The following describes scales assessing Spousal Relationships that were included in the Mail Questionnaire of the Life Histories and Health Study , items comprising individual subscales are listed (including which items are to be reverse coded), along with any available references. The following pages document steps in scale construction (for those scales constructed thus far) and include frequency distributions as well as reliabiltiy assessments.
NOTE: BOLD-FACED type denotes that the item should be reverse coded
Section I. Relationships: Family, Work and Friends
Spouse/Partner Relationships
Q1a-1d. Determines if R is in a romantic relationship
Q2a-Q2iii. Items are derived from 3 batteries of questions. They are all set up in a 5 point (Disagree Strongly, Disagree, Neither Agree nor Disagree, Agree, Agree Strongly) Likert style.
a. Personal Assessment of Intimacy in Relationships (PAIR) (Schaefer and Olson, 1981). This 60-item scale measures 6 types of intimacy, items in this scale are labeled as indicated in parentheses below.
Subscales and items comprising them:
Emotional (E): a, j, s, dd, mm, hhh
Sexual (X): d, m, v, gg, pp, ccc
Recreational (R): b, k, t, ee, nn, bbb
Intellectual (I): e, n, w, hh, qq, aaa
Conventionality (C): c, l, u, ff, oo, vv
Social (S): uu, ww, zz, ddd, fff, iii
b. Partner Relationship Inventory (PRI) (Hoskins, 1987)
The PRI measures interactional needs (comprising agreement in thinking, communication, disagreement in behavior perceptions of the other's feelings, and companionship and sharing), emotional needs (comprising emotional satisfaction, security and recognition) and sexual needs in relationships and areas of conflict when needs are perceived as being unmet by one or both partners. Questionnaire items from this scale are labeled PRI.
PRI items: h, i, r, x, bb, ll, rr, yy, eee, ggg
c. Attachment Scale (Brennan and Shaver, 1995)
Selected items from this scale of attachment style are included as supplements to the PRI and PAIR assessments of marital quality. Three of the scale's seven possible subscales are included in our questionnaire. The scales used are those that assess the characteristics of marriage which are not captured in the PRI or PAIR. The items are labeled as indicated in parenthesis below.
Subscales and Items comprising them:
Proximity-Seeking (PS) : f, o, z, ii
Ambivalence (AM): g , p, aa, jj, ss
Jealousy/Fear of Abandonment: q, y, cc, kk, tt, xx
Q3a-l. Conflict Tactics scale : for serious, romantic relationships
Brennan, K. A. & P.R. Shaver. 1995. Dimensions of adult attachment, affect regulation, and romantic relationship functioning. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 21:3, 267-283.
Hoskins, C.N. 1987. The Partner Relationship Inventory. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
Schaefer, M.T., & D.H. Olson. 1981. Assessing intimacy: the PAIR inventory. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy. 7, 47-60.
Strauss, M.A. 1974. Leveling, civility, and violence in the family. Journal of Marriage and the Family. Feb, 13-29.
Strauss, M.A. 1979. Measuring intrafamily conflict and violence: the Conflict Tactics (CT) Scales. Journal of Marriage and Family. Feb , 75-86
The following describes scales assessing Parental Relationships that were included in the Mail Questionnaire of the Life Histories and Health Study , items comprising individual subscales are listed (including which items are to be reverse coded), along with any available references. The following pages document steps in scale construction (for those scales constructed thus far) and include frequency distributions as well as reliabiltiy assessments.
Parental Relationships: Mother/Female and Father/Male Guardian
Q4-7. Determines who was woman that raised R and R's perception of her
Q8a-8z. Parental Bonding Instrument: (Parker, 1979; Parker, Tupling & Brown, 1979)
Subscales and items comprising them:
Caring (C): a, b, d, e, f, k, l, n, p, q, r, x, z
Overprotective (O): c, g, h, i, j, m, o, s, t, u, v, w, y
Note: we added item 'z'. In addition the phrasing of 4 items on the Caring subscale were changed so that they were positively phrased, in the original instrument the following items were negatively phrased: F, N, R, X
Q9a-Q9n. Conflict Tactics scale: for mothers
Q10-13. Determines who was man that raised R and R's perception of him
Q14a-14z. Parental Bonding Instrument: (Parker, 1979; Parker, Tupling & Brown, 1979)
Subscales and items comprising them:
Caring (C): a, b, d, e, f, k, l, n, p, q, r, x, z
Overprotective (O): c, g, h, i, j, m, o, s, t, u, v, w, y
Note: we added item 'z'. In addition the phrasing of 1 item on the Caring subscale was changed so that it is positively phrased, in the original instrument the following item was negatively phrased:
X
Q15a-Q15n. Conflict Tactics scale: for fathers
Parker, G., H. Tupling, & L.B. Brown. 1979. A parental bonding instrument. British Journal of Medical Psychology. 52, 1-10.
The following describes scales assessing Psychological Well-being that were included in the Mail Questionnaire of the Life Histories and Health Study , items comprising individual subscales are listed (including which items are to be reverse coded), along with any available references. The following pages document steps in scale construction (for those scales constructed thus far) and include frequency distributions as well as reliabiltiy assessments.
Psychological Wellbeing (Part 1): NOTE, THE DIRECTION OF LIKERT OPTIONS IS THE OPPOSITE OF THAT FOR Q21.
