Charles N. Weaver

The Contribution of Marital Happiness to Global Happiness.

Data from six U.S. national surveys are used to compare the estimated contributions to global happiness of marital happiness and satisfaction with each of seven aspects of life, ranging from work to friendships. Separate estimates are provided for white men, white women, black men, and black women. Except for black men, the estimated contribution of marital happiness is far greater than the estimated contribution of any of the kinds of satisfaction, including satisfaction with work. These findings, considered in conjunction with other evidence, indicate that Americans depend very heavily on their marriages for their psychological well-being. Some implications of the findings are discussed.

The changing relationship of marital status to reported happiness.

US national survey data show a steady decline from 1972 through 1986 in the positive relationship between being married and reported happiness. The change occurred primarily through an increase in the reported happiness of never-married males and a decrease in the reported happiness of married females. Given the well-documented changes that have occurred in American marriages and non-marital heterosexual relationships such a change should have been expected. In many respects differencies in the circumstances of married and unmarried persons have lessened. For instance for at least a substantial proportion of unmarried persons regular sexual relations without stigma have become available and now that divorce can easily be obtained by any spouse marriage no longer provides the security financial or otherwise that it once did. It is time to question the belief that the institution of marriage in this society remains as strong and viable as ever. That it could remain as strong as ever is doubtful in view of evidence that Americans are becoming increasingly individualistic and less committed to social groups of all kinds.

Attitudes toward premarital, extramarital, and homosexual relations in the U.S. in the 1970s

Abstract Reported attitudes of American adults toward premarital, extramarital, and homosexual relations in the mid‐1970s are examined by use of data from seven independently drawn national samples of about 1,500 respondents each. Standards concerning extramarital and homosexual relations were highly restrictive, but standards concerning premarital sex were much more permissive and were rapidly changing in a permissive direction. Examination of reported attitudes by sex, age, race, religious preference, and level of education revealed marked inter‐category variation. Jews, persons with no religion, young adults, and persons with more than 12 years of school were distinctly more permissive—and Protestants, older persons, and persons with less than 12 years of school were distinctly more restrictive—than the adult population as a whole.

Sex Differences in the Determinants of Job Satisfaction

Three replicate regressions of three independently drawn U. S. national samples reveal few significant sex differences among white workers for 13 reported determinants of job satisfaction when the ...

CORRELATES OF JOB SATISFACTION: SOME EVIDENCE FROM THE NATIONAL SURVEYS

The article presents a synthesis of correlation studies of job satisfaction in the U.S. Although there is a positive relationship between income and job satisfaction, there apparently is a stronger...

Job Preferences of White Collar and Blue Collar Workers

The article discusses job preferences of white collar and blue collar workers. The author notes a trend in interest among researchers on various aspects of occupational stratification, citing the c...

BLACK-WHITE DIFFERENCES IN JOB SATISFACTION: EVIDENCE FROM 21 NATIONWIDE SURVEYS

Examination of a number of published studies of black-white differences in job satisfaction suggests their contradictory results are explained, at least in part, by misinterpretation of the representativeness of samples and nonresponse error. Evidence from 21 nationwide opinion surveys from 1972 through 1996 provides strong evidence that in the United States labor force African-Americans (n = 1231) reported being less satisfied than Euro-Americans (n = 10,709) with their jobs. This difference existed for both women and men across categories of education, age, and occupation.

Work Attitudes of Mexican Americans

Compared with Euro-Americans, Mexican Americans, as a group, are younger, less well-educated, less often represented in higher status occupations, and earn less. Because these characteristics are known to negatively correlate with many work attitudes, it was predicted that Mexican American and Euro-American work attitudes would be different. Data from 21 surveys representative of the United States work force were used to compare the work attitudes of Mexican Americans (n = 405) and Euro-Americans (n = 10,312). In contrast to the prediction, the results combine with those of earlier studies to portray Mexican American employees as productive, cooperative, and networking, with a strong sense of work ethic and job satisfaction.

The Changing Image of Hispanic Americans

Data from surveys representative of the adult population of the United States were used to examine changes from 1990 to 2000 in the image of Hispanic Americans on wealth, work ethic, violence, and intelligence as seen by 2,226 European Americans, 90 Jewish Americans, 304 African Americans, and 205 Hispanic Americans. The image that European Americans and Jewish Americans had of Hispanics for wealth, work ethic, and intelligence improved significantly between the two time periods. For African Americans, only the work ethic image they had of Hispanics improved significantly. There were no significant changes in the image of the proneness toward violence for Hispanics for any of the groups. Hispanic American self-images were relatively favorable but did not change significantly during the decade. The results raise many questions for future research regarding the influence of media images and stereotyping of Hispanic Americans.

WORK-RELATED ATTITUDES OF ENTREPRENEURS, PUBLIC, AND PRIVATE EMPLOYEES

Using 17 nationwide surveys drawn from 1972 through 1990, comparison of entrepreneurs (n = 219) and public (n = 274) and private (n = 1,005) employees showed that in contrast to private employees, entrepreneurs and public employees are more likely to be job-satisfied, more likely to prefer important work which gives a feeling of importance, and less likely to prefer opportunities for promotion. The implications of these findings are discussed.