An assessment of the construct validity of Ryff’s Scales of Psychological Well-Being: Method, mode, and measurement effects

This study assesses the measurement properties of Ryff’s Scales of Psychological Well-Being (RPWB)—a widely used instrument designed to measure six dimensions of psychological well-being. Analyses of self-administered RPWB data from three major surveys—Midlife in the United States (MIDUS), National Survey of Families and Households II, and the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS)—yielded very high overlap among the dimensions. These large correlations persisted even after eliminating several methodological sources of confounding, including question wording, question order, and negative item-wording. However, in MIDUS pretest and WLS telephone administrations, correlations among the dimensions were much lower. Past research demonstrates that self-administered instruments provide more valid psychological measurements than telephone surveys, and we therefore place more weight on the consistent results from the self-administered items. In sum, there is strong evidence that RPWB does not have as many as six distinct dimensions, and researchers should be cautious in interpreting its subscales.     

Best news yet on the six-factor model of well-being

This study provides a response to Springer and Hauser’s claim that the Ryff Scales of Psychological Well-Being do not comprise six dimensions. We show that their analyses support the theory-guided six-factor model, although their interpretations of the data reveal a lack of understanding of the construct-oriented approach to personality assessment. We also review evidence from five categories of studies (i.e., factorial validity, psychological correlates, sociodemographic correlates, biological correlates, and intervention studies) that document the distinctiveness of the six dimensions of well-being, including among subscales that are highly correlated. We conclude with an examination of the methodological corrections (negative items, adjacent items, and redundant items) employed by Springer and Hauser, finding all to be problematic, either in terms of scientific rationale or method of implementation, or both. Correlations among latent constructs resulting from these analyses are thus highly questionable.     

Does Psychological Well-Being Change with Age?: Longitudinal Tests of Age Variations and Further Exploration of the Multidimensionality of Ryff's Model of Psychological Well-Being

Using two population-based surveys, we provide the first test of longitudinal age variations in Ryff’s model of psychological well-being (RPWB) across three midlife to later-life transitions. Through these analyses we explore: (a) age variation in RPWB, (b) the structure of RPWB, and (c) the potential for methodologically driven age patterns. In general, RPWB dimensions do not consistently exhibit distinct age profiles; further, longitudinal age variations are exceptionally small, never accounting for more than 4% of the variance. We observe far greater variation within ages or periods than between subscales across age or time - providing strong evidence against substantively different age profiles of RPWB. Moreover, heterogeneity among positively and negatively worded items yield varied age patterns indicating that the small age variations of RWPB could be driven, at least in part, by methodological artifacts rather than maturation.     

On a dynamic response model of W. F. Kempf

Kempf's model was used by W. F. Kempf and P. Hampapa (1977, “Conditional inference for the dynamic test model,” in Mathematical Models for Social Psychology (W. F. Kempf and B. H. Repp, Eds.), Chap. 3, pp. 81–100, Wiley, New York) to analyze the cross-classification of responses to four items on sex typing of children's household chores from the 1971 Detroit Area Study. The model alters the simple Rasch measurement model for dichotomous items to include transfer effects, so that responses are allowed to be serially dependent (G. Rasch, 1966, “An individualistic approach to item analysis,” in Readings in Mathematical Social Science (P. F. Lazarsfeld and N. W. Henry, Eds.), pp. 89–107, MIT Press, Cambridge, 1980; Probabilistic Models for Some Intelligence and Attainment Tests, expanded ed., Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago). Although Kempf and Hampapa did not find strong reason to reject the dynamic model, the present analysis indicates that it should be rejected in favor of a two-dimensional Rasch model.     

A note on block variables in multiequation models

This paper seeks to further refine the efforts of Coleman (Social Science Research 5, 1–20, 1976) and Igra (Social Science Research 8, 253–264, 1979) to develop summary regressionlike coefficients for causal models involving blocks of conceptually related variables, using Heise's (Sociological Methods and Research 1, 147–173, 1972) strategy of explicitly representing block concepts as unobserved intervening variables in a multiequation model. Such models can be estimated using the maximum-likelihood techniques of Jöreskog and Sörbom (LISREL IV: Analysis of Linear Structural Relationships by the Method of Maximum Likelihood, International Educational Services, Chicago, 1978). The procedure proposed leads to (a) an unambiguous definition of block variables in terms of their constituent variables; (b) a clear definition of effects of conceptual variables on one another, and on single response variables, and a reduced model formulated in terms of conceptual variables only; and (c) a clear decomposition of correlations between conceptual variables into direct effects, indirect effects, and unanalyzed components. Numerical illustration is provided.     

