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Early Adolescence during this turbulent period, therefore, should


address multiple life domains. As summarized
Yi-Fu Chen by Felce (1997) and Harding (2001), QoL is
Department of Sociology, National Taipei a multidimensional construct combining objective
University, San Shia District, New Taipei City, conditions (objective QoL) and subjective percep-
Taiwan tions of self and life conditions (subjective QoL).
Furthermore, the construct not only should include
Definition the four domains that the World Health Organi-
zation Quality of Life (WHOQOL) outlined (i.e.,
Adolescence is the second decade in the life span. physical, psychological, and social functioning and
It is a critical period that bridges childhood and environmental conditions) but also needs to incor-
adulthood. The first stage of this transition, often porate adolescent-specific domains regarding per-
signaled by the beginning of puberty, is called sonal competence; performance in school and
early adolescence. According to the US Centers extracurricular activities; social relationships with
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), early families, friends, and significant others; and per-
adolescence ranges from age 12 to age 14, during sonal satisfaction. These domains map onto the
which time boys and girls start to experience physical and psychological developments taking
dramatic changes in their physical and cognitive place during early adolescence, such as pubertal
development and social roles. With the develop- development and increases in autonomy, self-
ment of primary and secondary sexual characte- identity, and self-esteem. In addition, because
ristics triggered by sex hormones, boys and girls family and school are two primary social settings
experience rapid growth in their bodies and during early adolescence, cognitive and social
advances in their cognitive abilities. During competence, school performance, and interper-
this period, adolescents start to develop their sonal relationships (i.e., parent-child, peer,
self-perceptions, self-identities, and sense of and student-teacher relationships) are also impor-
autonomy while establishing more complicated tant to QoL evaluations.
and multidimensional social relationships with Although assessments of individual domains
parents, friends, and significant others. of adolescent QoL have long been available in
the child development and family studies
literature, it was not until the 1980s that compos-
Description ite indices became widely used in evaluating
QoL for children and adolescents (Harding,
Changes during early adolescence create chal- 2001). Two types of assessments have been
lenges for teens. Research on quality of life (QoL) developed in the QoL literature: those dealing

A.C. Michalos (ed.), Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research,


DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5, # Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014
E 1734 Early Adolescence

with disease-specific and generic QoL. Disease- result could be explained in terms of coping
specific assessments are designed to evaluate mechanisms that teens with specific illnesses
young patients functioning and adjustment to use (Monique et al., 2007) and by their socioeco-
their disabilities or diseases and their treatments. nomic backgrounds (Panepinto, Pajewski,
With changes in patient care philosophy in the Foerster, Sabnis, & Hoffmann, 2009). Second,
medical area, disease-specific QoL takes on girls generally have lower QoL scores than do
a broader consideration of the ways in which boys. Michel, Bisegger, Fuhr, Abel, and The
diseases affect patients lives (Harding, 2001; KIDSCREEN group (2009) investigated this gen-
Solans et al., 2008). In addition to physical der difference using data across 12 European
functioning (PF), more recently developed dis- countries. They found that girls had lower phys-
ease-specific QoL assessments incorporate ical, self, and school QoL scores than do boys, but
dimensions of health such as life satisfaction there was no difference in the general health-
and mental, social, and psychological well-being. related QoL between genders during childhood.
The major difference between disease-specific However, as they made transition to early adoles-
and generic QoL assessments is the targeted cence, girls showed significant decreases in gen-
population: disease-specific assessments are eral score of health-related QoL as well as the
designed for patients with specific conditions, scores of almost all the subscales. This shows that
and generic assessments are targeted to adoles- the transition and associated changes have greater
cents without a diagnosis (Harding, 2001). impact on girls than they do on boys.
Although they target different populations, the Third, disagreements between teen self-
two types of assessments were not developed reports and parent proxy reports have been
completely independently. Generic assessments noted in the literature, especially on subjective
are designed to share core domains in common with QoL; this confirms the importance of including
disease-specific assessments. This enhances instru- self-reports in evaluations (Harding, 2001). Last,
ment development and ensures its utility in testing in multivariate models, past research has shown
because comparisons can be made between the two that adolescent QoL is positively related to high
groups using the same items to measure each family socioeconomic status (Panepinto et al.,
domain. Another strategy for assessing adolescent 2009), good neighborhood characteristics (Wu,
QoL is to create a generic scale as the core of the Ohinmaa, & Veugelers, 2010), and related con-
instrument and then develop different modules structs such as life satisfaction.
specific to the various diseases under study. This Despite the rich findings emerging from the
procedure makes possible the flexible use of an QoL literature, challenges remain. Several
instrument in future research. A good example of review papers indicate that heterogeneity in
this approach is Varni, Seid, and Kurtin (2001) QoL assessments hampers the direct comparison
PedsQLTM. Details can be found on the website of results from different studies. Different
of the instrument at www.pedsql.org. domains of QoL are covered in different assess-
Research on QoL in early adolescence, using ments, even within disease-specific or generic
either generic or disease-specific assessments, populations; therefore, comparisons of findings
provides a comprehensive evaluation of adoles- across studies remain difficult to interpret. Future
cents current health status. Several themes have QoL research should address methods of deter-
emerged in this literature. First, QoL scores of mining measurement invariance and score
teens with disabilities or diseases are not as equating for different assessments.
consistent as the scores of teens without those Past research on QoL mainly has focused
conditions. Research has found that teens with on group comparisons of QoL scores between
disabilities or diseases do not differ from their adolescents with and without health problems,
healthy counterparts in subjective health-related between boys and girls, and among different ethnic
QoL but demonstrate lower objective QoL groups. Researchers have begun to search for pre-
(Chow, Lo, & Cumins, 2005). This unexpected dictors of QoL for teens in early adolescence in
Early Childhood Development (ECD) 1735 E
their multivariate models (Meuleners & Lee, 2005; Panepinto, J. A., Pajewski, N. M., Foerster, L. M.,
Palacio-Vieira et al., 2008). Future research needs Sabnis, S., & Hoffmann, R. G. (2009). Impact of fam-
ily income and sickle cell disease on the health-related
to explore the mechanisms that foster positive QoL quality of life of children. Quality of Life Research, 18,
for adolescents. Because early adolescence is 513.
a period of change, the incorporation of longitudi- Solans, M., Pane, S., Estrada, M., Serra-Sutton, V., Berra,
nal data analysis in future investigations of adoles- S., Herdman, M., et al. (2008). Health-related quality
of life measurement in children and adolescents:
cent QoL is of particular importance. A systematic review of generic and disease-specific
instruments. Value in Health, 11, 742764.
Varni, J., Seid, M., & Kurtin, P. (2001). PedsQL(TM) 4.0:
Cross-References Reliability and validity of the pediatric quality of life
inventory(TM) version 4.0 generic core scales in E
healthy and patient populations. Medical Care, 39,
Child Development 800812.
Cognitive Abilities Wu, X. Y., Ohinmaa, A., & Veugelers, P. J. (2010).
Measurement Invariance Sociodemographic and neighbourhood determinants
of health-related quality of life among grade-five
PedsQLTM students in Canada. Quality of Life Research, 19,
Physical Functioning (PF) 969976.
Self-Esteem
World Health Organization Quality of Life
(WHOQOL) Assessment
Early Childhood Development (ECD)

References Nazeem Muhajarine


Department of Community Health and
Chow, S. M. K., Lo, S. K., & Cumins, R. A. (2005). Self- Epidemiology, Saskatchewan Population Health
perceived quality of life of children and adolescents and Evaluation Research Unit, College of
with physical disabilities in Hong Kong. Quality of
Life Research, 14, 415423. Medicine, University of Saskatchewan,
Felce, D. (1997). Defining and applying the concept of Saskatoon, SK, Canada
quality of life. Journal of Intellectual Disability
Research, 41, 126135.
Harding, L. (2001). Childrens quality of life assessments:
A review of generic and health related quality of life Definition
measures completed by children and adolescents.
Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 8, 7996. Child development is a multifaceted, integral, and
Meuleners, L. B., & Lee, A. H. (2005). Quality of life continual process of change in which children
profile adolescent version: Assessing the relationship become able to handle ever more complex levels
of covariates to scale scores using structural equation of moving, thinking, feeling, and relating to others.
modeling. Quality of Life Research, 14, 10571063. (Inter-American Development Bank, 1999)
Michel, G., Bisegger, C., Fuhr, D. C., Abel, T., & The
KIDSCREEN group. (2009). Age and gender differ- Early childhood development, generally used to
ences in health-related quality of life of children and
adolescents in Europe: A multilevel analysis. Quality
describe the time from conception to age 8, is
of Life Research, 18, 11471157. increasingly recognized as the most crucial period
Monique O. M. Van De Ven, Rutger C. M. E. Engels, of development and is the focus of this entry.
Susan M. Sawyer, Roy Otten, Regina J. J. M. Van Den
Eijnden (2007). The role of coping strategies in quality
of life of adolescents with asthma. Quality of Life
Research, 16(4), 625634. Description
Palacio-Vieira, J. A., Villalonga-Olives, E., Valderas,
J. M., Espallargues, M., Herdman, M., Berra, S., Emergence of the Field
et al. (2008). Changes in health-related quality of life
(HRQoL) in a population-based sample of children
In the last decades of the twentieth century,
and adolescents after 3 years of follow-up. Quality of a rapidly expanding body of research in the neu-
Life Research, 17, 12071215. robiological, behavioral, and social sciences
E 1736 Early Childhood Development (ECD)

documented the tremendous importance of What happens during this period does not just
optimal growth and development in the early affect quality of life during childhood; it
years, not only for the individuals later health determines health, education, and economic par-
and success but for the well-being of society. At ticipation for the rest of life. As a result, child
the same time, it was becoming clear that the development is a foundation for community devel-
conditions for most children around the world opment and economic development (Science of
fell far short of what science recommended Early Childhood, 2007). Because of its impact on
(Shonkoff & Phillips, 2000). Even as many lifelong health, ECD is seen by many as a health
around the world enjoyed unprecedented levels determinant in itself, not just a period of develop-
of material wealth, the quality of the human ment (Hertzman & Power, 2004), and a key to
environment required for developmental health reducing health inequities within and between
seemed to be deteriorating overall (Keating & countries (Irwin, Siddiqi, & Hertzman, 2007).
Hertzman, 1999). An individuals experiences during develop-
Concern about ensuring that all children have ment have a profound impact on the brain and
a good start to life has brought together a wide on general physiology, in a process that has
array of groups in society: from parents, childcare been termed biological embedding (Keating &
providers and educators, pediatricians, public Hertzman, 2004). Two important concepts in
health researchers and practitioners, psycholo- development are critical and sensitive periods
gists, and neuroscientists, to economists, policy (Keating & Hertzman, 2004). Critical periods
makers, and international financial institutions. are defined as distinct periods during which
For example, the World Health Organizations experiences of a particular type will be encoded,
Commission on the Social Determinants of especially in the neural system; before and after
Health, established in 2005, identified early the critical period, the same experience will have
child development (ECD) as a priority issue. little or no effect on development. Other times are
From the perspective of the World Bank, ECD better described as sensitive periods, during
is crucial because it is the foundation of human- which the quality of particular experiences
capital formation, has the highest rate of return in shapes developmental outcomes, but in less all
economic development, and is the most cost- or nothing ways than in critical periods.
effective way to reduce poverty and foster
economic growth. ECD is also foundational in Key Problems in ECD
international development: six of the UNs eight In all regions of the world, there is room
Millennium Development Goals, ratified by all to improve the conditions for healthy early
UN member states, relate directly to child childhood development, to differing degrees.
survival, growth, and development. Every year, more than 200 million children
under 5 years old fail to reach their full cognitive
Core Concepts and social potential. Most of these children live in
Early childhood is the most intensive period of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Four risk
brain development and the most important phase factors affect at least 2025 % of infants and
for overall development throughout the lifespan. young children in developing countries: malnu-
Adequate stimulation and nutrition are essential trition that is chronic and severe enough to cause
for development during the first years of life, growth stunting; inadequate stimulation or learn-
when the brain is most sensitive to influences of ing opportunities; iodine deficiency; and iron
the external environment. Children who are well deficiency anemia (World Health Organization
nurtured and cared for in their earliest years are [WHO], 2009).
more likely to survive, to grow in a healthy way, The situation in developed countries varies
to experience less illness, and to develop the considerably from one nation to another, but as
thinking, language, emotional, and social skills in developing countries, poverty is a major under-
needed to function effectively in the world. lying cause of poor health and development in
Early Childhood Development (ECD) 1737 E
children. Poverty in developed countries is more disease and readiness for learning, educational
relative than absolute; it rarely results in the kind achievement, measures of adult health and
of health problems mentioned above, but rather, well-being, and longevity (Case et al., 1999).
it affects childrens well-being by increasing the
risk of low birth weight, which has a multitude of The Process of ECD
implications for subsequent development, partic- The development of the brain begins before birth,
ularly in interaction with continuing poverty; continues throughout life, and is influenced by
parental stress, depression, and conflict, which the interaction between genetics and experience.
lead to poorer parenting behavior and attach- Positive and negative experiences in early
ment; and a less stimulating home environment, childhood determine the formation of critical
E
which impairs cognitive development (Aber, pathways and processes in the brain that in turn
Bennett, Conley, & Li, 1997). Children who are influence the individuals capacity to respond,
born into poverty and remain poor consistently learn, and thrive (Young, 2007). However, the
through their childhood are most greatly affected. relationship of the environment to development
Particularly in developed countries, however, is not unidirectional: Children also shape their
development in early childhood is shaped not environment (National Research Council, 2000).
simply by whether children live above or below Current understanding of developmental pro-
the poverty line but by their familys position on cesses suggests three distinct types of effects,
the socioeconomic spectrum. Socioeconomic which interact to shape development (Hertzman
gradients in health across the life course begin & Power, 2004). (1) The latency model refers to
as socioeconomic gradients in ECD. The the effects an exposure at one point in the life
socioeconomic gradient effect is present not course (a critical or sensitive period) has on an
only for physical and mental health but also for outcome years or decades later, independent of
a wide range of other developmental outcomes, intervening experience, e.g., the risk of death
from behavioral adjustment, to literacy, to from heart disease in the fifth decade of life is
mathematics achievement. strongly associated with the size of an individuals
In all prosperous countries, regardless of the placenta at birth and weight gain during the first
measures used, children of higher socioeconomic year of life (ref). (2) In the cumulative model, out-
status (SES) are found to have an advantage over comes result from multiple exposures, either to
their lower-SES peers. They arrive at school bet- a single recurrent factor, such as stress or poverty,
ter prepared to learn, exhibit better social adjust- or a series of exposures to different factors.
ment, attain higher test scores, and maintain (3) Pathways are dependent sequences in which
better health throughout the school years. They an exposure at one stage of the life course influ-
carry these early advantages into their adult lives, ences the probability of other exposures later in the
showing superior achievement, higher income, life course. For example, an infant is born to
better social adjustment, and greater resistance a single mother in poverty, whose parenting skills
to disease at all ages. Even after controlling for are limited, is socially isolated, and receives inad-
SES in adulthood, those who began their lives in equate support from social service systems. The
high-SES families do better in retirement, show- child consequently fails to receive adequate nur-
ing fewer degenerative ailments and living to an turing or stimulation and make a secure attach-
older age (Case, Griffin, & Kelly, 1999). ment, which impedes his socio-emotional and
Although effects such as these can be found in cognitive development. From the time he begins
all countries, their magnitude varies considerably school, he struggles academically and socially, and
between countries and between regions within the fact that many other children in his neighbor-
a country. Regions with steep income gradients hood school are suffering from similar challenges
and low levels of social cohesion tend also to exacerbates his difficulties. In his early teens, he is
show the steepest gradients and lowest means drawn to a local gang that offers a sense of belong-
in terms of infant mortality, early childhood ing and power that he has not experienced
E 1738 Early Childhood Development (ECD)

