SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research at DIW Berlin This series presents research findings based either directly on data from the German SocioEconomic Panel (SOEP) or using SOEP data as part of an internationally comparable data set (e.g. CNEF, ECHP, LIS, LWS, CHER/PACO). SOEP is a truly multidisciplinary household panel study covering a wide range of social and behavioral sciences:
Past research has shown a positive association between education and well-being. Much of this research has focused on the cognitive component of well-being (i.e., life satisfaction) as outcome. On the other hand, the affective component, that is, how often and intensively people experience positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) in their everyday lives, has received far less attention. Therefore, we examined the association between education and PA and NA in everyday life, with a particular focus on affective experiences at the sub-facet level (based on a structure of NA with multiple factors). We used data from a nationally representative sample (N = 1647) of the German Socioeconomic Panel Innovation Sample (SOEP-IS), employing the Day Reconstruction Method (DRM) to capture affective experiences of everyday activities. Multilevel structural equation models revealed that (1) education was not related to PA, but (2) was positively associated with two sub-facets of NA (mourning/worries and loneliness/boredom); (3) income might in part explain the association between education and NA; (4) education does not particularly seem to serve as a resource in times of unemployment or retirement (i.e., there were no interactions between education and unemployment/retirement regarding well-being) In essence, higher educated people reported fewer negative emotions in everyday life than their lower educated counterparts, but not more positive emotions. The findings underline that different facets of NA, in addition to life satisfaction, are relevant variables related to education and should receive more attention in order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of non-monetary correlates of education.
Active time use is considered to be one of the keys to successful aging. Previous studies have investigated the influence of various activities on subjective well-being (SWB) and health in later life. As different activities have often been investigated in isolation, showing only minor influences of each activity on well-being, a more global measure of active time use might show a stronger relation to well-being. Moreover, empirical evidence is still insufficient regarding the relationship between active time use and SWB in very old age and regarding the impact of socioeconomic factors that can hinder or promote active time use. Therefore, we examined (1) the association between active time use and SWB using information from the day reconstruction method (DRM) as a more global approach to active time use; (2) the association between active time use and SWB until very old age, and (3) income and education as relevant correlates for active time use. The results indicated that a global measure of active time use was associated with higher levels of SWB. This pattern was present until very old age for several dimensions of negative affect (NA). Finally, higher levels of income and education were associated with a higher level of active time use, potentially pointing at contextual constraints of active time use. In sum, the results show that a global index for measuring active time use provides a comprehensive insight into the relationship between time use and SWB, and we suggest that it should be considered in further studies.
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