Neighborhoods, employment, and welfare use: Assessing the influence of neighborhood socioeconomic composition

We draw upon data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study to examine the effect of neighborhood socioeconomic composition on two key economic outcomes, and in doing so to test the validity of the index of concentration at the extremes (ICE) as a measure of neighborhood circumstances. Methodologically, we find that the index succinctly captures economic variation within neighborhoods in a way that avoids problems of colinearity that have characterized prior studies. Neighborhoods can be characterized as falling on a continuum ranging from concentrated disadvantage to concentrated advantage; the ICE measure does a good job capturing this variation and differentiating the neighborhood circumstances experienced by different groups. Substantively, we show that neighborhood economic circumstances are related to new mothers’ welfare use and employment, above and beyond their individual socioeconomic characteristics.     

Specialization and happiness in marriage: A U.S.–Japan comparison

This paper examines the relationship between specialization and happiness in marriage in the U.S. and Japan. Our findings, based on the General Social Surveys in the U.S. and Japan, indicate both similarities and differences in the determinants of marital happiness in the two countries. In the U.S., the findings are mixed. Women’s reported marital happiness in the U.S. is more likely to follow the predictions of the bargaining model where their happiness is determined by their own income. Men’s marital happiness in the U.S. follows the predictions of the specialization model; they are happier if their wives are not working or, alternatively, if they are financially dependent on their wives. In Japan, we find support for the specialization model, particularly in the case of women; they are happier if they are specialized in the household and they have a higher household income. Our research highlights how marital quality is affected by the institutional context and the normative environment.     

The cross-country and cross-time measurement invariance of positive and negative affect scales: Evidence from European Social Survey

Survey-based measures of subjective well-being are increasingly often analyzed cross-culturally. However, international comparison of these measures requires measurement invariance. Therefore, the major goal of this study is to investigate the cross-country and cross-time comparability of the 4-item positive and 7-item negative affect scales used in European Social Survey Round 3 (2006) and Round 6 (2012). This study applies both the traditional exact and the more recent Bayesian approximate approach to assess whether the affect scales are measurement invariant. The approximate approach detected several non-invariant items that are problematic for cross-national comparison and should be dropped from the scales. Consequently, measurement invariance was established in all countries over the two rounds for the reduced scales, allowing researchers to meaningfully compare their latent mean scores and the relationships with other theoretical constructs of interest. Thus, the study highlights the advantages of using multiple indicators and the necessity of measurement invariance testing in subjective well-being research.     

Marshall and Gorman's Markov chain model for occupational prestige

This report scrutinizes the Markov chain model for occupational prestige proposed by K. P. Marshall and B. L. Gorman (1975, Social Science Research 4, 41–64). It is shown that the results of their application are highly unstable.     

Applying the matching law as micro-foundation of social phenomena

Social phenomena are suggested to be explained by the matching law - an empirical regularity of individual behaviour. While a considerable amount of psychological research on this law exists, only a few sociological applications can be found. This paper points to the problems that come with its usage as micro-foundation of social behaviour and provides solutions. In particular, a model of melioration learning enables the derivation of social phenomena from the matching law. The proposed approach is illustrated by the application of the learning model to the volunteer's dilemma. In contrast to game-theoretical solutions, the matching law leads to more intuitive results in case of the asymmetric dilemma. The relationship between the matching law and utility maximisation is discussed by its integration into economic consumer theory.     

