t t l e agree ment, with only 3 % agreeing that their financial situation was "bad"; 7 % concurring i t was "insecure"; and 17% saying they "barely liv e on their income." However, almost one-fourth of the adult sample admit that they "worry about" th eir financial situation. The financial situation scale w as constructed by sum m ing scores on the 18 items for a given respondent. A score of 0 was assigned to a "yes" on a negative item or a "no" on a positive item; "?" was given a 1; and a score of 2 was recorded for a "yes" to a positive item or a "no" to a negative item. After sum m ing the scores on the 18 items, a high score on the scale represents a desirable financial situation and a low score indicates an undesirable financial situation as per ceived by the respondent. Scale scores range from 0 to 36, with a sam ple m ean of 25. The data base on the scale is considerably attenuated (N=862, 76% of the two oldest generations), since respondents w ho failed to respond to any of the 18 items had to be excluded from the analysis. Self-Rated Health The nine-item scale designed to measure self-rated health was also developed by Smith et al. (1969) as part of the Cornell Study of Satisfactions. These items were included in the parent and grand parent questionnaires. The scale consists of nine adjectives or phrases referring to the general health condition of respondents. Four of the items are 11 2 positively phrased—"need l i t t l e or no medical care," "excellent," "never fe lt better," and "better condition than most people m y age." Five of the items describe a negative health situation— "have a lo t of minor ailments," "feel tired a ll the time," "must be careful what I do," "failin g ," and "poor." (See Appendix Table 3 for the sample dis tribution on each health item.) Respondents perceive themselves as generally healthy. Over half report their health as "excellent"; only 6 % describe i t as "failing"; and 5 % as "poor." While 19% agree that they "have a lo t of minor a il ments," 65% say they "need l i t t l e or no medical care." To obtain a scale score for a respondent, the nine items were sum m ed, with items coded as indicated in the Perceived Financial Situ ation section. Scale scores range from 0 to 18, with a sample m ean of 13. Again, a respondent was excluded from the analysis i f he failed to respond to any of the nine items. Thus, there were only 906 valid observations (79% of the two oldest generations). Religiosity Religiosity can be measured in m any ways. For this research proj ect, three measures are used: attendance at religious services, ortho doxy of beliefs, and self-assessed devoutness. For a detailed dis cussion of the re lig io s ity of a portion of this sample, see Braun and Bengtson (1972). A n overview of the religious character of the sample should in clude a brief discussion of religious a ffilia tio n and church membership. In response to the question, "What is your religion?" 54% indicated a 113 Protestant denomination; 19%, Gatholic; 12%, Jewish; 5%, other re ligions (such as Christian Science, Mormon); and 10%, no religious preference, atheist, or agnostic (see Appendix Table 4). Almost half of the respondents said they were a "registered m em ber of a church, parish, or synagogue during the past year or so." Attendance at Religious Services The frequency of attendance at religious services of sample re spondents is show n in Appendix Table 5. While over one-third of the sample never attend church, another third attend church regularly (more than twice a month). The remaining third attend several times a year. Orthodoxy of Beliefs Four items assessed respondents' attitudes toward the social value of religion and traditional biblical beliefs. The items were drawn from the Comrey and Newmeyer (1965) radicalism scale. Response choices for each item (coded from 1 to 4) are: strongly disagree, slightly disagree, sligh tly agree, and strongly agree. Appendix Table 6 presents the amount of agreement with each of the four b elief items. The social value of religion receives the strongest support from respondents, with about half of the sample strongly agreeing that "every child should have religious instruction" and "this country would be better o ff i f religion had a greater influence in daily life ." The traditional b elief items received somewhat weaker endorsement, with 42% of the sample strongly agreeing that "God exists in the form in which the Bible describes Him," and 35% strongly agreeing that "all people alive today are the descendants of A dam and Eve." 114 A n orthodoxy scale is constructed by summing an individual's scores on a ll four items. The resulting scale score ranges from 4 (for strong disagreement with a ll items) to 16 (strong agreement with a ll items). Appendix Table 7 provides the sample distribution on the orthodoxy scale. These b elief items are very widely accepted by this sample, since a quarter of the sample have a m axim um scale score of 16. Self-Assessed Devoutness Respondents were asked to what extent they considered themselves religious. Appendix Table 8 presents the distribution of the sample responses on the devoutness measure. The modal response (51% of the sample) is "somewhat religious," with an additional 18% describing themselves as "very religious." Thus, over two-thirds of the sample consider themselves religious to som e degree, with only 12% saying they are "not at a ll religious." S tatistical Tools A variety of s ta tis tic a l tools are u tilized in this research proj ect to assess the re lia b ility and v a lid ity of the dependent variables and to test the working hypotheses set forth in the theory chapter (Chapter I I I ) . Yule's Q, gam m a, and fearson's correlation were used in this chapter to evaluate the r e lia b ility and v a lid ity of the dependent variables. In the Results chapter (Chapter V) t-te s ts , Dunn's multiple comparison technique, analysis of variance and multiple regression analysis are used to test the working hypotheses and to explore infor mation with respect to the la tte r two objectives of the research (see Chapter I) . 115 Each of the statistical techniques w ill be discussed b riefly in the following sections to orient the reader. For detailed discussions of these techniques, the reader is referred to standard statis tica l textbooks such as Blalock (1972), Kerlinger and Pedhazer (1973), Kirk (1968), Loether and McTavish (1974), Mueller et al. (1970), and Wonnacott and Wonnacott (1970). T-Tests Student's t is a way of testing whether or not the difference .between two sample m eans is significant. Cases are classified into two groups, such as male and female, and a test of m ean differences between the groups is performed. Dunn's Multiple Comparison Technique Dunn's multiple comparison technique is an alternative to multiple: t-te s ts , which should be computed only for orthogonal (non-overlapping)j comparisons. Unadjusted multiple t-tests between adjacent groups (such as the four age groups) would not be orthogonal, and the proba- | b ility of getting a significant result would be higher than the stipu- I lated alpha level. Dunn's procedure can be used for making a ll planned; comparisons between means, not simply those that are orthogonal. The procedure involves sp littin g up the level of significance am ong a set I of planned comparisons. For a detailed discussion of this procedure, | see D unn (1961) and Kirk (1968). i Analysis of Variance [ 1 Analysis of variance, as measured by the F-test, is an extension 116 of the difference of m eans test and can be used to test for differences am ong m eans of more than two samples (Blalock, 1972). I t is the amount of v a ria b ility within categories compared to differences between them which determines how closely two variables are associated. The F-test is a measure of these differences. Analysis of variance is used in the analysis of the relationship of education and income to the dependent variables ' because each of these independent variables has five categories. While Dunn's tech nique of planned comparisons could have been used instead, four adjacent comparisons would have been required in contrast to three on the age analysis. Dividing the level of significance by four would have reduced i t considerably. Such a conservative approach m ay cover up important findings. The analysis of variance procedure can lead to a preliminary determination as to the existence of significant d iffe r ences between category means. I f the F-test is significant, the researcher can examine the pattern of the means and perform a posteri ori tests (such as Scheffe's technique) on the data i f indicated. G a m m a and Yule's Q G a m m a is a symmetrical measure for association of two ordinal variables. G a m m a in the 2 x 2 case is the sam e as Yule's Q. G a m m a measures the probability that two people picked at random from a population have sim ilar orders on two variables such that the person higher on the fir s t variable is also higher on the second. Statements are m ade about probable relative ordering of the measures and not about their absolute magnitude (Bradburn, 1969:34). 117 Pearson's Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (r) Pearson's r is a symmetrical measure of association between two interval-level variables. Its values vary from -1.0 to 0 to +1.0. I t expresses "the amount by which predictive errors could be reduced, given the prediction equation rather than the overall m ean of the dependent variable used in predicting" (Loether and McTavish, 1974: 233). The formula describes the way the m ean of the dependent variable (Y) varies as one m oves up the scale of the independent variable (X). While this procedure is intended for use with interval-level variables, "som e research on the issue indicates that for m any purposes, a procedure that moves from ordinal- to interval-level statistics while using ordinal data does not result in great errors in interpretation of the statistical results" (Loether and McTavish, 1974:20; see Labovitz, 1970), Thus, Pearson's r w ill be used in this research with ordinal-level variables. Multiple Regression Multiple regression is a s ta tis tic a l technique for assessing the relationship between a dependent variable and a set of independent or predictor variables. The main focus of the analysis is the evaluation and measurement of the overall dependence of a variable on a set of other variables. The relationship between a particular independent variable and the dependent variable m ay also be examined. Tw o important uses of the technique are: "(1) to find the best linear prediction equation and evaluate its prediction accuracy; and (2) to control for other confounding factors in order to evaluate the 118 contribution of a specific variable or set of variables" (Nie et al. 1975:32). In general 9 multiple regression requires interval-level variables and linear and additive relationships. However, these requirements are not absolute. For example, nominal variables can be included through the use of "dummies" (see Nie et aT., 1975:373-381). The multiple regression procedure is extremely valuable as a tool in assessing the relative and combined impact of a set of independent variables on a dependent variable, such as psychological well-being. I t provides a m eans of meeting the la tte r three objectives of this research project (see Chapter I) . For detailed discussions of multiple regression, see Kerlinger and Pedhazer (1973) and Wonnacott and Wonnacott (1970). 119 C H A P TE R V R ESU LTS Empirical observation is the m eans by which ideas becom e accepted or repudiated. In this chapter, findings from a sample of 1,957 per sons w ho were part of a three-generational study in Los Angeles w ill be presented as a test of the theoretical framework described in Chapter I I I . As in the theory chapter, material is organized around the four objectives of this research. Framed as questions, these objectives are: 1. What is the level of association of location in the social structure with (a) psychological well-being and (b) positive and negative affect? S pecifically, are age, sex and socio economic status associated with a sense of well-being and amount of positive and negative affect? 2. What is the level of association between various factors influencing position in the social structure and psycho logical well-being? 3. What is the total impact on psychological well-being of a set of variables including (a) primary locators in the social structure and (b) secondary factors influencing position in the social structure? 4. Are there age and sex differences in the relative and total impact on psychological well-being of a set of variables including (a) socioeconomic status and (b) secondary factors influencing position in the social structure? Hypotheses to be fu lly tested encompass only the fir s t of these objec tives. Thus, the bulk of this chapter comprises a discussion of the fir s t objective within the context of the theoretical framework. The 120 general theorem under investigation is that the higher the position in the social structure, the greater the P W B . The most important issue to be examined is the extent to which age, sex and socioeconomic status are associated with P W B and with positive and negative affect. This central issue is therefore treated fir s t. Following this in itia l section on primary locators in the social structure, other factors which m ay be associated with P W B are treated. The third and fourth objectives are each handled in separate sections. The total impact on P W B of a ll the independent variables previously examined in objectives 1 and 2 is described, followed by a more complex portion in which the effects of age and sex on the rela tive and total impact of the other independent variables on P W B are delineated. Primary Locators What is the level of association of location in the social structure with (a) psychological well-being and (b) positive and negative affect? Specifically, are age, sex and socio economic status associated with a sense of well-being and amount of positive and negative affect? A n answer to the above question constitutes the focal point of this project. To meet such an objective, 12 working hypotheses were developed, four for each locator. The three locators—age, sex and socioeconomic status (SES)—are each examined in turn, fir s t with respect to P W B , and then with respect to affect. A sum mary statement 121 comprises the fourth portion of the discussion. Age Are old people less happy than young people or is the opposite tendency a more accurate description of the social world? A s indicated in Chapter I I , there is lite ra tu re to support both points of view, and a sizable number of studies have found no age differences in happiness. Theoretically, i t is anticipated that old persons w ill be less happy because of their lower status in American society. For example, Gurin et a l . (1960:44) were not surprised to find that the old were less happy in their sample since "in a period of decline and growing lim i tation of g ratifica tio n , w e would expect to find less happiness." But this theoretical supposition was not borne out by the research. In fac t, the opposite tendency emerged: happiness scores increased with age on one measure (the Affect Balance Scale). But in keeping with expectations, youth did exhibit higher positive affect. Interest ingly, they also exhibited higher negative affe ct, again contradicting predictions. These patterns are fu lly described in two subsections. Psychological Well-Being and Affect. Psychological Well-Being I t w ill be recalled that two measures of P W B are to be applied to the data: self reports of happiness (SRH) and the Bradburn Affect Balance Scale (ABS). The two pertinent hypotheses are: Compared to m em bers of the old age group (55-74), those in younger age groups w ill experience: (1) higher levels of SRH. (2) higher scores on the ABS. 12 2 Neither hypothesis r eceived support when four age groups were compared. These four groups are: teenage (16-19); young adult (20-26); middle age (35-54); and old age (55-74). With respect to SRH, the m ean scores are identical for the three oldest age groups and somewhat lower for the teenage group (Table 5.1). In fact, teens have the lowest percent "very happy" (just over a fourth), and the highest percent "not too happy" (13%). One-way anal ysis of variance of S R H by age group did not yield a significant F- ra tio , indicating no age group differences. The fir s t hypothesis is thus rejected. But even though no significant age differences occur on the S R H measure, such differences might be in evidence when the A B S is a yard stick of P W B . The A B S enables finer discriminations, distinguishing nine points along the scale rather than three. This broader range eliminates the problem created by that large middle group, nearly 3/5 of the sample, in the S R H distribution. The A B S provides "a richer conceptual framework for investigating the correlates of P W B " (Brad burn, 1969:69). In a trend m uch clearer than that for SRH, the m ean A B S scores progress from the lowest point am ong teens to the highest for the old age category (Table 5.2). W hen scores of 6 or more are examined, age differences are readily apparent. Whereas over half of the old age persons f i t this range, not quite a fifth of the teenage group have scores this high. The other two groups are between these extremes, reflecting a pattern consistent throughout the table of A B S scores 123 Table 5.1 SELF-REPORTED HAPPINESS B Y A G E G R O U P (Percent) Self-Reported Happiness Teenage Young Adult Middle Age Old Age Total Sample 3. Very happy .26.8 30.2 27.5 28.9 28.1 2. Pretty happy 60.0 58.8 63.6 61.3 61.4 1. Not too happy 13.2 11.0 8.9 9.8 10.5 Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 No. of Respondents M ean Standard Deviation 493 2.14 .62 318 2.19 .61 676 2.19 .57 460 2.19 .59 1,947 2.18 .60 F = .985 n.s. 124 (Table 5.2). Using Dunn's technique, the only significant comparison is between the m ean A B S scores of the two center groups, young adult and middle age. However, when the t-te s t procedure is used, a ll three of the comparisons are significant. (See Chapter IV, S tatistical Tools, for a discussion of the differences between these two tests.) I t was noted in the lite ra tu re review that three distinct patterns for age and P W B had been observed: no differences, greater P W B am ong youth, and greater P W B am ong the aged. The findings reported here offer no support at a ll for the pattern of greater P W B am ong youth. However, there is som e suggestion that either of the other two m ay be correct, with S R H supporting no differences and A B S supporting higher P W B am ong older persons. Is there reason to lean more strongly in one of these two directions? W h en no differences in P W B occur with the use of S R H but are show n to exist to a signficant degree with a more refined instrument, there is reason to reject S R H as too crude for sophisticated theoreti cal investigations. Thus, in offering a view on the general hypothesis about age and P W B , more weight is given to the findings on the ABS. These data lend support to the notion that P W B is higher for old people than young people, using the A B S as a measure of P W B . Although this contradicts the key work previously cited by Gurin et al. (1960), Bradburn and Caplovitz (1965) and Bradburn (1969), i t concurs with several other researchers (Bengtson, 1972; C antril, 1965; Chiraboga and Lowenthal, 1974; and Robinson and Shaver, 1969). 