Showing papers in "Social Indicators Research in 1991"

Is happiness relative

Abstract: The theory that happiness is relative is based on three postulates: (1) happiness results from comparison, (2) standards of comparison adjust, (3) standards of comparison are arbitrary constructs. On the basis of these postulates the theory predicts: (a) happiness does not depend on real quality of life, (b) changes in living-conditions to the good or the bad have only a shortlived effect on happiness, (c) people are happier after hard times, (d) people are typically neutral about their life. Together these inferences imply that happiness is both an evasive and an inconsequential matter, which is at odds with corebeliefs in present-day welfare society. Recent investigations on happiness (in the sense of life-satisfaction) claim support for this old theory. Happiness is reported to be as high in poor countries as it is in rich countries (Easterlin), no less among paralyzed accident victims than it is among lottery winners (Brickman) and unrelated to stable livingconditions (Inglehart and Rabier). These sensational claims are inspected but found to be untrue. It is shown that: (a) people tend to be unhappy under adverse conditions such as poverty, war and isolation, (b) improvement or deterioration of at least some conditions does effect happiness lastingly, (c) earlier hardship does not favour later happiness, (d) people are typically positive about their life rather than neutral. It is argued that the theory happiness-is-relative mixes up ‘overall happiness’ with contentment’. Contentment is indeed largely a matter of comparing life-as-it-is to standards of how-life-should-be. Yet overall hapiness does not entirely depend on comparison. The overall evaluation of life depends also on how one feels affectively and hedonic level of affect draws on its turn on the gratification of basic bio-psychological needs. Contrary to acquired ‘standards’ of comparison these innate ‘needs’ do not adjust to any and all conditions: they mark in fact the limits of human adaptability. To the extend that it depends on need-gratification, happiness is not relative.

Top-Down Versus Bottom-Up Theories of Subjective Well-Being

Abstract: This paper addresses issues of causal direction in research on subjective well being (SWB). Previous researchers have generally assumed that such variables as domain satisfactions, social support, life events, and levels of expectation and aspiration are causes of SWB. Critics have pointed out that they could just as well be consequences (Costa and McCrae, 1980, Veenhoven, 1988). In some contexts this has been referred to as the top-down versus bottom-up controversy (Diener, 1984). The main purpose is to propose a general statistical model which holds promise of resolving this controversy. The model can be used when three or more waves of panel data are available. It is used here to assess causal direction between six domain satisfactions (marriage, work, leisure, standard of living, friendship and health) and SWB. Data are drawn from four waves of an Australian Quality of Life panel survey (1981-1987) with an initial sample size of 942.

Response artifacts in the measurement of subjective well-being

Abstract: The degree to which response artifacts introduce error into self-report measures has long been a matter of concern in the psychological literature. For example, it has been suggested that self-report measures of subjective well-being (SWB) contain large amounts of variance due to the response style of social desirability (Carstensen and Cone, 1983). In the present study, four potential response artifacts (social desirability, current mood, moral beliefs about happiness, and happiness image management) and their effects on self reports of SWB were studied. Using nonself-report measures of happiness, in addition to self-report measures of SWB, various modes for the prediction of SWB were constructed. A measure of social desirability was found to be a significant predictor of nonself-report as well as self-reported measures of happiness, indicating that social desirability is a substantive personality characteristic which enhances well-being, rather than being a response artifact and source of error variance. Current mood was found to sometimes contribute as a predictor of self-report measures of SWB, suggesting the need for control of or assessment of its effects. Moral beliefs in happiness and image management did not significantly correlate with measures of happiness. Implications of the results for the measurement of well-being and for future research are discussed.