elsewhere in his life and drops out of school. He costly and more effective than treating the
quickly spirals down into violence, drug abuse, multitude of problems that result from suboptimal
and crime, which affects his health and opportuni- development.
ties for the rest of his life. Efforts to protect early brain development are
best embedded in an overall strategy of general
Influences on ECD health promotion and disease prevention. This
By school age, development has been influenced includes attention to the importance of adequate
by factors at three levels of society: family, neigh- nutrition (beginning during the prenatal period),
borhood/village, and the broader societal level the avoidance of harmful exposures (e.g., drugs,
(Maggi, Irwin, Siddiqi, Poureslami, Hertzman, & viruses, and environmental toxins), and protec-
Hertzman, 2005). Ideally, families offer children tion from the stresses of chronic understimulation
stable and loving relationships with adults who or significant maltreatment (i.e., abuse or neglect)
provide responsive and reciprocal interaction, pro- (National Research Council, 2000). Improving
tection from harm, encouragement for exploration the quality of early childhood development
and learning, and transmission of cultural values. requires paying attention to all levels of social
At the next level of social aggregation, communi- aggregation: family, neighborhood, school,
ties need to provide safety, inclusion, cohesion, civil society, and the national socioeconomic
and further opportunities for children to grow environment (Keating, 1999).
and thrive, including access to schooling and Moran and Haefeli (1998) describe six
adequate nutrition and the expansion of caring approaches to ECD interventions:
relationships. At the broadest level of social aggre- 1. Center-based: Focuses on the immediate
gation, development is directly and indirectly needs of children by establishing centers that
influenced by sociopolitical and economic factors serve as alternative environments for both care
such as national wealth, income distribution, pat- and development (e.g., preschools, childcare
terns of employment and migration, and policies centers, cooperative programs and playgroups,
in a wide range of domains, from child care and or programs for pregnant women and young
education to agriculture and transportation. children operated through health centers).
2. Family caregiver support: Enabling family
Recommended Actions members to improve their ability to care for
Neuroscience is expanding our understanding of and interact with the child (e.g., through home
the developing brain, but it is important to note visiting programs; adult education courses;
that little data exists that links specific experiences nutrition, health, or literacy programs; mass
at specific times with specific effects on the central media campaigns; or as part of a general
nervous system. Moreover, more is known about community development strategy).
the harm caused by deprivation than the beneficial 3. Child-centered community development: Using
effects of enrichment, and most knowledge about children as a motivating force for community
brain development comes from studies of adults initiatives, organization, and participation in
and animals other than humans (National a range of interrelated activities, aimed at
Research Council, 2000). At the same time, improving a communitys physical environ-
a huge gap exists between what we do know ment, knowledge, and practices, and empo-
about the optimal conditions for ECD and what wering the community, to the benefit of the
many children experience (Keating, 1999). whole community as well as its children.
Research has shown that interventions focused 4. Strengthening institutions: Uses strategies
on childrens earliest years are most successful at such as institution building, training, and
improving human development and breaking the providing materials to enhance the financial,
cycle of poverty. Promoting healthy child material, and human resources available to
development through policies and programs that public and private institutions involved with
create supportive conditions is likely to be less early childhood development.
Early Development Instrument 1739 E
5. Strengthening national commitment: Focuses on early child development. Vancouver: Human Early
on the legal, regulatory, and policy frameworks Learning Partnership.
Moran, R., & Haefeli, J. (1998). An ECCD strategy
related to young children and their families, dialog: An outline of messages. Discussion Draft
and the incentives provided for establishing Number 1, SDS/SOC. In R. Deutsch (Ed.), How early
and sustaining relevant programs (e.g., childhood interventions can reduce inequality: An
reforming a national constitution, passing overview of recent findings. Washington, DC: Inter-
American Development Bank, Poverty and Inequality
new laws, establishing national committees, Unit, Sustainable Development Department, No.
incorporating an early childhood dimension POV-105.
into regular planning processes). National Research Council and Institute of Medicine.
6. Strengthening demand and awareness: (2000). In Commission on Behavioral and Social
Sciences and Education, J. P. Shonkoff, & E
Focuses on the production and distribution of D. A. Phillips (Eds.), From neurons to neighborhoods:
knowledge in order to shape the broad cultural The science of early childhood development. Board on
ethos that influences child development, by Children, Youth, and Families. Committee on Integrat-
creating awareness and demand in the popula- ing the Science of Early Childhood Development.
Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
tion at large and promote social participation. The science of early childhood development. (2007).
National Scientific Council on the Developing Child.
World Health Organization. (2009). Early child
development. Fact sheet N 332. Accessed October
References 9, 2011, from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/
factsheets/fs332/en/index.html
Aber, J. L., Bennett, N. G., Conley, D. C., & Li, J. (1997). Young, M. E. (2007). The ECD agenda: Closing the gap.
The effects of poverty on child health and develop- In M. E. Young (Ed.), Early child development from
ment. Annual Review of Public Health, 18, 463483. measurement to action: A priority for growth and
Case, R., Griffin, S., & Kelly, W. M. (1999). Socioeco- equity (pp. 312). Washington, DC: The International
nomic gradients in mathematical ability and their Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The
responsiveness to intervention during early childhood. World Bank.
In D. P. Keating & C. Hertzman (Eds.), Developmental
health and the wealth of nations: Social, biological,
and educational dynamics (pp. 125149). New York:
Guilford Press.
Hertzman, C., & Power, C. (2004). Child development as Early Development Instrument
a determinant of health across the life course. Current
Paediatrics, 14, 438443.
Inter-American Development Bank, Sustainable Develop- Magdalena Janus1, Sally Brinkman2 and
ment Department. (1999). ECCD guide: A toolkit for Martin Guhn3
early childhood care and development. Washington, 1
Offord Centre for Child Studies, McMaster
DC: Inter-American Development Bank (SDS/SOC).
University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
Irwin, L. G., Siddiqi, A., & Hertzman, C. (2007). Early 2
child development: A powerful equalizer. Final report Fraser Mustard Centre, Telethon Institute for
for the World Health Organizations Commission on Child Health Research, Centre for Child Health
Social Determinants of Health. Vancouver: Human Research, The University of Western Australia,
Early Learning Partnership.
Perth, WA, Australia
Keating, D. (1999). Developmental health as the wealth 3
of nations. In D. P. Keating & C. Hertzman (Eds.), Human Early Learning Partnership, School of
Developmental health and the wealth of nations: Population and Public Health, University of
Social, biological, and educational dynamics British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
(pp. 337347). New York: Guilford Press.
Keating, D. P., & Hertzman, C. (1999). Modernitys
paradox. In D. P. Keating & C. Hertzman (Eds.),
Developmental health and the wealth of nations: Definition
Social, biological, and educational dynamics
(pp. 117). New York: Guilford Press. The Early Development Instrument (EDI) is a
Maggi, S., Irwin, L. G., Siddiqi, A., Poureslami, I.,
Hertzman, E., & Hertzman, C. (2005). Knowledge
population-based tool to measure developmental
network for early childhood development. Analytic health of children at school entry in five
and strategic review paper: International perspectives major domains of child development: physical,
E 1740 Early Development Instrument

social, emotional, language-cognitive, and Brinkman, & Duku, 2011). As a result, data col-
communication. Sometimes it is also referred to lected through the administration of the EDI are
as a tool to measure readiness to learn at school. of interest to the fields of health (public health,
The instrument was designed primarily for use epidemiology, child development, community
with whole populations of children (based on psychology, and health service research), educa-
geographical or administrative boundaries) and tion (particularly early education services), com-
cannot be interpreted at an individual level for munity development, social policy, and human
a diagnostic purpose. It can, however, be used as development economics.
a research tool to formally evaluate programs and As a population measure, the purpose of the
interventions. The EDI has also been employed in EDI is to provide an evidence base to inform both
longitudinal studies. universal prevention strategies and interventions
targeted to specific geographic or population
groups. As such, the EDI is considered to be
Description a population-based outcome measure, indicating
how well the community as a whole has raised
The Early Development Instrument (EDI) (Janus their children through to school age.
& Offord, 2007) is a teacher-completed checklist
combining five major areas that have been iden- Instrument Description
tified as relevant to childrens developmental The first page of the instrument requests informa-
health at school entry, sometimes described by tion on child demographic variables (gender,
proxy as school readiness: physical health and date of birth, language), as well as on selected
well-being, social competence, emotional matu- variables related to the childs school-based
rity, language and cognitive development, and designations (e.g., English/language of instruc-
communication skills and general knowledge. tion as a second language, special needs, type of
The instrument was developed to be used as class), and the completion date. Pages 27 of the
a population measure, so while the EDI is com- EDI contain questions relevant to the five
pleted for individual children in a class, the scores domains of school readiness: physical health
are aggregated to school, neighborhood, regional, and well-being, social competence, emotional
or country level. The interpretation is intended to maturity, language and cognitive development,
occur only at group level, based on the analyses and communication skills and general knowl-
of all children and with reference to the distribu- edge. Most of these are core questions, mean-
tion of all scores. The population-level measure- ing that they directly contribute to one of the
ment approach provides an evidence base to five domains. There are also questions related to
inform both universal prevention strategies and childrens special skills and special problems.
those targeted to geographic or population Finally, the last page of the instrument contains
groups. questions about childrens prekindergarten expe-
The EDI is a holistic measure of child rience (early intervention, child care, preschool,
development. Teachers complete the EDI for etc.). Only questions in the five core domains are
each child in their class on the basis of their used to score childrens school readiness.
knowledge of the child (i.e., the EDI is not a task The questionnaire takes between 7 and 20 min
based assessment). The EDI is validated for to complete. It is recommended that it be com-
children aged 4 through to 6 years of age and pleted in the second half of the kindergarten year,
generally conducted halfway into the first year of to give teachers the opportunity to get to know
full-time schooling (Janus & Offord, 2007). children in their class. The EDI has a teacher
The design of the EDI was based on a manual called the EDI Guide which clarifies
blending of approaches rooted in developmental most items and as such is meant to facilitate
psychology, education, epidemiology, and uniform interpretation and shortens the time
public health (Guhn & Goelman, 2011; Janus, required to complete the instrument. For the
Early Development Instrument 1741 E
original implementation in Canada, both the what extent the EDI scores on the different
instrument and the EDI Guide have been avail- developmental domains are associated with
able in English and French. The EDI Guide is neighborhood characteristics. The geographical
translated along with the EDI during international maps are publicly available, via reports
adaptations. and online resources that are accessible at
the website of the Canadian Forum for
Data Collections to Date Early Child Development Monitoring
The EDI was developed at the Offord Centre (http://www.childdevelopmentmonitoring.net/
for Child Studies, at McMaster University in population-measures). The public materials
Hamilton, Ontario, in Canada in 1998. Since its include plain language descriptions of the EDI
E
inception, it has been completed for over 900,000 and provide interpretations of results that com-
children. The international use of the EDI started munity stakeholders can use to inform local dis-
in 2002 with Australia being the first country to cussions on early child development, education,
implement the instrument outside of Canada. care, and family services.
Since that time, the EDI has been adapted for
use in more than 20 countries. These Reliability and Validity
implementations of the EDI vary from small The reliability of the EDI has been studied in
pilot studies through to national monitoring. a number of contexts and approaches. Due to its
Adapted versions of the EDI exist for interdisciplinary scope, the EDI can be validated
use in Ireland, USA, Scotland, Jamaica, Australia from a variety of theoretical perspectives (Guhn,
(English), Peru, Chile and Mexico (Spanish), Zumbo, Janus, & Hertzman, 2011). Here, we
Brazil and Mozambique (Portuguese), Vietnam summarize the most pertinent information.
(Vietnamese), Hong Kong (Mandarin), Sweden
(Swedish), Estonia (Estonian), Kosovo (Alba- Internal Consistency
nian), Indonesia (Bahasa), Philippines (Tagalog), Internal consistency of the EDI domains in the
and Jordan (Arabic), and several further adapta- original Canadian validation sample varied from
tions are ongoing. Translation and adaptation 0.84 to 0.94 (Janus & Offord, 2007). An interna-
follows a protocol (www.offordcentre.com/readi- tional comparison of samples from Canada,
ness), which ensures standards allowing for inter- Australia, Jamaica, and United States demon-
national comparison. The use of the EDI requires strated similar range from 0.64 to 0.92 (Janus
a license with McMaster University, and the first et al., 2011). Internal consistency of EDI domains
step in each country is the ascertainment of reli- is investigated with every international adapta-
ability and validity of the adapted instrument. tion, and generally, the values are very similar to
the ones for the Canadian sample.
Knowledge Dissemination and Knowledge
Translation Test-Retest
Knowledge dissemination and knowledge trans- Test-retest reliabilities in the original Canadian
lation is a critical component of the EDI projects sample ranged from 0.84 to 0.94. As with the
in Canada and abroad. EDI data are geographi- internal consistency, test-retest reliability is
cally mapped to visualize the variability in explored for every new adaptation, and results
childrens developmental health outcomes and have always been acceptable, ranging from
school readiness across neighborhoods. The EDI 0.8 to 0.9 (Janus et al., 2007).
maps also routinely provide information on
neighborhood characteristics, such as socioeco- Validity
nomic status (income, education, employment Various aspects of validity of the EDI domains
rates). The EDI maps thus allow one to see have been examined over the many imple-
which neighborhoods have relatively high or mentations (Janus et al., 2007). The domain
relatively low average EDI scores and to scores have shown to be associated with parent
E 1742 Early Development Instrument

ratings, relevant direct assessments, assessments context (Brinkman & Blackmore, 2003; Hart,
in later ages or grades, and family and neighbor- Brinkman, & Blackmore, 2003). In 2004,
hood socioeconomic status (Brinkman et al., federal government funding enabled further
2007; Forget-Dubois, Lemelin, Boivin, & instrument validation and communities from
Dionne, 2007; Janus & Offord, 2007; Lloyd & across Australia to become involved (Goldfeld,
Hertzman, 2009). Sayers, Brinkman, Silburn, & Oberklaid, 2009).
From a technical point of view, Rasch analyses
Validation for Culturally Diverse Populations were conducted to confirm adequate psychomet-
Canadian researchers have investigated how the ric properties of the instrument (Andrich &
EDI works for various subpopulation groups and Styles, 2004). From a community point of view,
language backgrounds (Guhn, Gadermann, & the use of the instrument was evaluated in terms
Zumbo, 2007; Janus, Duku, & Hughes, 2010). of its utility as a community mobilizer around
The EDI has also been validated for the Aborig- early childhood (Sayers et al., 2007).
inal Australian population (Silburn et al., 2009). In a separate study, the AEDI was embedded
in a nested sample within the Longitudinal
Australia as a Case Study Study of Australian Children (LSAC). To date,
In 2009, as a federal government election com- this has enabled the assessment of the AEDIs
mitment, the Australia EDI (AEDI) was collected concurrent and construct validity (Brinkman
for almost every child across Australia in their et al., 2007), with predictive validity analyses
first year of full-time schooling. In essentially recently conducted (Brinkman, 2013). The
a child development census, information was results indicate that the AEDI performs as
collected for over 261,000 children representing well as expected and in some cases better than
98 % of the population. Nearly 16,000 teachers individual assessment tools that are more time
from 7,420 government and nongovernment consuming and expensive to administer. The
schools completed the checklist. The federal gov- AEDI Indigenous Adaptation Study further
ernment has now committed to undertaking the developed the AEDI to ensure it is relevant and
AEDI as a developmental census once every sensitive to the needs of indigenous children
3 years (2012, 2015, 2018, etc.). The AEDI (Silburn et al., 2009), while the Language Back-
provides an evidence base to inform both univer- ground Other Than English (LBOTE) Study
sal prevention strategies and interventions reviewed the AEDI implementation process,
targeted to specific geographic or population results and data usage for culturally and linguis-
groups. The AEDI data are made publically tically diverse populations (Goldfeld et al.,
available via community maps, community 2011). These two studies have resulted in signif-
profiles, and state and national reports, with the icant improvements to the AEDI Teacher Guide-
information intended to inform strategies that lines to further explain the intent of each question
can be applied to improve child development with the provision of culturally inclusive exam-
(www.aedi.org.au). ples and prompts to support teachers while
Although the 2009 National AEDI data set completing the checklist.
provides the first Australia-wide population To help community members understand
baseline of which future data collections will be and interpret the results, there is an interactive
compared to, the instrument has been used in web-based Results Guide. This guide provides
Australia since 2002 and has been the subject of information about how to engage with your com-
various reliability and validity studies. The munity and helps develop plans for community
checklist was first utilized in Perth in 2002 action to support children and families. The
and then again in 2003 where the process of AEDI website also provides community case
adaptation initially included testing its content studies, videos, FAQs, publications, fact sheets,
validity and utility as a community-level measure and links to other relevant websites. This mix of
of early child development in Australian community support and action in addition to
Early Development Instrument 1743 E
the commitment to validate the instrument in References
Australia has facilitated its development from
its initial pilot in 2002 to national sustained and Andrich, D., & Styles, I. (2004). Final report on the psycho-
metric analyses of the early development instrument
ongoing population monitoring.
(EDI) using the Rasch model: A technical paper
commissioned for the development of the Australian
Discussion Early Development Index (AEDI). Murdoch University.
The EDI represents the first population-level Brinkman, S., & Blackmore, S. (2003). Pilot study results
of the early development instrument: A population
measure of young childrens developmental
based measure for communities and community
health in Canada. The EDI is currently included mobilisation tool. Paper presented at the beyond the
as an indicator of childrens well-being in the rhetoric in early intervention, Adelaide, Australia.
E
Canadian Index of Well-Being. Also, provin- Brinkman, S., Silburn, S., Lawrence, D., Goldfeld, S.,
Sayers, M., & Oberklaid, F. (2007). Investigating the
cial governments in Canada are using EDI data to
validity of the Australian Early Development Index.
inform their public health and education Early Education and Development, 18(3),427451.
strategies, and intersectoral coalitions use EDI Brinkman, S. (2013). AEDI Research Snapshot. The
data to inform local debates and decision-making Predictive Validity of the AEDI: Predicting later
cognitive and behavioural outcomes. Retrieved from
processes that are related to the promotion
http://www.rch.org.au/aedi/studies/index.cfm?doc_id=
of childrens well-being. Currently, the Canadian 14783.
Forum for Early Child Development Monitor- Forget-Dubois, N., Lemelin, J. P., Boivin, M., &
ing seeks to support the implementation of two Dionne, G. (2007). Predicting early school achievement
with the EDI: A longitudinal population-based study.
additional population-level measurement initia-
Early Education and Development, 18(3), 405426.
tives of developmental health and well-being in Goldfeld, S., Sayers, M., Brinkman, S., Silburn, S., &
Canada: the 18-month screening initiative for Oberklaid, F. (2009). The process and policy chal-
children at age 1.5 and the Middle-Years lenges of adapting and implementing the Early Devel-
opment Instrument in Australia. Early Education and
Development Instrument, for children aged
Development, 20(6), 978991.
1013. The overarching goal is to complement Goldfeld, S., Mithen, J., Barber, L., OConnor, M.,
EDI data with data that reflect developmental Sayers, M., & Brinkman, S. (2011). The AEDI lan-
health and well-being outcomes at earlier and guage diversity study report. Centre for Community
Child Health, The Royal Childrens Hospital,
later ages. The objective of these initiatives is to
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne.
allow our society to monitor childrens well- Retrieved from http://ww2.rch.org.au/emplibrary/aedi/
being over time and to use this information to 120089_AEDI_Language_Diversity_Study_Report.pdf.
enhance health prevention and promotion efforts Guhn, M., Gadermann, A., & Zumbo, B. D. (2007). Does
the EDI measure school readiness in the same way
at local, regional, provincial, and national levels.
across different groups of children? Early Education
& Development, 18(3), 453472. doi:10.1080/
10409280701610838.
Guhn, M., & Goelman, H. (2011). Bioecological theory,
Cross-References early child development and the validation of the
population-level early development instrument. Social
Indicators Research, 103, 193217.
Australia, Quality of Life
Guhn, M., Zumbo, B., Janus, M., & Hertzman, C. (2011).
Australian Indigenous Peoples Validation theory and research for a population-level
Canadian Index of Well-Being measure of childrens development, wellbeing, and
Forum for Early Child Development school readiness. Social Indicators Research, 103(2),
183191. doi:10.1007/s11205-011-9841-6.
Monitoring
Hart, B., Brinkman, S., & Blackmore, S. (2003). How well
Internal Consistency are raising our children in the North Metropolitan
Knowledge Transfer and Exchange area: The Early Development Index. Perth: North
Middle Years Development Instrument Metropolitan Heath Service.
Janus, M., Brinkman, S. A., & Duku, E. (2011). Validity
Rasch Analysis
and psychometric properties of the Early Development
Reliability Instrument in Canada, Australia, United States and
Test-retest Reliability Jamaica. Social Indicators Research, 103(2), 283297.
E 1744 Early School Leaving

