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Studies

Adams (1988): study US 1981

Publication

Author(s):
Adams, R.G.
Title:
Which comes First: Poor Psychological Well-Being or Decreased Friendship Activity?
Source:
Activities, Adaptation & Aging, 1988, Vol. 12, 27 - 41

Investigation

Public
62+ aged, white non-married females, middle class suburb of Chicago, USA. followed 1981-84
Sample
Respondents
N = 70
Non Response
Dropout : 27% due to incapacity, 13% refusal
Assessment
Multiple assesment methods
Depth interview (T1), mailed questionnaire and telephone interview (T2)

Happiness Measure(s) and Distributional Findings

Full text:
Self report on 10 questions:

During the past few weeks, did you ever feel ....?  (yes/no)
A   Particularly excited or interested in something?
B   So restless that you couldn't sit long in a chair?
C   Proud because someone complimented you on something  
     you had done?
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 going your way?
J    Upset because someone criticized you?

Answer options and scoring:
yes = 1
no  = 0
Summation:
-Positive Affect Score (PAS): A+C+E+G+I
-Negative Affect Score (NAS): B+D+F+H+J
-Affect Balance Score (ABS): PAS minus NAS
Possible range: -5 to +5

Name: Bradburn's 'Affect Balance Scale' (standard version)
Classification:
A-BB-cm-mq-v-2-a
Author's label:
Psychological well-being

Correlational Findings

Author's label Subject Description Finding Number of friends Current number of friends Interaction with friends Current contacts with friends Number of local friends Number of friends/acquaintances
Social contacts in vicinity
Earlier affect Past happiness ( 1 to 10 years ago) Number of local friends Current number of friends
Social contacts in vicinity
Number of emotionally close friends Earlier friendships
Number of close friends