Stability and change in levels and structure of subjective well-being: USA 1972 and 1988

Abstract: It has long been recognized that more needs to be known about the dynamic behavior of measures of subjective well-being. As the Social Indicators Movement matures, it becomes possible to explore issues of stability and change in measures of perceived life quality. To contribute to this research need, this paper reports results of administering similar measures of subjective well-being to several representative samples of the adult American population assessed 16 years apart — in 1972 and in 1988. Results show that in the United States, which has experienced reasonably continuous economic prosperity and no major social disruptions during these 16 years, thestructure of the subjective well-being measures (i.e. how they relate to one another and how concern-level measures predict global-level measures) has remained remarkably constant. This is in accord with expectation and enhances confidence in the validity and usefulness of the measures. Changes were found in thelevels of some of the measures: For the total population, feelings about life-as-a-whole, oneself, and one's own health became notably more positive; evaluations of own income and the national government also gained; but assessments of one's own family life, social relationships, community, and job remained fairly stable. Some of these gross changes were general throughout the population, but others occurred only for certain age, racial, or socioeconomic groups. Younger cohorts and people with higher educations and incomes showed more gains in subjective well-being than other groups.

The relationship between mood and subjective well-being

Abstract: The relationship between mood and subjective well-being (SWB) was tested in a 10-week longitudinal correlational study of 65 undergraduate subjects. A path analysis indicated that both current mood and previous SWB had significant effects (both p<0.001) on current SWB. The significant relationship of subsequent SWB with previous SWB demonstrated the stability of SWB responses. On the other hand, the significant relationship of SWB with current mood demonstrated that SWB measures are subject to transitory influences. Discussion centered on the methodological and theoretical implications of a two component model proposing that SWB has both stable and unstable components.

Social indicators of living conditions in Ireland with European comparisons

Abstract: This monograph presents data from a nationwide survey of social indicators of living conditions in Ireland. This survey was part of a European Community (EC)-harmonised survey of subjective social indicators carried out in eight EC countries. The survey, the first of two, focussed on people's perceptions of their health, health services, housing, neighbourhood and life in general. Extensive analysis is made of the demographic determinants of a wide range of subjective measures of well-being in all of these life domains. Examination is also made of the predictors of global measures of well-being. Data are presented for Ireland and multi-nation comparative data are also presented throughout. Emphasis is placed on the relationship between objective and subjective social indicators.

The influence of peers and parents on youth life satisfaction in Hong Kong

Abstract: This investigation attempts to measure the relative influence of peer and parental influence on the perceived life satisfaction of two groups of secondary students in Hong Kong. Data on 1906 students from 30 schools were collected through the use of a self-administered questionnaire. Respondents were asked to rate their level of satisfaction on 26 different domains of life on a seven-point scale, ranging from “very satisfied” to “very dissatisfied”, as well as their satisfaction with life in general. These 26 items were combined to form six summary indices of life satisfaction: school life, family life, acceptance by others, government, media, and living environment. Two independent variables were used in the analysis of life satisfaction: peer orientation, and parent orientation. Both are composite indices and measure the adolescent's attachment to and identification with his peers or parents. It was found that parent orientation is a better predictor of life satisfaction than peer orientation. Adolescents who are high on parent orientation are more satisfied with every domain of life. They are also more satisfied with life in general. The relationship between peer orientation and life satisfaction is not a clear-cut one. Adolescents with strong peer orientation are more satisfied with school, media, government, and acceptance by others, but are less satisfied with family. There is no significant relationship between peer orientation and environment. The younger adolescents in our sample tend to perceive a higher level of satisfaction than the older adolescents in every domain of life as well as life in general.

Measurement and determinants of socioeconomic development: A critical conspectus

Abstract: The study evaluates the progress made in the past decades on the measurement of socioeconomic performance. Both income and social indicators approaches are thoroughly surveyed and an additional contribution is made to the latter by undertaking a large-scale correlation study. The results of the correlation analysis indicate a high level of correspondence between per capita GNP and various composite social indices constructed by an aggregation procedure called the ‘Wroclaw Taxonomic Method’. On the determinants of socioeconomic progress, the study examines two well-known development strategies, equity and basic needs. Besides, it suggests few other policy instruments which might influence the level of socioeconomic development. Finally, some ‘new’ areas are identified for future research in this subject.

Measuring housing and environmental quality as indicator of quality of urban life: A case of traditional city of Benin, Nigeria

Abstract: Using objectively derived criteria from Nigerian 1959 Town Planning Act, the National Council on Housing definition of standard housing and Oredo Local Authority Building and Adoptive Bye-Laws, this study measured the quality of housing in the three major areas of structural materials, internal unit facilities provided and environmental or neighbourhood amenities/facilities. The computations showed that deficiencies were greatest in the neighbourhood, internal facilities and structural materials in that order. Quality showed a lapse rate from the core to the periphery and from high to low income areas. The QOL measurement showed that to the respondents the quality of the city housing detracts from their quality of living. Policy and planning implications of the findings were discussed.