Q16a-16oo. Ryff's psychological wellbeing scale as presented in the Mail Questionnaire for the 1992/1993 Wave of the WLS. Shortened versions (7-item scales) of the original 20 item scales are used. Response categories are based on a six-point Likert scale ranging from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree. Items are labeled as indicated in parentheses below.
Subscales and items comprising them:
Autonomy (AU): a, g, h, o, v, cc, jj
Environmental Mastery (EM): b, i, n, p, w, dd (7th item is Q21t)
Personal Growth (PG): c, j, q, u, x, ee, kk
Positive Relations w/ Others (PR): d, k, r, y, bb, ff, ll
Purpose in Life (PL): e, l, s, z, gg, ii, mm
Self-Acceptance (SA): f, m, t, aa, hh, nn, oo
Note: reverse coding corresponds to original designation in the WLS 1992-93 mail questionnaire, this is the opposite of that defined by Ryff. Care should be taken when constructing these scales and combining them with those described below at Q21a-qq).
Psychological Wellbeing (Part 2):
NOTE, THE DIRECTION OF LIKERT SCALE IS OPPOSITVE OF THAT FOR Q16 AND REVERSE CODING CORRESPONDS TO THAT ORIGINALLY DESIGNATED BY RYFF.
Q21a-21qq. An additional shortened set (7-item scales) across the six dimensions of Ryff's psychological wellbeing scales, makes the assessment of PWB equivalent to that conducted as part of the Wisconsin Study of Community Relocation. Response categories are based on a six-point Likert scale ranging from Strongly Disagree to Strongly Agree. Items are labeled as indicated in parenthesis below.
Subscales and items comprising them:
Autonomy (AU): a, g, m, s, y, ee, ff
Environmental Mastery (EM): b, h, n, z, gg, ll, qq
Personal Growth (PG): c, i, o, u, aa,hh, mm
Positive Relations w/ Others (PR): d, j, p, v, bb, ii, nn
Purpose in Life (PL): e, k, q, w, cc, jj, oo
Self-Acceptance (SA): f, l, r, x, dd, kk, pp
Ryff, C.D. (1989b). Happiness is everything, or is it? Explorations on the meaning of psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 1069-1081.]
Ryff, C.D. & Keyes, C.L.M. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 719-727.
The following describes scales assessing Work, Family and Friends that were included in the Mail Questionnaire of the Life Histories and Health Study , items comprising individual subscales are listed (including which items are to be reverse coded), along with any available references. The following pages document steps in scale construction (for those scales constructed thus far) and include frequency distributions as well as reliabiltiy assessments.
Work, Family and Friends
Q17-17x. Work-Family Interface: Defines current work status and assess interaction between work and family life. Items 17m-17x were included in the 1992-93 WLS Mail Questionnaire and the response options specified are the opposite of that specified by ther persons who developed the scale. The response options used in the present study correspond to the original, thus no reverse coding is necessary.
Subscales and items comprising them:
Work Stress Spillover (WSS): a, b, s, t, u, w
Work Enhancement Spillover (WES): c, d, e, f,
Family Stress Spillover (FSS): g, h, m, o, p, q
Family Enhancement Spillover (FES): i, j, k, l, n, r, v
Note: Item 'x' is not assigned to any subscale.
Q18-20i. Assessment of friendships (No Documentation at this time)
The following describes scales assessing Perceived Inequality that were included in the Mail Questionnaire of the Life Histories and Health Study , items comprising individual subscales are listed (including which items are to be reverse coded), along with any available references. The following pages document steps in scale construction (for those scales constructed thus far) and include frequency distributions as well as reliabiltiy assessments.
Q21a.a-21a.r Assessment of Perceived Inequalities (Wing)
Subscales and items comprising them (items are labeled as indicated in parentheses below):
Family Domain (F): a, d, g, j, m, p
Work Domain (W): b, e, h, k, n, q
Home/Neighborhood Domain (H): c, f, i, l, o, r
Wing, E. H. Class and psychological wellbeing: the influence of perceived inequalities. (Research Paper)
The following describes scales assessing Mental Health (Depression, Anger, Anxiety) that were included in the Mail Questionnaire of the Life Histories and Health Study , items comprising individual subscales are listed (including which items are to be reverse coded), along with any available references. The following pages document steps in scale construction (for those scales constructed thus far) and include frequency distributions as well as reliabiltiy assessments.
Mental Health
Q25a-Q25t. Spielberger Anger/Anxiety Scale
(reference:-STAI Manual; Human subject overview: mail interview instrument)
Subscales and the items comprising them (items are labeled as indicated in parentheses below):
Anxiety (AX): a, c, e, g, i, k, m, o, q, s
Anger (AG): b, d, f, h, j, l, n, p, r, t
Q26a-26t. CES-D depression assessment
There are no subscales, the following are reverse coded: d, g, n, p
Q26u-26dd. Hostility/ Panic
Devins, G.M. & C.M. Orme. 1985. Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Test Critiques. 2, 144-60.
Parker, G. 1979. Parental characteristics in relation to depressive disorders. British Journal of Psychiatry. 134, 138-47.
Radloff, L.S. 1977. The CES-D Scale: a self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychology Measurement. 1:3, 385-401.
Roberts, R.E. & S.W. Vernon. 1983. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale: it's use in a community sample. American Journal of Psychiatry. 140:1, 411-46.
Speilberger, C.D., R. L. Gorsuch, & R. E. Lushene. 1970. STAI Manual:for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.