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Studies

Schulz et al. (1985): study AT 1984

Publication

Author(s):
Schulz, W.; Költringer, R.; Norden, G.; Tüchler, H.
Title:
Lebensqualität in Österreich. (Quality of Life in Austria).
Source:
Report Institut für Soziologie der Sozial- und Wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität Wien, 1985, Vienna, Austria

Investigation

Public
16+ aged, general public, Austria, 1984
Survey name
Unnamed study
Sample
Probability multi-stage random
Respondents
N = 1776
Non Response
Assessment
Interview: face-to-face
Highly structured

Happiness Measure(s) and Distributional Findings

Full text:
Self report on 3 questions:

A  When you consider your present life as-a-whole, would you say you are....?
    5  very happy
    4  fairly happy
    3  rather happy than unhappy
    2  rather unhappy than happy
    1  very unhappy
    -   DK/NA

B  When you consider your present life as-a-whole, would you say you are.....?
    5  very satisfied
    4  fairly satisfied
    3  rather satisfied than dissatisfied
    2  rather dissatisfied than satisfied
    1  fairly dissatisfied
    -   DK/NA

C  How do you feel right now? Is your well-being.....?
    5  very high
    4  high
    3  moderate
    2  rather low
    1  very low
    -   DK/NA

Summation: The summed scores were divided in three strata: low, medium and high quality of life
Classification:
M-AO-c-mq-v-5-a
Author's label:
Overall quality-of-life
Error estimates:
Reliability: Equivalence: Cronbachs Alpha=.79 Validity:
Observed distribution
Frequencies
1: 21%,   2: 0%,   3: 49%,   4: 0%,   5: 26%   (total 96%)
Summary Statistics
On original range 1 - 5 On range 0-10
Mean:
1.05 5.20
SD:
0.70 -
Full text:
Self report on 4 questions:

A  For the past five years, how much have you accomplished of what you planned in your life?
   1  completely failed
   2
   3
   4
   5
   6
   7  completely accomplished
B How much are you satisfied with your life as a whole these days?
   1  completely dissatisfied
   2
   3
   4
   5
   6
   7  completely satisfied
C How much do you enjoy your life these days?
   3  a great deal
   2  a fair amount
   1  not very much
D How happy have you been for the past five years?
   1  completely unhappy
   2
   3
   4
   5
   6
   7  completely happy

Summation: % positive answers

Response options A, D and C not reported in full detail
Classification:
M-AO-c-mq-*-*-a
Author's label:
Glück (Happiness)
Page in publication:
44
Error estimates:
Reliability: Equivalence: Cronbachs Alpha=.68 Validity:
Observed distribution
Summary Statistics
On original range 0 - 0 On range 0-10
Mean:
1.03 5.20
SD:
0.80 -
Full text:
Self report on single question:

When you consider your life-as-a-whole now, would you say you are …?
5  very happy
4  fairly happy
3  rather happy
2  rather unhappy
1  fairly unhappy
Classification:
O-HL-c-sq-v-5-n
Author's label:
Glück (Happiness)
Observed distribution
Frequencies
1: 0.9%,   2: 4.5%,   3: 34%,   4: 42.3%,   5: 18.3%   (total 100%)
Summary Statistics
On original range 1 - 5 On range 0-10
Mean:
2.70 6.80
SD:
- -
Full text:
Self report on single question:

Taking your life as a whole, are you .......?
5   very satisfied
4   quite satisfied
3   more satisfied than discontented
2   more discontented than satisfied
1   quite dissatisfied
Classification:
O-SLW-u-sq-v-5-d
Author's label:
Zufriedenheit (satisfaction)
Remarks:
44,0
Observed distribution
Frequencies
1: 0.9%,   2: 4%,   3: 28%,   4: 44%,   5: 23.1%   (total 100%)
Summary Statistics
On original range 1 - 5 On range 0-10
Mean:
3.84 7.04
SD:
0.85 1.46
Full text:
Self report on single question:

How well do you feel these days? Is your current well-being....?
0  very low
1
2
3
4  very high
Classification:
A-AOL-c-sq-v-5-c
Author's label:
Wohlbefinden (Psychological well-being)
Observed distribution
Frequencies
1: 2.4%,   2: 6.7%,   3: 36.2%,   4: 37.9%,   5: 16.7%   (total 99.9%)
Summary Statistics
On original range 0 - 4 On range 0-10
Mean:
2.60 6.50
SD:
- -

Correlational Findings

Author's label Subject Description Finding Male sex Sexe: male (vs female) Age Current age (in years) Married vs no partner Married state (compared to non-married states) Education Level of school-education
Vocational education
Professional status Social prestige of occupation Income Current income level (unspecified) Community size Community size Sociodemographic variables Summed socio-demographic factors only Satisfaction with physical health Satisfaction with health Married vs never married Married (vs never married) Married vs divorced Married (vs divorced) Married vs widowed Married (vs widowed) Never married vs divorced Never married (vs divorced) Widowed Widowed (vs divorced) Never married vs widowed Never married (vs widowed) Material satisfaction Satisfaction with standard of living Satisfaction with selfrealization Satisfaction with self-realization Satisfaction with social involvement Satisfaction with social participation Satisfaction with work (-positive-) Satisfaction with work-as-a-whole Satisfaction with work (-negative-) Satisfaction with work-as-a-whole Satisfaction with leisure time Satisfaction with leisure Domain satisfactions_A Satisfaction with multiple domains of life Happy parents Happiness of parents Satisfaction with partner Satisfaction with marriage Postmaterial attitude Post-materialist values Achievement orientedupbringing Demanding Education oriented upbringing Demanding Affectionate upbringing Family climate (earlier for adults, current for young) Stability orientation of locus-of-control Inner locus of control Self perceived locus-of-control Inner locus of control Self perceived political orientation Preference for: left vs right wing Frequency of church attendance Participation in church Personal characteristics Summed socio-demographic + life style + personality Body weight Weight Physical fittness activities Active involvement in sports Healthy eating habits Concern about nutrition Personal weight control Health inspection Alcohol consumption Use of alcohol Smoking habits Use of tobacco Psychosomatic healthproblems Current psycho-somatic complaints Illness Number of health complaints Time for leisure Satisfaction with time for leisure Judgment on family life Satisfaction with family of relatives Combined effects of partner related correlates_A Current characteristics of spouse Frequency of sex Sexual activity Suffering from jealousy Jealous Combined effects of partner related correlates_B Current characteristics of spouse Frequency of contactwith partner Shared activities of partners Marital loyalty Conjugal fidelity in marriage Communication with family Contacts with relatives Having a partner and child Current parental status
Married state (compared to non-married states)
Informal work relations Interaction at work Cooperation with colleagues Satisfaction with colleagues Variety of work Variety of work Selfcontrol in work situation Self-direction at work Hours work Hours work Work conditions (physical) Work place Availability of a car Car Accesibility of leisure time activities Build environment
Leisure facilities in vicinity
Active membership of a club Attendance to meetings Intensity of watching t.v. Tv watching, radio listening Leisure time activity Leisure activity level Contacts with relatives Contacts with relatives Social contacts Current personal contacts Professional status of the husband Social status of spouse
'Objective' socio-economic status
Satisfacion Life-stress inventories Personal view on 'relation and sexuality' Satisfaction with sex-life Social-psychologicalfactors Satisfaction with multiple domains of life Partner related factors Current characteristics of spouse Domain satisfactions_B Satisfaction with multiple domains of life General intellectual and cultural development Self-perceived preferences