Mature Women cohort
In 1989 and in 2003, the full 20-item CES-D (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression) scale was administered to the Mature Women respondents (R09791.00-R09810.00). This scale measures symptoms of depression and discriminates between clinically depressed individuals and others; it is highly correlated with other depression rating scales (see Radloff 1977; Ross and Mirowsky 1989). The 1995-2001 surveys contained a reduced set of seven items from the original 20-item CES-D scale. The CES-D items can be found in the data set by searching for the term "CES-D" in the variable titles.
The complete 10-item Affect Balance Scale developed by Norman Bradburn (1969) was administered to the Mature Women respondents in 1981 (R05226.00-R05235.00). This measure of positive and negative feelings in the weeks before the interview provides an indication of the respondent's general psychological well-being. The statements ask, for example, whether the respondent felt particularly excited or interested in something in the past few weeks, whether she was so restless she could not sit long in a chair, and whether she felt that things were going her way.
At four survey points, the Mature Women gave responses to a measure of internal-external locus of control. Internal control refers to the perception of events as being under personal control; external control involves events being perceived as unrelated to one's own behavior. In 1969, 1972, and 1977, an 11-item abbreviated version of Rotter's (1966) Internal-External Control Scale was used. The abbreviated scale was constructed by including only those items of the original 23-item Rotter scale which were the most general and oriented to the adult world of work (see Parnes et al. 1974). Reducing the number of items would have required an overall reduction in the range of scores. To avoid this situation, the response format was modified to four choices rather than two as in the original scale. The respondent was thus asked how closely each of the 11 statements represented her own view of the issue. The total score is obtained by summing the values of all 11 items, resulting in a range of 11 to 44 in order of increasing external control. The modified scale has been shown to be highly correlated with the original 23-item scale (see Parnes et al. 1974). The 2001 survey included a modified four-item scale.
More questions related to mental health were added in 2003. Respondents were asked a single question on whether they were currently taking any medication for depression or nerves. Also, in a series on pet ownership, respondents provided information about the number and type of pets owned.
References
Bradburn, Norman M. The Structure of Psychological Well-Being. Chicago: Aldine, 1969.
Parnes, Herbert S., Adams, Arvil V.; Andrisani, Paul J.; Kohen, Andrew I.; and Nestel, Gilbert. The Pre-Retirement Years: Five Years in the Work Lives of Middle-aged Men, Vol. 4. Columbus, OH: Center for Human Resource Research, The Ohio State University, 1974.
Radloff, Lenore. "The CES-D Scale: A Self Report Depression Scale for Research in the General Population." Applied Psychological Measurement. 1 (1977): 385-401.
Ross, Catherine E. and Mirowsky, John. "Explaining the Social Patterns of Depression: Control and Problem Solving--or Support and Talking?" Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 30 (June 1989): 206-9.
Rotter, Julian B. "Generalized Expectancies for Internal vs. External Control of Reinforcements." Psychological Monographs. 80,609 (1966): 1-28.
| Related Variables | Additional information on the respondent's general satisfaction with life can be found in the Attitudes & Expectations section of this guide. Questions on job satisfaction can be found in the Job Satisfaction section of this guide. |
|---|---|
| Survey Instruments | Health and health insurance questions are located within the Health section of the questionnaires. The CES-D scale items for 1989 can be found in the Retirement and Pension section of the survey instrument. In 1995-2001, the reduced CES-D scale items are located in the Health section of the questionnaire. Components of the Rotter scale can be found in the Work Attitudes section of the appropriate survey year questionnaires. |
Young Women cohort
In 1993 and in 2003, the full 20-item CES-D (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression) scale was administered to the Young Women respondents (R14740.00-R14759.00). This scale measures symptoms of depression and discriminates between clinically depressed individuals and others; it is highly correlated with other depression rating scales (see Radloff 1977; Ross and Mirowsky 1989). The 1995-2001 surveys contained a reduced set of seven items from the original 20-item CES-D scale. The CES-D items can be found in the data set by searching for the term "CES-D" in the variable titles.
At five survey points, the Young Women gave responses to a measure of internal-external locus of control. Internal control refers to the perception of events as being under personal control; external control involves events being perceived as unrelated to one's own behavior. In 1970, 1973, and 1978, an 11-item abbreviated version of Rotter's (1966) Internal-External Control Scale was used. The abbreviated scale was constructed by including only those items of the original 23-item Rotter scale that were the most general and oriented to the adult world of work (see Parnes et al. 1974). Reducing the number of items would have required an overall reduction in the range of scores. To avoid this situation, the response format was modified to four choices rather than two as in the original scale. The respondent was thus asked how closely each of the 11 statements represented her own view of the issue. The total score is obtained by summing the values of all 11 items, resulting in a range of 11 to 44 in order of increasing external control. The modified scale has been shown to be highly correlated with the original 23-item scale (see Parnes et al. 1974). In 1983 and 1988, this scale was further reduced to only four items. The 2001 survey included a modified four-item scale.
More questions related to mental health were added in 2003. Respondents were asked a single question on whether they were currently taking any medication for depression or nerves. Also, in a series on pet ownership, respondents provided information about the number and type of pets owned.
References
Parnes, Herbert S., Adams, Arvil V.; Andrisani, Paul J.; Kohen, Andrew I.; and Nestel, Gilbert. The Pre-Retirement Years: Five Years in the Work Lives of Middle-aged Men, Vol. 4. Columbus, OH: CHRR, The Ohio State University, 1974.
Radloff, Lenore. "The CES-D Scale: A Self Report Depression Scale for Research in the General Population."Applied Psychological Measurement 1 (1977): 385-401.
Ross, Catherine E. and Mirowsky, John. "Explaining the Social Patterns of Depression: Control and Problem Solving--or Support and Talking?"Journal of Health and Social Behavior 30 (June 1989): 206-9.
Rotter, Julian B. "Generalized Expectancies for Internal vs. External Control of Reinforcements." Psychological Monographs 80,609 (1966): 1-28.
| Related Variables | Additional information on the respondent's general satisfaction with life can be found in the Attitudes & Expectations section, while questions on job satisfaction can be found in the Job Satisfaction section. |
|---|---|
| Survey Instruments | Health and health insurance questions are located within the Health section of the questionnaires. The CES-D scale items can be found in the Health section of the survey instruments in the years they are collected. Components of the Rotter scale can be found in the Work Attitudes section of the appropriate survey year questionnaires. |