Janus, M., Brinkman, S., Duku, E., Hertzman, C., Santos, attaining a socially agreed upon level of educa-
R., Sayers, M., & Schroeder, J. (2007). The Early tion, demonstrated through lack of relevant
Development Instrument: A Population-based mea-
sure for communities. A handbook on development, certification or qualification. The term school
properties, and use. Offord centre for child studies, dropout is also used, but early school leaving is
Hamilton, ON. Also available at: http://www. preferred since as exiting or leaving the school
offordcentre.com/readiness. system early is usually a long and complex
Janus, M., Duku, E., & Hughes, D. (2010). Patterns
of school readiness among selected groups of process ending after or near completion of
Canadian children: Children with special needs and compulsory education, particularly in countries
children with diverse language backgrounds. Retrieved where compulsory-level attainment is almost uni-
from http://www.ccl-cca.ca/pdfs/OtherReports/Janus- versal and post-compulsory education (or upper
FinalReport.pdf.
Janus, M., & Offord, D. (2007). Development and psy- secondary education) enrolment is relatively
chometric properties of the Early Development Instru- high. Dropout refers only to exit from school
ment (EDI): A measure of childrens school readiness. or interruption of a particular stage of formal
Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 39, 122. education (e.g., high school in some systems/
Lloyd, J. E. V., & Hertzman, C. (2009). From kindergarten
readiness to fourth-grade assessment: Longitudinal countries), course, or program.
analysis with linked population data. Social Science
& Medicine, 68(1), 111123.
Sayers, M., Coutts, M., Goldfeld, S., Oberklaid, F., Description
Brinkman, S., & Silburn, S. (2007). Building better com-
munities for children; community implementation and
evaluation of the Australian Early Development Index. The concept of early school leaving is based upon
Early Education and Development, 18(3), 519534. the assumption that in order for the individual to
Silburn, S., Brinkman, S., Ferguson-Hill, S., Styles, I., gain access to personal, social, and economic
Walker, R., & Sheppard, C. (2009). The Australian
Early Development Index (AEDI) indigenous security and to increase the chances of enjoying
adaptation study. Perth, Australia. Telethon Institute long-term well-being, a certain level of formal
for Child Health Research. Retrieved from www.rch. education needs to be achieved by a particular life
org.au/emplibrary/australianedi/AEDI_Indigenous_ stage even if this education exceeds compulsory
Adaptation_Study_Report_Nov_2009.pdf.
age boundaries. In contemporary knowledge
economies, especially among European member
states, the minimum target level to attain is nor-
Early School Leaving mally upper secondary education (International
Standard Classification of Education/ISCED 3).
Cynthia M. H. Villalba Early school leaving is therefore a normative
Institute of International Education, Stockholm concept that is used to describe this cumulative
University (Sweden) IACM/FORTH, process.
Stockholm, Sweden In other countries such as the United States
Institute of International Education, Educational and Canada, which dominate the research field,
Research and Evaluation Group (Greece), the concept of school dropout is more common,
Heraklion, Greece presumably due in part to system characteristics:
the general secondary high school model nor-
Synonyms mally follows elementary or primary education,
and a single qualification (i.e., diploma) is
Dropping out; High school dropout awarded upon graduation.
In Europe and elsewhere, early leaving is
approached as an equity issue, whereby young
Definition people with very low attainment are exposed to
greater social risks (Nicaise, Douterlungne, &
Early school leaving normally refers to early Vleugels, 2000) and the overall social costs
exit from the formal education system prior to are increased (Schoon & Duckworth, 2010).
Early School Leaving 1745 E
The increasing interest in early school leaving Failure to complete upper secondary educa-
can be attributed to the belief in the neces- tion (or high school) and not attending further
sity of secondary education for the individual education or training
(e.g., quality of life, well-being, employability) Failure to gain qualifications required for
and for society (active citizenship, production participation in higher education
of human capital, economic competitiveness, Failure to complete compulsory schooling
governmentality, etc.) in particular, the econ- Failure to gain qualifications at end of
omy. As a result, there is an upward movement compulsory schooling
among younger cohorts: fewer people in OECD Failure to participate in education or training
countries fail to complete upper secondary edu- on completion of compulsory schooling
E
cation, while more graduate from tertiary educa- Failure to gain qualifications required to
tion (OECD, 2010, p. 12). Further back in time access a range of labor market opportunities
most young people attained only a limited basic Failure to participate in any form of educa-
education and higher education was for the tion and training between the ages of 18
privileged and elite, but, according to recent and 24
data (ibid.), 65 % or more of adults aged 2564 Failure to participate in any form of education
years old in 25 OECD countries (in addition to and training by 18- to 24-year-olds in the
Estonia, Israel, the Russian Federation, and Slo- period of 4 weeks prior to the European
venia) have at least secondary education. Levels Union Labour Force Survey
of course vary between countries, but on average, The 2011 biannual statistical report pub-
the proportion of individuals aged 2534 years lished by the European Commission, Progress
old with at least upper secondary education is Towards the Common European Objectives in
80 % compared to 58 % for 55- to 64-year-olds. Education and Training, provides rates on early
school leaving (Commission, 2011). It is evident
European Benchmark and Early Leaving that compared to the overall historical trends
Rates in increasing levels of educational attainment,
At European level, in 2003 the Council of Edu- the more recent early leaving rates in Europe
cation Ministers created a benchmark on early have reached a certain plateau and have not expe-
school leaving, which is set at less than 10 % of rienced any dramatic change since 2000. In 2009
the population of young people between 18 and the average rate of early leaving was 14.4 %
24 years of age. Country statistics are collected for EU-27, showing a slight decrease from the
by Eurostat (http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu), previous year and 3.2 percentage points lower
the European statistical agency, on the number than in 2000 (pp. 8586).
of early leavers from education and training According to the latest aggregated European
(previously early school leavers). The precise data, most early leavers have completed at most
operational definition of an early leaver is as ISCED level 2 or 3c short; in over half of the
follows: an individual who by the age of 1824 countries, early school leavers are not in employ-
has attained at most lower secondary education ment nor are actively seeking work (pp. 8688);
(i.e., has not attained upper secondary education) they are more often male (pp. 110111); those
and is not in further education or training. defined as young migrants (defined as nonna-
According to the 1997 ISCED, this includes tionals and those born abroad) in many countries
those whose highest level is ISCED 0, 1, 2, or are more than twice as likely to lack upper sec-
3c short. ondary qualifications (pp. 118119).
The Europe-based Network of Experts in
Social Sciences of Education and training Research on Early School Leaving
(NESSE, 2010, p. 10) reported that a range of Like any research on educational attainment,
meanings found within the member states defi- most studies have focused on antecedents
nitions are embedded in the European definition: and factors influencing early school leaving.
E 1746 Early School Leaving

For example, the role of individual against school completion (Roderick, 1993;
sociodemographic factors are well covered, in Warren & Lee, 2003), partly in an effort to locate
particular gender and home background such as those that make the individual or proximal factors
parental education level and income, family more or less salient, but research on these envi-
structure, parental expectations, and home ronmental influences that determine what is
environment (Astone & McLanahan, 1991; available and possible are also limited.
Beekhoven & Dekkers, 2005; Finn, 1989; The link between the constraints associated
Kerkoff, 1993; Lee & Burkam, 2003; Sandefur, with disadvantaged community/neighborhood
Meier, & Campbell, 2006; Sandefur & Wells, environment or socioeconomic conditions has
1999). Individual school achievement and ability, been illustrated in an eight-country qualitative
classroom behavior, and learning-related issues study by Demuse et al. (2008), though early
(particularly language skills and reading literacy) leaving is indirectly addressed in the context of
(Beekhoven & Dekkers, 2005; Ensminger & priority education policies directed at disadvan-
Slusarcick, 1992; Gambetta, 1987; Huang, taged children.
2008a, b; Knighton & Bussiere, 2006; Marks,
2007; McIntosh, Flannery, Sugai, Braun, & Discussion
Cochrane, 2008) play a prominent role in attain- Early leaving is often blamed on flawed
ment and are addressed in two main ways: as personal biographies (McGrath, 2009) rather
directly related to early leaving or as influenced than accounting for the complex circumstances
by other factors such as home background and students find themselves in. On the other hand,
peer/school SES, which in turn are associated despite the odds, at-risk students who do manage
with early leaving. Absence of an educational to obtain their secondary qualifications are
plan for the future (Huang, 2008a) is also associ- thought to possess key personal resources: higher
ated with leaving the educational system early. achievement, high expectations/aspirations,
Many studies, such as Vergidis (1998, p. 65 in school motivation, or resiliency skills that
Demuse, Frandji, Gregor, & Rochex, 2008) as facilitate completion (Buchmann & Dalton,
well as Downes and Maunsell (2007), document 2002; Luthar, Cicchetti, & Becker, 2000;
the fundamental role of poor language and read- Schoon & Duckworth, 2010). Schoon and
ing literacy skills in early leaving, which interact Duckworth argue that in addition to proven
with socioeconomic status. ability in math, a positive attitude toward
School-level influences or factors are also school are resource factors in predicting school
investigated, including the role of nonparental leaving age (p. 290). Bradshaw, OBrennan, and
significant others (e.g., teachers and peers), McNeely (2008) similarly assert that a set of
school climate, and other characteristics of the core competencies including pro-social
surrounding environment (Althenbaugh, Engel, behavior and other skills help to avert school
& Martin, 1995; Battin-Pearson et al., 2000, failure and early leaving, even for the most
Downes & Maunsel, 2007; Huang, 2008a, b). vulnerable students. Nevertheless, rather than
Institutional features of the educational system, seeing school leaving as caused by subjective
such as tracking and streaming, grade repetition/ traits such as a lack of positive disposition
retention, class size, school policies, and school toward education, attention should be focused
organization (Buchmann & Dalton, 2002; Finn, on school context and relations with significant
Gerber, & Boyd-Zaharias, 2005; Lee & Burkam, others (teachers, peers/friends, parents), which
2003; Marks, 2007; NESSE, 2010), are also stud- can act as triggers of school disengagement
ied in relation to the context for the process of (McGrath, 2009, p. 96).
disengagement or noncompletion, although this Findings on factors influencing early lea-
promising area of research is limited. Further- ving are often context dependent, and the litera-
more, other studies seek to uncover particular ture is replete with competing evidence on its
country or societal context factors militating main influences. As argued in a number of
Early School Leaving 1747 E
studies and reviews (Downs & Maunsell, Battin-Pearson, S., Newcomb, M. D., Abbot, R. D.,
2007; Ensminger & Slusarcick, 1992; Jimerson, Hill, K., Catalano, R. F., & Hawkins, J. D. (2000).
Predictors of early high school dropout: A test of five
Egeland, Sroufe, & Carlson, 2000), early school theories. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92(3),
leaving can best be explained as a long-term 568582.
process influenced by a combination of Beekhoven, S., & Dekkers, H. (2005). Early school leav-
interacting factors on different levels from family ing in the lower vocational track: Triangulation of
qualitative and quantitative data. Adolescence,
and community to employment and training. 40(157), 197213.
Higher-level contexts (e.g., labor market, socio- Bradshaw, C. P., OBrennan, L. M., & McNeely, C. A.
economic conditions, educational system, and (2008). Core competencies and the prevention of
migration) may set the conditions in which school failure and early school leaving. In N. G.
Guerra & C. P. Bradshaw (Eds.), Core competencies E
school, individual/family, and personal factors to prevent problem behaviors and promote positive
interact and become salient. It is therefore youth development. New Directions for child and
unhelpful if these factors are seen in isolation. adolescent development, Vol. 122, Winter 2008
In assessing the risks surrounding such edu- # Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Published online in
Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com).
cational outcomes, [. . .] studies suggest that it is DOI:10.1002/cd.226.
futile and overly simplistic to search for cause- Buchmann, C., & Dalton, B. (2002). Interpersonal
effect relationships between single risk factors influences and educational aspirations in 12 countries:
and school incompletion (McGrath, 2009). It is The importance of institutional context. Sociology of
Education, 75(2), 99122.
more helpful to view the various findings as Demuse, M., Frandji, D., Gregor, D., & Rochex, J.-Y.
contributing diverse perspectives on a complex (Eds.). (2008). Tackling educational inequalities:
and long-standing social issue that all societies Strategies from Europe. Lyon, France: Institut
face and must make sense of. In order to answer National de Recherche Pedagogique (INRP).
Downes, P., & Maunsell, C. (2007). Count us in: Tackling
the fundamental question, Were they pushed early school leaving in South West Inner City Dublin:
or did they jump?, cross-comparative and An integrated response. Report commissioned by the
qualitative studies are also needed to identify South Inner City Community Development Associa-
enabling/disabling structural characteristics tion. Dublin: Educational Disadvantage Centre,
St. Patricks College Drumcondra.
that form the background for what is ultimately Ensminger, M. E., & Slusarcick, A. L. (1992). Paths to
an individual-level event (not necessarily high school graduation or dropout: A longitudinal
a rational decision) and to compare findings study of a first-grade cohort. Sociology of Education,
across diverse societies. 65(2), 95113.
European Commission. (2011). Progress towards the com-
mon European objectives in European education and
training (SEC(2011)526). Brussels, Belgium: Author.
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Astone, N., & McLanahan, S. (1991). Family structure, student social relations on dropouts in Norwegian
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Globalization of Education: Harmony, Diversity and


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Sandefur, G. D., & Wells, T. (1999). Does family structure
really affect educational attainment? Social Science Patterns of population growth have been stud-
Research, 28, 331357. ied and observed in ecology. A population
Sandefur, G. D., Meier, A., & Campbell, M. (2006). increases its number of individuals until it runs
Family resources, social capital and college
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early And making it! Evidence from two British is called carrying capacity. The equilibrium level
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can occur is the upper asymptote of a sigmoid
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Earths Carrying Capacity 1749 E
Earths Carrying C.C.
Capacity, Fig. 1 The
sigmoid growth form
curve and the carrying
capacity (C.C.): This
growth form curve
describes the increase of
human populations with

DENSITY
limited resources (After
Odum, 1971; see also
Verhulst, 1838)

TIME

capacity, it may remain at this level or decline, and the range of their possible technologies,
producing a relaxation oscillation pattern in institutions and life-styles (see also Pulselli,
density (for a wide explanation of these concepts, Bastianoni, Marchettini, & Tiezzi, 2008).
see Odum, 1971). A calculation of Earths carrying capacity for
This capacity is intuitively influenced by the humans thus requires hypothesis on living stan-
major limiting factors (e.g., food or space) in the dards, degree of distributional equality, techno-
given environment, which can be stressed by logy, and trade extension (Daly, 1996). However,
external factors such as, for instance, seasonal besides considering all these variables, a general
ones. In general, depending on the referred sys- question arises on the planetary biophysical
tem (from a single species to an entire commu- limits to growth, upon which the concept of
nity), the carrying capacity can be dynamically carrying capacity of Earth is based.
influenced by a number of factors. Considering Rockstrom et al. (2009) pose this question,
the entire Earth system and the most common and identifying nine areas that are most in need of
widespread species on Earth, the detection and planetary boundaries: climate change, biodiver-
estimation of carrying capacity becomes a very sity loss, excess of nitrogen and phosphorus pro-
complex issue. In particular, the assessment of duction, stratospheric ozone depletion, ocean
human carrying capacity could be much more acidification, global consumption of freshwater,
difficult to make than for other species (Daly, change in land use for agriculture, air pollution,
1996; see also Crutzen & Stoermer, 2000, for and chemical pollution, the first three of which
the concept of Anthropocene and the impacts of have been already transgressed by humanity.
the human species on the global ecosystem). Already in the 1970s, investigating the
Carrying capacity for humans depends espe- carrying capacity question in their book Limits
cially on not fixed, static, or simple relations. It is to Growth, Meadows, Meadows, Randers,
contingent on the rapidly changing technology, and Behrens (1972) argued that in case of contin-
preferences, and structure of production and uous unchanged growth in five basic sectors
consumption (Arrow et al., 1995). According (population, industrialization, pollution, food pro-
to Meadows, Meadows, and Randers (1992), duction, and consumption of natural resources),
for the human population, [calculation] is humankind would have reached the natural limits
much more complex due to the great variety of of growth in less than 100 years. In 1972, the
resources that humans take from the environ- authors were optimistic, maintaining that the car-
ment, the great quantity of wastes they put back, rying capacity of the planet was still far to be
E 1750 Earths Carrying Capacity