125 Table 5.2 B R A D B U R N AFFECT B A L A N C E B Y A G E G R O U P (Percent) S C A LE S C O R E S Bradburn Affect Balance Scale Score Teen Age Young Adult Middle Age Old Age Total Sample 8 1.2 2.5 8.4 12.4 6.5 7 6.4 7.8 15.6 17.4 12.4 6 10.7 14.4 20.3 22.6 17.4 5 15.5 18.2 17.5 17.4 17.1 4 30.4 27.9 19.7 12.6 22.1 3 16.9 13.8 7.6 6.3 10.7 2 11.7 8.8 6.5 6.1 8.1 1 4.8 4.4 2.5 2.8 3.5 0 2.4 2.2 2.1 2.4 2.2 Total 100.0 100.0 100.2 100.0 100.0 No. of Respondents M ean Standard Deviation 497 3.97 1.68 319 4.27 1:74 681 5.02 1.89 460 5.28 1.99 1,957 4.69 1.91 Dunn's Multiple Comparison Tests (cc = .05/set) M ean Difference C ritical Difference T-Test Result TA-YA = .30 YA-M A = .75* M A -O A = .26 .315 .298 .265 2.44** 8.23** 2.21** * p < .017 (.05 per set/3) ** p < .05 (2t) 126 Of these la tte r investigators, however, only Bengtson used the ABS. Therefore this finding is especially notable, since i t runs counter to results by the originator of the scale. Affect The separate components of P W B , positive and negative affect, were predicted to have opposite associations, such that: Compared to members of the old age group, those in younger age groups w ill experience: (1) higher scores on the Positive Affect Scale (PAS). (2) lower scores on the Negative Affect Scale (NAS). While the fir s t prediction was upheld, the la tte r was not. Both the P A S and N A S consist of five feeling-state items. Togeth er responses on a ll ten items yield the ABS. Here consideration is given only to the two subscales. Most individual items were character ized by significant age differences, as shown in the distribution of responses in Table 5.3. O n each of the eight items with significant age group differences, the old age category featured the least affect and the middle age group had the next least amount. This pattern persisted both for positive and negative affect items. Of particular interest is the age group distribution on "depressed or very unhappy." This item could be considered a one-item measure of avowed unhappiness, comparable to the "very unhappy" response on the S R H scale. I t is noteworthy that this item received a m uch higher "yes" response than did the "very unhappy" condition, indicating either that social d e s ira b lility operates more strongly on the S R H measure or that the wording, "during the past few weeks," is more acceptable 127 Table 5.3 DISTRIBUTION O F R E S P O N S E S T O FEELING-STATE ITEMS B Y A G E G R O U P (Percent "Yes") Item No, Feeling-State Items Teen Age (497) Young Adult (319) Middle Age (681) Old Age 460 VTotal Sample (1957) Positive 1 Particularly excited or interested in something 95.4 95.3 90.2 76.5 89.1 3 Proud because someone complimented you on something you had done 81.9 86.8 80.8 73.5 80.3 5 Pleased about having accomplished something'^ 88.3 89.0 91.2 87.4 89.2 7 O n top of the world 50.7 54.5 48.6 34.1 46.7 9 Felt that things were really going your way* Negative 66.0 64.9 62.6 60.4 63.3 2 S o restless that you couldn't s it long in a chair 70.2 65.8 47.7 34.3 53.2 4 Very lonely or remote from other people 63.8 52.0 26.7 13.5 37.1 6 Bored 73.0 66.8 45.7 23.3 50.8 8 Depressed or very unhappy 62.0 58.0 33.6 21.5 42.0 10 Upset because someone criticized you 35.8 39.2 28.0 18.9 29.7 * Non-significant F-test for age group differences in the F-tests on a ll other items are significant (p < .001). ABS. 128 to this sample than "How would you say things are these days?" Age group differences are quite large on this item, with nearly three times as m any teens as old people reporting that they were "depressed or very unhappy during the past few weeks." For the P A S as a whole, the pattern is not perfectly linear but, in general, i t decreases from younger to older age groups (Table 5.4). This is as expected. With Dunn's technique, only the compari son between the middle age and old age groups is significant, but for the t-tests not only do the two older categories d iffe r significantly, but so do the young adult and middle age. The teen-young adult com parison was not significant with either sta tis tica l application. This sam e pattern is show n even more emphatically for negative affect (Table 5.5). M ean negative affect declines steadily from young est to oldest age group. Dunn's comparisons were significant between a ll adjacent age groups except the teen and young adult; a ll compari sons were significant when the t-te s t was employed. Age group d iffe r ences are particularly noticeable at the high and low ends of the N A S. For example, while 44% of the teenage respondents had a m axim um scale score of 4, only 9 % of the old age group garnered such a score. A n equally large gap exists when one considers the prevalence of no nega tive feelings during the past few weeks. A m ong those in the old age category, negativism is m uch less com m on. Such trends oppose the predicted pattern, rendering the hypothesis false for this sample. Thus, both positive and negative affect are more predominant am ong the young. The data offer som e support for the fir s t hypothesis 129 Table 5.4 B R A D B U R N POSITIVE AFFECT B Y A G E G R O U P (Percent) S C A L E S C O R E S Bradburn Positive Affect Scale Score Teen Age Young Adult Middle Age Old Age Total Sample 4 40.0 42.3 40.2 23.0 36.5 3 22.5 25.1 20.1 26.7 23.1 2 23.1 20.4 21.4 25.7 22.7 1 9.5 7.2 11.0 13.5 10.6 X o - } 0 4.8 5.0 7.2 11.1 7.2 iH { Total 99.9 100.0 99.9 100.0 100.1 No. of Respondents M ean Standard Deviation 497 2.84 1.19 319 2.93 1.17 681 2.75 1.28 460 2.37 1.28 1,957 2.71 1.26 Dunn's Multi ole Comparison Tests («^ = . 05/set) M ean Difference C ritical Differnce T-Test Result TA-YA — — .08 YA-M A = .17 M A -O A = .38* .210 .201 .179 -.946 2.07** 4.92** * p < .017 ** p < .05 (.05 (2t) per set/3) 130 Table 5.5 B R A D B U R N NEGATIVE AFFECT S C A LE S C O R E S B Y A G E G R O U P (Percent) Bradburn Negative Affect Scale Score Teen Age Young Adult Middle Age Old Age Total Sample 4 44.1 35.7 18.2 8.5 25.3 3 21.9 23.5 11.7 6.5 15.0 2 15.9 18.8 21.3 16.7 18.4 1 13.1 14.1 22.6 22.4 18.8 0 5.0 7.8 26.1 45.9 22.4 Total 100.0 99.9 99.9 100.0 99.9 No. of Respondents M ean Standard Deviation 497 2.87 1.25 319 2.65 1.30 681 1.73 1.43 460 1.09 1.28 1,957 2.02 1.50 Dunn's Multiple Comparison Tests ( = . 05/set) M ean Difference C ritical Difference T-Test Results TA-YA = .22 YA-M A = .92* M A -O A = .64* .228 .216 .192 2.39** 10.08** 7.89** * p ^ .017 (.05 per set/3) ** p < .05 (2t) 131 4 9 ^ 3 - -r . 9^% concerning positive affe ct, but firm ly reject the prediction for nega tive affect. These reported patterns are consistent with past research (Bradburn, 1969; Bradburn & Caplovitz, 1965). Possible explanations for the discrepancies between theoretical and empirical judgments w ill be noted in the summary discussion on primary locators. Sex The universality of role ascription according to sex has been discussed. Such role differentiation favors males in m any societies, including our own. From the standpoint of privilege and prestige, m en commonly outrank wom en. Thus males are expected on theoretical grounds to be happier. However, none of the studies in this area have found a significant sex difference in happiness, and the present work fa lls in line with this empirical evidence rather than theoretical projection. Also in keeping with previous findings, males exhibit less negative affe ct, as anticipated, but also less positive affect. These analyses are des cribed in the following two discussions of Psychological Well-Being and Affect. Psychological Well-Being Following the line of reasoning that higher position in the social structure w ill be directly linked to P W B , i t is hypothesized that: Compared to females, males w ill experience: (1) higher levels of SRH. (2) higher scores on the ABS. Neither idea is substantiated. 132 The m ean S R H scores for the two sexes are not significantly d if ferent, and the distributions are almost identical (Table 5.6). Nor do sex differences materialize when the more sensitive A B S is used (Table 5.7). Although the m ean A B S score is somewhat lower for females, the difference is not s ta tis tic a lly significant. Thus, while this small tendency is like that reported by Bradburn (1969), i t is not sufficient to warrant support of the hypothesis. Both predictions concerning S R H and the A B S are rejected. Separate examination of age and sex have revealed som e differences on the A B S but none on the S R H measure. But what i f the two independ ent variables are combined? Are there sex differences in P W B within age groups? Previous studies have neglected simultaneous consideration of age and sex. Such an additional step can illuminate subtle aspects of a relationship, possibly altering conclusions. However, perusal of S R H and A B S for males and females within each of four age groups only serves to crystallize the conclusion that there are no sex differences for these measures of P W B . Neither instrument produced s ta tis tic a lly significant sex differences within age groups (Table 5.8). While som e of the comparisons for S R H (Table 5.8a) and the A B S (5.8b) offer partial support for the expectation of lower P W B for women, the sta tis tica l evidence is inadequate. Furthermore, the oldest females are the happiest of a ll age-sex groups when A B S scores are considered. Based on theoretical predictions, such a combination should be the least happy. Completion of this additional analytic step adds strength to the conclusion that there are no sex differences in P W B , for such is the case even after controlling for age. 133 Table 5.6 SELF-REPORTED HAPPINESS B Y S E X (Percent) Self-Reported Happiness 3. Very happy 2. Pretty happy 1. Not too happy Total No. of Respondents M ean Standard Deviation t (.05, 2t) = .15 n.s. Male 27.6 62.2 10.2 100.0 911 2.17 .59 Female 28.6 60.6 10.8 100.0 1,036 2.18 .61 Total Sample 28.1 61.4 10.5 100.0 1,947 2.17 .60 134 Table 5.7 B R A D B U R N AFFECT B A L A N C E S C A LE S C O R E S B Y SEX (Percent) Bradburn Affect Balance Scale Score Male Female Total Sample 8 6.5 6.6 6.5 7 11.2 13.5 12.4 6 18.0 17.0 17.4 5 19.6 14.8 17.1 4 22.2 22.0 22.1 3 10.4 10.9 10.7 2 7.8 8.3 8.1 1 2.7 4.1 3.5 0 1.5 2.9 2.2 Total 99.9 100.1 100.0 No. of Respondents M ean Standard Deviation 919 X 4.75' 1.82 1,038 4.64 1.99 1,957 4.69 1.91 t (.05, 2t) = 1.26 n.s. 135 rs . o n 0 LO r x CO IX r — LO CD CO 0 0 «d* CM 0 CO 0 CM CM CM CM Lc. CM CM LO CM CM CM ' — CM '— CM O) CD CM CO C 7> CO CM to CM CO c LU or -a O 1 — C 7n to CO CO CM CM CO O 0 CM LO 0 CM C T » CD CM CO 0 0 CM 0 CO "d- "d- "d- s: CM CM L O CM CM CM CM LU _ J < c c _ ) to CO CO to CO IX 00 0 LO 1 — I — LO C T jc m 00 r x CM CO CO "d- CO C_) IX IX IX IX LU O) u _ CM CO « d - CO CM CO CO L i _ a n L i _ •sC " i d - c m to < c ■ 5 d - a \ CM "d- O) o 2: TD ct TD 0 C T » CO "d- c j n "d- 0 CM LO C T » 0 r x CO IX CM CO to >d- CO CD s: o n 0 0 0 2: CM CM LO CO CM CO CO LU QQ _ J _ J X CO 0 0 CO 0 C 7n 0 0 LU LU 1 — to « z d - CM CO «d- o n "d- IX CO >d- 3 CO to to to to • 4 J L i _ CM <d- CM CM _ J Q 0 0 <C Z Z3 r x CM LO C 7n 0 < c X J CM CO "d- to LO 1 — 1 cC CD Q_ 1 O) 0 ZD C T —J 0 C C D ro to "d- to LO 0 _ o 0 Q i = S C M to CO to 1 0 o n LO to c o LO fO ZC CD 0 LO LO LO LO h - CD > - CM ■ 5 d- CM CM > - LU t o CD Q - Li_ > - 0 CD CO «id- to CO CO o n CO 1 — to LO < D n IX to < D n to o n C M to CO r x r x r x r x 2 : u _ CM CM CO CM CM CM CM CM 0 - K 1 — 1 O) * * 1 — o n to CM CO < c < = C CO "d- 0 <d- 1 — 1 > c CM CM LU o > CO CO 0 IX CM 0 CM to 0 O) 0 LO CO CD LO r x CM r x CM 1 — CM CM CM 0 CM CM ■ s d " CM CM CM CM CM ai <C 0 2: < c t o ! — t o CO O) c c t o c t / n c (/) c t m 0 • I - 0 4-> 0 4D 0 4D 0 4D 2 : O l •!- c c c c <C IZ L + J O) + J (U 4J O) 4-> (D r t 3 < 0 X J fd TD fd X J fd TD CO D Z •!- c c 4-> c 4D c 2 : > 0 O) > 0 0 > 0 0 > 0 <C X J o> O l- ^ 0 O) O l^ O) O) C L . ' ^ O) < D Q. - — ^ LU Q J 0 t o +j c Q t o 4 D 4 - 0 t / n 4 ^ 4 - 0 t m 4 - > 4 -> O) CM fd C U CM 4 - O ) 1 — 4 - ( D 1 “ s- X 3 o c : X) DC cc - a ai X J 0 : 0 s - fd S- 5- 5- CL B3 M - LO CD fd 4 - LO < D fd t+ - LO 0) fd t * - LO O ) T D 0 0 X J 0 C D > X J 0 0 > X J 0 0 DC C C 4-> c c • r - C c c c 1 (d (d 0 fd fd 4D fd fd 4-^ fd fd M - O ) 0 O ) O ) 4-) 0 •r— G J 4-> 0 fd ( D 4 J 0 r - s : CO 2 : 4^ M - s : to 2: 4 - > t / n s: to 2: 4 D c m 2 : t o 2 : 4-> 0) 4 - 0 C D O ) CO cC CL z , C t s a CO fd J D 0 X J L O I— o o V V Q l O l * Î 136 Affect Iri contrast to P W B , the findings for affect do indicate sex differences. The two predictions are: Compared to females, males w ill experience: (1) higher scores on the PAS. (2) lower scores on the NAS. Distribution of a ll ten feeling-state items for males and females is show n in Table 5.9. Over half of these items feature significant sex differences, with females higher in each^case. Although this is an ti cipated for the negative items, i t is contrary to expectations for the positive items. Notably, the item with the largest sex difference is "depressed or very unhappy." A s indicated e a rlie r, this is compar able to a one-item measure of self-reported unhappiness and m ay reveal som e tendency for w o m en to be less happy than men. W h en the entire P A S is considered, females are shown to be signi fican tly higher than males (Table 5.10). Contradiction of the hypo thesis is thereby indicated. Bradburn (1969) also found this tendency for w om en to be higher in positive affe ct, but the difference was not significant in his sample. Information presented in Table 5.11 for the N A S confirms Brad burn 's (1969) finding of significantly higher negative affect scores for females than for males. Results from current respondents were also s ta tis tic a lly significant, confirming the hypothesis. From inspection of the several tables portraying responses by sex, i t becomes clear that w o m en register more affect than men, be i t of a positive or negative nature. Such a result fits easily with observed 137 Table 5.9 DISTRIBUTION O F R E S P O N S E S T O FEELING-STATE ITEMS B Y SEX (Percent "Yes") Item No. Feeling-State Items Positive Male (919) Female (1,038) Total Sample (1.957) 1 Particularly excited or interested in something* 87.5 90.6 89.1 3 Proud because someone complimented you on som e thing you had done* 76.3 83.9 80.3 5 Pleased about having accomplished something 89.2 89.2 89.2 7 O n top of the world* 44.4 48.7 46.7 9 Felt that things were really going your way Negative 64.3 62.4 63.3 2 So restless that you couldn't s it long in a chair 52.2 54.1 53.2 4 Very lonely or remote from other people* 34.5 39.5 37.1 6 Bored 49.7 51.7 50.8 8 Depressed or very unhappy* 35.7 47.5 42.0 10 Upset because someone c ritic ized you* 26.7 32.4 29.7 *T test (1-ta ile d ) significant between female-male m ean (p < L .05). feeling-state 138 B R A D B U R N Positive Affect Scale Score Table 5.10 POSITIVE AFFECT S C A LE S C O R E S B Y S E X (Percent) Total Male Female Sample 4 34.5 38.2 36.5 3 22.6 23.5 23.1 2 24.4 21.2 22.7 1 10.2 10.9 10.6 0 8.3 6.2 7.2 Total 100.0 100.0 100.1 No. of Respondents 919 1,038 1,957 M ean 2.65 2.77 2.72 Standard Deviation 1.27 1.24 1.26 t (.05 , It ) = 2.10* * p < .05 139 Table 5.11 B R A D B U R N NEGATIVE AFFECT SC A LE S C O R E S B Y SEX (Percent) Negative Affect Scale Score t (.05, I t ) = 3.37* p C . 