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.
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This research was supported by a Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada grant to J. Lavery (PI) et al. Work on this paper was facilitated by a Medical Research Council of Canada award to J. Horley. Correspondence should be sent to J. Horley, Department of Psychology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontarion Canada K7L 3N6.
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Horley, J., Lavery, J.J. The stability and sensitivity of subjective well-being measures. Soc Indic Res 24, 113–122 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00300356
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00300356