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Curated

Quality of American Life, 1971 (ICPSR 3508)

Released/updated on: 1992-02-16
Geographic coverage: United States
The purpose of this study was to survey Americans about perceived quality of life by measuring perceptions of their socio-psychological condition, their needs and expectations from life, and the degree to which those needs were satisfied. The data were collected via personal interviews from a nationwide probability sample of 2,164 persons 18 years of age and older during the summer of 1971. Closed and open-ended questions were used to probe respondents' satisfactions, dissatisfactions, aspirations, and disappointments in a variety of life domains, such as dwelling/neighborhood, local services (e.g., police, roads, and schools), public transportation, present personal life, life in the United States, education, occupation, job history/expectation, work life, housework, leisure activities, organizational affiliations, religious affiliation, health problems, financial situation, marriage (including widowhood, divorce, and separation), children/family life, and relationships with family and friends. In addition to broad questions about satisfaction with each of these domains and their importance to the respondents, specific sources of gratification and frustration are explored. Other questions focused on life as a whole and the extent to which respondents felt they had control over their lives (e.g., rating of various aspects of life, (dis)satisfaction with life, personal efficacy, and social desirability measures). Personal data include sex, age, race, ethnic background, childhood family stability, military service, and father's occupation and education. Observational data are included on housing and neighborhood characteristics as well as respondents' appearance, intelligence, and sincerity. An instructional subset of this study is also available (see ICPSR INSTRUCTIONAL SUBSET: QUALITY OF AMERICAN LIFE, 1971 [ICPSR 7516], also prepared by Campbell, Converse, and Rodgers.) It includes questions representative of the major areas covered in the original, longer survey. A related dataset, QUALITY OF AMERICAN LIFE, 1978 (ICPSR 7762), continues the survey conducted in 1971.
Curated

Quality of Life in the Detroit Metropolitan Area, 1975 (ICPSR 7986)

Released/updated on: 1992-02-16
Geographic coverage: Detroit, United States, Michigan
This study of 1,194 adults in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties in Detroit in 1975 was part of an extensive research project designed to produce important theoretical and operationally useful research results on the urban environment and quality of life. Respondents were either the head, or the spouse of the head, of household. The sample provided adequate representation of both Detroit itself and the surrounding area, and of racial and economic subgroups. It was taken from the geographic area defined as the 1971 Detroit SMSA, which included Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties. Data were gathered on population, housing, and neighborhood characteristics, including percentagized data on age groups, unemployment rate, labor force, occupancy and vacancy rate, tenureship, single family ownership, ownership or rental by racial groups, crime rate, injuries, and ejection. Respondents were asked about the public transportation system, schools, recreational opportunities, public safety, housing, and sanitation in their neighborhood. Other items probed respondents' feelings about their neighborhood, work, the Detroit tri-county area in relative terms, preferred place to live in the United States and reasons for their choice, future unemployment in the Detroit tri-county area, city officials, taxes and the variety of local services taxes were used for, and use of violence to effect social change. Additional items probed respondents opinions about private schools, quality of public schools, the police, neighborhood problems, and integrated neighborhoods, as well as recreational activities. Also probed were respondents' satisfaction with their life, time spent with family, marriage, housing, government's recreational facilities for children in their neighborhood, and the quality and price of foods in supermarkets. Background items specify age, date of birth, education, race, shades of skin color, marital status, personality type, family income, employment, religion, labor union membership, previous residence, household size and composition, home ownership, and length of stay in neighborhood.