001 Male Female Total Sample 4 21.4 28.8 25.3 3 15.1 14.9 15.0 2 19.9 17.1 18.4 1 19.0 18.5 18.8 0 24.5 20.6 22.4 Total 99.9 99.9 99.9 No. of Respondents 919 1,038 1,957 M ean 1.90 2.13 2.02 Standard Deviation 1.47 1.52 1.50 140 personality differences for the sexes (for instance, see Terman and Miles, 1936; Udry, 1974). I t also confirms Bradburn's recognition (1969:92) of a "tendency for w om en to be more emotional or to at least report more feeling states, both positive and negative, than men." Bradburn and Caplovitz (1965) had e a rlie r m ade a sim ilar statement. However, these results are not supportive of theoretical expectations. I t would seem that in relation to sex, lower status m ay indeed m ean more negative reactions; i t does not necessarily also m ean fewer positive responses. Turning to sex differences in affect within age groups, i t is found that females are higher than males in positive affect for three of the four age categories (Table 5.8c). The exception occurs in the young adult group. However, the only significant t-te s t was for the teenage group. The pattern of greater negative affect am ong females is retained for a ll four age groups, but again s ta tis tic a l significance is reached only in the teen years (Table 5.8d). Controlling for age thus reduces the impact of sex differences in affect, but the trend of higher affect for females remains, although s ta tis tic a l significance is not reached for most comparisons. Whereas sex comparisons for P W B within age groups served only to confirm the position of no sex differences, use of the sam e tactic pro duces additional information when applied to affect. I t is shown that differences in affect are particularly acute am ong teens. Such refine ment adds to our understanding of affect patterning. The value of simultaneous examination of both sex and age for investigations of 141 happiness is illu strated by the new slant such a procedure provides in this instance. I t is hoped that future researchers w ill be attuned to this advantage and subject their data to such analysis more regu la rly than have past investigators. Socioeconomic Status Lifestyle is largely derived from one's social class. The m any advantages which tend to accompany higher incomes have been noted in the theory chapter. Such advantages afford the individual a positive outlook on lif e , and extensive support exists in the lite ra tu re for a direct relationship between S E S and happiness (for example, see Gurin et al. , 1960; Bradburn, 1969; Bradburn and Caplovitz, 1965). Based both on past research and on theoretical grounds, i t w as expected that S E S would be positively linked with the chosen measures of P W B and affect. However, consistent s ta tis tic a l evidence which would support these views is lacking. While income and education interm ittently influence P W B or affect in the expected manner, few of the anticipated patterns are characterized by either strength or regularity. They often disappear when age is controlled. The two S E S indices of income and education are analyzed separate ly because the data bases d iffe r for the two variables. While i t is possible to u tiliz e the entire sample for income, teenagers were excluded from the income analysis as their financial status presumably would be largely dependent on parental income. O n the other hand, present educational level cannot be used as an S E S index for all younger respondents since m any teenagers and young adults are s t ill 142 in high school or college. A s th eir education is incomplete, present educational level would under-represent eventual academic attainment, thus distorting SES. For this reason, a ll teenage and young adult respondents w ho were attending school at the time of data collection were excluded from the analysis of the relationship between education and the dependent variables. There were 390 teenagers and 118 young adults screened out on this basis. Psychological Well-Being Income. Following the philosophy of "more is better," i t was predicted that: Compared to m em bers of lower income categories, those in higher income categories w ill experience: (1) higher levels of SRH. (2) higher scores on the ABS. This data offer no support for such contentions. From scrutiny of the m ean S R H scores for each of the five income categories, i t is apparent that the expected pattern of linear increase in S R H with each higher income category does not appear (Table 5.12a). Respondents lowest in S R H are those with yearly incomes of $11,000- $14,999, the middle category. The happiest group is immediately below this level of intake, claiming annual incomes of $7,000-$10,999. The F-test from a one-way analysis of variance of S R H by income is not signi fi cant. The pattern of relationship between income and the A B S is sim ilar to the one indicated above for S R H (Table 5.12b). Again, those earning 143 Table 5.12 M E A N S O F PSYC H O LO G IC A L A N D S T A N D A R D DEVIATIONS W ELL-BEING A N D AFFECT S C A L E B Y H O U S E H O L D IN C O M E S C O R E S Household Income Scale $3,000- $6,999 $7,000- $10,999 $11,000- $14,999 $15,000- $20,999 $21,000 Plus Total Sample a. Self-Reported Happiness X s.d. N Range=l-3 F = 2.07 2.137 .609 335 2.229 .560 323 2.120 .594 301 2.187 .583 449 2.213 .613 347 2.179 .593 1,755 b. Affect Balance X s.d. N Range=0-8 F = 2.45* 4.610 1.921 336 4.948 1.929 324 4.579 1.897 302 4.675 1.868 449 4.869 1.853 351 4.735 1.895 1,762 c. Positive Affect X s.d. N Range— 0— 4 F : = 8.16** 2.568 1.277 336 2.673 1.185 324 2.579 1.293 302 2.784 1.248 449 3.031 1.167 351 2.737 1.245 1,762 d. Negative Affect X s.d. N Range=0-4 F = 4.41** 1.958 1.560 336 1.725 1.504 324 2.000 1.492 302 2.109 1.485 449 2.162 1.462 351 2.002 1.505 1,762 * ** p .05 p .01 144 incomes just below the median annual income reported in Los Angeles County in 1970 ($10,972) are the happiest, while those in the next highest income bracket are the unhappiest of the five income groups. In this instance, the F-test is significant, indicating that som e of the comparisons between m eans are large enough to be s ta tis tic a lly significant even though the relationship is not linear. In the absence of the predicted pattern, i t seem s reasonable to control for age which is highly correlated with income. Such a con trol could uncover otherwise obscured trends. But for both the S R H and the A B S no such relationship occurred within any of the age categories. This lack of association between income and measures of P W B con tradicts not only theoretical expectations but past empirical evidence Education. Because education frequently is a key to greater income and an enriched life s ty le , i t was projected that: Compared to members of lower education categories, those in higher education categories w ill experience: (1) higher levels of SR H . (2) higher scores on the ABS. These are not confirmed. Although the pattern is in the expected direction for this second index of S E S as i t influences SRH, the F-test is not significant (Table 5.13a). Nor is i t significant w hen A B S scores are examined according to educational level. Here the pattern is not even linear, although the lowest educational category has the lowest m ean A B S score 145 Table 5.13 M E A N S A N D S T A N D A R D DEVIATIONS O F PSYC H O LO G IC A L WELL-BEING A N D AFFECT SC A LE S C O R E S B Y EDUC A TIO NA L LEVEL Educational Level Scale a. Self-Reported Happiness Y s.d. N Range=l-3 F=1.13 0-9 yrs 2.126 .592 143 10-11 2.161 .631 199 Hi.Sch. Grad. 2.183 .603 432 yrs. Col. 2.176 .581 533 -C6TT Grad. Plus 2.248 .562 234 Total Sample 2.182 .592 1,541 b. Affect Balance X s.d. N Range=0-8 F=1.46 4.916 2.023 143 5.010 2.091 199 4,797 2.015 433 4.795 1.851 537 5.097 1.674 236 4.881 1.922 1,548 c. Positive Affect X s.d. N Range=0-4 F=14.68* 2.154 1.274 143 2.467 1.321 199 2.603 1.278 433 2.818 1.200 537 3.304 1.192 236 2.684 1.266 1,548 d. Negative Affect X 1.238 s.d. 1.342 N 143 Range=0-4 F=11.65* 1.457 1.507 199 1.806 1.475 433 2.022 1.484 537 1.936 1.414 236 1.804 1.481 1,548 p < ..0 1 146 and the highest educational category has the highest m ean A B S score (Table 5.13b). The relationship between education and P W B was also examined within each of the age groups after excluding respondents currently attending school. A linear relationship appeared for both measures of P W B but not consistently for the sam e age categories. For SRH, no linear pattern showed up for the oldest age group, but i t was d istin ctly present for young adults and nearly so for middle age persons. With respect to the ABS, a perfect linear increase from the lowest to the highest educational categories occurs only am ong old age respondents. For middle-aged persons the tendency is present, but i t is not at a ll in evidence for the young adults. Correlation coefficients of the A B S with education and income in the adult sample by age and by sex appear in Table 5.15. I t is d iffic u lt to summarize the complex interrelationships between S E S and P W B found in this sample. All four hypotheses remain uncon firmed. Although there is som e indication that P W B m ay increase as education increases, the relationship is substantiated only for certain age groups and is not consistent enough or strong enough to be conclusive. Affect A study of the affect scales according to sex and age revealed trends quite different from those for the more general P W B measures. Sim ilarly, the findings on affect as influenced by S E S display themes distinct from those for P W B . 147 Income. Following through with the premise that positive affect and negative affect w ill function inversely, i t w as predicted that: Compared to members of lower income categories, those in higher income categories w ill experience: (1) higher scores on the PAS. (2) lower scores on the NAS. The fir s t receives support. However, negative affect also increases with an income ris e, a result not expected theoretically. Bradburn (1969) had ea rlier indicated this direct lin k. M ean positive affect tends to increase from the lowest to the highest income category as indicated in Table 5.12c. The one excep tion is the higher positive affect for respondents in the third cate gory. The one-way analysis of variance in positive affect by income produced a highly significant F-test. A s for negative affect scores and income, the relationship follows that for positive a ffe c t, increasing together with financial incre ments. Again, one exception prevents the relationship from being per fectly linear (Table 5.12d). Nonetheless, the F-test is significant. W h en controls for age are applied, positive and negative affect are no longer so clearly linked to income changes. For positive affect a direct relationship with income, although not perfect, remains for the two oldest age groups only. For negative affe ct, introducing age as a control variable eliminates the relationship with income. There is no pattern of linear increase in negative affect with an increase in income for any of the age groups. 148 Education. A s with income, significant F-tests appear both for the analysis of variance in positive affect and in negative affect according to educational level. In both instances the relationship is direct. Such a pattern was predicted only for positive affect. The two pertinent hypotheses are: Compared to m em bers of lower education categories, those in higher education categories w ill experience: (1) higher scores on the PAS. (2) lower scores on the N A S. Only the fir s t is supported. There is a perfect linear relationship between positive affect and education (Table 5.13c). The percentage of respondents with a m axim um P A S score increases from 16% am ong those with 9th grade education or less to 50% am ong college graduates. Such a substantial sh ift gives credence to the hypothesis. Interestingly, m ean negative affect also tends to increase linear ly with increased education. The percentage with a m axim um scale score rises from 11% at the lowest educational level to 24% of the college graduates. Although less dramatic than the pattern for positive affect, the trend is clear and is in direct opposition to that predicted. Imposing age as a control variable, positive affect s t ill climbs simultaneously with education except am ong teens w ho have yet to com plete the fu ll educational span. This trend is sim ilar to the results when controlling for age in the relationship between income and positive affect. Likewise, the relationship between negative affect and educa 149 tion follows the pattern for negative affect and income; controlling for age eliminates the direct association formerly observed. (Appendix Tables 9 and 10 show the correlation coefficients of the P A S and the N A S with education and income in the adult sample by age group and by sex. ) In other words, this analysis tends to confirm previous findings by Bradburn (1969) regarding the relationship of S E S to affect level. Both positive and negative affect increase as either income or educa tion increases. After controlling for age, the relationship of posi tive affect with S E S generally remains but for negative affect i t disappears. Sum m ary and Discussion The triumverate of social variables—age, sex, and SES—failed in this sample to distinguish between those with high and low scores on two measures of psychological well-being—self-reported happiness (SRH) and the Affect Balance Scale (ABS). However, scores on the two sub-scales of the A B S are d efinitely tied to these primary locators in the social structure. Where the preceding pages described P W B and affect separately for each of the three variables, the present discussion w ill focus on h o w a ll these primary locators influence P W B and then w ill look at their impact on affect. Psychological Well-Being Highlights of the probe into relationships between P W B and age, sex, and S E S are: 150 1. Higher position in the social structure as determined by younger age, maleness, or high levels of income or education, does not produce significantly greater scores for S R H or for the ABS. None of the predictions regarding location in the social structure and P W B were confirmed. 2. Contrary to expectations, P W B increases significantly with age w hen the more refined A B S is the instrument. 3. Controlling for age on the sex and S E S variables served to confirm the patterns already described rather than to illuminate new ones. These results do not conform to predictions but are in line with som e of the available empirical evidence. I t w ill be recalled that the lite ra tu re is replete with contradictions concerning these three locators and P W B . For instance, a case can be m ade for no age d iffe r ences, decreased P W B with advancing age, or increased P W B with advanc ing age. The findings here lengthen the lis t supporting the la tte r view. Concurring with this conclusion are Cantril (1965), Chiraboga and Lowenthal (1974), Robinson and Shaver (1969) and, for males only, Spreitzer and Snyder (1974). Such a trend is very important because i t challenges the frequent assumption of unhappiness as a chronic condition am ong the elderly. Perpetuation of myths often hampers the effectiveness of social in te r action. A more optimistic view could prove beneficial for older per sons, both from their personal standpoint and from the orientation toward them on the part of professionals. N ew paths for gerontological research m ay open when one takes as a premise that persons m ay well experience greater P W B in late r years. Despite indications :that w om en, report a greater tendency toward 151 nervous breakdowns, more personal problems, and other signs of unhap piness, no parallel patterns emerged to a significant extent on any overall measure of P W B in this study. Nor have most researchers found sex differences in overall happiness (Bradburn, 1969; Bradburn and Caplovitz, 1965; Edwards and Klemmack, 1973; Gaitz and Scott, 1972; Gurin et al.,1960; Palmore and Lui kart, 1972). For the measures currently being used, the evidence at present points to no sex d iffe r ences in P W B . Recurring lack of sex differences in happiness raises more ques tions than i t answers. Given the variation in socialization for the sexes, especially am ong persons of early middle age and older, the absence of differences in level of P W B requires explanation. S o m e possible reasons include: (1) social d esirab ility of favorable re sponses which m ay "homogenize" replies; (2) d iffe ren tial responses to the A B S sub-scales which m ay result in convergence of the sexes on total A B S scores; and (3) social compensation on the part of females w ho fa il to perceive th eir social status as in fe rio r. Further expli cation of these ideas is deferred to the Final Assessment chapter. For S E S m uch of the contemporary literatu re supported the theoret ical contention that P W B would rise together with income and/or educa tion. Data from this project, however, reside with the smaller group of studies which report that S E S is not of great significance in deter mining P W B . These studies included Palmore and Luikart (1972), Spreit zer and Snyder (1974), and Beiser (1974). In Beiser's research the A B S was also employed. 152 Certain methodological aspects of this research m ay have contrib uted to the low level of association between S E S and P W B . Separate consideration of income and education, instead of a combined index, could have som e impact. Often occupation is included in such an S E S measure. Again, operation of the two A B S sub=scales could work in a way to reduce differences when only the total scores are examined. The dynamics of this particular problem w ill be described in conjunc tion with summary statements on affect. Sample characteristics m ay also be p a rtia lly responsible. Furthermore, other researchers, such as Edwards and Klemmack (1974), have noted the greater.predictive value of subjective statements regarding finances as compared to objective indicators. Perhaps the more standard measures of income and education are less relevant than was previously thought. . Affect Main features of the search for a link between the primary locat ors and affect are: 1. Significant differences do exist in expressed positive and negative affect according to age, sex and S E S vari ables, although not a ll relationships are in the pre dicted direction. 2. The two sub-scales, the positive affect scale and the negative affect scale, both correlate directly with sex and S E S but inversely with age. 3. Four of the eight hypotheses receive support: a. Compared to m em bers of the old age group, those in younger age groups w ill experience higher scores on the PAS. b. Compared to females, males w ill experience lower scores on the NAS. 153 c. Compared to members of lower income categories, those in higher income categories w ill experience higher scores on the PAS. d. Compared to m embers of lower education categories, those in higher education categories w ill experi ence higher scores on the PAS. The counterparts to each of the above statements did not receive support and were, in fac t, refuted by the findings. 