Health

This section details the health-related data collected from respondents. These data take three distinct forms. First, information on the respondent’s physical health has been gathered during many of the surveys. Second, the post-1981 surveys have collected information on the respondent and her family members’ health insurance coverage. Third, measures of psychological well-being are available at select survey points.

Physical Health

A comprehensive set of health-related variables is available for all respondents. In the early survey years, this data collection focused on health as related to employment, with questions in most interviews about whether the respondent’s health limited her work activity or prevented her from working altogether. Information was collected in four surveys regarding whether any of the health problems were the result of an accidental injury and whether the most serious injury occurred on the job. Respondents were also asked at multiple survey points to identify one or more specific workplace characteristics that they would have trouble working under because of their health (e.g., places that were hot, damp, or that had fumes or noise).

Most surveys have also asked respondents about their current health status and perceived health changes over time. Each respondent was asked during the 1967, 1986, and 1992-2001 surveys to rate her health as excellent, good, fair, or poor compared to other women her age. Periodic questions have also been fielded on whether the respondent considered her health to have remained about the same or to have changed for the better or worse over a set period of time (e.g., the past five years, since the last interview). Self-reported height and weight data are available for respondents interviewed during 1992, 1997, 1999, and 2001; weight was also asked in 1995.

As the cohort aged, the health collection expanded. Information on the specific diseases that limited the amount or kind of work that the respondent could do was collected during the 1989 and 1992 surveys. Details on up to four health conditions (e.g., cancer, heart trouble, diabetes, hypertension, senility) and the length of time that the respondent has been limited by the primary health condition were coded during each year. In 1997-2001, a similar series of questions asked all respondents about high blood pressure, cancer, and heart disease, including some limited information about treatment.

In 1971, 1977, 1982, 1987, and 1989, respondents who reported that health limited the amount or kind of work they could do were also asked if their health problems prevented them from performing a predetermined set of other activities such as walking, using stairs, stooping or crouching, etc. In 1995 and 1999, a similar set of activity questions was addressed to all respondents. During each of these surveys except 1999, respondents were also asked whether they experienced certain health-related problems (e.g., pain, tiring easily, weakness, aches or swelling, fainting spells or dizziness, anxiety or depression, and/or shortness of breath).

In 1995-2001, two additional sections expanded the health module’s focus. First, a new menopause section determined the respondent’s current ovulation status. If the respondent had stopped ovulating, she dated her last ovulation and stated why her period stopped. Additional questions asked if the respondent had surgery to remove her ovaries or uterus. This section ended by querying about hormonal supplements and birth control pill usage to control menopausal or aging symptoms.

A second new series in 1995-2001 informs researchers about these women’s day-to-day driving activities. The section asked if the respondent ever drove a car and if she had driven over the last 12 months. Those who had driven in the last 12 months were asked the number of miles driven and whether they drove after dark. Those who had not driven in the last 12 months, but who had during their lifetime, stated when they stopped driving.

Health Insurance

During the 1981, 1986, and 1989-2001 surveys, information was collected on whether the respondent and/or other family members were covered by health insurance. This series gathered information on whether any family member was covered by medical or hospital insurance and the specific source of the coverage for each family member (e.g., a group policy through the respondent’s or spouse’s employment, a policy purchased directly from the company, Medicaid, or Veterans benefits). Table 4.13.1 depicts respondents reporting health care coverage by provider.

The 1992-2001 surveys asked those respondents who were covered by health insurance through their current or former employer whether they and their husbands expected to be covered by health insurance after the respondent retired. In these interviews, respondents who had employer-provided health care also stated whether they contributed toward the cost of the policy.

Table 4.13.1 Medical Insurance Coverage of Respondent by Provider (Unweighted): 1981-2001

Source of Insurance	1981	1986	1989	1992	1995	1997	1999	2001
Total respondents interviewed	3677	3335	3094	2953	2711	2608	2467	2318
R or any member of R’s household covered by medical insurance	3023	2980	2791	2741	2520	2385	2285	2209
R’s provider:
From R’s job	1045	1015	718	522	304	194	135	83
From husband’s/partner’s job¹	1392	1007	486	258	179	129	89	85
Directly from insurance company	369	452	416	475	265	255	229	248
Medicaid	--	171	212	217	278	80	90	91
Veterans benefits	--	40	22	12	4	6	8	3
From R’s former job	--	--	233	267	207	199	191	156
From husband’s/partner’s former job	--	--	438	437	367	312	275	204
From other family member’s job	--	--	9	5	2	5	6	2
Medicare	--	--	--	404	736	1063	1141	1273
Other	107	172	129	34	49	44	41	24
Don’t know/Refused	5	13	8	16	17	6	10	11
Total Rs covered	2918	2870	2671	2647	2408	2293	2215	2180

