Americans view their mental health, 1957

About this book

This study was conducted to determine the status of mental health in the American adult population and to determine the typical coping styles used to deal with problems. The population from which these representative samples was drawn consisted of all United States adults, twenty-one years old or older, living in private homes. An area probability sample was drawn, with the country as the stratification unit. The sample comprised of 2,460 respondent interviewed by the Survey Research Center, University of Michigan. The interview focused on various areas of one's life where problems may develop, such as marriage and family, the work situation, and general social relationships. Paricipants were asked about the following: general satisfaction and satisfaction with their marital and work roles; health; attitudes about self, work, and family; coping styles and methods; and background items. The interview also contained six Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) picture projective cues. The computer-accessible data are made available through the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) and can be accessed by affiliates of Harvard and Radclife through the Murray Research Center and the Harvard Government Data Center. In addition, original TAT typed protocols from a random subsample are available at the Murray Center. A replication study, utilizing 70% of the questions asked in 1957, was conducted in 1976 (See Veroff, Douvan, & Kulka, A78).