The stability and sensitivity of subjective well-being measures

Abstract: A longitudinal investigation of the stability and sensitivity of several subjective social indicators is presented. Over a seven year period, data collected from 93 Canadians indicated moderate stability for measures of enjoyment, satisfaction, and life quality. When respondents were divided into “change” and “no change” groups on the basis of their self-reported health status, the self-anchoring ladder of present life quality was found to be sensitive to change. Implications of this methodological inquiry are examined.

Characteristics of U.S. cities with extreme (high or low) crime rates: Results of discriminant analyses of 1960, 1970, and 1980 data

Abstract: Why do some cities have higher or lower crime rates than others? In this study we attempt to answer this fundamental question by identifying the theoretically motivated structural covariates which differentiate US cities with extreme high and low crime rates We apply discriminant function analysis across comprehensive samples of all US cities with populations of greater than 25 000 in the periods 1960, 1970, and 1980 and then posit four question: are empirical findings from regression-based studies of city crime rates replicated in discriminant studies with extreme rates? Are the covariates that predict high or low crime rates unique to specific time periods? Which covariates are better able to discriminate high or low rates for specific crimes? And are specific covariates distinguishable in crime rate changes across time periods? Among our general findings, it appears that those cities with extreme high (low) crime rates tend to be the largest (smallest), most (least) economically deprived, and most (least) socially disintegrated Associations with these latter two characteristics appear to have grown stronger over the past three census periods The theoretical importance of these and other findings uncovered here are discussed and interpreted through Wilson's (1987) notion of concentration effects and social isolation which may have transformed inner-city areas in recent years

Family life quality: Theory and assessment in economically stressed farm families

Abstract: The purposes of this paper are to (a) describe a resource exchange theory which outlines the dimensions of life quality (Foa and Foa, 1974), (b) present a multidimensional measure of personal evaluations of family life quality based on this theory, and (c) report the results of a two-stage study in which the scale was used The scale includes items representing love, status, services, information, goods, and money resources received from the family Respondents evaluated the degree to which the receipt of these resources satisfied personal needs for: (a) love and affection, (b) respect and esteem, (c) comfort and assistance, (d) shared meaning, (e) personal things, and (f) money for personal use Reliability, correlation, covariance, cluster, and factor analyses on data from 592 subjects provided information for reducing the number of items A reduced version of the scale was administered to 331 of the same subjects one year later The two stages provided evidence of construct validity and reliability for the scale

The theoretical and empirical structure of general well-being

Abstract: A comprehensive set of variables that have been supported as contributing to overall health and general well-being were analyzed to determine their simple structure using factor analysis and their relative contribution using Pearson correlation. The contributors to general well-being had been theoretically grouped into: emotions, beliefs, temperaments, behaviors, sittuations, experiences and health. The empirical factor structure was compared with the theoretical structure used to develop the variables. Stability was investigated by comparing results with those of another geographically separated group. All subjects were normally functioning working adults. The results demonstrated the feasibility and potential usefulness of using self-report questionnaires with multivariate procedures to measure components of the global general well-being concept.

A magical model of happiness

Abstract: A model of happiness is described that is based on nonlinear mathematics. Happiness at timet+1 is given by:Hnext=M(1−H)H+I, whereH is happiness at timet, M is a person parameter, andI is an environmental impact term comprised of a prevailing component (Ip) and an episodic component (dI). Eight properties of the model are detailed and its utility illustrated for reconciling problematic issues in the literature that include the positive skew in the distribution of psychological well being (PWB) scores, the stability and change in PWB, and the relationships of emotionality with global PWB and its indicators. The operationalization of the model is described from the population level down to that of the single case.

