TY - JOUR
T1 - Combining happines's and suffering in a retrospective view of anchor periods in life
T2 - A differential approach to subjective well-being
AU - Shmotkin, Dov
AU - Berkovich, Michal
AU - Cohen, Keren
PY - 2006/5
Y1 - 2006/5
N2 - The intersection of dimensions of subjective well-being (SWB) generates SWB types. We delineated SWB types by cross-tabulating happiness and suffering ratings that participants attributed to outstandingly meaningful periods in their life referred to as anchor periods. A sample of 499 older Israelis (age 58-94) was queried about two positive periods (the happiest, the most important) and two negative periods (the most miserable, the most difficult). A variety of variables discriminated between the more frequent congruous types of Happy (high happiness and low suffering) and Unhappy (low happiness and high suffering), but also presented the incongruous types of Inflated (high happiness and high suffering) and Deflated (low happiness and low suffering) as discriminable. Thus, women were more likely to be Inflated whereas men were more likely to be Deflated; low education related more to Happy in the happiest period and to Unhappy in the negative periods; present life satisfaction related more to Happy than to Unhappy in the positive, but not in the negative, periods; and Holocaust survivors were more likely to be Deflated and Unhappy in the negative, but not in the positive, periods. The study supported a differential perspective on SWB within people's narratives of their lives.
AB - The intersection of dimensions of subjective well-being (SWB) generates SWB types. We delineated SWB types by cross-tabulating happiness and suffering ratings that participants attributed to outstandingly meaningful periods in their life referred to as anchor periods. A sample of 499 older Israelis (age 58-94) was queried about two positive periods (the happiest, the most important) and two negative periods (the most miserable, the most difficult). A variety of variables discriminated between the more frequent congruous types of Happy (high happiness and low suffering) and Unhappy (low happiness and high suffering), but also presented the incongruous types of Inflated (high happiness and high suffering) and Deflated (low happiness and low suffering) as discriminable. Thus, women were more likely to be Inflated whereas men were more likely to be Deflated; low education related more to Happy in the happiest period and to Unhappy in the negative periods; present life satisfaction related more to Happy than to Unhappy in the positive, but not in the negative, periods; and Holocaust survivors were more likely to be Deflated and Unhappy in the negative, but not in the positive, periods. The study supported a differential perspective on SWB within people's narratives of their lives.
KW - Happiness
KW - Life narrative
KW - Psychological types
KW - Subjective well-being
KW - Suffering
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33745065783&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11205-005-5556-x
DO - 10.1007/s11205-005-5556-x
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AN - SCOPUS:33745065783
SN - 0303-8300
VL - 77
SP - 139
EP - 169
JO - Social Indicators Research
JF - Social Indicators Research
IS - 1
ER -