overcome. Years later, they updated their research, capacity for humans (energy production, living
identifying the serious risk of exceeding the limits space, food production, forest services such as
(Meadows, Meadows, & Randers, 1992, 2004). wood and carbon sequestration). A wider range
The population growth also acts as of ecosystem services have to be taken into
a multiplication factor. To maintain humanity at account for a better estimation of carrying capac-
fair distance from Earths carrying capacity, we ity at different scales, as well as social factors,
need to reduce the identified impacts and, distributional equality, and other well-being
simultaneously, limit the population increase. indicators that are important to relate carrying
According to the United Nations projections, the capacity with the quality of life.
global population will continue to grow, reaching
about nine billion people by 2050 (UNEP, 2004).
It must be noted, however, that the unequal dis- Cross-References
tribution of wealth and appropriation of natural
resources make the population of Western Ecological Footprint
industrialized countries historically more respon- Population Growth
sible than that of the south of the world, indepen-
dently of the number of individuals. Moreover,
a growing competition for land is expected also References
due to the emergence of human needs: food
(see Godfray et al., 2010), raw materials, primary Arrow, K., Bolin, B., Costanza, R., Dasgupta, P., Folke,
energy, as well as other ecosystem services, C., Holling, C. S., et al. (1995). Economic growth,
carrying capacity, and the environment. Science, 268,
namely, provisioning, regulating, and cultural 520521.
environmental services (Millennium Ecosystem Crutzen, P. J., & Stoermer, E. F. (2000). The
Assessment, 2005). These wide varieties of Anthropocene. Global Change Newsletter, 41,
services constitute the environmental resource 1718.
Daly, H. (1996). Beyond growth: The economics of sus-
basis on which human life, economic activity, tainable development. Boston: Beacon.
and well-being ultimately depend. Godfray, H. C. J., Beddington, J. R., Crute, I. R., Haddad,
When a wide set of factors determine the L., Lawrence, D., Muir, J. F., et al. (2010). Food
carrying capacity, systemic indicators can be security: The challenge of feeding 9 billion people.
Science, 327, 812818.
identified to take into account their synergies Meadows, D. H., Meadows, D. L., & Randers, J. (1992).
and cumulated effects. Among many systemic Beyond the limits. Post Mills: Chelsea Green Publish-
indicators related, directly or indirectly, to the ing Company.
concept of carrying capacity, the Ecological Meadows, D. H., Meadows, D. L., & Randers, J. (2004).
Limits to growth. The 30-year update. Post Mills:
Footprint seems to be one of the most powerful Chelsea Green Publishing Company.
and used (see Wackernagel & Rees, 1996). Meadows, D. H., Meadows, D. L., Randers, J., & Behrens,
Ecological Footprint is defined as the biologi- W. W., III. (1972). Limits to growth. New York:
cally productive area required to sustain a given Universe Books.
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. (2005). Washington,
population in a given lifestyle. Its counterpart is DC: Island Press.
the biocapacity, which represents the theoretical Niccolucci, V., Pulselli, F. M., & Tiezzi, E. (2007).
maximum resource capacity for a territory, in Strengthening the threshold hypothesis: Economic
a year. The comparison of biocapacity with foot- and biophysical limits to growth. Ecological Econo-
mics, 60, 667672.
print discriminates ecological creditors and Odum, E. P. (1971). Fundamentals of ecology.
debtors. This can be interpreted as a distinction Philadelphia: Saunders.
between nations exceeding their own territorys Pulselli, F. M., Bastianoni, S., Marchettini, N., & Tiezzi,
carrying capacity and nations still far from it E. (2008). The road to sustainability. Southampton:
WIT Press.
(Niccolucci, Pulselli, & Tiezzi, 2007). Ecolog- Rockstrom, J., Steffen, W., Noone, K., Persson, A.,
ical Footprint, however, considers only some of Chapin, F. S., III, Lambin, E. F., et al. (2009). A safe
the factors which can influence the carrying operating space for humanity. Nature, 461, 472475.
Earthquakes 1751 E
UNEP. (2004). World population to 2300. New York: but not the least, some of those affected by an
United Nations. earthquake may have to migrate or be relocated
Verhulst, P. (1838). Notice sur la loi que la population
poursuit dans son accroissement. Correspondance to other areas. During such a process, the pre-
mathematique et physique, 10, 113121. earthquake local social networks may be dis-
Wackernagel, M., & Rees, W. E. (1996). Our ecological turbed or destroyed, which might affect peoples
footprint: Reducing human impact on the earth. normal social interaction and thus deteriorate the
Gabriola: New Society.
social capital in the affected area (Kasapoglu,
Ecevit, & Ecevit, 2004; Bland, OLeary, Farinaro
et al., 1997; Zhao, 2007, 2009).
Compared to the impact on living conditions,
E
Earthquakes the impacts of earthquakes on subjective well-
being are more complex and have induced more
Yandong Zhao debate among researchers. Some suggest that
Chinese Academy of Science and Technology for disasters produce both short- and long-term
Development, Institute of Science, Technology negative psychological consequences among
and Society, Beijing, China the victims (Chou, Chou, Lin et al., 2004;
Sharan, Chaudhary, Surabhi et al., 1996). For
example, some researchers have documented
Synonyms posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other
kinds of psychiatric impairment among victims
Disasters of earthquakes, while others have pointed to
increase in depression or anxiety after an earth-
quake (Zhang, Kong, Wang et al., 2010;
Description Goenjian, Najarian, Pynoos et al., 1994). Never-
theless, other researchers insist that earthquakes
Disasters occur as the result of the impact of have few severe and long-lasting psychological
hazards on vulnerable people (Blaikie, Wisner, effects (Taylor, 1977). Some have even argued
Davis et al., 2004). Therefore, an earthquake can that after a disaster, there are more social order
be regarded as a disaster only when it results in and altruism than chaos and selfishness
various impacts on the quality of life of the (Quarantelli & Dynes, 1977). Zhao, Deng, and
affected population. Such consequences include Li (2010) find that after Sichuan earthquake in
both the deterioration of objective living condi- 2008, the social trust among the affected popula-
tions and negative impacts on subjective well- tion significantly increases, which implies that
being. the earthquake might increase the local social
The negative impacts of earthquakes on capital and thus bring positive impacts on peo-
objective living conditions are comprehensive. ples mental health. These different findings are
First, an earthquake usually brings about severe partly the reason why Kreps (1984) complains
damage, including destruction of housing, prop- that disaster, the social order, and mental health
erty damage and physical injury, disability, and are viewed as inextricably linked by ill-defined
death. As a result, peoples access to resources concepts and variables as well as elusive
such as assets and income is weakened, which in thresholds.
turn may be exacerbated by business recession The impacts of disasters are not evenly dis-
during and after an earthquake (Webb, Tierney, tributed among individuals and groups but are
& Dahlhamer, 2000). Second, an earthquake may strongly related to preexisting social vulnerabi-
destruct infrastructure, such as roads, power lity, which is constructed by many social vari-
plants, hospitals, and schools. Apart from being ables such as class, occupation, ownership, and
an inconvenience to peoples daily lives, it may type of residence (Blaikie et al., 2004). Individ-
also cause disaster-related health problems. Last, uals with lower income or belonging to minority
E 1752 Earthquakes

ethnic groups may have higher probability to live more vulnerable social groups with the purpose
in unsafe places. As Poteyeva, Denver, Barsky of reducing social inequality. This is especially
and Aguirre (2006) have observed, un-reinforced true in modern society, because access to disaster
masonry buildings and other types of shabby recovery assistance had obviously become
houses constitute the main part of affordable regarded as an entitlement, rather than compas-
housing for low-income residents in tectonically sionate acts (Platt, 1999). Scholars have deve-
active areas and are more likely to collapse in an loped some models, which can be used to assess
earthquake than the houses of affluent segments peoples capability of recovery from disasters,
of the population. Other studies have found that such as Access Model (Blaikie et al., 2004) and
those who suffer serious effects on quality of Policy Oriented Post-disaster Needs Assessment
life after the disaster tend to be older, female, (POPNA) (Kristin, Zhang, & Zhao, 2011). And
divorced/widowed, and less educated (Suhail, one of these models purposes is to identify the
Malik, Mir et al., 2009; Chou et al., 2004). vulnerable subgroups, which have fewer oppor-
While social inequality makes some popula- tunities to access to resources.
tion groups more vulnerable than others, the (I thank Lu Yangxu for his contribution to
problem is just as or even more salient in the this entry. I also thank Jon Pedersen for his
post-disaster recovery phase. The improvement comments).
and recovery of the quality of life is the main
theme of post-disaster recovery or reconstruction.
Usually, each individual, family, community, and
References
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recovery. However, the resources, as well as the Bates, F. L., Farrell, W. T., Ferrate, L. A., Killian, S. D.,
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Blaikie, P. M., Wisner, B., & Davis, I., (2004). At risk:
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Ease of Doing Business Index 1753 E
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Description
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earthquake survivors in Pakistan. Psychology and
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logy Today, 11, 9396. ing with construction permits, registering prop-
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Businesses and disasters: Empirical patterns and unan-
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year after the 2008 Chinese earthquake. Children and
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in Asia: Research and policy challenges, Singapore.
economic efficiency. The underlying data is
Zhao, Y., Deng, D., & Li, R. (2010). Social Capital in
the Wenchuan Earthquake-affected Area. China Soft collected on the basis of a standardized survey
Science, 8, 9198. distributed to local experts, using a simple
E 1754 East Germany

business case with assumption on the legal form Hyland, B., Moene, K., & Willumsen, F. (2008). Be
of the business, its size, location, and nature of its careful when doing business. Report for the Norwe-
gian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Oslo, Norway:
operations. This allows for transparency, but ESOP.
a number of shortcomings have been recognized World Bank. (2003). Doing business in 2004: Under-
related to the geographical location of reference standing regulation. Washington, DC: Author.
(an economys largest business city), the selected World Bank. (2010). Doing business 2011: Making
a difference for entrepreneurs. Washington, DC:
business form, standardization of case scenarios, World Bank and International Finance Corporation.
subjectivity of time measures, and an assumption World Bank Independent Evaluation Group. (2008).
of fully available information for the businesses. Doing business: An independent evaluation-taking
the measure of the World Bank-IFC doing business
indicators. Washington, DC: Author.
Discussion
The topics included in the index have undergone
changes in the years. One of the topics previously
included employing workers has been criti-
cized (e.g., Berg & Cazes, 2007) for its implica- East Germany
tions with regard to flexible employment
regulation and the weak evidence for a strong Germany, Quality of Life
link between labor market deregulation and
improved economic performance. Further work
on a new work protection indicator is currently
taking place. Further methodological weaknesses
have been pointed out by the World Bank Inde- Easterlin Paradox
pendent Evaluation Group (2008) and Hyland,
Moene, and F.Willumsen (2008), especially with Conal Smith
regard to the relationship between the ranking OECD, Paris, France
and the underlying factor, the business climate,
and the implication this can have in terms of
policy analysis and targeted policy measures Synonyms
for improving countrys position.
Hedonic treadmill

Cross-References
Definition
Economic Efficiency
The Easterlin paradox is an empirical relation-
Governance
Index Construction ship observed between measures of overall
Indicators, Quality of Life subjective well-being (such as life satisfac-
tion or happiness) and income first noted by
Policy Analysis
Taxes Richard Easterlin (1974). In Easterlins original
Weighting Schemes article, he observed that, although higher
incomes are associated with higher levels of
happiness within a country, average levels of
happiness for a country do not appear to increase
References over time in line with increases in average
income. In other words, the rich are happier
Berg, J., & Cazes, S. (2007). The doing business indi-
cators: Measurement issues and political implications
than the poor, but there is no evidence that coun-
(Economic and Labour Market Paper 2007/6). Geneva, tries increase in average happiness as they get
Switzerland: International Labour Organization. richer.
Easterlin Paradox 1755 E
Description other reference group that determines their level of
happiness rather than the absolute income. In other
In the original formulation of the paradox, words, the rich are happier than the poor because
Easterlins analysis was largely limited to one they have a higher level of income than other people
country (the USA) with only limited data to which they compare themselves, not because of
available on other countries. Since then, better the absolute level of consumption which they are
information has indicated a strong empirical rela- able to sustain with their higher income. For a given
tionship across countries, with wealthy countries individual, increasing their income will move them
having a higher average level of happiness. In fact, up in the income distribution compared to their
there is a strong empirical relationship between the peers and therefore increase happiness. However,
E
logarithm of per capita Gross Domestic Product a general rise in income for all members of society
(GDP) and average happiness across countries. will leave average happiness unchanged since there
However, apart from this finding, there has been has been no change in the ranking of people in the
relatively little data since 1974 to substantively income distribution.
amend Easterlins original observation (Easterlin, A related concept is the notion of adaptation.
1995). Indeed, one of the most striking features of Some studies have suggested that people adapt to
the Easterlin paradox has been its robustness in the changes in their circumstances. An increase in
face of nearly four decades of accumulating data. income may initially raise happiness, but as
The Easterlin paradox is significant because it a person adapts to the new level of income, their
potentially calls into question one of the core happiness will return to its normal level. This is
assumptions of economics as a discipline: that sometimes referred to as the hedonic treadmill.
increasing income (and hence consumption Adaptation does not explain why the rich in any
possibilities) increases well-being. At a policy given society are happier than those with lower
level, if increasing the average level of income incomes but does account for why a rise in
in society does not increase the well-being of that incomes over time does not lead to a general
society, then the relevance of economic growth as rise in the average level of happiness in society.
a policy goal is called into question. A second group of explanations for the Easterlin
Because the Easterlin paradox is so coun- paradox focuses on the effect of factors other than
terintuitive when compared to the assumptions income on levels of happiness. It may be that while
underpinning traditional economic analysis, it higher incomes do lead to higher levels of happi-
has been the focus of extensive analysis. Expla- ness, we do not observe a rise in average levels of
nations accounting for the Easterlin paradox happiness as GDP increases because some other
remain one of the main topics of research in the factor important to happiness is moving in an off-
economics of happiness, and a range of different setting direction. Angeles (2011) finds that for the
hypotheses have been put forward. Broadly USA, the impact of the fall in the proportion of the
speaking, however, there are four main theories population who are married between the 1970s
accounting for the Easterlin paradox, not all of and the 2000s is, on its own, large enough to offset
which are mutually exclusive. The four theories the impact of higher levels of average income on
relate to social comparisons and adaptation, the expected level of happiness in the USA. Di
offsetting effects, measurement error, and Tella and MacCulloch (2008) examined a similar
whether there is an Easterlin paradox at all. hypothesis with respect to Europe but found the
The most prominent account of the Easterlin opposite result. The net effect of adding in addi-
paradox places its main emphasis on social tional variables known to have an effect on
comparisons and the role of adaptation to ones happiness was to increase the expected level of
current circumstances. Clarke, Frijters, and happiness compared to the actual change.
Shields (2008), for example, argue that the Easterlin et al. (2012) proposes a variant of
Easterlin paradox can be explained if it is this hypothesis to account for changes in the level
a persons relative income compared to some of life satisfaction in China between 1990 and
E 1756 Easterlin Paradox

2010. During this period, per capita GDP in micro or macro data, and the way in which ques-
China quadrupled, while life satisfaction fell at tions of subjective well-being are framed.
first and then began to rise, although still not The final approach to the Easterlin paradox is to
returning to its 1990 levels by 2010. This pattern argue that it does not in fact exist. Deaton (2007)
is consistent with a weak positive effect of real demonstrates a strong, linear relationship between
income on life satisfaction that has been offset by the logarithm of per capita GDP and life satisfaction.
a large initial fall in life satisfaction due to Sacks, Stevenson, and Wolfers (2010) extend this to
a pronounced rise in unemployment, growing compare the relationship between income and life
inequality, and an accompanying dissolution in satisfaction at an aggregate level and at an individual
the social safety net associated with rapid eco- level. Showing that the relationship is largely the
nomic change. A similar pattern is seen in many same at both levels of analysis, it is argued that this
East European transition economies. only makes sense if it is the absolute level of income
The third type of explanation for the Easterlin that drives life satisfaction, not the relative level.
paradox focuses on the measurement issues asso- Further, Sacks, Stevenson, and Wolfers provide
ciated with subjective well-being. The main data some examples of where life satisfaction has
sets for which long time series on subjective well- moved in line with per capita GDP across
being are available (e.g., Eurobarometer) are a number of countries.
based on relatively small sample sizes, and there Evidence on the reason for the Easterlin
is therefore a relatively large degree of noise paradox is currently unclear. Depending on the
associated with measured levels of subjective data set, time frame considered, and methodology,
well-being. There is general agreement that studies can be found supporting a range of differ-
the relationship between income and happiness ent positions. Given the centrality of the relation-
across countries declines as income increases ship between income and well-being both to public
(i.e., each additional amount of income produces policy and to economics as a discipline, the
less subjective well-being). Because most of the Easterlin paradox remains a significant area of
countries for which time series information on research within the economics of happiness.
subjective well-being is available are relatively
wealthy, the effect of income growth may be too
small to be observed in existing data. In this case, Cross-References
a stronger relationship between trends in income
and subjective well-being for developing nations Consumption Externalities
may become apparent as longer time series Happiness
become available for these countries. Life Satisfaction
A number of authors have noted other Subjective Well-being
measurement issues that may account for the
Easterlin paradox. While there is a robust empir-
ical relationship between life satisfaction and
References
GDP per capita across countries, this relationship
is much weaker for measures of happiness Angeles, L. (2011). A closer look at the Easterlin Paradox.
(Diener, Kahneman, Tov & Arora, 2010; The Journal of Socio-Economics, 40, 6773.
Kahneman & Deaton, 2010). Both Easterlins Clark, A., Frijters, P., & Shields, M. (2008). Relative
Income, happiness, and Utility: An explanation for
original 1974 article and much of the subsequent the Easterlin Paradox and other puzzles. Journal of
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(NBER Working Paper 13317).
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Di Tella, R., & MacCulloch, R. (2008). Gross national
(2011), who emphasizes the sensitivity of results happiness as an answer to the Easterlin Paradox?
to the method of analysis used, the choice of Journal of Development Economics, 86, 2242.
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Easterlin, R. (1995). Will raising the incomes of all
increase the happiness of all? Journal of Economic The eating disorders (EDs) are mental disorders
Behaviour and Organization, 27(1), 3547. that can have a significant impact on both mental
Easterlin, R., Morgan, R., Switek, M., & Wang, F. (2012). E
Chinas life satisfaction, 19902010. Proceedings of the and physical functioning. The major categories of
National Academy of Sciences, 109(25), 97759780. eating disorders include anorexia nervosa (AN),
Graham, C. (2011). Does more money make you happier? bulimia nervosa (BN), and eating disorder not
Why so much debate? Applied Research in Quality of otherwise specified (EDNOS). AN involves
Life, 6, 219239.
Kahneman, D., & Deaton, A. (2010). High income refusal to maintain at least 85 % of expected
improves evaluation of life but not emotional normal weight, intense fear of gaining weight,
well-being. Proceedings of the National Academy of shape and weight concerns, and amenorrhea.
Sciences, 107(38), 1648916493. BN involves recurrent episodes of binge eating,
Sacks, D., Stevenson, B., & Wolfers, J. (2010). Subjective
well-being, income, economic development and consuming a large amount of food while losing
growth (NBER working paper 16441). control over eating, compensatory behavior to
prevent weight gain (e.g., self-induced vomiting),
and shape and weight concerns. These disorders
affect predominantly women. EDNOS is defined
Eat Local Campaigns
as any clinically significant eating disorder that
does not meet criteria for AN or BN. The most
Local Food Movements (100-Mile Diet)
widely studied category of EDNOS is binge eat-
ing disorder (BED), in which recurrent binge
eating episodes are not accompanied by compen-
Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) satory behaviors. BED frequently co-occurs with
obesity, and patients often exhibit significant
Caregivers of Patients with Eating Disorders, shape and weight concerns as well.
Quality of Life
Assessment of Health-Related Quality
of Life in EDs
Eating Disorder(s) and Health- The potential health implications associated with
Related Quality of Life AN, BN, and EDNOS are vast, ranging from
dental enamel erosion and acid reflux to osteopo-
Janet D. Latner1, Mackenzie C. Kelly2 and rosis and kidney damage (e.g., Mehler, 2011). In
Jessica M. Murakami1 addition to the physical impacts, EDs are associ-
1
University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA ated with impairment in psychological, social,
2
Department of Psychology, University of emotional, and cognitive functioning. Generic
Hawaii at Manoa, USA health-related quality of life (HRQOL) mea-
sures have been used to assess the level of impair-
ment associated with EDs. Generic measures
Synonyms commonly used in ED research include the
Medical Outcomes Studies 36-item (SF-36;
Anorexia nervosa; Binge eating disorder; Ware & Sherbourne, 1992), 20-item (SF-20;
Bulimia nervosa; Eating disturbances Stewart, Hays, & Ware, 1988), and 12-item
E 1758 Eating Disorder(s) and Health-Related Quality of Life

