Items of the Affect Balance Scale, the Life Satisfaction Index-Z and the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Scale together with 22 new items were used in the construction of a happiness scale for the elderly. Items were initially administered to 301 subjects from urban, rural, and institutional settings and correlated with ratings of happiness. A new scale consisting of 24 items was cross-validated on an additional 297 subjects. Test-retest reliability scores were obtained on 56 subjects. Results indicated that the new scale was a better predictor of "avowed happiness" in both validation and cross-validation samples than the existing scales used for comparison. Moreover, the new scale's test-rated reliability was within an acceptable range for this type of scale.

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The present investigation addressed the problem of a social desirability response bias in measures of psychological well-being. Data on 150 people, between the ages of 50 and 82, yielded high correlations between three measures of well-being (the MUNSH, the LSI-Z, and the PGC) and the Edwards Social Desirability Scale, but only moderate ones between well-being scales and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Part correlations between well-being measures and an external criterion of happiness, controlling for social desirability, failed to improve on the zero-order criterion/well-being relationship. Controlling for social desirability, therefore, does not enhance the construct validity of well-being scales. These and related results suggest that the high zero-order correlations between measures of well-being and the Edwards scale are more readily attributed to content similarity between the Edwards scale and measures of well-being than to a social desirability response bias in well-being measures.

The current investigation reports findings on the temporal stability of happiness as assessed by the Memorial University of Newfoundland Scale of Happiness (MUNSH), and the stability of the predictor/happiness relationships in three subgroups of persons over 64 years of age. Respondents were interviewed twice, 18 months apart, on the MUNSH and on nine established correlates. Separate multiple regression analyses were used to assess the predictor/happiness relationship for each phase. The stability of happiness was evaluated by the inclusion of phase 1 MUNSH scores in the phase 2 predictor array. For urban and institutional persons the main independent predictors of happiness in both phases were housing satisfaction, health, activities, and changes in life events. For rural individuals only health and marital status remained consistent predictors for both phases. Happiness, greater in rural than in institutionalized persons, remained stable for all groups, with an average of 86% of the accounted MUNSH 2 variance due to MUNSH 1 scores. These results show that, although predictor effectiveness may differ across subgroups, happiness remains stable in later years.

Increasingly greater numbers of older parents are providing care at home for their sons and daughters with intellectual disabilities. As attention needs to be paid to the supports needed by such families to assist them with their caregiving activities, it is prudent to identify the types of supports that will be needed when the parents are no longer able to provide care. Working with a cohort of older parent carers in Prince Edward Island, Canada, the authors undertook to examine older carer concerns and planning issues. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods to explore the key issues that older parents of sons and daughters with intellectual disabilities are currently facing and their preferences for care in the future, the authors initiated a population-case-finding process, undertook pilot interviews with a sample, and then used the resultant qualitative data to form the quantitative component of the study. Of 132 identified families in the province, 10 parents voluntarily participated in pilot interviews, and 33 parents agreed to complete in-depth interviews. Analysis of qualitative data resulted in the following five themes: (1) worry about the future care of son or daughter; (2) concern about services funding; (3) having housing and care options; (4) lack of provider understanding of carer's needs; and (5) helping son or daughter become a productive and active member of society. Key issues identified through quantitative analysis included interactions with the government, the need for respite care, and meeting social and emotional needs. Preferred types of housing and care options included "small option homes" and services that provide care to both older parents and their sons and daughters. The authors' results emphasize the necessity of adequate supports being made available to older parents who wish to support their sons and daughters with intellectual disabilities at home and to ensure that desired supports are available in the future when they are no longer able to provide care.