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Table 2 Response frequencies, Ryff 42-item Psychological Well-Being Scale (N = 1214*).

From: Psychometric evaluation and predictive validity of Ryff's psychological well-being items in a UK birth cohort sample of women

  

1

2

3

4

5

6

Missing

AUTONOMY

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

A1+

I am not afraid to voice my opinions even when they are in opposition to the opinions of most people

4.0

11.5

10.7

19.9

34.8

16.7

2.7

A2+

My decisions are not usually influenced by what everyone else is doing

4.0

8.8

12.9

20.6

34.9

16.9

2.0

A4+

I have confidence in my opinions even if they are contrary to the general consensus

2.6

5.4

10.8

24.1

35.8

18.9

2.4

A6+

Being happy with myself is more important than having others approve of me

1.5

4.1

10.0

17.9

29.4

35.2

1.9

A3-

I tend to worry what other people think of me

19.8

15.0

9.6

29.4

14.3

10.1

1.8

A5-

I often change my mind about decisions if my friends and family disagree

12.1

20.3

19.4

28.1

13.8

3.5

2.9

A7-

It is difficult for me to voice my own opinions on controversial matters

23.6

21.3

15.1

18.7

11.8

6.8

2.7

ENVIRONMENTAL MASTERY

       

E2+

I am quite good at managing the many responsibilities of my daily life

1.7

1.6

2.3

10.2

39.9

42.5

1.8

E4+

I generally do a good job of taking care of my personal finances and affairs

2.4

2.4

3.0

11.9

36.1

42.0

2.1

E5+

I am good at juggling my time so that I can fit everything in that needs to be done

2.9

6.0

7.0

14.9

35.1

32.0

2.1

E7+

I have been able to build a home and a lifestyle for myself that is much to my liking

2.7

2.5

5.6

16.3

33.5

37.2

2.1

E1-

I do not fit very well with the people and the community around me

53.6

23.4

6.9

6.7

4.8

2.5

2.1

E3-

I often feel overwhelmed by my responsibilities

28.0

21.4

15.0

19.0

9.8

4.7

2.1

E6-

I have difficulty arranging my life in a way that is satisfying to me

25.2

25.5

15.7

16.6

10.0

4.9

2.3

PERSONAL GROWTH

       

G3+

I think it is important to have new experiences that challenge how you think about the world

2.2

4.3

8.4

24.3

29.7

29.5

1.6

G5+

I have the sense that I have developed a lot as a person over time

2.5

3.4

7.9

22.8

34.4

26.5

2.5

G1-

I am not interested in activities that will expand my horizons

41.9

24.7

11.9

10.3

6.8

2.0

2.4

G2-

I don't want to try new ways of doing things – my life is fine the way it is

15.2

26.5

20.4

11.9

15.6

8.5

1.9

G4-

When I think about it, I haven't really improved much as a person over the years

33.3

27.5

13.2

9.6

10.0

4.5

1.8

G6-

I do not enjoy being in new situations that require me to change my old familiar ways of doing things

16.2

19.5

16.8

23.3

12.9

8.6

2.6

G7-

There is a truth in the saying that you can't teach an old dog new tricks

23.9

21.1

16.0

16.1

11.9

8.6

2.5

POSITIVE RELATIONS WITH OTHERS

       

R1+

Most people see me as loving and affectionate

1.6

2.5

5.3

15.1

43.0

29.9

2.6

R3+

I enjoy personal and mutual conversations with family members or friends

1.0

1.6

2.1

8.3

25.8

59.7

1.4

R6+

People would describe me as a giving person, willing to share my time with others

1.1

1.1

3.5

17.2

37.2

37.6

2.2

R7+

I know that I can trust my friends and they know that they can trust me

0.9

1.1

2.4

8.7

28.9

55.8

2.1

R2-

I often feel lonely because I have few close friends with whom to share my concerns

42.8

18.6

9.6

13.5

7.1

7.1

1.3

R4-

I don't have many people who want to listen when I need to talk

36.4

25.0

11.2

12.2

9.3

4.1

1.7

R5-

It seems to me that most other people have more friends than I do

32.5

20.4

12.3

16.0

10.0

6.0

2.8

PURPOSE IN LIFE

       

P5+

I am an active person in carrying out the plans I set for myself

1.8

2.9

7.6

24.3

35.0

26.1

2.3

P7+

I enjoy making plans for the future and working to make them a reality

2.4

4.3

11.5

22.2

30.6

25.7

3.2

P1-

I tend to focus on the present, because the future nearly always brings me problems

28.9

22.5

12.2

13.1

12.3

6.4

4.6

P2-

My daily activities often seem trivial and unimportant to me

34.7

23.0

10.5

15.3

9.4

5.2

2.0

P3-

I don't have a good sense of what it is I am trying to accomplish in life

27.9

22.7

11.8

17.4

11.5

5.5

3.1

P4-

I used to set goals for myself, but that now seems a waste of time

31.2

25.0

15.7

16.0

7.2

2.3

2.6

P6-

I sometime feel I have done all there is to do in life

50.7

20.9

10.8

7.6

4.4

3.5

2.1

SELF-ACCEPTANCE

       

S2+

I have made some mistakes in the past, but feel that all in all everything has worked out for the best

4.5

4.9

8.3

17.5

33.0

29.2

2.5

S5+

The past had its ups and downs, but in general I wouldn't want to change it

6.9

6.5

10.7

14.8

30.3

28.0

2.7

S6+

When I compare myself with friends and acquaintances, it makes me feel good about who I am

4.0

6.0

12.2

23.3

30.3

21.2

3.0

S7+

In general, I feel confident and positive about myself

5.4

6.8

10.0

14.1

39.5

21.0

3.2

S1-

I feel that many of the people I know have got more out of life than I have

36.7

21.8

10.6

14.3

9.0

6.4

1.2

S3-

In many ways, I feel disappointed about my achievements in life

34.3

21.6

11.5

16.8

8.7

5.3

1.8

S4-

My attitude about myself is probably not as positive as most people feel about themselves

18.5

18.3

13.8

23.6

17.4

6.1

2.3

  1. Original coding, no recoding for positive and negative wording. 1. strongly disagree to 6. strongly agree.
  2. Italics = Questions with negative item content. Modal response categories are highlighted in bold. Questions have been ordered by dimension, and do not reflect the order questions were asked to respondents. *Analysis Sample = 1,179 (includes subjects with data on at least 36/42 questions).
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