4. W hen age control is introduced on the sex and S E S variables, the differences are retained for P A S but disappear for the N AS. The picture for primary locators as they pertain to affect is quite different from that for P W B . These abrupt shifts in the scene as one turns attention toward the separate components of the A B S have major implications. F irs t, the value of examining the two sub-scales in detail becomes apparent. Whereas anticipated patterns were conspic uous by their absence when A B S scores were inspected, several of them emerge in a definite manner when the affective components are consid ered. These results call into question the advisability of ever rely ing only upon the sum mary view provided by the ABS. Secondly, the tendency for both positive and negative affect to be correlated with the primary predictors in the sam e manner not only triggers a dem and for theoretical reassessment but also helps explain . the lack of relationship between these locators and A B S scores. Under conditions where positive and negative affect both relate either direct ly or inversely to the independent variable, the value of the A B S is considerably reduced because cancellation of differences across the categories of the independent variable can be the end result. While Bradburn (1969) uncovered the tendency for positive and 154 negative affect to sometimes behave in like manner, he did not s u ffi ciently stress the d iffic u ltie s with the A B S which can occur i f the two sub-scales operate in tandem. I t is here posited that the lack of re lationship reported e a rlie r in this study between the primary locators and the A B S scores is due in part to the cancellation of differences which occurs when increments in the independent variable are accom panied by increments of both positive and negative affect. Turning now to the specific findings on affe ct, i t can be stated that they agree with empirical observations of other researchers even though they p a rtia lly contradict theoretical probjections. The con cept of flattened affect am ong the aged has been described by more than one investigator (Bradburn, 1969; Bradburn and Caplovitz, 1965; Cason, 1930; Dean, 1962; Gaitz and Scott, 1972; Lakin and Eisdorfer, 1962; Neugarten and Associates, 1964; Rosen and Neugarten, 1964). All three previous studies which included the P A S and the N A S in th eir designs found fewer reported feelings of both kinds as age increased (Bradburn, 1969; Bradburn and Caplovitz, 1965; Gaitz and Scott, 1972). Brad burn (1969) found a particularly strong decline in positive affect with age but, in this data, the strongest decline with age is in negative affect. Overall, evidence from several sources is consistent and fa irly strong that there is a decline in expressed affect with age. Since in this research the decline in positive affect was less dramatic than that for negative affe ct, the net result is a higher A B S score am ong the older age categories of the sample. Where changes in both types of affect are more p ara lle l, differences in overall P W B are minimized, even though extensive variation in affective state exists 155 from group to group. A s expected, w om en were more negative than m en but, contrary to predictions, they were also more positive. Their socialization experi ences tend to emphasize emotional expression. Men, w ho are taught to suppress th eir feelings, indicated less extreme amounts of affect on the P A S and N A S in this study. I t seem s that w o m en have m any feelings of both kinds compared to men, but the net result is l i t t l e difference in overall P W B , according to the ABS. With respect to SES, Bradburn and Caplovitz (1965) suggest that higher education and greater income lead to increased emotional sensi tiv ity and responsiveness to the environment. This explanation is intended to account for the rise of both positive and negative feelings as these two S E S indices rise. Gurin et a l. (1960) report greater introspectiveness, more worry, greater feelings of inadequacy and more awareness of both positive and negative aspects of th eir lives am ong better-educated respondents. According to Bradburn (1969), educational level was associated with P W B only through positive affect. Income was related to both types with a stronger link to positive affect. However, in this data, both types of affect tended to increase significantly with higher income and greater education. Yet, after controlling for age, the pattern remains for positive affect but disappears for negative affect. Thus, the findings are not identical to those of Bradburn (1969). In conclusion, the affect scores were more d istin ctly linked to the three primary locators than were the A B S scores. This raises the 156 question as to whether the sim ilarity of A B S scores across the various age, sex or S E S categories accurately reflects re a lity . Secondary Factors 2. What is the level of association between various factors influencing position in the social structure and psycho logical well-being? A subordinate goal of this research is to study the impact on P W B of several subjective factors which influence location in the social structure. These secondary factors relate to the individual's percep tion of his ow n health, re lig io s ity and financial situation (see Chap ter I I I for a discussion of these variables). Treatment of these new independent variables differs considerably from the preceding section on primary locators with a reduction in scope along several dimen sions. For presenting a less detailed analysis of these subjective vari ables, the focus was narrowed in three ways: (1) sample reduction (2) elimination of certain dependent variables (3) level of s ta tis tic a l examination Each of these shifts w ill be explained before findings with respect to secondary factors are discussed. Only the adult sample (ages 35-74) is studied in this section because the scales pertaining to self-assessed health and self-perceived financial situation were not administered to younger respondents. The portion of the lif e cycle represented in this analysis is divided into four ten-year age groups. These are: early middle age (35-44); 157 middle age (45-54); early old age (55-64); and old age (65-74). The age-sex distribution of these 1,141 adult respondents can be found in Table 5.14. A single measure of P W B , the more refined Bradburn Affect Balance Scale (ABS), was chosen because its large number of categories and lack of severe skew renders i t more suitable for correlation analysis than the self-reported happiness scale. The more detailed perusal of the separate affect components was omitted. Finally, only two s ta tis tic a l sum mary measures—Pearson's product m om ent correlation coefficients (r's ) and multiple regression analysis —were employed. These techniques offer a gross index to the patterns and, by themselves, do not provide adequate information for confirma tion or rejection of hypotheses. The r's w ill be examined to determine the association of each of the nine independent variables with P W B as indexed by the ABS. The sta tis tic a l significance of the r's is a guide to the most important variables in the series, while multiple regression analysis produces an which indicates the total explained variance in P W B for the combination of selected independent variables. Both types of information are presented in Table 5.15 for the total adult sample by sex (section a) and for each of the four age groups by sex (sections b through e). In this section, only the total adult sample w ill be considered. These variables are being scanned to provide comparison information with primary locators and to form a base for additional development of the model discussed in Chapter I I I . 158 Table 5.14 DISTRIBUTION O F TH E ADU LT S A M P L E B Y A G E G R O U P A N D S E X (Percent and Frequency) Age Group Early middle age Age Range (years) 35-44 M ean Age (years) 40.4 Male 37.1 (153) Female 62.9 (259) Total Age Group 100.0 (412) Percent of Total Sample 36.1 M i ddle age Early old age 45-54 55-64 48.4 60.7 55.8 (150) 45.7 ( 91) 44.2 (119) 54.3 (108) 100.0 (269) 100.0 (199) 23.6 17.4 Old age 65-74 68.7 57.1 (149) 42.9 ( 112) 100.0 (261) 22.9 TO TA L 35-74 47.6 52.4 100.0 (543) (598) (1,141) 100.0 159 Table 5.15 PEARSO N'S C O R R ELA TIO N COEFFICIENTS A N D TO TA L EXPLAINED VARIANCE O F SO CIO ECO NO M IC A N D S E C O N D A R Y VARIABLES W ITH B RA D BU R N'S AFFECT B A L A N C E S C A LE F O R ADU LT R E S P O N D E N TS B Y A G E G R O U P A N D S E X Correlation with A B S Variable Males Females Total Group a. Total Adult Sample (Ages 35-74) (N=543) (N=598) (N=l,141) Health .238*** .286*** .266*** Financial situation .213*** .266*** .243*** Income .045 .058 .052* Education .001 .079* .038 Attendance .095* .169*** .135*** Devoutness .127** .135*** .126*** Belief .114** .095* .102*** R 2 .104 .147 .124 b. Early Middle Age (Ages 35-44) (N=153) (N=259) (N=412) Health .302*** ^ 271*** .283*** Financial situation .233** ,281*** .270*** Income .108 .159** .144** Education .056 .154** .114* Attendance .109 .201*** .170*** Devoutness .093 .094 .091* Belief .148* .094 .109* r2 .131 .164 .140 c. Middle Age (Ages 45-54) (N=150) (N=119) (N=269) Health .236** .480*** .348*** Financial situation .259** .196* .237*** Income .088 .055 .073 Education -.077 -. 074 -.075 Attendance .079 .202* .133* Devoutness .134* .221** .169** Belief .149* .178* .161** r2 .143 .305 .196 * p < .05 ** p c. .01 * * * p ^ .001 160 Table 5.15 (continued) Correlation with A B S Variable Males Females Total Group d. Early Old Age (Ages 55-64) (N=91) (N=108) (N=199) Health .139 .333** .247*** Financial situation .118 .192* .166* Income .005 .118 .074 Education -.049 .169* .076 Attendance .081 .064 .061 Devoutness .209* .050 .092 Belief .186* .002 .070 r2 .088 .143 .087 e. Old Age (Ages 65-74) (N=149) (N=112) (N=261) Health .359*** .289** . 319*** Financial situation .211* .374*** .261*** Income .025 .021 .013 Education .096 .118 .111* Attendance .122 .151 .144* Devoutness .127 .226** .180** Belief .018 .075 .054 r2 .152 .249 .157 161 Following this overall view of each secondary variable, the sue-: ceeding portion of the chapter w ill treat the other two objectives of the research. They involve further scrutiny of secondary variables. F irst, th eir relative and total impact on P W B is examined in conjunction with the primary locators. Then the effect of a ll these variables on P W B is studied for intervening influence by two primary locators, age and sex. Total Adult Sample I t is expected that a ll secondary factors w ill be positively associated with P W B as measured by the ABS. While extent of lin ea rity is not know n by examining r , the correlation coefficient nonetheless can te ll us i f the relationship exists at a ll and whether i t is in the predicted direction. The strength of r gives som e indication about importance of the relationship. All secondary factors are positively associated with A B S scores for the total adult sample (Table 5.15, section a). , Health, with an r of nearly .27, clearly is linked to overall P W B . The three variables designed to tap re lig io s ity cluster together around .12 and suggest that persons regarding themselves as more religious m ay also consider themselves happier. Finally, self-perceived financial situation pro duces an r sim ilar to that for health. The .24 for financial situation, lik e a ll four other r's mentioned, is significant beyond the .001 level. As w ill be discussed la te r, the r's for these secondary variables are far larger than those where objective locators have been correlated 162 with A B S scores. At this time i t m ay simply be said that there is presently no reason to exclude these secondary variables from the de scribed model. Although most of these correlation coefficients are not large, each is positively linked with P W B to a significant degree, corresponding to the predicted direction. At an exploratory phase such relationships are ample recommendation for a more detailed investi gation. Relative and Total Impact of Variables in the Model 3. What is the total impact on psychological well-being of a set of variables including (a) primary locators in the social structure and (b) secondary factors influencing position in the social structure? A third objective in this search for a social explanation of happi ness is to draw a red circle around the variable most highly correlated with P W B measures as well as to assess the usefulness of this entire group of variables by examining their total impact on P W B . A perusal of Table 5.16 permits a perspective on both angles. Focusing for the m om ent on only the total adult sample, se lf assessed health emerges as the variable receiving the red ink. A m o n g the lis t of nine variables, this one has the highest correlation with A B S scores. Self-perceived financial situation also has a correlation with A B S comparable to that for health. These two variables are those most highly correlated with P W B , a result consistent with Spreitzer and Snyder (1974), w ho also reported self-assessed health and self-perceived financial adequacy to be the best predictors of lif e satisfaction, especially for respondents over age 45. 163 Table 5.16 PEARSON'S C O R RELATIO N COEFFICIENTS A N D TO TAL EXPLAINED VARIANCE O F ALL NINE PRIM ARY A N D S E C O N D A R Y VARIABLES W ITH BRAD BU R N'S AFFECT B A L A N C E S C A L E F O R ADULT R E S P O N D E N TS Variables Correlation with A B S (N=l,141) Primary Locators Age .080** Sex .020 Income .052* Education .038 Secondary Variables Health 267*** Financial Situation .243*** Attendance .135*** Devoutness .126*** Belief 102*** r2 .142 * p .05 ** p ^ .01 ** * p jC .001 164 After health and finances, the three religion variables are the highest correlates of P W B . They are approximately equal in importance, with b elief somewhat lower than attendance and devoutness. The correlations of the two socioeconomic variables are consider ably lower than the correlation of the secondary variables with P W B . Although Edwards and Klemmack (1973) found S E S to be a central pre dictor, its relative impact m ay be less when other factors are in cluded. Another probable explanation for the low correlation with education and income relates to the correlation of these two variables with the A B S sub-scales, P A S and NAS, Both income and education have moderate positive correlations not only with the P A S but with the N A S (see Appendix Tables 9 and 10). A s discussed in the sum mary section on primary locators, such a pattern is disruptive to the overall cal culation of the ABS. Nor do age or sex contribute m uch to total explained variance. The simple r for each of the three primary lo cators is less than .10. Looking at the for this total sample, one finds that informa tion on a ll nine dimensions accounts for 14% of the total variance. Since this level of explanation is rather low for such a combined set of variables, i t is suggested that supplemental and/or substitute variables are needed to strengthen the model's predictive capacity. Impact of Age and Sex on Variables in the Model 4. Are there age and sex differences in the relative and total impact on psychological well-being of a set of variables including (a) socioeconomic status and (b) secondary factors influencing position in the social structure? 165 Age and sex have previously been described as pervasive character istics with a potential for strong influence on one's life s ty le and lif e perspective. In a logical extension of this train of thought, each of the other seven variables in the model are examined here for ways in which age and sex m ay affect their relationship to P W B . This work comprises the final objective outlined for this dissertation. Such a task parallels the procedure followed in discussing primary locators. I t w ill be recalled that separate examination of the impact of age and sex on P W B is accompanied by a discussion of their combined impact. Sim ilarly, the patterns for S E S were examined within each of four age groups. Here the correlation coefficients are presented, not only for the total adult sample, but for males and females within each of four age groups (Table 5.15). I t should be borne in mind that these age groups are sub-categories of the adults ages 35-74; both teenagers and young adults are excluded. The gam e plan for analysis is to present four discussions which feature the following comparisons: 1. Comparisons between age groups 2. Sex comparisons for total adult sample 3. Sex comparisons within age groups 4. Same-sex comparisons across age groups This presentation is in keeping with the format followed throughout the te x t, where age is fir s t described, followed by sex, after which simultaneous consideration is given to these locators. A summary and 166 discussion of these four comparisons concludes the presentation of findings. Comparisons Between Age Groups The independent variables considered here predict the P W B of respondents with d ifferen tial success, depending upon age group m e m bership (Table 5.15, totals column, sections b-e). For example, these variables appear to explain considerably more variance for respond ents ages 45-54 than for the adjacent group 55-64. Despite considerable fluctuation of the correlation coefficients, self-assessed health remains most highly associated with P W B in a ll four age groups, ranging from .25 to .35. Sim ilarly, self-rated f i nancial situation ranks second in each group, with coefficients from .17 to .27. A m ong persons 55-64, these are the only two variables for which there is a significant correlation with P W B . Age group differences are particularly noticeable on the income and education variables. For instance, income is a significant va ri able only for the respondents 55-64, and i t has almost no relation ship with the P W B of old age respondents (r=.01). In the case of education, i t correlates significantly with P W B for two groups not adjacent to one another, early middle age and old age. Religion variables as a whole explain the most variance in P W B for middle age respondents and the least for those in early old age. Which of the three re lig io s ity indicators is most important? This also varies according to age group (Table 5.15). The highs and lows for each are sim ilar, featuring the following ranges: Attendance, 167 .06 to .17; devoutness, .09 to .18; b e lie f, ,05 to .16. A s noted, health and financial situation are the fir s t and second most important variables without exception. However, the ordering of the other variables and the size of the correlation coefficients d iffers between age groups. Only for early middle age arc a ll of the variables significantly correlated with P W B . In conclusion, this analysis illu strates age group differences in: (1) the total variance in P W B explained by the independent variables; (2) the number of variables significantly correlated with P W B ; and (3) the relative importance of the other five variables after health and self-perceived financial situation. Although differences between correlation coefficients are not particularly large, these comparisons indicate that the importance of variables associated with P W B differs according to the age group of the respondents. Sex Comparisons Although overall sex differences are not very large, there is a pattern of generally higher correlation coefficients for females than for males on a ll of the variables except b elief (Table 5.15, section a). Furthermore, the total explained variance in P W B is somewhat higher for females (15%) than for males (10%). For both sexes, health and finan cial situation have the highest correlation with P W B . Of som e interest is the positive correlation of education with P W B for females which is not paralleled am ong males. However, correlation coefficients are fa irly small, so i t is d iffic u lt to assess the importance of d iffe r ences. This is true for analysis by sex and continues to be an issue for other comparisons. 