Predicting morale in the aged

Steele, Richard Kent (1977) Predicting morale in the aged. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The primary purpose of this psychometric study was to determine the effectiveness of the Bradburn (1969) Affect Balance Scale (ABS) and the Stones et al. (1977) Free Recall Task as predictors of well-being. A related issue involved assessing the pervasiveness of avowed happiness as a measure of morale. The assumption was tested that happiness ratings would be reflected in two personality measures; the Thematic Appreception (TAT) and the Adjective Check List (AJCL). -- Fifty members of the St. John's Retired Citizen's Club (40 males, 10 females) were tested in the club rooms. The criterion variable, well-being, was assessed by requesting subjects to indicate their level of current happiness on a seven-point scale. Each subject was given the 10-item Affect Balance Scale, and was requested to provide a list of pleasant and unpleasant events encountered during the past month. In addition, subjects were asked to choose self-descriptive terms from a list of 40 adjectives. The final assessment involved tape-recording stories provided by subjects describing the scene in nine TAT cards. -- A multiple regression analysis, in which happiness ratings were the predicted variables and the previously mentioned scales were the predictors, indicated that only 23% of the criterion's variance was accounted for. Positive TAT outcome was the only significant predictor. A subsequent factor analysis demonstrated that the assessment variables clustered into five distinct factors, tentatively titled Current Affect, Memory, Positive and Negative Self-Evaluation, and Gender. The study identified problems inherent in conducting research in a retirement club setting. Response bias is a principal variable. The prediction that avowed happiness would be reflected in the TAT was supported.

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