Rurality and well-being during the middle years of life

Abstract: Popular stereotypes and theorizing by social scientists suggest that rural people are more satisfied with their communities and happier with their life situations than are their nonrural counterparts. This enhanced well-being is believed to result at least partly from the presence of kinship and friendship ties in the local community and the adherence to traditional religious beliefs. Data from a panel study of nearly 1200 middle aged persons from Pennsylvania surveyed in 1971 and 1984 provided indices of community satisfaction and happiness. When income was controlled, country residents expressed slightly higher levels of community satisfaction than did town or urban dwellers in both time periods. Happiness was not related to residence location. Income was a relatively more important predictor of community satisfaction and happiness among urban than among country residents, while number of friends was relatively more important for rural residents. Number of kin living nearby and adherence to traditional religious beliefs were not related to well-being regardless of residence location.

An evaluation of socially responsive planning in a new resource town

Abstract: New resource towns on the Canadian frontier have presented planners with opportunities to experiment with innovative planning ideas which attempt to resolve the persistent problems of such communities. In the planning of Tumbler Ridge, a new coal mining town in British Columbia, “socially responsive planning” was an attempt to develop a town using principles derived from social science research. In this paper the reactions of residents to selected attributes which reflect the application of these principles are examined five years after settlement began. Ratings of community attributes offer an indication of aspects of residential satisfaction, while the results of a principal components analysis suggest the dimensionality of residents' evaluative structures and provide a useful framework within which to consider planning issues. Issues examined are: the association between employment and the community environment; the suitability of the environment for children; and the social environment. While social aspects of the new community are judged as satisfactory, less positive elements reflect the underlying influence of the economic well-being of the mining company on overall community satisfaction. When compared to indicators of community satisfaction in other western Canadian resource towns, ratings for Tumbler Ridge tend to be fairly low. It is concluded that the inability of planners to adequately control implementation or dontinuity of their ideas has resulted in a community not distinctly different from other resource towns. Efforts have been further hampered by a lack of adequate models of the distinctive dynamics of resource communities.

Never married older women: The life experience

Abstract: Many stereotypes influence attitudes toward never-married women. There is very little existing data on their actual life experiences and how they have handled singlehood over a lifetime. In addition, it is not known if they are subject to some of the common stereotypes of old age. This paper examines and analyses these issues by reporting on in-depth interviews with 15 never-married women who were 80 years of age and over. Although a great diversity was found, most of these women had led satisfying lives and were satisfied with relationships with family members and friends. In addition, they were able to handle the diminishments of age positively and realistically.

The correlation coefficient and models of subjective well-being

Abstract: The issue has been raised previously that the use of the correlation or squared correlation as an estimate of determination depends on the type of model that is considered (Ozer, 1985). We identify three models of subjective well-being and show that the respective estimates of determination require different interpretations of the correlation statistic. The differences are illustrated using data from the Newfoundland Longitudinal Study of Aging. (NLSA).

Common law union as a differentiating factor in the failure of marriage in Canada, 1984

Abstract: Using the 1984 Canadian Family History Survey, the authors attempt to ascertain the effect of common-law unions on the subsequent failure of marriage, operationalized as those ending in divorce or separation. Techniques employed include crosstabulations and hazards-model analysis. It is concluded that marriages preceded by a common-law union have a greater chance of dissolution. The paper and the results of the analysis clarify some of the contradictions presented in previous research.

Measuring the quality of life in rural community development

Abstract: The authors developed a systemic measure instrument, consiting of 45 tenets of community life, which was tested on rural communities consisting mostly of illiterate farm labourers. The measurement was done by community members them-selves, with very little guidance, but with great success, especially due to the fact that they were involved and could see changes as well as problems that needed further attention.

Measures and meaning in comparisons of wealth equlality

Abstract: How communities distribute wealth is one aspect for judging the performance of economic systems. Many inequality measures exist. Precentiles, Gini coefficients, and statistical pattern measures each rest on different concepts about what equality and inequality mean. Wealth distribution data from 55 communities are compared relative to Gini coefficient, kurtosis, and coefficient of variation. These data show no community with perfect equality. Most communities have some inequality. The general pattern is for wealth inequality to increase with the development of market and mechanized industrial economies.