168 Sex Comparisons Within Age Groups A s noted above, the total explained variance (r2) in P W B for the adult sample was higher for females than for males. This pattern also holds true in every age group. Furthermore, am ong males, the R ^s are more sim ilar across age groups than for females. Apparently, age cate gory has less impact on the total explained variance in the P W B of males than of females. Such a pattern could be attributed to the greater relevance age plays in determining the status of a female. Tw o patterns are readily visible when the range of r's for each variable is presented in sum mary form. The consistency of low corre lations am ong early old age respondents and the predominance of females at the high end of the range are easily perceived in the following sum mary lis t. Age group abbreviations are: early middle age, E M A ; middle age, M A ; early old age, E G A ; and old age, O A . 1. Health .14 (EG A males) to .48 (M A females) 2. Financial situation .12 (EG A males) to .37 (G A females) 3. Income .G G5 (EG A males) to .16 (EM A females) 4. Education -.G5 (EG A males) to .17 (EG A females) 5. Attendance .G6 (EG A females) to .2G (M A females) 6. Devoutness .G5 (EG A females) to .23 (G A females) 7. Belief .G G2 (EG A females) to .19 (EG A males) The sub-section which follows discusses in detail the sex d iffe r ences within each of the four age groups for the pattern of relation ships between P W B and the seven independent variables. Early Middle Age (35-44) The smallest sex difference in any of the four age groups occurs for those respondents 35-44 where the set of variables explain 13% and 16% of the variance in P W B for males and females respectively. A s 169 e a rlier observed, health and financial situation are the main corre lates of P W B for both sexes. For males, the only other signficànt.v correlation at this age level is with religious b elie f. A m o n g females there are three variables beyond the in itia l two which reach s ta tis ti cal significance; church attendance, income, and education. Of special interest is the importance S E S variables have for females in early middle age. The highest correlation between P W B and income occurs am ong these females, and the r for education is also quite high. In contrast, am ong males in this category, neither in com e nor education are significantly correlated with P W B . Such a divergence constitutes a central difference between the sexes at this age lev el. Another sex difference appears on the religion variables. Church attendance is a very important predictor of P W B for females but not for males. However, orthodoxy is an important predictor am ong males, but not for females. Finally, devoutness is not a signficant corre late for either sex. This is a preliminary indication that dimensions of re lig io s ity d iffe r in th eir impact on P W B , not only by age group as ea rlier described, but also by sex. Middle Age (45-54) Total explained variance in P W B , based on the seven independent variables, is over twice as m uch for females (31%) ages 45-54 as i t is for males (14%). The for these females is the highest of a ll eight age-sex groups. 170 For middle age females, health is very highly correlated with P W B (.4 8 ). Not only is this the largest correlation coefficient for health, but i t is the largest coefficient in the entire set of corre lations presented in Table 5.15. I t is over twice as high as any other r for w o m en of this age. Surprisingly, considerable differences in the r's on the health variable are a major source of the large gap in total explained variance for the sexes in this age category. While health is s t ill a significant correlation am ong males, the coefficient is only about half that for wom en. Nonetheless, health is s t ill the second most important variable for males in this category, superseded only by self-perceived financial situation. Early Old Age (55-64) For both males and females the least total expirained variance in P W B occurs am ong early old age respondents. O ne reason for this m ay be the comparatively small number of both males and females in this category. The relevance of simultaneously examining age-sex differences is amply illu strated by the correlations for this group. For the fir s t time, health and financial situation lose th eir roles as the two lead ing variables, but only for men. Since the pattern is well-sustained am ong women, the trend is also preserved when the age group as a whole is considered. Sim ilarly, study of only male and female differences for the entire sample (Table 5.15, section a) produces the sam e per spective. I t is only by distinguishing between the sexes, within the age category, that the chain is interrupted. Such breaks could be 171 c ritic a l to understanding the process by which P W B is d iffe re n tia lly influenced. Particularly remarkable, in lig h t of past emphasis on the greater importance of religion to women, are the correlations for devoutness and b elief exhibited am ong m en of this age. They are the two most predictive factors of P W B am ong males 55-64 and represent the highest r's for m en of any age group in the sample on these two items. In contrast, early old age females feature only small and insignificant correlations on a ll three dimensions of re lig io s ity , rendering r e li gion a less important contributor to the P W B of these females than to any other age-sex group. Old Age (64-75) The explained variance in the P W B of older age females (25%) is again considerably higher than for their male counterparts (15%). Health and financial situation are restored to top p rio rity am ong this group, although number one is health for males and financial situ ation for females. Both are significant correlates of P W B for each sex. The S E S variables are not significantly correlated with the P W B of either males or females, though the r's for education are positive and moderate in size. Nor do the religion correlates reach sta tis tica l significance, except for devoutness am ong the females. S am e Sex Comparisons Across Age Groups What kind of patterning exists for the independent variables and 172 P W B when each sex is considered across the age span? In this section each sex is tracked through the four different age groups. Males A tendency for explained variance to cluster within a rather narrow range is one of the most evident features for males in the sample. I t hovers around 14%, changing several points only for those in early old age, where i t drops to 9% . This sam e age category is the only group where health and financial situation are not the leading explanatory items and where these two variables do not reach s ta tis ti cal significance. Three variables are not s ta tis tic a lly significant correlates of P W B for males in any age group; income, education and church attend ance. Furthermore, these three dimensions fluctuate least as one m oves across age groups. Therefore, i t can be said that these items contribute l i t t l e to our understanding of male P W B , as measured by the ABS. Females In contrast to the situation am ong males, total explained variance for females differs substantially across the four age groups. How- 2 ever, the s h ift is not a linear one, for the lowest R occurs in early old age while the highest one appears in the preceding category of middle age. Health and financial situation are clearly the most important correlates of female P W B . The largest correlation in each of the four 173 groups is that for health, with a top r am ong middle age respondents (.4 8 ). A curvilinear trend is displayed, with a rise from early middle age to. middle age, followed by declines in early old age and old age. While the pattern for males was also curvilinear, i t occurred in the opposite manner, starting high, dropping, and becoming larger again. Therefore, the sequential relevance of health is not the sam e for males and females over the various age groups. With respect to self-perceived financial situation, males and females are more comparable, each beginning high, dropping and rising once more by early old age. However, in a ll but one instance, the correlation is higher for females than for males. Furthermore, i t is a signficant correlate for females in a ll four categories. While health and financial situation are unquestionably the most persistent in importance across age groups, across sex groups, and across combined age-sex groups, they are more useful predictors for w o m en than for men. Unlike adult males, where three of the variables were not signi fican tly correlated with P W B in any o f the age groups, every dimen sion of the model is a significant correlate of female P W B in at least one age category. While the S E S variables were not significantly correlated for any male age group, income meets the c rite ria for females in early middle age, while education does so both for middle age and early old age. A pattern different from that for males also occurs with respect to the religion variables. Whereas b elief was a major variable in three male age groups, i t is only signficant for middle age females. 174 O n the other hand, attendance is a significant variable for early middle age and middle age female respondents but not at a ll for any male age categories. I t is d iffic u lt to discern distinct patterns for these variables across female age groups. None progress in a s tric tly linear fashion. These comparisons emphasize the value of considering both sex and age together as modifiers on the other variables. The combination of a given age and a given sex can produce a richness that is otherwise obscured. This data alone cannot substantiate explanations for observed differences, but they do offer testimony that probing in this more complex manner is essential to an adequate representation of the impact various factors m ay have on P W B . Sum m ary and Discussion Few previous investigations have simultaneously controlled for both age and sex to determine how these basic variables influence relationships between other independent variables and P W B . The fir s t part of the results chapter tested hypotheses with respect to age and sex, as well as SES. In the immediately preceding pages, considera tion was given to age and sex as they relate, not only to SES, but to the more subjective variables. Such an analysis, based on multiple regression, provides a new dimension to the findings described at the start of the chapter. B y examining the correlation coefficients with in and between age and sex groups, both separately and combined, subtle shifts in emphasis are detected that are glossed over in a more cur sory treatment of the data. 175 The major discoveries from each of four comparisons are listed below, followed by a b rief recapitulation relating these findings to other studies. Age 1. Self-assessed health and self-perceived financial situation are the two variables most highly associated with P W B for all four age groups, 2. Age group membership influences a. the total variance in P W B explained by the independent variables. b. the number of variables significantly correlated with P W B . c. the relative importance of the other five variables in the model afte r the two top predictors, self-assessed health and self-perceived financial situation. Sex 1. Females have generally higher correlation coefficients than males on a ll variables except b elief. 2. Total explained variance is greater for females than for males. 3. For both sexes, health and financial situation have the highest correlation with P W B . Sex Comparisons Within Age Groups 1. Age category has less impact on total explained variance in the P W B of males than of females. 2. Total explained variance is greatest for males in old age (65-74) and for females in middle age (45-54), while the least explained variance occurs for both sexes in early old age (55-64). Sam e Sex Comparisons Across Age Groups 1, Three variables are not s ta tis tic a lly significant correlates of P W B for males in any age group: income, education and church attendance. 176 2. All variables are significant correlates with P W B for females of at least one age category. 3. The best correlates, self-assessed health and self-perceived financial situation, are better predictors for females than for males. The two major predictors of P W B in this study were self-assessed health and self-perceived financial situation. This is consistent with the findings of three major research efforts which previously used multiple regression analysis to examine correlates of P W B . Palmore and Lui kart (1972) and Spreitzer and Snyder (1974) found that self-rated health was the major predictor of adult lif e satisfaction. Edwards and Klemmack (1973) also found health to be a major variable. In addition, assorted other studies have found a positive association between health and lif e satisfaction (Beiser, 1974; Gaitz and Scott, 1972; Kutner; et a l, 1956; Maddox and Eisdorfer, 1962; Streib, 1956). The current research reinforces such a view, with self-rated health having the highest correlation of any in the set of variables examined. Spreitzer and Snyder (1974) found perceived financial adequacy to be a strong predictor of lif e satisfaction in addition to the health variable, the three religion variables were also important predictors of P W B in the present project. Earlier studies on the relationship be tween religion and lif e satisfaction have dealt primarily with old people. Moberg (1965) concluded that, for older people, religious ac tiv itie s and holding conventional beliefs are positively associated with adjustment, even after controlling for other factors. Edwards 177 / and Klemmack (1973) included church-related a c tiv itie s as one of th eir variables and reported i t to have a moderate association with lif e satisfaction at the sam e level as perceived health. Palmore and Lui kart (1972) found a moderate correlation between organizational a c tiv ity , which included number of religious services attended, and lif e satisfaction. However, in the third study using multiple re gression, the positive correlation between church attendance and lif e satisfaction was quite low (Spreitzer and Snyder, 1974). Social scientists have show n that each of the socioeconomic and social-psychological variables included in this analysis are positive ly associated with the P W B of adult respondents. Of particular in terest for comparative purposes is that work in which multiple regres sion was the chosen sta tis tic a l tool. With this method, som e of those variables credited with considerable explanatory power in earlier studies have correlated with P W B to a lesser degree than certain other variables. For instance, both in this work and in Spreitzer and Snyder (1974), Palmore and Lui kart (1972) and Beiser (1974), income and education were of minor importance in understanding the P W B of most adult respondents. Although very l i t t l e research has been done analyzing age and sex differences in the patterning of variables as they relate to P W B , the existence of such differences in the current study are consistent with previous related research by Palmore and Lui kart (1972) and Spreitzer and Snyder (1974). 178 CHAPTER VI FINAL A S S ES S M E N T Happiness is a butterfly which, when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, i f you w ill s it dow n q uietly, m ay alight upon you. These words of Nathaniel Hawthorne are as apropos to an explanation of happiness as they are to the m ood its e lf. I t is only through care ful and quiet reflection on the welter of statistics which emerge from a large-scale project such as this that i t becomes possible to offer an answer to the inevitable inquiry, "But what does i t a ll mean?" This chapter is a response to that ultimate question any scientist asks at the end of a given research e ffo rt. The author's conclusions from the data are an opening portion of this final chapter. Then enumeration of the project's contributions are followed by recommenda tions for continuing investigations. Conclusions I f a single statement had to suffice as a summation of the material in this text, i t would be to acknowledge the inadequacy of the s tra ti fication argument, as presently explicated, for explaining d iffe ren tial P W B . Thus, a broad conclusion of the research is as follows: 1. Differences in P W B are inadequately explained by the general postulate that a higher position in the social structure is positively associated with higher P W B , This overall theorem was investigated in several ways. F irst, in 179 conjunction with the in itia l objective of the research, three primary locators were explored, both for comparative purposes and for finding fru itfu l new variables. Then the relative and total impact of a ll of the independent variables was investigated. Finally, the fourth objec tive w as to determine i f age and sex operate as major modifiers on the relationship between the other variables and P W B . In accordance with this sam e organizing schema used throughout the text, conclusions about each objective are listed . They are incorpor ated into two major divisions—Primary Locators, and Relative and Total Impact of Primary and Secondary Variables. To complete the presentation, a methodological conclusion is treated separately in a third division. Primary Locators 2. The three primary locators in the social structure—age, sex and SES—explain re lative ly l i t t l e of the variation in P W B , and P W B is not consistently greater for individ uals with higher position in the social structure as expected for younger age groups, males and higher S E S members. Based on stra tific a tio n theory, i t was expected that younger age versus old age, maleness, and higher S E S would a ll be positively asso ciated with P W B , The author's results challenge this line of thought. F irs t, no signficant social-structural differences were found with the self-reported happiness (SRH) measure of P W B . O n the Affect Balance Scale (ABS), no significant sex or linear SES differences were found. The reverse pattern occurred for the age variable, such that old people exhibited the greatest P W B . 