(SF-12; Ware, Kosinski, & Keller, 1996) Short- (see Jenkins, Hoste, Meyer, & Blissett, 2011 for
Form Scales. These measures have been well a review). When samples of patients with differ-
validated and allow researchers to compare ED ent eating disorders (AN, BN, BED, EDNOS) are
patients with other populations. However, it has combined, they exhibit significantly greater
been suggested that ED patients experience impairment in HRQOL than normal control
a pattern of impairment that may not be adequately populations.
accounted for by these global, generic measures of Subclinical EDs, such as binge eating, are also
HRQOL (Tirico, Stefano, & Blay, 2010). associated with impairment in QOL. Compared
Recently, HRQOL measures have been to individuals who do not report binge eating, but
adapted for specific use in eating disorder report other physical or mental disorders, binge
populations. The measures are designed to iden- eaters experience greater impairment in bodily
tify differences between individuals with differ- pain and social functioning (Spitzer et al.,
ent ED diagnoses (i.e., AN, BN, EDNOS) and 1995). Notably, former ED patients who no lon-
contain items that have been tailored to reflect the ger experience symptoms of the disorder also
domains of impairment associated with EDs report lower QOL than healthy comparisons (de
(e.g., behavior, eating disorder feelings, effects la Rie, Noordenbos, & van Furth, 2005). These
on daily life, school and work, financial effects, results suggest that ED pathology is associated
effects on acute medical status and body weight, with significant impairment in multiple life
and psychological impacts). There are currently domains, even when the individual has recovered
four measures that assess ED-specific QOL: or does not fully meet criteria to be diagnosed
Quality of Life for Eating Disorders (Abraham, with an ED.
Brown, Boyd, Luscombe, & Russell, 2006), Patients with AN and BN show significant
Eating Disorders Quality of Life (Engel et al., impairment in QOL relative to both healthy con-
2006), Health-Related Quality of Life in Eating trols and physically ill individuals without mental
Disorders (Las Hayas et al., 2006, 2007), and illness (e.g., individuals with cystic fibrosis or
Eating Disorders Quality of Life Scale (Adair heart transplant candidates). Compared with
et al., 2007). The measures highlight differences physically ill patients, ED patients reported sig-
between AN, BN, and EDNOS and allow for nificantly more impaired emotional reaction,
comparisons between the diagnoses. The Clinical social isolation, and relationships (Keilen,
Impairment Assessment (Bohn & Fairburn, Treasure, Schmidt, & Treasure, 1994). ED
2008) is a HRQOL measure that does not contain patients also reported similar impairments in
ED-specific items, but assesses life domains that sleep and energy to cardiac patients.
are typically impacted by ED psychopathology, Patients with EDs have been compared to
such as mood and self-perception, cognitive individuals diagnosed with mood disorders on
and interpersonal functioning, and work perfor- generic HRQOL measures. ED patients have
mance. Additional research is needed to further reported significantly better physical functioning
validate these ED-specific measures and to eval- and bodily pain, but significantly poorer social
uate long-term changes in patients ED-related functioning, emotional role functioning, and
HRQOL over time. mental health than clinically depressed patients
(de la Rie et al., 2005). However, it difficult to
Impairment in EDs Relative to Other Individuals compare EDs with other mental disorders due to
ED patients exhibit greater impairment on the the high comorbidity between EDs and other
mental and psychological subscales of QOL mea- psychological disorders such as anxiety and
sures than on the physical subscales of QOL mood disorders.
measures. Studies have repeatedly shown that
individuals with EDs experience significant Types of Eating Disorder Diagnoses
impairment on the mental health subscales of Possibly due to the relative rarity of eating disor-
QOL measures compared to healthy populations ders in the general population (Hudson, Hiripi,
Eating Disorder(s) and Health-Related Quality of Life 1759 E
Harrison, Pope, & Kessler, 2007), few studies those with BN in the domains of body weight,
have examined differences in QOL between spe- eating behavior, and eating disorder symptoms,
cific ED diagnoses. Even fewer have done so as well as significantly greater global impairment
using ED-specific QOL measures (Jenkins et al., compared to those with EDNOS or no diagnosis.
2011). While having a current ED is indicative Those with BN also reported significantly greater
of similar or worse QOL than other psychiatric impairment across nearly all domains compared
conditions, the data are mixed on differences in to those with EDNOS and no disorder. Similar
QOL impairment between ED diagnoses as well findings were replicated in additional studies
as subthreshold eating pathology. The current using ED-specific measures across a variety of
research highlights the complexity of QOL dif- treatment settings (Munoz et al. 2009; Bamford &
E
ferences between eating disorder diagnoses and Sly, 2010).
the need for multi-measure, ED-specific assess- Within EDs, patients with BED most consis-
ment of QOL. Some evidence points to limited tently report the poorest QOL when assessed with
differences in QOL among patients with AN, BN, both ED-specific and generic measures of QOL.
BED, and EDNOS when assessed using generic Individuals with BED have reported the poorest
measures of QOL (de la Rie et al., 2005; scores on the SF-36 in the emotional and physical
Padierna, Quintana, Arostegui, Gonzalez, & domains compared to other ED patients (Doll,
Horcajo, 2000). Mond and colleagues (2005) Petersen, & Stewart-Brown, 2005; Padierna,
used two generic measures of QOL (the SF-12 & Quintana, Arostegui, Gonzalez and Horcajo
WHOQOL-BREF) to assess women diagnosed 2000). As BED is frequently associated with obe-
with the restrictive subtype of anorexia nervosa sity (Grilo, 2002), these scores may reflect greater
(AN-R), the purging subtype of anorexia nervosa physical limitations and dissatisfaction with
(AN-P), BN, BED, and normal controls. As weight gain. However, obese BED patients may
expected, eating disorder patients experienced still be more impaired than obese non-BED
marked impairment in health-related and subjec- patients. Masheb and Grilo (2004) found that
tive QOL compared to normal controls. How- individuals with BED scored worse on the
ever, AN-R patients reported significantly better SF-36 than obese, non-BED treatment seekers
QOL than other eating disordered groups, with in terms of mental health, emotional role limita-
social relationship QOL comparable to the non- tion, social functioning, and vitality. It is impor-
eating disordered controls. However, it has been tant to note that there is additional evidence
noted that some ED patients lack insight into the suggesting that individuals with eating pathology
full severity and implications of their disorder who do not meet full diagnostic criteria (i.e.,
and that generic QOL measures do not adequately partial or subclinical pathology) experience
account for this poor insight. Additionally, the more distress (Chamay-Weber, Narring, &
ego-syntonic nature of EDs, particularly AN-R, Michaud, 2005; Cotrufo, Barretta, Monteleone, &
may account for the elevated QOL scores on the Mag, 1998; Cotrufo, Gnisci, & Caputo, 2005) and
generic measures (Latner, Vallance, & Buckett, QOL impairment than individuals without eating
2008; Williams & Reid, 2009). pathology (Doll et al., 2005; Mond & Hay, 2007;
When ED-specific QOL measures were used, Mond, Hay, Rodgers, Owen, & Beumont, 2005).
patients with AN were found to be more impaired Mond and Hay (2007) also found that women
across several QOL domains compared to their with subclinical eating pathology experience
BN and EDNOS counterparts. Furthermore, the more impairment related to weight and shape
use of these ED-specific measures revealed more concerns, whereas men with similar levels of
differences between eating disordered patholo- pathology were also impaired by binge eating
gies than did generic measures. Abraham et al. and fasting. The limited research on subclinical
(2006) used the Quality of Life for Eating Disor- eating pathology indicates that QOL is poorer in
ders measure and found significantly greater individuals with any level of ED pathology than
impairment in patients with AN compared to in those unaffected by weight and shape concerns.
E 1760 Eating Disorder(s) and Health-Related Quality of Life

Types of Disordered Eating Behaviors be as important as larger binge episodes in the


and Attitudes impairment and suffering that they signal.
Several studies have examined the relationship In addition to the behavioral symptoms of
between certain behavioral features of eating eating disorders that are associated with impair-
disturbances and QOL. Such research increases ment in QOL, there is evidence that the attitudi-
our understanding of which specific symptoms nal aspects of eating disorders may also be
and dysfunctional behaviors may be associated associated with functional impairment. How-
with the reduction in QOL seen in ED patients. ever, less is known about the contribution of
Evidence suggests that self-induced vomiting is attitudinal disturbances to the functional impair-
significantly associated with QOL (Gonzalez- ment in EDs. Emerging research suggests that
Pinto et al., 2004; Hay, 2003; Padierna, shape and weight concern may be paramount in
Quintana, Arostegui, Gonzalez, & Horcajo, predicting the functional impairment in QOL
2000). This is unsurprising in light of the multi- demonstrated among both patient samples
ple physical and emotional consequences of (Lobera & Ros, 2011) and community samples
purging. In addition, even though normal phys- (Mond, Hay, Rodgers, & Owen, 2011) of eating
ical activity improves health and well-being, disorders. Similarly, in individuals without eat-
excessive exercise of the magnitude that eating ing disorders, body dissatisfaction is associated
disorder patients engage in is associated with with significant QOL impairment (Cash &
significant impairment in QOL (Mond, Hay, Fleming, 2002; Mond & Hay, 2007). Body dis-
Rodgers, & Owen, 2006). satisfaction may even predict reduction in men-
Binge eating behavior, the consumption of tal QOL to a greater extent than other features of
a large amount of food accompanied by a loss eating disorders, such as binge eating, vomiting,
of control over eating, has been shown to be and laxative misuse (Mond, Hay, Rodgers, &
associated with quality of life impairment Owen, 2011). Overall, there is a need for
(Hay, 2003; Mond, Latner, Hay, Owen, & Rod- early intervention and detection of eating distur-
gers, 2010). As described above, the different bance and body image dissatisfaction to protect
diagnostic categories that involve binge eating individuals with eating disorder symptoms
can all involve QOL impairment, including and body dissatisfaction from a further deterio-
BED, AN (binge-purge subtype), and BN. ration in QOL.
Emerging evidence suggests that a variant of
binge eating, subjective bulimic episodes,
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Munoz, P., Quintana, J. M., Las Hayas, C., Aguirre, U.,


Padierna, A., & Gonzalez-Torres, M. A. (2009). Eco-efficiency
Assessment of the impact of eating disorders on
quality of life using the disease-specific, Health-
Related Quality of Life for Eating Disorders Qunwei Wang
(HeRQoLED) questionnaire. Quality of Life Research, Dongwu Business School, Soochow University,
18, 11371146. Nanjing University of Aeronautics and
Padierna, A., Quintana, J. M., Arostegui, I., Gonzalez, N.,
& Horcajo, M. J. (2000). The health-related quality of Astronautics, Suzhou, China
life in eating disorders. Quality of Life Research, 9,
667674.
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primary care patients with mental disorders: Results Ecological efficiency
from the PRIME-MD 1000 study. Journal of the
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MOS short-form general health survey: Reliability and Definition
validity in a patient population. Medical Care, 26,
724735. The term eco-efficiency (EE) was coined by
Tirico, P. P., Stefano, S. C., & Blay, S. L. (2010). Validity the World Business Council for Sustainable
studies of quality of life instruments for eating
disorders: Systematic review of the literature. The Development (WBCSD) in its 1992 publication
Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 198, Changing Course. It is based on the concept of
854859. creating more goods and services while using
Vallance, J. K., Latner, J. D., & Gleaves, D. H. (2011). The fewer resources and creating less waste and
relationship between eating disorder psychopathology
and health-related quality of life within a community pollution.
sample. Quality of Life Research, 20, 675682. According to the WBCSD definition, eco-
Ware, J. E., & Sherbourne, C. D. (1992). The MOS efficiency is achieved through the delivery of
36-item Short Form health survey (SF-36) I: Concep- competitively priced goods and services that
tual framework and item selection. Medical Care, 30,
473483. satisfy human needs and bring quality of life
Ware, J. E., Kosinski, M., & Keller, S. D. (1996). while progressively reducing environmental
A 12-item short-form health survey: Construction of impacts of goods and resource intensity through-
scales and preliminary tests of reliability and validity. out the entire life-cycle to a level at least in line
Medical Care, 34, 220233.
Williams, S., & Reid, M. (2009). Understanding the with the Earths estimated carrying capacity.
experience of ambivalence in anorexia nervosa: The
maintainers perspective. Psychology and Health, 25,
551567. Description

The concept of eco-efficiency can be traced back


to the 1970s as environmental efficiency
Eating Disturbances proposed by Freeman, Haveman, and Kneese
(1973). In the 1990s, Schaltegger and Sturm
Eating Disorder(s) and Health-Related Quality introduced eco-efficiency as a business link to
of Life sustainable development (Erkko, Melanen, &
Mickwitz, 2005). Later, this concept is intro-
duced to the world by World Business Council
for Sustainable Development (WBCSD, 2000)
in 1992. Not surprisingly, eco-efficiency has
Ecocities received significant attention in the literature on
sustainable development. Eco-efficiency plays
Sustainable Communities Movement an important role in expressing how efficient
Eco-efficiency 1763 E
economic activity is with regard to natures goods it is also useful to compare the merits of
and services. Although there are different descrip- products, technical process, and production
tions about eco-efficiency, it is usually expressed technology in different enterprises (Huppes,
and measured as eco-efficiency product or ser- Davidson, Kuyper, et al., 2007). The regional
vice value/environmental influence by WBCSD. eco-efficiency evaluation expands the contents
According to the WBCSD, seven critical aspects to society and people (Hinterberger, Bam-
of eco-efficiency are: berger, Manstein, et al., 2000). It emphasizes
A reduction in the material intensity of goods that the use of resources should meet humans
or services needs.
A reduction in the energy intensity of goods or The definition and expression of eco-
E
services efficiency given by WBCSD is most widely
Reduced dispersion of toxic materials spread; then how are the numerator and denomi-
Improved recyclability nator of product or service value and environ-
Maximum use of renewable resources mental influence determined? This is currently
Greater durability of products a subject of international research and develop-
Increased service intensity of goods and ment (Seppala et al., 2005). For the time being,
services there are a variety of recommendations for the
The concept given by WBCSD is comprised in exact meanings of these indicators and how they
three broad objectives where the seven elements should be quantified. As regards the value part,
are found in the objectives: for example, WBCSD (2000) takes the quantity
Reducing the consumption of resources. Mini- of product/service produced or sold and net
mizing the use of energy, material, water, sales as generally applicable indicators and treats
and land. Increase the recyclability, product value added as a business-specific indicator,
durability, and closing material loops. while United Nations Conference on Trade and
Reducing the impact on nature. Minimizing Development (UNCTAD, 2003) states that only
emissions to air and discharges to water, value added is under control of enterprises and
waste disposal, and use of nonrenewable considers that it should be a generally applicable
resources. indicator.
Increasing product or service value. Providing As regards the environmental influence or
more customer benefits, for example, through environmental impacts, WBCSD (2000) pro-
product functionality and flexibility, the vides several business-specific indicators and
customer receives the same or an enhanced five generally applicable indicators, namely,
function with less resources and materials. energy consumption, water consumption, mate-
Since the philosophies of sustainable rial consumption, greenhouse gas, and ozone-
development and low-carbon development depleting substance. UNCTAD (2003) also
are accepted by more and more people, presents environmental-performance indicators,
eco-efficiency has been widely applied at dif- such as water use, energy use, global-warming
ferent levels. According to the classification contribution, ozone-depleting substance, and
(Li, Hui, Leung, Li, & Xu, 2010), the applica- waste. While referring to the regional environ-
tions of eco-efficiency can be summarized as mental impact indicators, Mickwitz, Melanen,
enterprise, industry, and region. The enter- Rosenstrom, and Seppala (2006) apply physical
prises eco-efficiency performance focuses on inputoutput tables of Kymenlaaksos regional
business opportunities and allows companies to economy to produce indicators for natural
become more environmentally responsible and resource consumption, such as total material
more profitable (WBCSD, 2000). From the per- requirement (TMR) or direct material input
spective of industry, eco-efficiency can help (DMI). Besides, Li et al. (2010) and other
the managers to improve economic effi- researchers also give some indicators according
ciency and environmental performance, and to their research topics.
E 1764 Ecofeminism