Defining and measuring poverty in the nonmetropolitan United States using the survey of income and program Participation

Abstract: Because the poor historically have been more prevalent in nonmetropolitan than metropolitan areas in the United States, issues related to poverty (including its definition and measurement) are important to nonmetropolitan people. This study uses the unique monthly data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to define poverty in different ways. How poverty is defined affects both the measured extent of nonmetropolitan poverty and the groups who are included among the nonmetropolitan poor. Regardless of how poverty is measured, however, nonmetropolitan areas have disproportionately more poor than metropolitan areas. In addition, the nonmetropolitan poor are more likely to be white, aged, disabled, and members of married-couple households than the metropolitan poor under all definitions considered. None of the definitions examined is intrinsically superior. The choice of a definition to use depends largely on the research problem under consideration.

Community based approaches in water supply and sanitation programme — An Indian experience

Abstract: With the onset of the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade (IDWSSD), 1981–1990, global policies and strategies were evolved for the effective planning, implementation and monitoring of water supply and sanitation programmes. In the introduction of IDWSSD policies in water supply programmes, socio-economic aspects have been given equal importance to the hardware aspects. The responsible water bodies and donor countries realised the need for an integrated approach in the water supply sector ultimately. Socio-economic Units in Kerala was conceptually formulated during 1984–85 in order to meet the guidelines under IDWSSD. In 1984 both the governments of the Netherlands and Denmark launched a joint mission to develop a systamatic frame work for the implementation of three Socio-Economic Units and a Co-ordinating office to work jointly with the Kerala Authority (KWA). The three units are located in the North, Central and Southern parts of Kerala State. Each units covered a project area which consists of 600000 population. The activities are mainly concentrated in 73 panchayaths, where the 11 bilateral water supply schemes are under implementation. The activities includes community education, community mobilization, inter-sectoral and intra-departmental co-ordination and collaboration, human resources development and institutional development including appropriate training programmes, establishment of viable and realistic management information systems etc. The major thrust of the programme interventions are on developing micro-level planning and implementation systems and procedures at the ward level. The results of these experiments would be available by the end of 1990.

Does the choice of poverty index matter in practice

Abstract: This paper addresses the following question: In an empirical investgation of poverty in the United States, is the choice of poverty index likely, in practice, to affect the results? The consistency of ten alternative poverty indices is examined using 1980 United States census data. The analysis suggests that most of the indices will provide consistent results in empirical investigations.

Relations between images of the future and work orientations of university graduates

Abstract: Images of the future and orientations to work of university graduates were investigated in a sample of university graduates before and after finishing their studies. The results indicate that university students of the eigthties generally tend to attitudes of individualistic and conventional careerism in contrast to the New Work Ethic of the seventies. Differences between people-oriented and technology-oriented students tend to vanish. Positive images of the future are linked to careerism, while negative images are linked to New Work Ethic attitudes. Differences between employed and non-employed graduates were already present before the end of studies: the students most adhering to carreeristic attitudes have the least difficulties in finding work.

A critique of the ZPG urban stress test: On the uses and misuses of social indicators

Abstract: Rankings of metropolitan areas in terms of the quality of life have both an intuitive appeal to researchers and a great deal of interest to the general public. Both public officials and the residents of metropolitan areas follow with interest the research which places American cities within a comparative framework. The interest in such rankings provides readymade justification for the designation of priorities in the allocation of public resources as well as for the decisions people make on such issues as where to live and work and where to settle during their retirement years. Indeed, a great deal of research is oriented toward providing information for such kinds of decisions. Researchers generally assume that they can identify the major factors that contribute to the overall quality of life in a given area and that the central ingredients of the quality of life are amenable to measurement. While the separate components of such an amorphous concept as the "Quality of Life" may indeed be measurable, no one has yet devised a method of combining the various components and reducing them to a single satisfactory index (Johnston, 1988). Indeed, it may be suggested that no one has yet devised a list of factors that is both theoretically and empirically justified, and that would be universally acceptable as encompassing all the factors that ought to be included in any overall summary index. It is not our purpose in this brief commentary to get into the argument concerning what should or should not be the components of a single summary measure of overall quality of life, although this is one of our present ongoing research efforts. Rather what we propose is to examine one rece?? attempt to measure the quality of life in American cities and offer an analysis of the validity and limitations of the resulting index.