Social Indicators of Well-Being

Americans' Perceptions of Life Quality
Softcover Nachdruck of the original 1. Auflage 1976
ISBN: 978-1-4684-2255-9
Verlag: Springer US

Buch, Englisch, 476 Seiten, Paperback, Format (B × H): 178 mm x 254 mm, Gewicht: 895 g

This is a study about perceptions of well-being. Its purpose is to investigate how these perceptions are organized in the minds of different groups of American adults, to find valid and efficient ways of measuring these percep­ tions, to suggest ways these measurement methods could be implemented to yield a series of social indicators, and to provide some initial readings on these indicators; i.e., some information about the levels of well-being perceived by Americans. The findings are based on data from more than five thousand Americans and include results from four separate representative samplings of the American population. One of the ways our research is unusual is that it includes a major methodological component. Typical surveys involve a modest effort at instru­ ment development, the application of the instrument to a group of respondents, and an analysis of the resulting data that mainly describes the people studied. Our work, however, was implemented in a series of sequential cycles, each of which consisted of conceptual development, instrument design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Ideas and findings generated in prior cycles affected the design of subsequent cycles.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Withey, Stephen B.

Andrews, Frank M.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1: Introduction.- Social Indicators.- Characteristics of Social Indicators.- Quality of Life.- Objective and Subjective Indicators.- The Research Problem.- Research Goals.- Usefulness.- Basic Concepts and a Conceptual Model.- Domains and Criteria.- A Conceptual Model.- Going Beyond the Model.- Dimensional Expansion of the Model.- Feedback Loops.- Processes That Generate Affective Evaluations.- Methods and Data.- The Measurement of Affective Evaluations.- Data Sources.- National-Level Surveys.- Local-Level Survey.- Summary.- 1: Developing Indicators of Perceived Well-Being.- 2: Identifying and Mapping Concerns.- Research Strategy.- Identifying Concerns.- Mapping the Concerns.- Maps and the Mapping Process.- Perceptual Structures—July Respondents.- Description of the Structure.- Interpretation of Dimensions.- Relationships Among Concerns.- Perceptual Structures—May and November Respondents.- Perceptual Structures—April Respondents.- Perceptual Structures—After Equating for Level and Variability of Evaluations.- Perceptual Structures—Subgroups of the Population.- Men and Women.- Four Age Groups.- Blacks.- Groups with High or Low Status.- Selecting and Clustering Concern-Level Measures.- Methodology.- Clusters.- Affective Evaluations Versus Unspecified Feelings.- Summary.- 3: Measuring Global Well-Being.- On the Existence of Global Assessments of Life Quality.- The Global Measures and a Typology for Classifying Them.- General Assessments of Life-as-a-Whole from an “Absolute” Perspective.- Full-Range Measures.- Part-Range Measures.- More Specific Qualities of Life-as-a-Whole, “Absolute” Perspective.- Assessments of Life-as-a-Whole from a Relative Perspective.- Assessment of Life-as-a-Whole from the Perspectives of Long- or Short-Term Change.- Long-Term Change.- Short-Term Change.- Supplementary Global Measures.- Formal Structure of the Typology.- Interrelationships Among Global Measures.- Overview of Results.- Results from April Respondents.- Relationships Among Global Measures.- Smallest Space Analysis.- Results for Subgroups.- Summary of Results from April Respondents.- Results from November Respondents.- Relationships Among Global Measures.- Factor Analysis.- Summary of Results from November Respondents.- Results from July Respondents.- Relationships Among Global Measures.- Factor Analysis.- Summary.- 4: Predicting Global Well-Being: I.- Life 3. A Measure of Global Well-Being.- Topics to Be Discussed and Overview of Results.- Relationships Between Single Concern Measures and Life 3.- Multivariate Prediction of Life 3.- Models for Predicting Life 3 from Concern Measures.- Linearities.- Lack of Interactions.- Weighting Schemes.- Conclusions and Comments About the Prediction Model.- Predicting Life 3 Using Different Sets of Concern Measures.- Results from May Respondents.- Results from November Respondents.- Results from April Respondents.- Results from July Respondents.- Using Classification Variables to Predict Life 3.- Results from May Respondents.- Results from April Respondents.- Lack of Statistical Interactions.- Evaluation of Predictive Levels Achieved.- May Data.- July Data.- November and April Data.- Prediction of Life 3 in Subgroups of the Population.- Summary.- 5: Predicting Global Well-Being: II.- Plan of the Chapter and Overview of Results.- Relationships Between Single Concern Measures and the Global Measures.- Type A Global Measures.- Type B Global Measures.- Type C Global Measures.- Type D Global Measures.- Type E Global Measures.- Type F Global Measures.- Type G Global Measures.- Comment.- Multivariate Prediction of Global Measures.- Summary.- 6: Evaluating the Measures of Well-Being.- Plan of the Chapter and Overview of Results.