180 Three possible explanations for non-confirmation of the major pos tulate are suggested: 1) Measures of P W B 2) Nature of the sample 3) Compensation for low status Measures of P W B A s indicated previously, som e of the d iffic u ltie s in finding social- structural variation in P W B m ay be due to the types of instruments used to measure P W B . S R H is highly skewed toward the upper end of the con tinuum, leaving l i t t l e variation to explain. The A B S conceptualizes level of P W B as a balance between positive and negative affect. This is only one possible approach to the measurement of P W B and, like a ll measures, i t has certain lim itations. A n affect balance score is less useful i f a variable correlates with both sub-scales in the sam e direc tion. W h en this pattern occurs, as with the education and income vari ables, the relationship between the variable and the A B S w ill be dimin ished or eliminated. Usefulness of the scale was also diminished by the fact that three of the positive affect items were affirmed by over 8 0 % of the sample. These measurement problems minimize differences between sub-groups of the sample and could p a rtia lly account for the lack of social- structural differences and the low correlations found between P W B and these independent variables. The Nature of the Sample Since Study of Generations sample m embers are related to one 181 another, respondents m ay be more sim ilar to each other on a wide range of factors in this sample than in a non-related sample. For example, differences between age groups could be less, because sample respond ents are members of three-generation fam ilies; differences between males and females could be less because of the inclusion of spouses and siblings in the sample. Since the sample m em bers are well-educated and have higher incomes than Los Angeles residents generally, the v a ria b ility on the socio economic factors m ay be less. Furthermore, older respondents m ay be healthier than age peers in Los Angeles since they are members of a prepaid health plan. Of particular importance for the happiness of respondents is that over 90 percent of the adults are married. In the city of Los Angeles, on the other hand, only 73% of people 55* to 64 and 56% of persons 65 to 74 are married. Since previous studies have shown that married people are happier than single, divorced or widowed people, this sample would be expected to be happier than other samples. Compensations for Low Status While one turns to methods and sampling fir s t when endeavoring to explain unanticipated findings (Lemon et a l., 1972), the author is not convinced that these issues alone can account for the lack of relation ship between primary locators and P W B . Rather, i t is proposed that the negative impact of low status upon P W B m ay be reduced by certain com pensations associated with low status positions. Not to minimize the problems associated with low status, i t s t ill must be recognized that there must be som e compensations for low status or societies would find 182 i t even more d iffic u lt to maintain social order, considering that low status is the condition of the majority of the population of every society. The pressures toward achievement in our society are most strongly applied to persons of higher status. These pressures can be expected to lower P W B , thereby offsetting to som e extent the greater P W B experi enced from the rewards that sam e higher status incurs. For instance, the old have relinquished the pressures of middle age pursuits of career and/or fu ll-tim e parent. Thus, the strains are less. Performance expectations of m any kinds are not as high either for the elderly or for women. S om e of the possible compensations for either of these groups are fewer responsibilities, a more flex ib le time schedule, and less subjection to c ritic a l evaluation. Formation of more genuine personal relationships founded on mutual interests rather than business or social advantages m ay be more easily accomplished by older persons or females. To the extent that such relationships contribute to per sonal satisfaction, overall P W B might be influenced. Support for this idea is given by Lowenthal and Haven (1968:390) w ho found that am ong th eir subjects "the happiest and h ealth iest.. .often seemed to be people w ho were, or had been, involved in one or more close personal relation ships. I t therefore appeared that the existence of such a relationship might serve as a buffer against age-linked social losses...." The greater pressure for males to succeed is often given as an explanation for a lower average lif e expectancy am ong males than am ong females in our society. Although the proportion of working wives con- 183 tinues to expand, the number of career-oriented w om en is s t ill rather low. Also, despite the growth of employment am ong married women, l i t t l e emphasis has yet been given to the economic importance of their contribution. Males are s t ill viewed as the key breadwinners. In this role, they are not only expected to adequately provide for their fam ilies, but th eir occupational success is the major source of status identification for the family in society. Such a position can gener ate heavy costs which m ay balance the benefits. Since w om en are allowed to be more emotionally expressive, an acceptable escape hatch for tension build-up is available. Thus, not only do w om en probably experience less stress by virtue of their lower status, but they also are more able to dissipate the pressures that ^ develop. The privilege of such expression could contribute positively to P W B . Dem ands upon persons at lower income or educational levels m ay also be less. Conversely, in the upper S E S levels, financial worries do not disappear; the nature of them simply alters. A hand-to-mouth exist ence ceases to be of central concern, but the problem of keeping enough food on the table is supplanted by how to meet the mortgage payments, how to protect high incomes through wise investments, or h o w to ensure a college education for the children. A corollary to compensation for low status is the phenomenon know n as the evolution, of rising expectations. As one advances to a higher salary, simple sustenance ceases to be adequate. Sim ilarly, one's expectations concerning the privileges of high status, the rewards of 184 higher education, e tc ., are escalated in proportion to one's position. In other words, "everything is re lative ." The combination of the com pensations for low status enumerated here, together with escalated expectations for high status, m ay sufficien tly balance one another such that the net condition is that of no significant differences, as illu s trated by the present sample. 3. Primary locators in the social structure—age, sex and SES—are better predictors of amount of affect than of P W B . Such a statement is based on the lack of significant differences in P W B as explicated by age, sex and S E S compared to the d istinctly sig nificant patterns which appear in conjunction with these sam e three variables for both positive and negative affect. T w o important points about the primary locators and affect are: (1) significant differences do exist, and (2) these differences are not always in the predicted direction. Specifically, location in the social structure, as meas ured by the three primary variables, is related to affect as follows: 1) Both positive and negative affect are signficantly and inversely related to age. 2) Both positive and negative affect are higher for females than for males, but to a significant extent only in the teenage group. 3) Both positive and negative affect are significantly and directly related to S E S but, afte r controlling for age, the pattern is sustained only for positive affect. The better predictive a b ility of the three primary locators for the separate components of the A B S than for the A B S its e lf deserves 185 explanation, as does the tendency for the two types of affect to act in tandem. Attention is fir s t given to measurement problems which m ay help account for this conclusion. Then each locator is examined for reasons that might illuminate the sim ilar patterning observed for both types of affect. Measurement of P W B and Affect Aspects of the instrument employed which m ay favor greater predic tive value for each sub-scale than for the balance scores include: (1) unidimensionality, and (2) cancellation of differences when the sub-scales correlate with a variable in the sam e direction. O ne of the principles of scaling, according to Oppenheim (1966:121) is "unidimensionality or homogeneity. This means that the scale should be about one thing at a time, as purely as possible." Perhaps this principle is violated in the Bradburn ABS. This could happen i f the various feeling-state items tap dimensions of m ood that are, in fact, too dissim ilar to be categorized as a broad dichotomy of positive or negative affect. A n illu s tra tio n of what can occur when separate aspects of an umbrella concept are integrated into a composite score is provided by research into marital satisfaction. Blood and Wolfe (1960) used a marital satisfaction scale consisting of five components, but Rollins and Cannon (1974) found that the pattern of change in marital satis faction across stages of the lif e cycle varied for each component. "By combining a ll five aspects of marriage into one composite scale of marital satisfaction, trends of som e of the aspects neutralize the 186 trends of others" (Rollins and Cannon, 1974:278). The ABS, using ten items and two sub-scales to generate a balance score, could be faced with sim ilar problems. W e m ay need to know more about the P A S and the N A S and their item components before they can be successfully combined into a scale measuring P W B . Mention has been m ade several times about the minimizing of total differences which can result when the two sub-scales both correlate with the independent variable in the sam e direction. I f this cancella tion process is in operation even only to som e degree, the explanatory capacity of the A B S w ill be less than that of its separate components. The two issues described here, unidimensionality and cancellation of differences, are both typical drawbacks of a summary measure. These possible interferences must be weighed against the advantage of the overall view afforded by such summary techniques. Affect Patterns W h y do the two types of affect each relate to the primary locators in the sam e direction? O ne explanation, compensation for low status, has already been discussed. I f the respective benefits of positive affect for a particular status are offset by an increase in costs of negative affe ct, the pattern of increase or decrease w ill be in the sam e direction for both types of affect. This concept could be applied to a ll three primary locators. Other insights m ay be gleaned by individual consideration of these structural variables. Age and A ffect. The inverse relationship between age and affect is repeated for both positive and negative dimensions. This phenomenon 187 has been termed "flattened affect" and refers to lowered responsiveness in old age. A reduction in emotional reaction as years pass can en compass both ends of the affective continuum such that positive and negative affect display sim ilar trends. Tw o plausible reasons for this pattern are: (a) societal expectations and (b) d ifferen tial survival. In our society, youth is associated with energy and v o la tility . Young people are expected to be highly reactive and emotional, while adults are supposed to be rational and more controlled. Thus, youth exhibit large quantities of both types of affect. People are expected to mellow as they age and eventually to disengage themselves from active participation in the social world. The process m ay be one of gradual resocialization into a "mellowed" condition in old age. O n the other hand, lower affect in old age m ay be due to "d iffe r ential survival." Excessive reactivity to the environment m ay be un favorable to long life . Of special interest is the greater decline in negative affect compared to positive affect. The net result is higher P W B am ong the old than the young, despite declines in both types of affect. This illu strates that a strong trend is not necessarily completely masked by the jo in t movement of the two sub-scales in the sam e direction. Sex and A ffect. D ifferential socialization is the kingpin for understanding the sim ilar movement of positive and negative affect on . the part of each sex. Greater expressiveness of feelings is encouraged for females, bringing them to unleash larger quantities of both positive and negative affect than do males. 188 Surprisingly, afte r controlling for age, this pattern remained only in the teen years. In spite of a social climate which is begin ning to look with disfavor on the stereotyping of sex roles, i t is in the youngest generation of this sample that sex differences are most pronounced. Perhaps this pattern emerges because during the teen years roles of male and female are most "overplayed" due to insecur itie s associated with newly emerging dimensions of cross-sex relationships. S E S and A ffect. Persons with higher income and better educa tion tend to be more introspective and to contemplate both sides of an issue. These qualities could again produce not only added positive affect but added negative affect as w ell. After controlling for age, there is s t ill a strong linear relation ship between S E S and positive affect, while the relationship with nega tive affect disappears. The relationship between S E S and positive affect is explained by Bradburn (1969:14) as follows: "...individu als of lower education and income are less lik e ly to be involved in th eir environment and generally lead more restricted lives. Since environ mental participation and v a ria b ility appear to be highly related to the presence of positive affe ct, w e would expect there to be less positive affect am ong lower socioeconomic groups." 4. A n inverse, interdependent relationship between positive and negative affect cannot be assumed with respect to the primary locators. The tendency of the two A B S sub-scales to parallel one another on 189 direction of relationship with any given primary locator has already been thoroughly described in this chapter. Since the observation per sisted for a ll three primary locators and countered theoretical pre dictions, i t is important to reiterate i t as a separate conclusion. The sim ilar patterns for these two sub-scales heavily influenced results. In particular, this functioning of the two affective components has been cited as a factor in the low variation of P W B scores across age, sex or S E S categories. I t is also important to emphasize that these findings do concur with Bradburn (1969), the only one to previously explore the ABS, P A S and N A S in this manner. The finding requires a new theoretical approach which can reconcile the patterns for the sub-scales with those for the A B S as a whole. Reasons already discussed with respect to the copycat action of the two subscales include compensation for low status, evolution of rising expectations, flattened a ffe ct, d ifferen tial socialization, and increased sensitivity to personal feelings of a ll kinds. 5. Old people w ho have not experienced serious decrements in health, S E S or marital status have higher P W B than middle-aged and young people. This investigation found a positive relationship between age and P W B , instead of the negative relationship expected in the theory. Pop ular beliefs, which have been accepted by m any social scientists, stress the declines and attendant lowering of happiness associated with old age. For example, Kutner et a l. (1956:13) describe old age in 190 essentially negative terms: "the termination of employment; reduced income; the onset or exacerbation of degenerative illness; isolation . . . ; loss of physical and mental a b ilitie s ; ...widowhood; and those feelings, emotions, thoughts and attitudes that attend the foregoing evidences of the decline of l if e .. . " But the current data suggest the important conclusion thatwhen old age is not accompanied by m any of the declines Kutner et a l . (1965) described, old people m ay be happier than young people. Because such a view challenges e a rlie r lite ra tu re , including the pioneer efforts of Bradburn and Caplovitz (1965), and because its implications are fa r- reaching, considerable attention is given to potential explanations for the display of greater P W B am ong older persons. Six alternative ideas are offered for contemplation: 1) Type of sample 2) D ifferential survival 3) Cohort effect 4) Self-perception 5) Maturation 6) Compensations for low status Following a discussion of each, the author's interpretation concerning the relative importance of these alternatives is offered. Type of Sample Sample differences are cited here as an explanatory factor only from the standpoint of the older respondents. There are indications that old people in this sample are in a better position than their 191 counterparts from the general Los Angeles population in terms of edu cation, income, marital status and health. Although in this sample there are declines from Middle Age to Old Age in fu ll-tim e employment, income, educational attainment, and health status, the condition of these old people appears to be generally favorable. Thus, the higher level of unhappiness in old age found in other studies m ay be due to external circumstances like poor health, low income and widowhood rather than being an a rtifa c t of aging its e lf. D ifferential Survival Happy people are in better physical health and are more lik e ly to survive into old age. Studies of stress (see T o ffler, Chapter 15, 1970) indicate that high amounts of stress (often associated with change) are associated with increased physical illness. The medical profession is becoming increasingly aware of the close interdependence of mind and body. Many illnesses are psychosomatic. Therefore, people w ho are mentally healthy (as p a rtia lly indexed by happiness) are also more lik e ly to be physically healthy and to survive into old age. Thus, rather than people becoming happier as they age, the unhappiest m embers of a cohort m ay