The social context of assimilation: testing implications of segmented assimilation theory

Segmented assimilation theory has been a popular explanation for the diverse experiences of assimilation among new waves of immigrants and their children. While the theory has been interpreted in many different ways, we emphasize its implications for the important role of social context: both processes and consequences of assimilation should depend on the local social context in which immigrants are embedded. We derive empirically falsifiable hypotheses about the interaction effects between social context and assimilation on immigrant children’s well-being. We then test the hypotheses using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Our empirical analyses yield two main findings. First, for immigrant adolescents living in non-poverty neighborhoods, we find assimilation to be positively associated with educational achievement and psychological well-being but also positively associated with at-risk behavior. Second, there is little empirical evidence supporting our hypotheses derived from segmented assimilation theory. We interpret these results to mean that future research would be more fruitful focusing on differential processes of assimilation rather than differential consequences of assimilation.     

Explaining educational influences on attitudes toward homosexual relations

Despite changing attitudes toward homosexual relations in the United States, college-educated individuals remain less disapproving of homosexual sex than less-educated persons. Using recent General Social Survey data, this study considers three alternative explanations for the established association between schooling and support for same-sex relations. First, education may promote tolerance of homosexual sex by teaching support of nonconformity. Second, schooling may promote greater cognitive sophistication and complex reasoning, thus enabling individuals to better evaluate new ideas. Third, the observed relationship between education and tolerance may be the spurious result of affluence of the parental home. We find that the relation of education and attitudes is not a spurious one. Rather, the liberalizing effect of education on attitudes toward homosexual relations is due, in part, to education’s association with support for civil liberties, and in part, to schooling’s correlation with cognitive sophistication.     

Religion and intimate partner violence in Chile: Macro- and micro-level influences

The Catholic Church has had a strong influence on the Chilean legal and social landscape in ways that have adversely affected victims of intimate partner violence; e.g., it succeeded until just five years ago in blocking efforts to legalize divorce. At the same time, quantitative studies based on survey data from the United States and other countries show a generally favorable influence of religion on health and many other domains of life, including intimate partner violence. The present study explores the puzzle posed by these seemingly opposing macro- and micro-level forces. Results based on data from the 2005 Survey of Student Well-Being, a questionnaire on gender-based violence administered to students at a large public university in Chile, show that moderate or low levels of religiosity are associated with reduced vulnerability to violence, but high levels are not. This non-linearity sheds light on the puzzle, because at the macro level the religious views shaping Chile’s legal and social environment have been extreme.     

Her money, her time: Women’s earnings and their housework hours

Do husbands and wives divide housework on the basis of who makes more money? Much of the recent literature has focused on the effects of individuals’ earnings relative to their partners’ on their housework. By contrast, this paper analyzes the effects of women’s own earnings on the time they spend doing housework in the context of heterosexual couple households. A conservative estimate using the second wave of the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) is that the negative association of women’s housework with their own earnings is two to three times greater than that with their partners’; in the full model, the association with partners’ earnings is not statistically significant. The importance of women’s own earnings in housework models is highlighted by the comparable effect of income on housework among single women. It appears that so far as housework is concerned, women do not benefit greatly from their male partners’ incomes. The finding emphasizes the gender segregation of domestic labor, and underscores the importance of income differences among women in explaining their housework behavior. It shows that the difference between the mean housework hours of the women with the lowest and highest earnings is as large as the difference between the mean housework hours of women and men.     

企业家的信任观及其影响因素:基于浙粤两省问卷调查数据的实证分析

本文利用浙、粤两省的企业家和公众的问卷调查数据,运用线性概率模型(LPM),分别选取被信任程度(Trustworthy)、信任他人程度(Trusting)和信任的区域歧视(Region Discrimination)3个指标来刻画信任观,并建立了包括地区、身份、年龄、性别、受教育水平、宗教信仰在内的6因素模型来测度信任观的影响因素。实证检验的结果表明,企业家虽然比普通公众较少考虑交易对象的籍贯,但企业家的被信任程度和信任他人程度在统计上与普通公众未呈现出显著差异;浙江地区信任他人程度显著高于广东地区,但在被信任、信任的区域歧视这两个方面,浙江、广东未表现出显著差异;信任受到性别、年龄、教育和宗教信仰等因素的影响。     

The bright side of migration: Hedonic,psychological, and social well-being in immigrants in Spain