To measure and evaluate eco-efficiency, Huppes, G., Davidson, M. D., Kuyper, J., et al. (2007).
several methods are proposed and adopted. Life Eco-efficiency environmental policy in oil and gas
production in Netherland. Ecological Economics, 61,
Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Data Envelop- 4351.
ment Analysis (DEA) are mostly used. LCA is Kuosmanen, T., Bijsterbosch, N., & Dellink, R. (2009).
a useful and powerful methodology for assessing Environmental cost-benefit analysis of alternative
the environmental performance of a product or timing strategies in greenhouse gas abatement:
A data envelopment analysis approach. Ecological
process using a comprehensive approach that Economics, 68, 16331642.
takes into account the whole life cycle of the Kuosmanen, T., & Kortelainen, M. (2007). Eco-efficiency
products (Lozano, Iribarren, Moreira, & Feijoo, analysis of consumer durables using absolute shadow
2009). It converts inventory data to a reduced prices. Journal of Productivity Analysis, 28, 5769.
Li, D. Z., Hui, C. M., Leung, Y. H., Li, Q. M., & Xu, X.
number of environmental indicators which lead (2010). A methodology for eco-efficiency evaluation
to the identification of hot spots and to the of residential development at city level. Building and
consistent definition of the corresponding Environment, 45, 566573.
environmental improvement actions. DEA has Lozano, S., Iribarren, D., Moreira, M., & Feijoo, G.
(2009). The link between operational efficiency and
been proposed for environmental-performance environmental impacts: A joint application of Life
analysis of industrial plants, economic sectors, Cycle Assessment and Data Envelopment Analysis.
countries, etc. (Zhou, Ang, & Poh, 2006). Science of the Total Environment, 407, 17441754.
It has also been used for eco-efficiency assess- Mickwitz, P., Melanen, M., Rosenstrom, U., & Seppala, J.
(2006). Regional eco-efficiency indicators-a participa-
ment of processes and products (Kuosmanen & tory approach. Journal of Cleaner Production,
Kortelainen, 2007). An interesting new develop- 14, 16031611.
ment is the use of DEA within an Environmental Sepplala, J., Melanen, M., Maenpaa, I., et al. (2005). How
Cost Benefit Analysis (ECBA) approach that can the eco-efficiency of a region be measured and
monitored? Journal of Industrial Ecology, 9, 117130.
takes into account the time dimension of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
environmental impacts, something that also [UNCTAD]. (2003). Integrating environmental and
occurs in LCA (Kuosmanen, Bijsterbosch, & financial performance at the enterprise level:
Dellink, 2009). A methodology for standardizing eco-efficiency
indicators. Geneva: United Nations Publication.
World Business Council for Sustainable Development
[WBCSD]. (2000). Measuring eco-efficiency: A guide
to reporting company performance. Geneva: Author.
Cross-References Zhou, P., Ang, B. W., & Poh, K. L. (2006). Slacks-based
efficiency measures for modelling environmental
Data Envelopment Analysis performance. Ecological Economics, 60, 111118.
Economic Efficiency
Low-Carbon Development
Sustainable Development
Ecofeminism

References Trish Glazebrook


Department of Philosophy and Religion Studies,
Erkko, S., Melanen, M., & Mickwitz, P. (2005). University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA
Eco-efficiency in the Finnish EMAS reports -a buzz
word? Journal of Cleaner Production, 13, 799813.
Freeman, A. M., III, Haveman, R. H., & Kneese, A. V.
(1973). The economics of environmental policy. Synonyms
New York: Wiley.
Hinterberger, F., Bamberger, K., Manstein, C., et al. Critical feminist eco-socialism; Ecological femi-
(2000). Eco-efficiency of regions: How to improve
nism; Feminist environmentalism; Gender and
competitiveness and create jobs by reducing environ-
mental pressure. Vienna: Sustainable Europe the environment; Global feminist environmental
Research Institute (SERI). justice; Social ecofeminism
Ecofeminism 1765 E
Definition that Women must see that there can be no liber-
ation for them and no solution to ecological crisis
Ecofeminism is the theory and practice of within a society whose fundamental model of
examining and challenging the political, social, relationships continues to be one of domination
historical, epistemological, and conceptual (Ruether, 1975). In 1978, Susan Griffins Woman
links between the domination of women and and Nature drew attention the ways in which
the exploitation of nature. It has evolved women and nature, and those associated with
into a movement that connects all the -isms a feminine, natural or primitive state, are
of domination, e.g., racism, sexism, and constructed as inferior to men and culture
classism, with the exploitation, degradation, and (Griffin, 1978), while Mary Dalys Gyn/Ecology
E
destruction of natural entities, habitats, and catalogued various cultural practices used to
ecosystems. control the minds and bodies of women. Daly
recommended women-centered language and
myth to protect and heal both women and the
Description earth (Daly, 1978).
Carolyn Merchants The Death of Nature
Ecofeminism has conceptual beginnings in the in 1980 analyzed Bacons usage of witch trial
work of Simone de Beauvoir who pointed out in discourse in his account of the experimental
1952 in The Second Sex that in the logic of method to show that Enlightenment science is
patriarchy, both women and nature appear as a patriarchal knowledge system that dominates
other (de Beauvoir, 2010). In the 1970s, it nature by feminizing it, and that such investi-
flourished in both France and North America. gation of nature for the sake of control, in con-
In 1974 in France, Luce Irigaray diagnosed junction with capitalism, supports destructive
philosophically a phallic logic of the Same processes of industrialization (Merchant, 1980).
that precludes representation of alterity, thereby In 1984, Ariel Salleh, an Australian sociologist,
subjecting woman and nature to mans domi- argued in Environmental Ethics that ecofeminism
nation (Irigaray, 1985). In the same year, is deeper than deep ecology, thereby beginning
Francoise dEaubonne coined the term leco- the deep ecology/ecofeminism debate that con-
feminisme to point to the necessity for tinued into the 1990s (Salleh, 1992). Her eco-
women to bring about ecological revolution socialist ecofeminism uses a Marxist materialist
(dEaubonne, 1974). She used the slogan approach to reject both anthropocentric reduc-
Feminism or death [Le feminisme ou la mort] tions of nature and women to their use-value
to argue that patriarchy is the source of and deep ecologys biocentric obliviousness
a double threat to humanity: overpopulation, to environmental justice issues in its focus on
caused by an excess of reproduction through wilderness ethics. Salleh is also an activist,
exploitation of female reproductive power, and demonstrating that ecofeminism goes beyond
resource scarcity, caused by an excess of theory to praxis.
production through the exploitation of natural In 1990, also in Environmental Ethics, Karen
resources. Feminism or death was a battle Warren published a widely cited and often
cry but also a warning that human beings reprinted ecofeminist paper, The Power and
cannot survive the ecological consequences of Promise of Ecological Feminism, arguing that
patriarchy. patriarchy is an oppressive conceptual frame-
In North America, in the same year Irigaray work that subjects women and nature to a logic
and dEaubonne were writing in France, Sandra of domination (Warren, 1996). Such logics
Marburg and Lisa Watson hosted a conference at begin with a dualism, e.g., man/woman, man/
the University of California, Berkeley, entitled nature, and reason/emotion. One term is then
Women and the Environment. The following privileged and its privilege used to justify domi-
year 1975 Rosemary Radford Ruether argued nation of the other. Warren reproduces the line of
E 1766 Ecofeminism

thinking that supports the logic of domination influential in consolidating ecofeminism by


justifying the human subordination of nature: editing a special issue of Hypatia in 1991 on
Premise I: Humans do, and plants, animals, ecological feminism, updated into Ecological
and rocks do not, have the capacity to con- Feminist Philosophies in 1996 (Warren, 1996).
sciously and radically change the communi- Warrens second edited volume, Ecofeminism:
ties in which they live in self-determined Women, Culture, Nature, extended ecofeminism
ways. beyond philosophy into race studies, postcolonial
Premise II: Whatever has the capacity to studies, and other focused debates in the politics
consciously and radically change the commu- of alterity (Warren, 1997). Warrens contribution
nity in which it lives in self-determined ways to ecofeminism is significant because her edito-
is morally superior to whatever lacks this rial work in assembling contributions into
capacity. volumes maps the variety of orientations and
Premise III: Humans are morally superior to disciplinary perspectives within ecofeminism,
plants, animals, and rocks. because she provides a defense for rupturing
Conclusion: Humans are morally justified in traditional conceptions of philosophical
subordinating (dominating) plants, animals, method, and because she believes in taking
and rocks. empirical data seriously, thereby taking
She offers a further articulation of the patriar- womens lived experience rather than abstract
chal logic of domination within which nature and theory as the starting point for ecofeminist anal-
human others are dominated and subordinated: ysis and expanding the ecofeminist purview to
Premise I: At least in Western societies, when- international issues, marginalized groups, and
ever a group is historically identified with womens experiences in the global South
nonhuman nature and the realm of the physi- (Warren, 1997).
cal, it is conceptualized as morally inferior to Val Plumwood also diagnosed mastery in
whatever group is historically identified with Feminism and the Mastery of Nature, wherein
culture and the realm of the mental. she argued for an ecological, feminist transfor-
Premise II: At least in Western societies, those mation (Plumwood, 1993). Like Warren, she
who fall outside of the mythical norm, as argues that mastery depends logically on dual-
a group, have historically have been identified isms that underwrite hierarchies that justify
with nonhuman nature and the realm of the power differentials. In the dualisms, human/
physical, while at least dominant men have nature and man/woman, human and man
been historically identified with culture and are constructed in polarized ways by the
the realm of the mental. exclusion of qualities shared with the other; the
Premise III: At least in Western societies, any- dominant side is taken as primary, the subordi-
one who does not meet the mythical norm is, nated side is defined in relation to it, and any
as a group, conceptualized as morally inferior dependence of the former on the latter is denied.
to at least dominant men. To remedy dualism, Plumwood offers five steps
Conclusion: At least in Western societies, toward better respecting other people as well as
dominant men are justified in subordinating earth-others:
(or dominating) anyone who does not meet 1. Reject of denials of dependence on subordi-
the mythical norm along with nature. nated others.
Warrens Power and Promise is recognized 2. Admit the enormous contribution subordi-
for its account and justification of narrative nated others make to the systems that allow
method that uses articulation of concrete, situated reason and logic to function.
lived experience as a basis for ethical reasoning 3. End the radical separation of marginalized
and action, in contrast to the experimental perspectives from hegemonic ideas and
method of the sciences and logical argument ideologies.
of traditional philosophy. Warren was further 4. Celebrate differences of identity.
Ecofeminism 1767 E
5. Stop reducing people and the earth to mere and ecosystems. Three main philosophical
resources, and reject the universalizing essen- criticisms have also emerged over the course of
tialism that lies at the foundation of dualisms. ecofeminisms development. The first is that eco-
Plumwood claims that these correctives help feminism stops being feminism as such insofar
one learn how to think inclusively and to respect as feminism addresses oppression on the basis
the agency of the other, whether human or not. of gender, while ecofeminism treats all the
Her final word of advice is to build connections -isms of domination with nothing unique to or
between humans and nonhumans carefully in especially significant about gender oppression.
order not to overidentify or subsume the other; Secondly, to the extent that ecofeminism is
a thoughtful political agent recognizes the agency philosophy, its premises do not support its con-
E
of others. Plumwoods ecofeminism is informed clusions, so it is poorly done philosophy. Thirdly,
by her encounter with a crocodile in 1984 during feminists argue that ecofeminism is essentialist.
which she nearly lost her life. She reflects that this The first charge, that ecofeminism is no
event has come to have significance for her that longer feminism, can be attributed directly to its
is quite the opposite of that conveyed in the breadth. The demand that any feminism should
master/monster narrative. It is a humbling and focus solely on gender is, however, shortsighted
cautionary tale about our relationship with the because women are not just women in separation
earth, about the need to acknowledge our own from other aspects of their identity women are
animality and ecological vulnerability. raced, classed, sexed, cultured, diversely abled,
The application of Plumwoods theory can be and aged. To only analyze a situation only from
found in the work of diverse scholars. Chaone a gender standpoint ignores the full spectrum of
Mallorys ecofeminist political philosophy ques- womens experiences. Womens complex
tions the bounds of political solidarity between situatedness, replete with intersecting factors of
humans and nonhumans and the boundaries of identity and oppression, is central to their expe-
solidarity and reversal (Mallory, 2009). Ulti- rience, and this recognition of the fullness and
mately, Mallory does not come to a conclusion of particularity of womens self arises directly from
what an appropriate political solidarity might feminist analysis (Lorde, 1984). Ecofeminist
look like, but she poses important questions interest in all the -isms of domination is thus
for any thinker who aims to escape dualistic central to its function as ecofeminism rather
logic. Robert Higgins shows in the realm of envi- than its interruption. Moreover, recognition of
ronmental justice how a logic of domination these aspects of identity as constituting womens
makes possible social practices that allow and self entails understanding that women are
tolerate people of color bearing a disproportion- embodied, which, in contrast to the abstract uni-
ate burden with respect to pollution in the United versalized ego of traditional modern philosophy,
States (Higgins, 1994). Higgins demonstrates is a focal insight at the heart of feminist philoso-
how such logic does not always operate at the phy. The ecofeminist insight that women are
conscious level, yet has devastating effects. embodied in a physical and natural, as well as
Ecofeminism has accordingly grown and social, environment is not only made possible by
developed substantially from its beginnings in the feminism at the heart of ecofeminism but
1974. It began as a philosophical, theoretical constitutes a further contribution to feminist ana-
analysis aimed at exploring the ways that the lysis of womens embodied existence. To docu-
oppression of women is deeply connected to the ment and assess womens experience without
exploitation of nature and in the early twenty-first including environmental factors is to work with
century has grown into an interdisciplinary col- a deficient theoretical framework, and hence to
lection of diverse scholars, men and women, undermine the possibility that such work might
whose work both supposes and shows that increase womens empowerment. Environmental
oppression must be thought and fought holisti- factors, for example, have a significant impact
cally to include both human and nonhuman others on womens reproductive health in ways that
E 1768 Ecofeminism

affect their experiences of and relations with does not work like that. But it is an important
children, partners, colleagues, and other compan- method for ecofeminists who are not always
ions who are central in womens experience and aiming just to establish a truth about the world
lives, and deeply influence their situation in but to articulate social and ethical criticism. Nar-
the world. rative method can serve, for example, to diagnose
The second charge is that ecofeminism is ethical issues and to indicate what potential solu-
philosophically weak in that its premises do not tions might look like. Ecofeminism has access to
support its conclusions, in particular, because practices, strategies, and insights from various
those premises have not been proven. For exam- traditions, some of which are not academic, e.g.,
ple, ecofeminism assumes that the oppression of traditional ecological knowledge systems, that
women and the exploitation of nature are inher- support feminist challenges to the very core of
ently linked, but this is not necessarily true as the traditional philosophy. Traditionally, philosophy
historical copresence of these two dominations has sought objective truths for universalized
could be historically contingent. Part of the knowers; feminists argue that knowledge is
issue here is that ecofeminism, like much embodied and accordingly conditioned by con-
environmental philosophy, is inherently interdis- text, experience, and location, and that the very
ciplinary. The assumption, for example, that notion of a universal knower is a patriarchal and
there is a strong correlation between environ- Eurocentrically privileging construct that itself
mental degradation and womens experience of arises in the concrete historical context of the
poverty in the global South is well documented so-called West. Ecofeminists understand through
and established in branches of economics, poli- their feminism that theoretical assumptions about
tical science, and international development the universality of knowledge have been damag-
studies. Yet it may be a novel insight to philoso- ing in practice to women. They understand fur-
phers. The demand that ecofeminists reproduce ther that such assumptions have also been
such well-recognized and accepted theses from damaging to nature, and Merchant, Plumwood,
other disciplines in their work is prohibitive as it and Glazebrook have shown in particular how
means that each contribution must start from objectivity in science informs the human relation
scratch and risk the alternative criticisms of to nature. Ecofeminists argue that ethical atti-
repetitiveness and redundancy, as well as tudes require caring. Glazebrook in particular
exceed many journals length guidelines. In argues that ethical knowledge is doubly partial
this sense, ecofeminism is vulnerable to the crit- (Glazebrook, 2005). First, it is fragmentary and
icisms and disciplinary marginalizations of any finite rather than universal, and second, it is
interdisciplinary inquiry, and ecofeminists must, caring rather than disinterested. Ecofeminists
like other interdisciplinary researchers, balance accordingly offer direct challenge to the separa-
explaining material drawn from diverse know- tion of reason and emotion that privileges the
ledge bases and introducing their own insights. former as masculine and denigrates the latter as
Moreover, ecofeminism is a recently emerged feminine. Ethical action requires, Warren (2000)
area of scholarship and research; this criticism says, emotional intelligence. Ecofeminism is
points not so much to a weakness of ecofeminism accordingly only philosophically weak under
as to the strength and perseverance of a logic of the same that evaluates it against
ecofeminists. the standard of objectivity that it rejects as
In philosophy in particular, however, the privileged.
criticism that ecofeminism fails to support its Because of ecofeminist pluralism, however,
assumptions is a challenge to its disciplinary the rejection of universal truth does not mean
integrity and rigor. Philosophy, especially in the that there is no truth or that anything can be
analytic tradition, typically begins with assump- truth in the ecofeminist account. Rather, there
tions and definitions that lead to or at least are many truths, that is, many ways to understand
support its conclusions. Narrative method simply the world; none is more true than any other, but
Ecofeminism 1769 E
each can be evaluated as to whether it is destruc- Likewise, Chris Cuomo has brought ecofeminism
tive or healing, i.e., whether it opens a world that persuasively together with environmental justice
promotes oppressive and exploitative behaviors, as well as activism, yet the environmental justice
or relations of healing and empowerment. movement remains suspicious of ecofeminisms
The third criticism, that ecofeminism is essen- academic orientation and heritage, given race
tialist, is leveled most often by feminists. By and gender conflicts and marginalizations in
aligning women and nature, ecofeminism risks institutionalized knowledge production many
reinscribing biological essentialism in which ecofeminists who argue that ecofeminism is not
women are reduced to their reproductive capacity a white, middle-class academic endeavor are
and the qualities associated with it, i.e., caring indeed themselves white, middle-class aca-
E
and nurturing. Ecofeminist consciousness-raising demics. Ecofeminisms greatest challenge is
about womens oppression generates a need for the backlash that has affected feminism more
healing, and early ecofeminism in particular generally, yet ecofeminisms articulation of an
associated woman with the earth as a source of alternative to the logic that underwrites contem-
life and supported an earth-goddess imaginary. porary environmentally destructive practices
Ecofeminism cannot avoid risking the charge of might well be feminisms saving grace.
essentialism, however, because analysis that
ignores womens reproductive function is empi-
rically deficient. Sallehs focus on issues of class, Cross-References
Glazebrooks work documenting women subsis-
tence farmers experience of and adaptations to Feminism
climate change in the global South, and Chris Feminist Identity
Cuomos work with indigenous groups in Feminist Stereotypes
Alaska all recognize and value womens labor
(Cuomo, 1998). Much of this labor consists in
reproducing the material conditions for daily References
living as primary caretaker of the family.
Approaching womens labor as Marxists and Cuomo, C. (1998). Feminism and ecological communi-
socialists allows ecofeminists neither to univer- ties: An ethic of flourishing. New York: Routledge.
de Beauvoir, S. (2010). The second sex. New York: Alfred
salize the experiences of liberated women the A. Knopf. trs. C. Borde and S. Malovany-Chevallier.
global North nor to idealize womens reproduc- Daly, M. (1978). Gyn/ecology: The metaethics of radical
tive labor. Thus, ecofeminism offers a place for feminism. Boston: Beacon Press.
feminists more generally to think through how dEaubonne, F. (1974). Le feminisme ou la mort. Paris:
P. Horay.
embodiment need not reinscribe biological Glazebrook, T. (2005). Gynocentric eco-logics. Ethics &
essentialism. the Environment, 10, 7599.
Moreover, there are multiple interpretations Griffin, S. (1978). Woman and nature: The roaring inside
of ecofeminism. Cultural ecofeminists may find her. New York: Harper & Row.
Higgins, R. R. (1994). Race, pollution, and the mastery of
meaning in biological accounts that literally con- nature. Environmental Ethics, 16, 251264.
nect women and nature through biology. But Irigaray, L. (1985). Speculum of the other woman. Ithaca,
many other ecofeminists offer arguments that NY: Cornell University Press.
connections between women and nature are sym- Lorde, A. (1984). Sister outsider: Essays and speeches.
Trumansburg, NY: Crossing Press.
bolic, historical, political, and epistemological. Mallory, C. (2009). Val Plumwood and ecofeminist poli-
Ecofeminism faces further, more recent chal- tical solidarity: Standing with the natural other.
lenges. Though Warren uses a quilt metaphor to Ethics & the Environment, 14, 321.
argue that ecofeminism is inclusively open to Merchant, C. (1980). The death of nature: Women,
ecology, and the scientific revolution. San Francisco:
diverse perspectives (Warren, 2000), queer Harper & Row.
theorists are concerned that it privileges gender Plumwood, V. (1993). Feminism and the mastery of
difference along an axis of heterosexuality. nature. New York: Routledge.
E 1770 Eco-friendly Behavior