actually die prior to reaching old age, such that the survivors have always been the happiest members of the cohort. Cohort Effect These particular old people m ay have grown up in a more favorable social climate than younger people, leading to greater happiness for the old. The social climate in a society differs considerably through- 192 I out history. Each age group or cohort is brought up and matures in a unique social climate. I t is conceivable that som e historical periods have been more conducive to happiness than others. Self"Perception Not a ll old people see themselves as old. In four different surveys of people over age sixty, Streib (1956) found that the majority of persons considered themselves to be middle-aged. Identification of the self as old is most pronounced am ong the economically disadvan taged, those in poor health, the widowed or retired (Blau, 1956; Kutner et a l., 1956; P h illip s, 1957; Suchm an et a l., 1958). Since the old people in this sample are economically well o ff, healthy and married, they are probably less lik e ly to identify themselves as old and consequently are more lik e ly to be happy. Maturation Greater happiness am ong old people m ay be due to maturation. With age com es the acceptance of lif e as i t is and less of the anxiety- fnducing "search for identity" associated with the younger years. "Mellowing" occurs, with the old accepting th eir ow n lives as "inevit able, appropriate and meaningful" (Erikson, 1950). In support of the idea that people mellow with age is the lowering of affect associated with aging. Perhaps lower reactivity is a positive contributor to happiness. Compensations for Low Status I f a system of checks and balances is indeed operating to provide 193 those of low status with sufficient rewards to thwart rebellion, then such a principle m ay contribute to the reported higher P W B of old per sons in this sample. Freedom from such stress-producing roles as employment and parenthood has been cited already as a plus that could raise P W B . The greater decline of negative affect compared to positive affect is the source of higher P W B for the older respondents in this sample. While the concept of flattened affect accounts for the decline of both affective components, i t offers no explanation for a differen- tia l decline. Removal of strain could perpetrate a more rapid drop in the negative component. Interpretation Although each of these alternatives has m erit, those concerning self-perception, maturation and compensation for low status seem to dovetail best with the rest of the discoveries about these respondents For example, the high importance of self-rated health and self-per ceived financial situation confirms the notion of self-perception as a crucial element. The high level of both kinds of feeling states exhibited by youth as contrasted to the older respondents speaks strongly for maturation. This is not meant to imply that expression of m any feelings is inher ently "immature," but rather that as one's lif e experiences expand, fewer events evoke the intensity of response elic ite d from a less seasoned person. Such a view m ay also complement the perspective on d iffe ren tial socialization as an explanation for higher expressiveness am ong wom en. To the extent that lif e experiences of females are more 194 lim ited, more extreme responses can be expected from them. Finally, compensation for low status seems consistent with the tendency for both types of affect to m ove together in the sam e direc tion no matter which primary locator is considered. Relative and Total Impact of Primary and Secondary Variables The central focus of this dissertation was primary locators in the social structure as they influence P W B and affect. The other three objectives were intended to provide supplementary data on P W B with respect to secondary variables, to answer questions about the relative and total impact on P W B of a ll the independent variables examined, and to see whether age and sex served as modifiers in the relationships between P W B and the remaining variables. Conclusions about these sub ordinate issues are formulated here. 6. Self-perception of location in the social structure is a better predictor of P W B than more objective measures of location in the social structure. The multi pi e-regression analysis of factors contributing to P W B found self-assessed health and perceived financial situation to be the most important predictors of P W B am ong nine independent variables. Evidence from this study and other studies suggests that self-percep tion of a situation m ay be more important than more objective c rite ria . In this study, while perceived financial situation was an important predictor of P W B , income and education were not. Several studies (Suchman et a l., 1958; Maddox, 1962) have found that an older person's self-rating of his overall health condition is 195 a better predictor of his P W B than a physician's rating or a rating based on self-reported symptoms. Since self-perception is so important for an individual's behavior, attitudes and feelings, misperception of status might affect the indi vidual's rating of his o w n P W B . For example, a lower class person w ho perceives himself as middle class m ay be as happy as a person w ho is "objectively" middle class. Centers (1949) found that people often misclassify themselves when asked about th eir social class membership. Sim ilarly, an old person w ho sees himself as middle-aged m ay respond more as a middle-aged person than as an old person, and his feelings w ill be related to his self-assessment more than to his chronological years. This issue of self-perception of age was discussed e a rlie r in conjunction with higher P W B am ong older persons. Self-perception m ay also be an important consideration in regard to sex differences in social status. In spite of the women's liberation movement, m any w o m en s t ill deny th eir low status in American society. In a survey of its readers, Redbook magazine (Tavris and Jayaratne, 1973) found that 35% of these w om en disapproved of the movement. Agree ment by 45% of th eir respondents with the statement, " If a w om an wants to get ahead, there is l i t t l e to stop her," illu stra tes failu re to recognize social-structural impediments to female progress in a male- dominated society. Thus, m any females do not consider th eir position in society to be one of low status; consequently, their P W B is not adversely affected. Perhaps age, sex and S E S are not in themselves as important for predicting P W B as the individual's perception of these conditions. 196 \ Such a view requires an overhaul of the theoretical framework employed to explain differences in P W B and affect am ong various groups. 7. There are age and sex differences in the relative importance of various predictors of P W B . Although age and sex do not directly explain large chunks of the variance in P W B as these fundamental characteristics were expected to do, simultaneous consideration of both variables provides insights missing from a less thorough probe of relationships. Few previous studies have addressed themselves to the manner in which age and sex might interact to provide subtle nuances in the P W B patterns. Multiple regression analysis of the present sample by age and sex revealed differences in total variance and the relative impact of locators. Such findings provide evidence not only for the indirect ways in which age and sex m ay influence P W B but also for the complexity of the rela tionships between relevant variables. Clearly a more intricate model than the one tested in these pages is required for a fu ll accounting of variance in P W B and affect. Methodological Conclusions Although considerable attention has already been paid to the s trik ing way in which the A B S performs d ifferen tly from the two sub-scales, the author deem s i t worthwhile to reiterate these results as a method ological conclusion. B y so doing, proper emphasis is accorded an issue which has far-reacing implications for research on P W B when projects employ the A B S as a measure. Recent widespread acceptance of this measure warrants that information about its proper use be equally widespread. 197 8. The tendency of both positive and negative affect scales to sometim es relate to the independent variable in the sam e direction requires that these two components of the Affect Balance Seal e (ABS) be^eparately exami héd and that the A B S not be employed as a sum mary measure without f ir s t clarifying the dynamics of the two sub-scales in relation to any given independent variable. The potential for cancellation of differences when the two sub scales both m ove in the sam e direction has already been noted at more than one point in this chapter. In conjunction with this point, how ever, i t is also stressed that movement of both types of affect in the sam e direction does not necessarily eliminate differences. This is illu strated by the patterning of A B S scores across age groups, where both kinds of affect decline yet a difference in P W B is s t ill evident. Nevertheless differences of a lesser magnitude could be obscured. A B S scores can be identical for a person with high scores on both affective sub-scales and a person with low scores on both these com ponents, provided the resulting balance is equal. But is i t true that amount of affect is irrelevant to P W B , and the balance score becomes the only pertinent factor? A n analogy to a bank account m ay help provide an answer. Assum e two persons each have a bank balance of $1,000. The fir s t individual earned $2,000, while in the sam e time period the second per son earned $10,000. Each spent the funds not presently in their account. Assuming further that a ll other conditions are equal, does that remaining $1,000 m ean the sam e in each case? Not lik e ly . I t is equally questionable whether identical A B S scores derived from different amounts of affect also m ean the sam e thing. While such 198 scores provide information, they offer lim ited insight. Bradburn's more valuable contribution seem s to be the development of the affective components. The A B S is a valuable instrument for certain purposes and under given circumstances, but caution must be exercised in its use. Contributions of the Research The questions s t ill don't stop after stating what a ll the findings mean. Gathering scattered results into a continuous thread of logic is not the end of the task. For now the c ritic looks over that lis t of carefully drawn conclusions and asks, "So what?" Contributions of a given e ffo rt are not always self-evident by looking at the conclusions. The potential value of this project was outlined in the intro ductory chapter, but often this lis t cannot be completed until after analysis of the data. An expanded version is presented here, follow ing the sam e format ea rlie r u tilized in which contributions were described as theoretical, methodological, and practical. Theoretical 1. Development and systematic testing of hypotheses about happiness constitute the most important theoretical accomplishments of this work. I t is the fir s t know n use of a specific theoretical framework in any sociological study relating to happiness. 2. The importance of three basic structural locators as they influence P W B was challenged by the findings. Age, sex, and SES, a ll objective locators in the social structure, accounted for l i t t l e of the variance in P W B . 199 3. The valùe of subjecttve factors as potential predictors of P W B was substantiated. Inclusion of both fundamental locators of an objective nature and variables of a subjective nature which are less frequently investi gated proved a valuable strategy. Clearly, new theoretical explana tions in which the subjective variables are kingpins need to be developed and tested. The findings contained in this text suggest that a more fru itfu l postulate m ay be: The higher the perceived location in the social structure, the greater the P W B . 4. A n assumption that positive and negative affect would be inversely related to the sam e variable w as disconfirmed. Although Bradburn (1969) earlier reported occurrence of both sub scales relating to the independent variable in like manner, the current work systematically tested the way the two sub-scales are linked to several locators in the social structure. Such a result validated Bradburn's in itia l investigation while also establishing the need for a more complex theoretical model to account for this phenomenon. Move ment of the P A S and N A S cannot be automatically derived from the more general postulate about P W B . But i t is not wise in any science to m ove ahead with elaborate models based on one previous empirical e ffo rt. The value of the approach taken here is that by developing consistent logic at a rather basic level and then testing i t , the approach could be systematically evaluated. Only by such a process does i t becom e reasonable to m ove forward to more involved systems. 200 Methodological 1. Explicating the pivotal influence of the two affect sub-scales, P A S and NAS, is the major methodological contribution of this dissertation. Not only are the affective components of the A B S more clearly linked to locators in the social structure than is overall P W B , but the manner in which these two sub-scales relate to one another for a given indpendent variable can strongly influence A B S patterns. Predictability about any specific behavior or attitude attached to hum an beings can only be as accurate as the selected measurement tool. Only when an instrument is thoroughly understood can i t be used to best advantage. The present work has spelled out important considera tions for continued use of the A B S in assessing P W B . At the sam e time, re lia b ility of the A B S has been affirmed through the author's independ ent investigation. Thus, available information about the A B S has been substantially increased by this project. 2. Use of multiple regression to determine the total and relative impact of several variables on P W B is another noteworthy achievement. The v e rs a tility of this s ta tis tic a l tool has fostered its rapid adoption am ong sociologists in recent years. However, only three researchers besides the author appear to have applied this method to the investigation of P W B . The use of multiple regression here is all the more significant in that findings, for the most part, were con gruent with results reported by those social scientists w ho e a rlie r applied this technique to the study of happiness (Edwards and Klemmack, 1973; Palmore and Lui kart, 1972; Spreitzer and Snyder, 1974). 201 3. The strategy of combining age and sex effects added a dimension seldom explored in e a rlie r studies on happiness. Such an approach is particularly compatible with developing a more complex theoretical model as has now been recommended. Probing for subtle differences masked by overly gross categories precedes specifi cation at a more detailed level. I f one discovers that a particular variable produces no differences, no matter what level of analysis is employed, a more explanatory variable is sought. In this case neither age nor sex appeared to be especially salient when directly linked to P W B . However, these two characteristics do play a role in influencing the relative and total impact other variables have on P W B . Further persual of why certain age-sex groups exhibit patterns not displayed by other categories could help formulate a more comprehensive theoret ical exposition on P W B . 4. A three-generational sample, including a nonimpoverished group of aged persons, tremendously increases the scope of information now available on P W B . The expectation that the old w ill som ehow be unhappy has prompted quite a b it of investigation am ong those 55 and older. But often persons at that age are characterized by excessive financial strains. The present group, w ho a ll belong to a prepaid health plan and are economically more secure than the average Los Angeles resident of that age, have higher P W B than the youth. Such a result calls e a rlie r find ings into question. M uch previous opinion was based on an incomplete picture since teenagers and young adults were not included. Further more, i f healthy, financially stable oldsters register high levels of 202 P W B , then aging per se does not necessarily lead to lowered P W B . From this angle alone, the advantages of a three-generational research proj ect are apparent. Practical 1. The salience of self-rated health for explaining variance in P W B points to the importance of providing adequate health care to a ll segments of society. Since self-rated health correlates quite closely with physician rated health, the individual's perception, though viewed somewhat through rose-colored glasses, is s t ill often reality-based. Thus, actual improvement in health care delivery is lik e ly to eventually be reflected in self-ratings about health. Aside from numerous societal gains to be m ade by raising the general health level, such improve ments seem to be the most promising approach to increasing P W B . The stance on health which emerges from this study is sum m ed up by a current television commercial advertising a vitamin product: " If you've got your health, you've got just about everything." 2. Erasing the stereotype of inevitable unhappiness am ong the elderly could improve the self-image of the aged in our society. Such improvement could com e about through numerous channels. The inferior status often attributed to old age in American culture has already been noted. The importance o f the looking-glass self is also already wel1-recognized. Expectations about the elderly which are part of the mental set of persons rendering professional services to them unquestionably can influence the self-image of aging m em bers in our society. In turn, self-perceptions have been shown by this 203 research to be at the crux of P W B . More d irectly, "the power of positive thinking" is accorded merit by this study. Implementation of means for improving people's ow n view of themselves could have widespread impact. Gerontologists are fond of noting the gap between the dream of "golden retirement years" and the harsh re a litie s of old age existence which often intervene. I t appears that the golden years are not simply so m uch pie-in-the-sky. A gray head need not be accompanied by a gray existence. Respondents over 55 in this sample have proven this by reporting the highest P W B for any age group. 