The aim of this study was to examine the multi-dimensional structure of well-being in immigrant population, as well as to explore the complexity of well-being disparities between immigrants and host nationals. We analyzed hedonic, psychological, and social well-being in a sample of 1250 immigrants from Bolivia, Colombia, Morocco, Romania and Sub-Saharan Africa, together with that of 500 matched host nationals from Spain. Participants were selected by means of probability sampling with stratification by age and sex. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the re-specified tripartite model of well-being, including hedonic, psychological, and social components of the individual’s functioning, was the best fitting model, as compared to alternative models. Importantly, after adjustment for perceived friendship and support, marital status, income, sex and age, immigrants presented higher levels of well-being than host nationals. Compared to host nationals, immigrants reported especially higher eudaimonic well-being: social contribution and actualization, personal growth, self-acceptance, and purpose in life, and lower levels of well-being only in terms of positive relations with others and negative affect. These results are discussed in the context of positive psychology.     

Parents’ marital disruption and its uneven effect on children’s academic performance—A simulation model

Although a substantial amount of social science research has examined the consequences of various life events, much less has been done to examine how the effect may be unevenly distributed. The present research takes children’s experiences of parents’ marital disruption as an example and demonstrates how a contaminated-distribution model may simulate a scenario in which the effect of parents’ marital disruption on children’s academic performance is unevenly distributed. Using test performance data from a nationally representative sample of 10,045 American adolescents, the study partitions the overall performance distribution among adolescents of divorce into an unaffected and a severe-effect distribution. The analyses report the estimated proportions of adolescents whose academic performance is severely affected by various levels. The findings also show that the proportions of adolescents whose school performance is affected by a fixed level remain relatively stable in three consecutive post-divorce waves.     

Parental employment circumstances and children’s academic progress

Using data from the 1996 Survey of Income and Program Participation, we examine 4476 school-age children in 2569 families with matched pairs of married fathers and mothers to study children’s academic progress as a function of fathers’ and mothers’ employment circumstances, with a particular focus on involuntary employment separations. We draw on weekly work histories, collected at 4-month intervals, to characterize parental employment circumstances over a two-year period. Results find no significant associations between mothers’ employment experiences and children’s academic progress, even in households where mothers earn more than fathers. In contrast, fathers’ experience of involuntary employment separations is associated with children’s academic progress. On average, fathers’ experience of involuntary employment separations is associated with a higher likelihood of children’s grade repetition and suspension/expulsion from school. However, subgroup analyses reveal this association only in households where mothers earn more than fathers. We conclude that the adverse impacts of fathers’ involuntary employment separations in two-parent families have less to do with income losses than with family dynamics.     

The interviewer effect when there is an education gap with the respondent: Evidence from a survey on biotechnology in Taiwan

Survey methodologists are concerned that the interviewer’s characteristics may affect respondents’ answers. This paper investigates how the interviewer’s education interacts with the respondent’s perceptions and in turn affects the latter’s responses to hard questions in a biotechnology survey in Taiwan. Our results indicate that respondents with little education (junior high school or below) react to highly-educated interviewers by giving more substantive answers to both knowledge questions and attitude questions. These findings are consistent with findings in the literature on social psychology whereby the respondents can infer from the interviewer’s appearance and behavior whether the latter seems more knowledgeable than themselves, and that in interacting with someone with much more education, the one with little education senses his or her inferiority and tries to conform to the perceived expectations.     

Explaining the subjective well-being of urban and rural Chinese: Income,personal concerns,and societal evaluations

This study makes an integrated investigation of how subjective well-being is associated with income, personal concerns, and societal evaluations and how these social and psychological correlates of subjective well-being are contextualized within a country. Data used for the empirical analysis come from a nationally representative sample survey conducted in China in 2009. It is found that subjective well-being is independently linked to income, personal concerns, and societal evaluations. Comparisons of urban and rural Chinese further reveal that income, structural attributions of inequality, and evaluations of governance are related to subjective well-being among both groups. Nevertheless, different sets of other evaluative correlates of subjective well-being between urban and rural people stand out, which is conjectured to be related to the long-time institutional, economic, and social segmentation of the two groups. This study has contributed to both the subjective well-being theories and the understanding of the consequences of social inequality.