Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Experiential Wellbeing Data from the American Time Use Survey: Comparisons with Other Methods and Analytic Illustrations with Age and Income

Social Indicators Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

There has been a recent upsurge of interest in self-reported measures of wellbeing by official statisticians and by researchers in the social sciences. This paper considers data from a wellbeing supplement to the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), which parsed the previous day into episodes. Respondents provided ratings of five experiential wellbeing adjectives (happiness, stress, tiredness, sadness, and pain) for each of three randomly selected episodes. Because the ATUS wellbeing module has not received very much attention, in this paper we provide the reader with details about the features of these data and our approach to analyzing the data (e.g., weighting considerations), and then illustrate the applicability of these data to current issues. Specifically, we examine the association of age and income with all of the experiential wellbeing adjective in the ATUS. Results from the ATUS wellbeing module were broadly consistent with earlier findings on age, but did not confirm all earlier findings between income and wellbeing. We conclude that the ATUS, with its measurement of time use, specific activities, and hedonic experience in a nationally representative survey, offers a unique opportunity to incorporate time use into the burgeoning field of wellbeing research.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Baltes, P. B. (2003). Extending longevity: Dignity gain-or dignity drain? MaxPlanck Research, 3, 14–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baum, A., Garofalo, J., & Yali, A. (1999). Socioeconomic status and chronic stress: Does stress account for SES effects on health? Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 896(1), 131–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bühler, C. (1935). The curve of life as studied in biographies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 19(4), 405–409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carstensen, L. L., Fung, H. H., & Charles, S. T. (2003). Socioemotional selectivity theory and the regulation of emotion in the second half of life. Motivation and Emotion, 27, 103–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carstensen, L. L., Pasupathi, M., Mayr, U., & Nesselroade, J. R. (2000). Emotional experience in everyday life across the adult life span. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(4), 644–655.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carstensen, L. L., Turan, B., Scheibe, S., Ram, N., Ersner-Hershfield, H., Samanez-Larkin, G. R., et al. (2011). Emotional experience improves with age: Evidence based on over 10 years of experience sampling. Psychology and Aging, 26(1), 21–33.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Christodoulou, C., Schneider, S., & Stone, A. (2014). Validation of a brief yesterday measure of hedonic well-being and daily activities: Comparison with the day reconstruction method. Social Indicators Research, 115, 907–917.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, A. E., Frijters, P., & Shields, M. A. (2008). Relative income, happiness, and utility: An explanation for the Easterlin paradox and other puzzles. Journal of Economic Literature, 46, 95–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, A. E., Kristensen, N., & Westergard-Nielsen, N. (2009). Economic satisfaction and income rank in small neighbourhoods. Journal of the European Economic Association, 7, 519–527.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, S., Tyrrell, D. A. J., & Smith, A. P. (1992). Psychological stress and the common cold. New England Journal of Medicine, 326, 645–646.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deaton, A. (2008). Income, health, and well-being around the world: Evidence from the Gallup World Poll. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 22, 53–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeVries, M. (1987). Investigating mental disorders in their natural settings: Introduction to the special issue. Journal of Nervious and Mental Disease, 175, 509–513.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2002). Will money increase subjective well-being? Social Indicators Research, 57, 119–169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dockray, S., Grant, N., Stone, A. A., Kahneman, D., Wardle, J., & Steptoe, A. (2010). A comparison of affect ratings obtained with ecological momentary assessment and the day reconstruction method. Social Indicators Research, 99, 269–283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dolan, P., & Kudrna, L. (2015). More years, less yawns: Fresh evidence on tiredness by age and other factors. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 70(4), 576–580.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dolan, P., Kudrna, L., & Stone, A. (2016). The measure matters: An investigation of evaluative and experience-based measures of wellbeing in time use data. Social Indicators Research. doi:10.1007/s11205-016-1429-8.

    Google Scholar 

  • English, T., & Carstensen, L. L. (2014). Emotional experience in the mornings and the evenings: Consideration of age differences in specific emotions by time of day. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flood, S. M., & Genadek, K. R. (2016). Time for each other: Work and family constraints among couples. Journal of Marriage and Family, 78(1), 142–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forgeard, M. J., Jayawickreme, E., Kern, M. L., & Seligman, M. E. (2011). Doing the right thing: Measuring wellbeing for public policy. International Journal of Wellbeing, 1, 79–106.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frenkel-Brunswik, E. (1968). Adjustments and reorientation in the course of the life span. In B. L. Neugarten (Ed.), Middle age and aging (pp. 77–84). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gana, K., Bailly, N., Saada, Y., Joulain, M., & Alaphilippe, D. (2013). Does life satisfaction change in old age: Results from an 8-year longitudinal study. Journals of Gerontology Series B-Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 68, 540–552.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harter, J. K., & Gurley, V. F. (2008). Measuring health in the United States. APS Observer, 21, 23–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Junghaenel, D. U., Christodoulou, C., Lai, J.-S., & Stone, A. A. (2011). Demographic correlates of fatigue in the US general population: Results from the patient-reported outcomes measurement information system (PROMIS) initiative. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 71(3), 117–123.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahneman, D., & Deaton, A. (2010). High income improves evaluation of life but not emotional well-being. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 107, 16489–16493.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahneman, D., Krueger, A. B., Schkade, D. A., Schwarz, N., & Stone, A. A. (2004). A survey method for characterizing daily life experience: The day reconstruction method. Science, 306, 1776–1780.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahneman, D., Krueger, A. B., Schkade, D., Schwarz, N., & Stone, A. A. (2006). Would you be happier if you were richer? A focusing illusion. Science, 312(5782), 1908–1910.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krueger, A., Kahneman, D., Schkade, D., Schwarz, N., & Stone, A. (2009). Measuring the subjective well-being of nations: National accounts of time use and well-being: National time accounting: the currency of life (NBER Working Paper No. c5053). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

