Development and Measurement of Social Indicators, 1972-1973

The data for this study consist of four separate national-level surveys (combined N=4,920) and one local-level survey (N=222). The study was undertaken to identify major concerns of Americans that have relevance for perceptions of well-being and to develop ways to measure people's affective evaluations of these concerns. The April data (Part 1) are derived from the OMNIBUS STUDY, SPRING 1973 (ICPSR 7453), the May data (Part 2) from the OMNIBUS STUDY, SPRING 1972, the July data (Part 3) from the TOLEDO STUDY, and the November Form I data (Part 4) and the November Form II data (Part 5) from the AMERICAN NATIONAL ELECTION STUDY, 1972 (ICPSR 7010). Different groups of American adults were asked open-ended questions concerning evaluations and perceptions of their quality of life. Respondents were asked to indicate their feelings about many aspects of life as well as about their life as a whole. The concerns probed ranged from personal to national matters and included both life domains (such as family, house, and job) and evaluative criteria (such as accomplishment, attractiveness, and independence). Demographic variables include age, sex, race, marital status, education, income, occupation, and religion. Different overlapping subsets of the items were administered in each survey.