Ruether, R. R. (1975). New woman, new earth: Sexist Definition


ideologies and human liberation. New York: Seabury
Press.
Salleh, A. (1992). The ecofeminism/deep ecology debate. Ecohealth is a field of research, education, and
Environmental Ethics, 14, 195216. practice that adopts systems approaches to pro-
Warren, K. J. (Ed.). (1996). Ecological feminist philoso- mote the health of people, animals, and ecosys-
phies. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. tems in the context of social and ecological
Warren, K. J. (Ed.). (1997). Ecofeminism: Women, cul-
ture, nature. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University interactions. Health is seen as encompassing
Press. social, mental, spiritual, and physical well-being
Warren, K. J. (2000). Ecofeminist philosophy: A Western and not merely the absence of disease. As
perspective on what it is and why it matters. Oxford, a contraction of ecosystem approaches to health,
MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
ecohealth emphasizes human agency and systemic
thinking to promote well-being and quality of
life. As a field of scholarship, ecohealth research
draws on the natural sciences, health sciences,
Eco-friendly Behavior social sciences, the humanities, and beyond,
often working in collaboration with interested
Proenvironmental Behavior parties and community members to address issues
at the interface of health, ecosystems, and society.

Eco-friendly Index Description

Environment Friendly Index Ecohealth emerged in the 1990s in recognition


that quality of life and health are embedded
in the ecosystems in which we live and is a call
to better understand and respond to the health
Ecoguilt and Environmental implications of rapid, global changes in trade,
Behavior patterns of infectious and noninfectious disease,
technological and economic development, and
Guilt and Environmental Behavior perceived conflicts between environmental sus-
tainability and economic development. Over
the last decades, the field has come to highlight
overlaps and synergies among the agendas of
Ecohealth ecosystem sustainability (and sustainable deve-
lopment) and social justice as they related to
Margot Parkes1, David Waltner-Toews2 and health and well-being.
Pierre Horwitz3 Ecohealth is characterized by concepts and
1
University of Northern British Columbia, approaches that cross boundaries formed by sec-
Prince George, BC, Canada tors, disciplines, and knowledge cultures. The
2
Department of Population Medicine, field has attributes of public health, ecosystem
University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada management, and sustainable development and
3
School of Natural Sciences, Edith Cowan is recognized as being allied to all these fields,
University, Joondalup, Australia but also has important points of differentiation.
By using communities as points of departure,
ecohealth recognizes that health and well-being
Synonyms are outcomes of social-ecological dynamics that
include issues of gender and power as much as
Ecosystem approaches to health biodiversity and ecosystem management.
Ecohealth 1771 E
Main Precedents and Influences systems (Gunderson & Holling, 2002), ecological
Ecohealth emerged in the context of several health and conservation medicine (Aguirre,
decades of global conventions and agreements Ostfeld, & Daszak, 2012), one health (Zinsstag,
that each contributed to our recognition for the Schelling, Waltner-Toews, & Tannera, 2011),
need for practical, integrated, and intersectoral and related efforts spanning ecological integrity,
actions that reflect the importance of ecology on health, and sustainability (Brown, Grootjans,
both social and environmental determinants of Ritchie, Townsend, & Verrinder, 2005; Soskolne
health. et al., 2007).
Ecohealth also developed in relation to, and These literatures were influential in the estab-
informed by, a series of interrelated scholarly lishment of the journal EcoHealth which, when
E
efforts and discourses related to environment launched in 2004, made explicit acknowledge-
and conservation issues, public health and ment of precedents in the journals Ecosystem
health promotion, sustainable development, Health and Global Change and Human
and social justice. Drawing on the WHO Health and the field of conservation medicine.
definitions of health that emphasize well-being, EcoHealth was described as a transdisciplinary
realizing aspirations, satisfying needs, and cop- imperative for a sustainable future and, since
ing with change, ecohealth considers humans 2006, has been the official journal of the Interna-
as integral species, at home in the world, tional Association for Ecology & Health. The
understanding the relationships between human stated mission of the International Association
well-being and ecological sustainability as being for Ecology & Health to strive for sustainable
complex, uncertain, and continually renegotiated health of people, wildlife and ecosystems by pro-
based on changing systemic dynamics and our moting discovery, understanding and transdisci-
understanding of them. plinarity (www.ecohealth.net) is also influenced
The term ecohealth started to receive active by precursors such as the International Society
use in research and practice during the 1990s as a for Ecosystem Health and related precedents
contraction of the phrase ecosystem approaches noted above.
to health and developed along these lines to influ-
ence extensive bodies of international research From the Ecology of Disease to Ecosystem
and practice (Lebel, 2003; Webb et al., 2010; Approaches to Health, Well-Being, and
Charron, 2012). A notable characteristic of these Resilience
approaches has been attention to guiding princi- The methodological orientations of ecohealth
ples that focus attention on both the processes research are eclectic, spanning global meta-data
(systems thinking, transdisciplinary research and linking ecosystem services and health, quantita-
participation) as well as the goals (gender and tive modeling of ecology of infectious disease
social equity, sustainability, and knowledge to through to analysis of social networks in relation
action) of ecohealth research and practice. to environment and health challenges, and inno-
Informing and influencing developments in vative approaches to participatory and narrative
ecosystem approaches to health are several research focused on health in social-ecological
decades of scholarly contributions that share context that allow research to be adapted to
what can be described as a family of origin a range of global contexts (see Lebel, 2003;
(see Waltner-Toews, Kay, & Lister, 2008) or, Waltner-Toews, 2004; Parkes et al., 2010;
at least, a common interest in the complex ways Webb et al., 2010; Aguirre, Ostfeld, & Daszak,
in which human well-being, animal health, 2012; Charron, 2012).
ecological sustainability, and social processes Of particular interest to quality of life research
interact. Especially notable influences include are innovations focused on factors that enhance
the extensive bodies of work associated with health and well-being (as compared to causing
ecosystem health (Rapport, Costanza, Epstein, disease), with an emphasis on social-ecological
Gaudet, & Levins, 1998), social-ecological relationships relevant to health promotion,
E 1772 Ecohealth

wellness, and salutogenesis. The examples exacerbated when these ecosystem services are
here are profiled for their demonstration of the degraded or traded off for some other human
range of work that is focused on positive, health- development purpose. Increasing resilience of
generating relationships with ecology, biodiver- social-ecological systems with a focus on
sity, sense of place, and nature, and with potential retaining ecosystem services has the potential
synergies and relevance to scholarship focused for short, medium, and long-term benefits. For
on quality of life and well-being. Ecohealth instance, a more resilient social-ecological
approaches focus on the holistic, interrelated system may be better prepared to respond to the
health, ecosystems and community, and for short-term impacts from disasters such as physi-
some, represent a rediscovery or revisiting of cal injury, exposure to microbial and chemical
indigenous knowledge systems as applied to contaminants, increased disease vector activity,
indigenous health and wellness over millennia as well as building resilience to help buffer
(see, e.g., Parkes, 2011). enduring mental health effects that have the
potential to affect several generations (Horwitz,
Ecosystem Services, Well-Being, Finlayson, & Weinstein, 2012).
and Resilience
Building on an emerging understanding of resil- Biodiversity, Sense of Place, and Well-Being
ience in relation to social-ecological systems, as A parallel domain of ecohealth research and prac-
well as the work of the Millennium Ecosystem tice focuses on the links between biodiversity,
Assessment (MA) (Gunderson & Holling, 2002, sense of place, and well-being especially as it
Corvalan et al., 2005; MA, 2005), new attention relates to endemism (see MA, 2005). Biodiversity,
is being paid to the links between ecosystem and its endemic features, contributes to an emo-
services, resilience, and well-being. Using this tional connection to a place and becomes part of
framework allows consideration of trade-offs a persons identity. In addition to the direct effects
between human health and ecosystem services of biological hazards (e.g., invasive species,
and their resolution according to the principles pathogens, mosquitoes), changes to, or loss of,
of sustainability and equity. The MA identified biodiversity has the potential to affect an individ-
new thinking about ecosystem change, encourag- uals perceptions of a place and psychological
ing attention not only to mitigation (reducing or well-being and to challenge a communitys iden-
reversing change processes) but also to adapta- tity and image of itself over time. Related research
tion that aims to increase the resilience of both is providing new directions for ecohealth, includ-
social systems and ecosystems to the impacts of ing greater attention to the mental health and well-
ecosystem change in order to reduce the being implications of contact with nature and
current and future health risks (Corvalan et al., changes to the landscapes and social-ecological
2005, p. 9). contexts of everyday lives (see Townsend &
The rate and scale of changes to ecosystem Weerasuriya, 2010; Cunsolo Willox et al., 2011).
services have highlighted close links with under-
standing of hazards, risks, and disasters and New Cultures of Care: Linking Environmental
the relevance of resilience to inform upstream, Stewardship, Nature, and Well-Being
preventive thinking across fields of disaster pre- Related efforts are also expanding our under-
paredness, public health, and natural resources standing of health and ecology in relation to
management (Parkes et al., 2010). Obvious links notions of environmental stewardship and cul-
between ecosystem services and physical hazards tures of care. Although much of this attention
include flood control and flood storage; soil, sed- has arisen in the urban context (Lee &
iment, and nutrient retention; coastal shoreline Maheswaran, 2011), rekindled attention is being
and riverbank stabilization and storm protection; focused at ecosystem-scale stewardship efforts
and local climate regulation/buffering of change. in land and water restoration at landscape scales,
Physical hazards and their health effects are including watershed and catchment-based
Ecohealth 1773 E
efforts (Parkes et al., 2010). These developments or the health implications of the 1992 Rio Decla-
challenge long-standing constraints restricting ration on Sustainable Development and subse-
the value of care to health-care contexts and quent international environmental conventions
are linked with a reinvigorated sense of moral (Parkes et al., 2010; Patz, Corvalan, Horwitz, &
responsibility relating to the emotional and Campbell-Lendrum, 2012). Ecohealth work con-
restorative value of nature, landscape and living tinues to draw attention to the crosscutting health
systems for our well-being, as well as the spiritual implications of, for example, the International
importance of stewardship and caring for the Panel on Climate Change, the Millennium Eco-
Earth. An ecohealth approach seeks to restore system Assessment (2005), the Commission on
a clearer relationship between caring for the Social Determinants of Health (2007), the United
E
land (or water or environment), human, and Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
animal health, one built on a range of knowl- Peoples (2007), and the resilience-oriented Hyogo
edges, including the indigenous, traditional, Framework of the International Strategy for Disas-
and emotional, with benefits for many facets of ter Reduction (2007). Recent innovations such as
well-being and mental health (Kingsley, 2011; the Healthy Wetlands Healthy People initiative
Townsend & Weerasuriya 2010; Cunsolo Willox of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (Horwitz
et al., 2011; Parkes, 2011). et al., 2012) and recognition of the far-reaching
health implications of existing international agree-
Future Prospects: A Space for Common ments (Patz et al., 2012) point to an enduring need
Ground Among Health, Ecosystems, for efforts that link health, ecosystems, and society
and Society and suggest ongoing opportunities for improving
An ongoing motivation for ecohealth has been the quality of life through ecohealth efforts that make
need for a scholarly home that can accommodate these connections explicit.
the synthesis and commonalities among multiple Ecohealth-oriented research and practice
converging efforts. This has ranged from ecology explicitly acknowledge the complex ways in
of specific diseases (especially infectious dis- which human well-being, animal health, and eco-
eases crossing human, animal, and ecosystem logical sustainability interact and have created
boundaries) through to the application of ecologi- a broadly based foundation for the diverse socie-
cal thought and ecosystem approaches to under- tal, cultural, and ecological context for human
stand food security, climate change, emerging well-being. By working with affected actors,
diseases, social and environmental determinants communities, and colleagues, by integrating
of health, and health promotion. Recent efforts to human, animal and ecosystem health, and by
consolidate, reflect on, and identify new directions linking process with systemic thinking and goal
for the field have highlighted the conceptual and setting, ecohealth speaks to human agency and
methodological richness that has been triggered promotes human well-being and quality of life.
interface of ecology, health, equity, and sustain-
ability and the importance of ongoing reflection
and critique in the face of pressing challenges from Cross-References
local to the global scales (Dakubo, 2010; Charron,
2012; Aguirre et al., 2012). Health Promotion
In an era of converging and overlapping chal- Indigenous Knowledge
lenges, ecohealth provides a space for research, Public Health
education, and practice that recognizes the links Resilience
among international processes, conventions, and Salutogenesis
agendas. In some cases, this requires revisiting Social Justice
important innovations that have not been fully Sustainability
realized, such as the social-ecological orientation Sustainable Development
of the 1984 Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion Wellness
E 1774 Ecohealth

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Ecological Fallacy 1775 E
Description
Eco-health
The origins of the ecological fallacy in a formal
Social-Ecological System(s) sense extend back in time to the work of William
S. Robinson and his highly cited analysis of
US Census Data for 1930 (Robinson, 1950).
In his paper on Ecological Correlations and the
Ecoliteracy Behavior of Individuals, he explains that in an
ecological correlation the statistical object
Ecological Literacy (or unit) is a group of persons. This seminal
E
piece of work explored the correlation between
literacy and race and found that there were large
discrepancies between correlation coefficients at
Ecological Efficiency the group vs. the individual level. Robinsons early
work led to further discoveries in relation to the
Eco-efficiency ecological fallacy, with the work of Feldman and
Tilly (1960) being particularly important. In 1969,
Alker then extended the concept of the ecological
fallacy to include five others. In the 40-plus years
Ecological Fallacy since then, the ecological fallacy has become
a very important concept in academic research
Alasdair Rae more generally, with a proliferation of papers in
Town and Regional Planning, University a number of disciplines including geography, soci-
of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK ology, political science, and epidemiology. None-
theless, Schwartz (1994) urged caution in relation
to the potential misuse of the concept, and this
Synonyms advice should be taken seriously.
Despite the volume of high-quality scientific
Ecological inference fallacy papers on the ecological fallacy, it is actually
quite a simple concept and is perhaps best illus-
trated using a trivial example. If a group of
Definition 10 individuals has an average annual income of
US$500,000, it might be assumed that all group
An ecological fallacy occurs when incorrect members are very wealthy. Such a conclusion
assumptions are made about an individual, based would be justifiable, but it may not be correct.
on the characteristics of a group to which the indi- If eight of these individuals earn $620,000 per
vidual belongs. It is normally associated with an year and two earn $20,000, there is a 2 in 10
error in the interpretation of quantitative data at the (20 %) chances that assumptions about individual
group vs. the individual level. In quality of life incomes in the group will be incorrect (if it was
research, it might be assumed that all individuals assumed that they were all wealthy). The group
within a specific group experience the same quality average is still $500,000, but clearly some individ-
of life but at the individual level this will not nec- uals in the group are not wealthy. To erroneously
essarily be the case since there is usually significant assume that a particular group member is rich
in-group variation in terms of individual character- would be to succumb to the ecological fallacy.
istics. It is, therefore, a special kind of interpretation This example highlights the importance of under-
problem that researchers must be aware of when standing more about in-group distributions and
dealing with aggregate (or ecological) data and being aware of the dangers of aggregate data
individual data at a comparative level. more generally.
E 1776 Ecological Feminism

To summarize, then, the ecological fallacy is nature expressed in a common unit of bio-
a special kind of error in which the characteristics productive area or space is used exclusively
of a group are incorrectly assumed to apply to an for producing all the resources (food, energy,
individual member of that group. materials) a given population consumes and
absorbing the wastes they produce, using
prevailing technologies (Chambers, Simmons,
References & Wackernagel, 2000). The ecological footprint
provides a comprehensive aggregate indicator of
Alker, H. (1969). A typology of ecological fallacies. In
human pressure on ecosystems Holmberg et al.
M. Dogan & S. Rokken (Eds.), Quantitative ecological
analysis in the social sciences (pp. 6986). Cambridge, (1999). At the global level, if the human footprint
MA: MIT Press. exceeds the productive capacity of the biosphere,
Feldman, A., & Tilly, C. (1960). The interaction of social then consumption patterns are clearly not
and physical space. American Sociological Review, 25,
sustainable.
877884.
Robinson, W. (1950). Ecological correlations and the While most sustainability models focus on
behavior of individuals. American Sociological production, the ecological footprint emphasizes
Review, 3, 351357. consumption: it highlights the role of the con-
Schwartz, S. (1994). The fallacy of the ecological
sumer as a driver of environmental impact. The
fallacy: The potential misuse of a concept and the
consequences. American Journal of Public Health, ecological footprint is unique in that it accounts
84, 819824. for the costs of consumption regardless of where
associated environmental burden falls. For exam-
ple, through trade, consumers may enjoy the ben-
efits of consuming without experiencing the
Ecological Feminism impacts in the local region. While the ecological
footprint is an indicator of consumption, impor-
Ecofeminism tant factors other than consumption habits influ-
ence the ecological footprint: these include
population size, technology, and gains or losses
in eco-efficiency (Wackernagel & Rees, 1996).
Ecological Footprint

