A question of increasing interest in the demography of aging is whether Americans are living higher quality well as longer lives. Whereas previous studies assessed healthy life expectancies in terms of negative and domain-specific health outcomes such as disabilities and chronic diseases, few have estimated trends in positive and overall measures of subjective well-being that are highly indicative of quality of life. We know little about whether Americans are living longer and happier and whether population sub-groups based on gender, race, and socioeconomic status differ in number of quality years. This study aims to address this question by developing conceptual and analytic frameworks for using global indicators of well-being to examine length of quality life at the population level in the U.S. We first construct measures of happy life expectancy (HLE) by combining data on subjective well-being and mortality. We employ period prevalence life table methods for period estimates and multistate stochastic process life table models for cohort estimates. Data on mortality are from population life tables constructed using vital statistics and Census data and the National Longitudinal Mortality Study. Large nationally representative survey data on subjective well-being including happiness and life satisfaction will be obtained from the General Social Survey and the Americans' Changing Lives study. We will estimate temporal changes in HLE in the U.S. from 1970 to 2004. We will also examine sociodemographic differentials of HLE and compare gender, racial, educational, and marital status differences in changes of HLE over time. The findings of the proposed study can shed light on various theoretical and empirical issues including the implication of compression of morbidity on overall population quality of life, social disparities in the expansion of happiness or compression of unhappiness, and cross-country comparisons of national quality of life. A fundamental question for research communities, policy makers, and public authorities in global health indicators is whether Americans are living better as well as longer. This research will shed light on the implications of compression of morbidity on overall population quality of life, social disparities in the expansion of happiness, and cross-country comparisons of national quality of life. ? ? ? ?
| Yang, Yang (2008) Long and happy living: trends and patterns of happy life expectancy in the U.S., 1970-2000. Soc Sci Res 37:1235-52 |