  • Krueger, A. B., & Mueller, A. I. (2012a). The lot of the unemployed: A time use perspective. Journal of the European Economic Association, 10, 765–794.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krueger, A. B., & Mueller, A. I. (2012b). Time use, emotional well-being, and unemployment: Evidence from longitudinal data. American Economic Review, 102, 594–599.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krueger, A. B., & Stone, A. A. (2008). Assessment of pain: A community-based diary survey in the USA. The Lancet, 371(9623), 1519–1525.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kushlev, K., Dunn, E. W., & Lucas, R. E. (2015). Higher income is associated with less daily sadness but not more daily happiness. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 6(5), 483–489.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, Y., Hofferth, S. L., Flood, S. M., & Fisher, K. (2016). Reliability, validity, and variability of the subjective well-being questions in the 2010 American time use survey. Social Indicators Research, 126(3), 1355–1373.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luhmann, M., Schimmack, U., & Eid, M. (2011). Stability and variability in the relationship between subjective well-being and income. Journal of Research in Personality, 45(2), 186–197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luttmer, E. F. P. (2005). Neighbors as negatives: Relative earnings and well-being. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 120, 963–1002.

    Google Scholar 

  • McFarland, C., Ross, M., & DeCourville, N. (1989). Women’s theories of menstruation and biases in recall of menstrual symptoms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 522–531.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Donnell, G., Deaton, A., Durand, M., Halpern, D., & Layard, R. (2014). Wellbeing and policy. London: Legatum Limited.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (2013). OECD guidelines on measuring subjective well-being. Paris: OECD Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pampel, F. C., Krueger, P. M., & Denney, J. T. (2010). Socioeconomic disparities in health behaviors. Annual review of sociology, 36, 349–370.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C. D., & Keyes, C. L. M. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 719–727.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sacks, D. W., Stevenson, B., & Wolfers, J. (2012). The new stylized facts about income and subjective well-being. Emotion, 12, 1181–1187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santiago, C. D., Wadsworth, M. E., & Stump, J. (2011). Socioeconomic status, neighborhood disadvantage, and poverty-related stress: Prospective effects on psychological syndromes among diverse low-income families. Journal of Economic Psychology, 32(2), 218–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheibe, S., & Carstensen, L. L. (2010). Emotional aging: Recent findings and future trends. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 65B(2), 135–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schimmack, U. (2008). The structure of subjective well-being. In M. Eid & R. Larsen (Eds.), The science of subjective well-being (pp. 97–123). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, S., & Stone, A. A. (2014). Distinguishing between frequency and intensity of health-related symptoms from diary assessments. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 77(3), 205–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwarz, N. (1999). Self-reports. How the questions shape the answers. American Psychologist, 54, 93–105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwarz, N. (2012). Why researchers should think “real-time”: A cognitive rationale. In M. R. Mehl & T. S. Conner (Eds.), Handbook of research methods for studying daily life (pp. 22–42). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shelley, K. J. (2005). Developing the American time use survey activity classification system. Monthly Labor Review, 128, 3–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shiffman, S., Stone, A. A., & Hufford, M. R. (2008). Ecological momentary assessment. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 4, 1–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steptoe, A., Deaton, A., & Stone, A. A. (2015). Subjective wellbeing, health, and ageing. Lancet, 385, 640–648.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steptoe, A., & Kivimaki, M. (2012). Stress and cardiovascular disease. Nature Reviews Cardiology, 9(6), 360–370.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steptoe, A., Wardle, J., & Marmot, M. (2005). Positive affect and health-related neuroendocrine, cardiovascular, and inflammatory processes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 102, 6508–6512.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, B., & Wolfers, J. (2013). Subjective well-being and income: Is there any evidence of satiation? The American Economic Review, 103(3), 598–604.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stiglitz, J. E., Sen, A., & Fitoussi, J. P. (2009). Report by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress (CMEPSP). http://www.stiglitz-sen-fitoussi.fr/en/documents.htm

  • Stone, A. A., & Mackie, C. (2014). Subjective well-being: Measuring happiness, suffering, and other dimensions of experience. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stone, A. A., Schwartz, J. E., Broderick, J. E., & Deaton, A. (2010). A snapshot of the age distribution of psychological well-being in the United States. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, 107, 9985–9990.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stone, A. A., & Shiffman, S. (1994). Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) in behavioral medicine. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 16, 199–202.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Grants for the National Institute on Aging and the National Bureau of Economic Research, 5R01AG040629, P01AG05842, and 5R01AG042407.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Arthur A. Stone.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

AAS and AD are Senior Scientists with the Gallup Organization.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Stone, A.A., Schneider, S., Krueger, A. et al. Experiential Wellbeing Data from the American Time Use Survey: Comparisons with Other Methods and Analytic Illustrations with Age and Income. Soc Indic Res 136, 359–378 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-016-1532-x

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-016-1532-x

Keywords

Navigation