- Estimation of the Validity and Error Components of the Measures.- Measurement Theory and Models.- Variance Components.- Measurement Models.- Construct Validity and Measurement Models.- Estimates Derived from the July Data.- Nature of the July Data.- The Measurement Model.- The Results.- Summary and Comments Regarding July Results.- The Reliability of the Life Measures in National Data.- Estimates Derived from the May Data.- Estimates Derived from the April Data.- Estimates Derived from the November Data.- Estimates Derived from the October Data.- Comparison of Validity Estimates for Different Methods.- Distributions Produced by the More Valid Methods.- Statistical Results.- Conclusions and Comments About Distribution Forms.- Overall Evaluations, Additional Criteria, Further Improvements.- Category Labeling and Ease of Use.- Overall Evaluations.- Toward Further Improvements.- Relationships Between Measures of Perceived Well-Being and Other Types of Variables.- Summary.- 7: Exploring the Dynamics of Evaluation.- Organization of the Chapter and Summary of Results.- Exploration 1: A Statistical Translation Between the Delighted—Terrible Scale and the Faces, Circles, and Ladder Scales.- Exploration 2: The D—T Scale Categories and Three More General Levels of Evaluation.- Exploration 3: Hypothetical Family Incomes and Affective Evaluations on the D—T Scale.- Exploration 4: The Role of Perceptions About the Past and Future in Predicting Present Evaluations.- Exploration 5: Six Frames of Reference and Evaluations of Well-Being.- Exploration 6: An Implementation of the Domains-by-Criteria Model.- The Problem.- Design of the Analysis and Measures Employed.- Results.- Bivariate Relationships.- Multivariate Relationships.- Conclusions.- Exploration 7: Comparisons Between One’s Own Well-Being and That of Others.- Exploration 8: Judgments of the “Importance” of Concerns.- Exploration 9: Searching for People with Distinctive Patterns of Feelings About Well-Being.- Summary.- 2: Well-Being in the United States: Americans’ Perceptions.- 8: Americans’ Well-Being: Specific Life Concerns.- The Nation.- The National Government.- Local Government.- Economic Situation.- Community.- Services and Facilities.- Education.- Jobs.- Neighborhood.- Friends and Associates.- Home.- Leisure and Leisure-Time Facilities.- Family.- Self.- Interpersonal Relations.- Seasonal Changes.- Comparisons Among Means.- Skewness, Bias, and Spread.- Discussion.- Summary.- 9: Americans’ Well-Being: Differences Among Population Groups.- Groups Identified.- Comparison of General Well-Being in Different Groups.- Men and Women.- Age Groups.- Family Life-Cycle.- Socioeconomic Status.- Blacks and Whites.- Nondifferences.- Discussion.- Summary.- 10: Americans’ Well-Being: Life-as-a-Whole.- Evaluations of Life-as-a-Whole by the Total Population.- General Evaluations of Life-as-a-Whole.- Absolute Perspective (Type A and B Measures).- Long-Term Changes in Well-Being (Type E Measures).- Own Well-Being Relative to That of Others (Type D Measures).- More Specific Evaluations of Life-as-a-Whole (Type C Measures).- Satisfaction, Happiness, Worries.- Positive Affect, Negative Affect, Affect Balance.- Selected Other Qualities of Life-as-a-Whole.- Evaluations of Life-as-a-Whole in Population Groups.- General Evaluations of Life-as-a-Whole.- Absolute Perspective (Type A Measures).- Long-Term Changes in Well-Being (Type E Measures).- Best Week, Worst Week, Short-Term Changes (Measures of Types B and F).- Own Well-Being Relative to That of Others (Type D Measures).- More Specific Evaluations of Life-as-a-Whole (Type C Measures).- Satisfaction.- Happiness.- Positive and Negative Affect.- Affect Balance.- Worries.- Comments on Defenses, Adaptations, and Coping Mechanisms.- Summary.- 3: Future Applications.- 11: Applications.- Organization of the Chapter.- Instrument Design.- Parameters Affecting Instrument Design.- Substantive Interests.- Resources.- Precision.- Methods of Data Collection.- Specific Proposals on Instrument Design.- Concern-Level Measures.- Global Measures.- Response Scales.- Analysis and Interpretation.- Measure Construction and Analysis.- Interpretation Perspectives.- Summary.- Appendixes.- Appendix A: Interview and Questionnaire Schedules.- Interview Used with May Respondents.- Interview Used with November Form 1 Respondents.- Interview Used with November Form 2 Respondents.- Interview Used with April Respondents.- Questionnaire Used with July Respondents.- Appendix B: Sampling Designs, Response Rates, Sampling Precision.- Appendix C: Clusters of Concern Items.- Appendix D: Interrelationships Among Concern Items in May and April Surveys, by Population Subgroups.- Appendix E: Factor Analyses of Concern Items from May, November, and April National Surveys.- Appendix F: Factor Analysis of Global Measures from the April National Survey.- Appendix G: Scan for Interactions Involving Concern Measures and Life 3.- Appendix H: Demographic Characteristics of July Respondents.- Appendix I: Distributions Produced by the Delighted—Terrible, Faces, and Circles Scales on Five Concerns.- Appendix J: Number of Cases Used in Computing Means Shown in Exhibit 7.1.- Appendix L: Formation of Socioeconomic Status Scale.- Appendix M: Subgroup Ns and Percentage Distributions.- Appendix N: Perceived Well-Being in 1974, 1976.- References.