3. I f unhappiness need not be a characteristic of the aged, neither need i t be a characteristic of our youth. While idealism am ong youth is acknowledged as a co m m o n quality, must th eir idealism imply the in e v ita b ility of high negative affect? The greater a ffe c tiv ity of both w om en and youth has been documented both in this study and elsewhere. High a ffe c tiv ity does not, of course, imply that negative affect w ill predominate. Yet this is what occurs am ong teenagers and young adults also approach that point. Such results suggest that attention be given to sources of negative affect am ong teenagers and young adults in our society, as well as to possible m eans for lowering th eir frequency of negative responses. M an lives and realizes himself, or fa ils to, according to the ways he becomes engaged with his world. The nature of his encounter is in great measure determined by his affective stance. I f the emergency emotions predominate, he is closed and shut o ff from growth and self-realizatio n in the world, and defensive security operations constrict his behavior. I f the positive emotions predominate, he is open arid able to pro ceed along the path of his ow n individual fu lfillm en t and s e lf- realization. (W essm an and Ricks, 1966:3) 204 Recommendations After a scien tific endeavor has been analyzed and assessed for its value in conjunction with related data, the remaining question becomes, "What next?" To meet its fu ll potential, a given piece of research w ill in turn generate added experimentation. Several possible paths for reaching beyond the lim its of the current presentation are offered here. Suggestions are classified according to theoretical and methodological themes. Theoretical A more complex model is required to adequately explain differences in P W B . A n emphasis on subjective locators in the social structure appears at this phase to be a more fru itfu l approach than objective locators. Other possibilities in addition to those self-perceptions already used in this study are self-perceived social values, subjective social class, self-esteem, locus of control and competence. A proposi tion for testing, as ea rlier mentioned, could be that the higher the perceived social status, the greater the P W B . A n added dimension of crucial importance to an individual's P W B is how closely re a lity fits with the individual's level of aspiration in a variety of central lif e areas. This variable has already been show n useful by Tornstam (1975) with respect to health. H e found that aspirations about one's health were also important in addition to self- rated health. H e reports that for every decade added to lif e , i t takes less and less health to feel satisfied with actual health status. This 205 principle could be extended to other variables, particularly income and education. Transmission of P W B across generations is another area which could use theoretical and empirical investigation. This area has already been explored to som e extent by Bengtson et al. (1972) with this sam e data base. I t is expected that transmission w ill be most effective i f parents are sim ilar to one another in P W B . Same-sex dyads should transmit most effectively. Hypotheses could be generated which attempt to account for the relative importance of certain factors for males and females within a given age group. A n explanation is also needed for the tendency of positive and negative affect to relate to a given independent variable in the sam e direction. Just as combined age and sex effects influence the relationship between certain variables and P W B , interaction effects between other variables could sim ilarly influence P W B . For example, Tornstam (1975) te lls us that belonging to the lower class and having m any aches in te r act to decrease general satisfaction. Sim ilarly, he also found that individuals with poor income, poor subjective health, and too m uch or too l i t t l e social space perceive themselves as having especially low social value. Both Tornstam*s work in Sweden and the author's o w n findings show the need for a more intricate explanation of differences in P W B . Methodological A number of alternatives exist for improving measurement of P W B . _____________________ : ___2 û 6 l A major starting point is , of course, refinement of the A B S its e lf. The d esirability of retaining a balance score needs rethinking. A larger number of affect items m ay be an improvement. Additional items could be p ilo t tested and eliminated i f distribution is too skewed. Another revision already employed by Beiser (1974) is to provide a frequency response of the affect items, such as: often, seldom, and not at a ll. Foraying into new measures, one could consider separate instruments for P W B in distinct areas of lif e such as marriage or job situation. While measures of happiness for som e specific areas of lif e already exist, the most useful technique would be one in which the separate dimensions could be compiled into a composite score more reflective of the contributing factors than is the present ABS. A n ideal research design to portray the relationships between P W B and both subjective and objective locators in the social structure would feature a complementary objective locator for each subjective one. For example, both subjective social class and S E S would be on the lis t. H o w old a respondent feels could be tapped along with actual age. Through such a design more ex p licit information concerning the relative importance of the subjective and objective factors would becom e available. 207 APPENDIX A S TU D Y O F G ENERATIO NS QUESTIONNAIRE ITEMS UTILIZED IN THIS R E S E A R C H (Phase A--Family Relations) 1. What is your age? 2. Sex? Male Female What is your present marital status? (Circle the number of the appropriate answer.) 1 single 2 engaged 3 married: for how long? 4 living with someone: how long?___ 5 widowed; how long?__________ 6 divorced or separated: h o w long? 4. What is your religion? ( I f Protestant, what denomination?) 5. Are you working now ? 1 no, retired 2 no, temporarily out of work 3 yes, but only a temporary job 4 yes, part-time 5 yes, fu ll-tim e 6 housewife 6. During the past few weeks, did you ever feel — a. particularly excited or interested in something? b. so restless that you couldn't s it long in a chair? c. proud because someone complimented you on something you had done? Yes N o 208 d. very lonely or remote from other people? e. pleased about having accomplished something? f. bored? g. on top of the world? h. depressed or very unhappy? i . that things were really going your way? j . upset because someone criticized you? Taking a ll things"together, how would you say things are these days for you? Would you say you feel: (check one) Very happy Pretty happy Not too happy 8. W h en you think of the things you want from lif e , how would you say you're doing in getting the things you want? Doing very well now Doing pretty well now Not doing too well now 9. (Answer only i f you have children) Taking a ll things together, how would you describe your experiences as a parent? Would you say they have been-- Very satisfying Pretty satisfying Not especially satisfying 10. (Answer only i f you are presently married) H o w would you describe your marriage? Very happy Pretty happy Not too happy 11. (Answer only i f you are working fu ll-tim e ) Taking everything into consideration—hours, wages, interest, co-workers—how would you describe your work situation? Would you say i t is: Very satisfying Pretty satisfying Not especially satisfying 12. During the past year or so, were you: (check as m any as apply) a registered m em ber of a church, parish, or synagogue 209 a weekly church attender m em ber of a specific group in a church, like a Sunday school class, women's group, youth group, church project, etc. a Sunday School teacher, lay preacher, or church officer 13. H o w often do you attend church or religious services? (check one) Never __ Several times a year Once a month About twice a month Once a week More than once a week 14. D o you consider yourself— (check one) Not at a ll religious Not very religious Somewhat religious Very religious 15. Every child should have religious instruction. (Circle one.) Disagree 1 2 3 4 Agree 16. G od exists in the form in which the Bible describes Him. Disagree 1 2 3 4 Agree 17. This country would be better o ff i f religion had a greater influence in daily lif e . Disagree 1 2 3 4 Agree 18. All people alive today are the descendants of A dam and Eve. Di sagree 1 2 3 4 Agree 19. Please check "yes" beside an item that describes your general financial situation, and health. Please check "no" beside an item that does not describe your situation. Please check "?" i f that is how you fe e l, or i f the question does not apply to you. 21C Yes N o Yes N o H E A L TH have a lo t of minor ailments need l i t t l e or no medical care feel tired a ll the time must be careful what I do excellent fa ilin g never fe lt better poor better condition than most people m y age FINANCIAL SITUATION barely live on income insecure sati sfactory well o ff steady bad need outside help worry about i t high income good pension plan have to make do no money to meet emergencies income from investments income provides luxuries self-supporting good lif e insurance plan receive public assistance need help from other family m em bers 20. H o w m any years of schooling have you completed? (Circle one.) 1 grade school (1-6 years) 2 junior high (7-9 years) 3 som e high school (10-11 years) 4 high school graduate (12 years) 5 som e college (1-2 years) 6 college graduate (4 years) 7 som e graduate study 8 Ph.D., DDS, M D, JD, etc. 211 21. Are you now attending school? (Circle one.) 1 Yes, high school 2 Yes, college 3 No, but plan to go back 4 No, finished 5 Yes, trade or business school 22. H o w much, approximately, are the combined annual incomes of a ll the members of your household? Include a ll kinds of income, not just wages. (Circle the answer that com es closest.) $3,000 - $ 4,999 $13,000 - $14,999 $23,000 - $24,999 $5,000 - $ 6,999 $15,000 - $16,999 $25,000 - $29,999 $7,000 - $ 8,999 $17,000 - $18,999 $30,000 - $34,999 $9,000 — $10,999 $19,000 - $20,999 $35,000 - $39,999 $11,000 - $12,999 $21,000 - $22,999 $40,000 - $49,999 $50,000 or more 212 APPENDIX B S U PPLEM EN TA L TA B LES 213 . Appendix Table 1 PR E SE N T EDUCATIO NAL STA TU S O F R E S P O N D E N TS 16-26 Y E A R S O L D Present Educational Status Percent 1. Attending high school 31.7 2. Attending college 31.2 3. Plan to go back to school 21.7 4. Finished 15.5 Total 100.1 No. of Respondents 808 214 Appendix Table 2 R E S P O N S E S T O PERCEIVED FINANCIAL SITUATION ITEM S (Percent) Item Yes ? N o Total No. of Respond ents 1. Barely live on income 16.7 9.1 74.3 100.1 1,027 2. Insecure 7.2 7.4 85.4 100.0 1,030 3. Sati sfactory 80.9 4.9 14.3 100.0 1,072 4. Well off 25.1 11.8 63.1 100.0 1,015 5. Steady 84.9 5.3 9.8 100.0 1,032 6. B ad 2.9 9.0 88.1 100.0 1,009 7. Need outside help 5.0 6.0 88.9 99.9 1,030 8. Worry about i t 23.4 8.1 68.5 100.0 1,037 9. High income 13.9 10.5 75.6 100.0 1,022 10. G ood pension plan 55.0 11.1 33.8 99.9 1,050 11. Have to m ake do 36.7 15.0 48.3 100.0 1,013 12. N o money to meet emergencies 21.7 11.1 67.2 100.0 1,024 13. Income from investments 34.7 5.1 60.2 100.0 1,041 14. Income provides luxuries 36.3 9.7 53.9 99.9 1,027 15. Self-supporting 74.5 5.5 20.0 100.0 1,035 16. G ood lif e insurance plan 62.3 8.9 28.8 100.0 1,034 17. Receive public assistance 2.6 2.4 95.0 100.0 1,037 18. Need help from other family members 3.4 3.4 93.3 100.1 1,043 215 Appendix Table 3 R E S P O N S E S T O SELF-RATED H E A LTH ITEMS (Percent) Item Yes ? N o Total No. of Respond ents 1. Have a lo t of minor ailments 18.8 4.9 76.3 100.0 1,088 2. Need l i t t l e or no medical care 65.3 5.1 29.6 100.0 1,087 3. Feel tired a ll the time 15.6 7.8 76.6 100.0 1,078 4. Must be careful what I do 21.6 6.4 72.0 100.0 1,082 6. Excellent 53.1 17.6 29.3 100.0 1,001 6. Failing 5.7 13.1 81.2 100.0 996 7. Never fe lt better 31.0 26.8 42.1 99.9 999 8. Poor 4.7 11.9 83.4 100.0 992 9. Better condition than most people m y age 65.5 20.0 14.5 100.0 1,087 216 Appendix Table 4 RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION Religious A ffilia tio n Protestant denominations Catholic Jewish Other religions N o religious preference TO TA L No. of Respondents Percent of Total Sample 54.4 18.5 11.5 5.2 10.4 100.0 1,861 217 Appendix Table 5 F R E Q U E N C Y O F A TTE N D A N C E AT C H U R C H O R RELIGIOUS SERVICES Frequency of Attendance TO TA L Percent of Total . 1. Never 35.0 2. Several times a year 28.3 3. Once a month 3.6 4. About twice a month 4.5 5. Once a week 19.1 6. More than once a week 9.4 100.0 N = 1,909 X = 2.7 s.d. = 1.8 218 n 3 4-> o O O O O o o o o Q ) _Q n 3 X •r— ' T D C a> Q . 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(U to *1 — I— o • I — r- ’I — I — C O JO CU Id I— cu h - S- TO <C TO CO to t o I— - P 0 0 t o II CM TO Ix C O 219 Appendix Table 7 O R T H O D O X Y O F BELIEF S C A LE S C O R E S B elief Scale Score_______ Percent of Total Sample 4 3.7 5 2.1 6 3.7 7 5.3 8 5.9 9 5.9 10 7.6 1 1 7.8 12 9.4 13 7.8 14 6.9 15 8.7 16 25.2 TO TA L 100.0 N = 1,801 X = 11.9 s.d.= 3.6 22C Appendix Table 8 SELF-ASSESSED D E V O U TN E S S Respondents Considering Themselves: Percent of Total Sample 1. Not at a ll religious 11.5 2. Not very religious 19.3 3. Somewhat religious 51.1 4. Very religious 18.1 N = 1,933 X = 2.8 s.d. = .9 TO TA L 100.0 221 Appendix Table 9 PEARSO N'S CO R RELATIO N COEFFICIENTS A N D TO TA L EXPLAINED VARIANCE O F SO C IO EC O N O M IC A N D S E C O N D A R Y VARIABLES W ITH B R A D B U R N 'S POSITIVE AFFECT S C A LE F O R A D U LT R E S P O N D E N TS B Y A G E G R O U P A N D S E X Correlation with P A S Variable Males Females Total Group a. Total Adult Sample (Ages 35-74) (N=543) (N=598) (N=l,141) Health .231*** .266*** .245*** Financial situation .257*** .228*** .239*** Income .215*** .146*** .178*** Education .187*** ^ 192*** .183*** Attendance .081* ! i 20** .102*** Devoutness .119** .106** ^ ]]9 *** Belief .019 .030 .029 R ^ .120 .129 .119 b. Early Middle Age (Ages 35-44} (N=153) (N=259) (N=412) Health .245** .218*** .230*** Financial situation .306*** .222*** .255*** Income .159* .179** ^174*** Education .205** .170** ’ 188*** Attendance .065 .135** .110** Devoutness .082 .067 .069 Beli ef .057 .061 .056 R % .154 .118 .120 c. Middle Age (Ages 45-54) (N=150) (N=119) (N=269) Health .158* .264** .195** Financial situation .182* .197* .187** Income .207** .085 .145** Education .136* .154* .128* Attendance .028 .085 .052 Devoutness .090 .150* .127** Belief -.037 .096 .024 r2 .096 .131 .095 * p c .05 ** p ^ .01 ■ k -k if p < .001 222 Appendix Table 9 (continued) Correlation with P A S Variable Males Females Total Group d. Early Old Age (N=91) (N=108) (N=199) (Ages 55-64) Health -.076 .305** .120 Financial situation .107 .156 .136 Income .144 .085 .116 Education -.011 .228** .113 Attendance .066 .056 .055 Devoutness .151 -.014 .057 Belief .154 -.027 .053 .070 .144 .045 e. Old Age (Ages 65-74) (N=149) (N=112) (N=261) Health .341*** .296** .307*** Financial situation .308*** .362*** 320*** Income .109 -.022 .047 Education .124 .115 .131** Attendance .141* .247** .195** Devoutness .131 .316*** .220*** Beli ef .022 .114 .075 R ^ .160 .311 .190 223 Appendix Table 10 PEARSO N'S C O R R ELA TIO N COEFFICIENTS A N D TO TA L EXPLAINED VARIANCE O F SO C IO EC O N O M IC A N D S E C O N D A R Y VARIABLES W ITH B R A D B U R N 'S NEGATIVE AFFECT S C A LE F O R A D U LT R E S P O N D E N T S B Y A G E G R O U P A N D S E X Correlation with N A S Variable Males Females Total Group a. Total Adult Sample (Ages 35-74) (N=543) (N=598) (N=l,141) Health Financial situation Income Education Attendance Devoutness Belief -.10 3 ** -.042 .147*** .180*** -.050 -.058 -.137 -.164*** -.163*** . . 048 .058 -.129*** -.095** -.107** -.142*** -! 111*** .091*** .1T5*** -.091*** -.065** -.11 3*** R ^ .080 .074 .069 b. Early Middle Age (Ages 35-44) (N=153) (N=259) (N=412) Health Financial situation Income Education Attendance Devoutness Belief -.156* -.009 .010 .116 -.075 -.042 -.130 -.183** -.194** -.065 -.068 -.163** -.073 -.078 -.17 3*** -.131** -.039 .012 -.130** -.061 -.097* R ^ .062 .076 .052 c. Middle Age (Ages 45-54) (N=150) (N=119) (N=269) Health Financial situation Income Education Attendance Devoutness Belief -.164* -.174* .080 .237** -.079 -.094 -.239** -.35 6*** -. 050 .011 .241** -.176* -.143 -.146 -.266*** -.127* .042 .223*** -.123* -.101* -.195*** r2 .153 .239 .151 * * * * p c .05 p C .01 p -C .001 224 Appendix Table 10 (continued) Correlation with N A S Variable Males Females Total Group d. Early Old Age (Ages 55-64) (N=91) (N=108) (N=199) Health -.295** -.238* -.257*** Financial situation -.056 -.141 -.111 Income .144 -.099 -.002 Education .062 -.048 -.006 Attendance -.053 -.046 -.038 Devoutness -.153 -.085 -.082 Belief -.122 -.028 -.055 .156 .071 .082 e. Old Age (Ages 65-74) (N=149) (N=112) (N=261) Health -.236** -.197 -.216** Financial situation -.024 -.246* -.101 Income .077 -.056 .028 Education -.024 -.078 -.044 Attendance -.046 .004 -.030 Devoutness -.064 -.053 -.062 Belief -.005 -.010 -.011 . .083 .090 .055 225 BIBLIOGRAPHY / Adams, D. 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Abstract (if available)
Abstract
Happiness is a major life goal pursued by people in all walks of life but not expected to be equally distributed throughout all segments of the social structure. Happiness, hereafter referred to as psychological well-being (PWF), is defined in this research as the degree to which pleasure (positive affect) predominates over pain (negative affect).
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Asset Metadata
Creator
Braun, Patricia Maureen Wall
(author)
Core Title
Psychological well-being and location in the social structure
School
Graduate School
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
Degree Program
Sociology
Degree Conferral Date
1976-09
Tag
OAI-PMH Harvest
Advisor
Begt, Dennis (
committee chair
), Ragan, Pauline K. (
committee member
), Walker, James Paul (
committee member
)
Permanent Link (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC11256284
Unique identifier
UC11256284
Legacy Identifier
DP31771