Source: This table is based on R05142., R05144., and R05146. in 1981; R07374. and R07376. in 1986; R09440. and R09442. in 1989; R10776. and R10778. in 1992; R33708., R33711., and R33764. in 1995; and R41396., R41399., R41401. in 1997; R50972., R50975., R50978. in 1999, and R61936. in 2001.
¹ Partner was added to this question beginning with the 1989 survey.

Psychological Well-being

In 1989, the full 20-item CES-D (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression) scale was administered to the Mature Women respondents (R09791.-R09810.). This scale measures symptoms of depression and discriminates between clinically depressed individuals and others; it is highly correlated with other depression rating scales (see Radloff 1977; Ross and Mirowsky 1989). The 1995-2001 surveys contained a reduced set of seven items from the original 20-item CES-D scale. The CES-D items can be found in the data set by searching for the phrase “Attitude in past week.”

The complete 10-item Affect Balance Scale developed by Norman Bradburn (1969) was administered to the Mature Women respondents in 1981 (R05226.-R05235.). This measure of positive and negative feelings in the weeks before the interview provides an indication of the respondent’s general psychological well-being. The statements ask, for example, whether the respondent felt particularly excited or interested in something in the past few weeks, whether she was so restless she could not sit long in a chair, and whether she felt that things were going her way.

At four survey points, the Mature Women gave responses to a measure of internal-external locus of control. Internal control refers to the perception of events as being under personal control; external control involves events being perceived as unrelated to one’s own behavior. In 1969, 1972, and 1977, an 11-item abbreviated version of Rotter’s (1966) Internal-External Control Scale was used. The abbreviated scale was constructed by including only those items of the original 23-item Rotter scale which were the most general and oriented to the adult world of work (see Parnes et al. 1974, Appendix to Chapter VI). Reducing the number of items would have required an overall reduction in the range of scores. To avoid this situation, the response format was modified to four choices rather than two as in the original scale. The respondent was thus asked how closely each of the 11 statements represented her own view of the issue. The total score is obtained by summing the values of all 11 items, resulting in a range of 11 to 44 in order of increasing external control. The modified scale has been shown to be highly correlated with the original 23-item scale (see Parnes et al. 1974, Appendix to Chapter VI). The 2001 survey included a modified four-item scale.

Related Variables: Additional information on the respondent’s general satisfaction with life can be found in the “Attitudes & Expectations” section of this guide. Questions on job satisfaction can be found in the “Job Satisfaction” section of this guide.

Survey Instruments: Health and health insurance questions are located within the “Health” section of the questionnaires. The CES-D scale items for 1989 can be found in the “Retirement and Pension” section of the survey instrument. In 1995-2001, the reduced CES-D scale items are located in the “Health” section of the questionnaire. Components of the Rotter scale can be found in the “Work Attitudes” section of the appropriate survey year questionnaires.

References

Bradburn, Norman M. The Structure of Psychological Well-Being. Chicago: Aldine, 1969.

Parnes, Herbert S., Adams, Arvil V.; Andrisani, Paul J.; Kohen, Andrew I.; and Nestel, Gilbert. The Pre-Retirement Years: Five Years in the Work Lives of Middle-aged Men, Vol. 4. Columbus, OH: Center for Human Resource Research, The Ohio State University, 1974.

Radloff, Lenore. “The CES-D Scale: A Self Report Depression Scale for Research in the General Population.” Applied Psychological Measurement. 1 (1977): 385-401.

Ross, Catherine E. and Mirowsky, John. “Explaining the Social Patterns of Depression: Control and Problem Solving--or Support and Talking?” Journal of Health and Social Behavior. 30 (June 1989): 206-9.

Rotter, Julian B. “Generalized Expectancies for Internal vs. External Control of Reinforcements.” Psychological Monographs 80,609 (1966): 1-28.