Jeffrey Wilson Description


School for Resource and Environmental
Studies and College of Sustainability, The ecological footprint concept was developed
Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada by Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees (1996).
Several modifications to the original model have
since been adopted since that time, notably by
Synonyms Kitzes, Galli, Rizk, Reed, and Wackernagel
(2008), Kitzes et al. (2007), Wackernagel et al.
Environmental footprint (2005), and Wackernagel et al. (1999). The
Global Footprint Network, the leading author-
ity on ecological footprint analysis, maintains
Definition the National Ecological Footprint Accounts,
biannually updating ecological footprint values
The ecological footprint is a biophysical account- for 241 countries (Ewing, Reed, Galli, Kitzes,
ing tool to estimate the environmental impact & Wackernagel, 2010). In efforts to ensure
of consumption. In technical terms, the eco- continuity and consistency in calculation meth-
logical footprint provides a snapshot in time odology, a team of ecological footprint experts
and the trajectory over time of how much began developing calculation standards in 2006
Ecological Footprint 1777 E
under the umbrella of the Global Footprint Van den Bergh & Verbruggen, 1999). The
Network (2009). The current version (2009) ecological footprint has also been widely
includes a national calculation standard and criticized for not distinguishing between
a standard for all subnational footprint studies sustainable and unsustainable yields (Ferng,
(subnational populations, organizations, and 2005; Lenzen et al., 2007). In addition, land
products). use is associated with single functions, ignoring
The ecological footprint methodology has that different land use categories may provide
been extended to account for several missing multiple services or functions (Van den Bergh &
components not considered in the standard Verbruggen, 1999).
calculation approach. These are pollutants (Bai,
E
Zeng, Wei, Zhang, & Zhao, 2008; Peters, Sack, Quality of Life
Lenzen, Lundie, & Gallego, 2006), water The ecological footprint, as a key determinant of
(Hoekstra & Chapagain, 2007), disturbed land quality of life, reflects the importance of
(Lenzen & Murray, 2001), non-CO2 greenhouse sustainability in expanding peoples choices.
gas emissions (Walsh, ORegan, & Moles, 2009; The ecological footprint measures the amount
Holden & Hoyer, 2005), nutrient emissions of natural capital required to support human
(Hanafiah, Huijbregts, & Hendriks, 2010), and consumption (Rees & Wackernagel, 1997). The
nonrenewable resource consumption (Nguyen & concept supports a strong sustainability position,
Yamamoto, 2007). which argues that natural capital underpins all
In addition, several researchers have proposed economic activity and is the foundation of social
promising methodological advancements. Erb and economic well-being. Other indicators of
et al. (2009), Haberl et al. (2007) and Venetoulis quality of life (income, happiness, health) are
and Talberth (2008) recommend using net secondary and depend on maintaining critical
primary productivity (NPP) or human appropri- levels of natural capital.
ated net primary productivity (HANPP) as Governments, communities, and organiza-
a means to better account for biocapacity. tions increasingly report the ecological footprint
Liu, Lin, Feng, and Liu (2008) advanced an as a macro indicator of sustainable resource use
ecological footprint calculation approach based in environmental reporting and sustainability indi-
on the emergy concept. Bicknell, Ball, Cullen, cator studies (see, e.g., Collins, Flynn, Wiedmann,
Bigsby (1998), Li, Zhang, He, Wang (2007), & Barrett, 2006; Dawkins, Paul, Barrett, Minx, &
Wiedmann et al. (2006), and allocated ecological Scott, 2008; Sustainable Sonoma County and
footprint impacts to consumption activities Redefining Progress, 2002). Well-known quality
using inputoutput modeling. More recently, of life metrics like the Calvert-Henderson Quality
Wiedmann (2009) has recommended using of Life Indicators and the Environmental Sustain-
a multiregional inputoutput (MRIO) method to ability Index include the ecological footprint as
account for changes in production from region a sub-indicator (Calvert Group and Henderson,
to region dramatically improving the ability of 2006; World Economic Forum, 2005). The eco-
the ecological footprint tool to account for the logical footprint has also been included as part of
embodied costs of trade flows. genuine progress reporting and health indicator
A major criticism of the ecological footprint reporting (see, e.g., Anielski, 2007; Rainham &
concerns how to account for energy consump- McDowell, 2005).
tion. The standardized methodology measures The United Nations Development Program
the hypothetical forest land needed to sequester (UNDP) identified the ecological footprint as
the associated CO2 emissions. The creation of an indicator to consider when evaluating
hypothetical land disconnects the ecological human development. In Human Development
footprint from actual ecological systems and and Sustainability, Neumayer (2010) argued for
overstates the true land area required to support the need to report the ecological footprint as
a given population (Hueting & Reijnders, 2004; an external sustainability qualification when
E 1778 Ecological Footprint

reporting the Human Development Index a subnational level: The ecological footprint of
(HDI). Several authors previously suggested Cardiff. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 10, 924.
Dawkins, E., Paul, A., Barrett, J., Minx J., & Scott, K.
combining the ecological footprint with the (2008). Wales ecological footprint - scenarios to
HDI. Morse (2003) and Hermele (2006) proposed 2020. Stockholm Environment Institute. A report to
developing a green or sustainable HDI respec- the Welsh Assembly Government.
tively by adding the ecological footprint as Erb, K., Krausmann, F., Gaube, V., Gingrich, S., Bondeau,
A., Fischer-Kowalski, M., et al. (2009). Analyzing the
a component of the index. Wilson, Pelot, and global human appropriation of net primary production-
Tyedmers (2008) suggested including the ecolog- processes, trajectories, implications. An introduction.
ical footprint as an external qualifier or trump Ecological Economics, 69, 250259.
variable. Linking the ecological footprint with Ewing, B., Reed, A., Galli, A., Kitzes, J., & Wackernagel,
M. (2010). Calculation methodology for the national
the HDI conclusively demonstrates that countries footprint accounts (2010th ed.). Oakland, CA: Global
with high human development also report large Footprint Network.
ecological footprints highlighting the need to Ferng, J. (2005). Local sustainable yield and embodied
break the connection between advancing human resources in ecological footprint analysis A case
study on the required paddy field in Taiwan. Ecologi-
development and depleting critical stocks of cal Economics, 53, 415430.
natural capital. Combining development metrics Global Footprint Network. (2009). Ecological footprint
with an ecological threshold would prevent standards 2009. Oakland: Global Footprint Network.
these metrics from promoting development tra- Available at http://www.footprintstandards.org.
Accessed May 2011.
jectories that neglect or potentially jeopardize Haberl, H., Erb, K., Krausmann, F., Gaube, V., Bondeau,
environmental sustainability at the expense A., Plutzar, C., et al. (2007). Quantifying and mapping
of social and economic aspirations. the human appropriation of net primary production in
earths terrestrial ecosystems. Proceedings National
Academy of Sciences USA, 104, 1294212947.
Hanafiah, M., Huijbregts, M., & Hendriks, A. (2010). The
Cross-References influence of nutrients and non-CO2 greenhouse gas
emissions on the ecological footprint of products.
Consumption Sustainability, 2, 963979. doi:10.3390/su2040963.
Hermele, K. (2006). Greening the human development
Reporting of Indices by the Press index. Paper presented to the Workshop on Trade and
Sustainability Environmental Justice, Lund University.
Hoekstra, A. Y., & Chapagain, A. K. (2007). Water foot-
prints of nations: Water use by people as a function of
References their consumption pattern. Water Resources Manage-
ment, 21(1), 3548.
Anielski, M. (2007). The economics of happiness. Holden, E., & Hoyer, K. (2005). The ecological footprints
Gabriola Island, BC: New Society. of fuels. Transportation Research Part D: Transport
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(2008). Optimization of ecological footprint model Holmberg, J., Lundqvist, U., Robert, K.-H., &
based on environmental pollution accounts: A case Wackernagel, M. (1999). The ecological footprint
study in Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration. from a systems perspective of sustainability. Interna-
China Journal of Applied Ecology, 19, 17891796. tional Journal of Sustainable Development and World
Bicknell, K., Ball, R., Cullen, R., & Bigsby, H. (1998). Ecology, 6, 1733.
New methodology for the ecological footprint with an Hueting, R., & Reijnders, L. (2004). Broad sustainability
application to the New Zealand economy. Ecological contra sustainability: The proper construction of
Economics, 27, 149160. sustainability indicators. Ecological Economics, 50,
Calvert Group & H. Henderson. (2006). Calvert- 249260.
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www. http://www.calvert-henderson.com/. Accessed (2008). Guidebook to the national footprint accounts
April, 2011. (2008th ed.). Oakland, CA: Global Footprint Network.
Chambers, N., Simmons, C., & Wackernagel, M. (2000). Version 1.01.
Sharing natures interest: Ecological footprints as an Kitzes, J., Peller, A., Goldfinger, S., & Wackernagel, M.
indicator of sustainability. London: Earthscan. (2007). Current methods for calculating national eco-
Collins, A., Flynn, A., Wiedmann, T., & Barrett, J. (2006). logical footprint accounts. Science for Environment &
The environmental impacts of consumption at Sustainable Society, 4, 19.
Ecological Literacy 1779 E
Lenzen, M., Hansson, C., & Bond, S. (2007). On Wackernagel, M., & Rees, W. (1996). Our ecological
the bioproductivity and land-disturbance metrics of footprint-reducing human impact on the earth.
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610. Walsh, C., ORegan, B., & Moles, R. (2009). Incorporat-
Lenzen, M., & Murray, S. A. (2001). A modified ecolog- ing methane into ecological footprint analysis: A case
ical footprint method and its application to Australia. study of Ireland. Ecological Economics, 68,
Ecological Economics, 37, 229255. 19521962.
Li, H., Zhang, P. D., He, C. Y., & Wang, G. (2007). Wiedmann, T. (2009). A first empirical comparison of
Evaluating the effects of embodied energy in interna- energy footprints embodied in trade-MRIO versus
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A modified model of ecological footprint accounting sumption categories with input-output analysis. E
and its application to cropland in Jiangsu, China. Ecological Economics, 56, 2848.
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non-renewable resource consumption using thermody- of tomorrow environment task force, World Economic
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Regionalisation and inclusion of downstream
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Alma Clavin
report. May 2002.
Van den Bergh, J., & Verbruggen, H. (1999). Spatial Department of Geography, National University
sustainability, trade and indicators: an evaluation of of Galway, Galway, Ireland
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logical footprint. Environment, Development and Synonyms
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Wackernagel, M., Monfreda, C., Moran, D., Wermer, P., Ecoliteracy; General systems theory; Systems
Goldfinger, S., Deumling, D., et al. (2005). National
thinking
footprint and biocapacity accounts 2005: The under-
lying calculation method. Oakland, CA: Global
Footprint Network.
Wackernagel, M., Onisto, L., Bello, P., Callejas Definition
Linares, A., Lopez Falfan, I., Mendez Garca, J.,
et al. (1999). National natural capital accounting with
the ecological footprint analysis. Ecological Econom- Ecological literacy (or ecoliteracy) is the ability
ics, 29(3), 375390. to understand the principles of organization of
E 1780 Ecological Literacy

ecosystems and to use those principles in every- biosphere can be considered a closed material
day life to create sustainable communities. system with a finite mass. Ecologically, we there-
fore can conceive the earth as a unit. This finite-
ness defines the limit to which human use of the
Description earths resources is restricted. Therefore, the
totality of the interactions between the biotic
The term ecoliteracy was coined by American and abiotic constituents of all the ecosystems
educator David W. Orr and physicist Fritjof Capra within the biosphere and the finite quantities of
who advocate ecological literacy as an educational the earths energy and material resources is our
paradigm (http://www.ecoliteracy.org). ecological context and as such can be considered
The term ecology itself was first coined in the the final limiting factor in all designed human
mid-nineteenth century by Ernst Haeckel to refer activities (Yeang, 1995). Mc Harg (1992) argues
to a new branch of biology concerned with the that human society must fit with nature in that
relationship between living organisms and their humans must understand that the integrity of
surroundings. For Haeckel ecology had social human societal ecosystems is inextricably linked
and political implications (Bramewell, 1989). to the integrity of natural ecosystems.
Ecologists contend that the interaction of both the Ecological literacy looks to whole systems,
biological (biotic) and physical (abiotic) constitu- linkages, processes, patterns, context, and
ents of the environment together form a spatial natures outcomes at higher system levels.
unit, which is termed an ecosystem (Tansley, Capra (1997) has advocated that taking such an
1935). The term ecosystem has been used both to approach to human and natural systems har-
define a unit of study and to describe a concept or nesses new understanding for organized systems
approach for examining environmental systems in business, politics, health care, education,
(McIntosh, 1989). and everyday life. In twentieth-century science,
In the period up to the 1960s, the idea of such a holistic perspective became known as
ecological science was based on a mechanistic systemic and the way of thinking it implies
view of ecological balance. A new ecology which as systems thinking. According to the sys-
developed from the 1970s onward rejected the tems view, the essential properties of an organ-
idea of nature as a balanced system and looked ism, or living systems, are properties of the
to disequilibrium to nature as unpredictable, whole, none of which the parts have. In the
dynamic, evolving, and self-adaptive. Biological 1920s, the term emergent properties was
systems were seen to become efficient at grab- coined for those properties that emerge at
bing energy to become increasingly complex a certain level of complexity, but do not exist
and efficient (Prigogine & Nicolis, 1977). Within at lower levels. Indeed this concept of orga-
such biological systems a flow of energy leads to nized complexity became the very subject of
clearly defined (trophic) structures, biotic diver- the systems approach (Checkland, 1981:78).
sity, and material cycles (i.e., exchanges of mate- Furthermore, Emergence suggests that self-
rials between living and nonliving parts) within organization within complex systems results in
the system (Odum, 1983). activity, structures, and behaviors that clearly
Lovelock (1979) showed that the biosphere, or emerge from within the system but have the
Gaia, actually created these conditions that are effect of either transforming it or producing
required for its support and systematically builds some completely new system (Holmgren, 2002).
up the stock of materials it requires to move Bertalanffys (1969) concept of a General
toward increasing complexity, diversity, and sta- Systems Theory (GST) established systems
bility. The biosphere contains the steady state thinking as a major scientific movement. He
system intermediate in the flow of energy asserted that as there are general conceptions
between the high-energy inputs of the sun and concerned with systems used in different
the thermal sink of space, and the earth and the fields and disciplines certain general principles
Ecological Literacy 1781 E
apply to systems irrespective of their nature SOHO systems. Which state is currently occupied
(Bertalanffy, 1969:84). is a function of its history. There is no correct
Ideas from systems theory have grown with state for the system, although there may be a state
diversified areas exemplified in the work of eco- that is preferred by humans (ibid).
logical systems which look to natural ecosystems Solar energy (exergy) is transformed into
as open, self-organized, complex, and adaptive chemical energy by the photosynthesis of green
systems (Kay, 2002). Natural systems and human plants, which drives ecological cycles. As eco-
systems feed on a continual flux of matter and systems develop or mature, they should develop
energy from their environment to stay alive. They more complex structures and processes with
are not static systems closed to the outside but greater diversity. They will develop in a way
E
rather material continually enters from, and that systematically increases their ability to
leaves into, the outside environment (Bertalanffy, degrade incoming solar exergy (Schneider &
1969). Open systems maintain themselves far Kay, 1994a, b). More cycling and more hierar-
from equilibrium in a steady state character- chical levels aid exergy degradation. The more
ized by continual flow and change. Spontaneous processes or reactions of material and energy that
coherent behavior and organization occurs in there are within a system (i.e., metabolism,
open systems. Central to understanding such phe- cycling, building higher trophic levels), the
nomena is the realization that open systems are greater the possibility of exergy degradation.
processing an enduring flow of high-quality A number of expected changes in ecosystems
energy (exergy) from the sun. When the input of occur as they develop (Kay, 2002:77): more
exergy and material pushes the system beyond energy capture, more energy flow activity within
a critical distance from equilibrium, the open the system, more cycling of energy and material
system responds with the spontaneous emergence and cycling positive and negative feedback loops,
of new, reconfigured organized behavior. Once higher average trophic structure, higher respira-
a dissipative process emerges and becomes tion and transpiration (exergy utilization), larger
established, it manifests itself as a structure. As ecosystem biomass (more pathways for exergy
more exergy is pumped into the system, more utilization), more types of organisms (diversity),
organization emerges. and therefore more pathways for utilizing energy.
Self-organizing dissipative processes emerge As various nutrients are passed along
whenever sufficient exergy is available to support through the ecosystem, the relationships we
them. These systems tend to get better and better observe are many forms of partnership, of coop-
at grabbing resources and utilizing them to eration. Ecosystems achieve stability and resil-
build more structure, thus enhancing their dissi- ience through the richness and complexity of
pating capacity. These structures provide a new their ecological webs. Diversity involves many
context, nested within which new processes can links, and many different approaches to the
emerge, which in turn beget new structures. Thus, same problem. In this way a diverse community
it emerges a self-organizing hierarchical open enhances, community resilience. The greater
systems (SOHO), a nested constellation of self- their biodiversity, the more resilient they will be
organizing dissipative structures (Kay, 2002:75). as a diverse community can adapt to changing
The theory of nonequilibrium thermodynamics situations. When a link is destroyed, the ecosys-
suggests that the self-organization process in tem can still survive, as this destroyed link is not
SOHO systems proceeds in a way that captures the only one of its kind (Capra, 2003). When one
increasing resources (exergy and material), makes link is destroyed, the others should be able to
ever more effective use of resources, builds more partially fulfill the function and herein lay the
structure, and enhances survivability (Schneider & relevance of diversity.
Kay, 1994a, b). According to Kay (2002) both There is, however, in principle, an upper
natural ecosystems and societal systems cannot limit to an ecologically literate organizational
be understood without understanding them as response. Beyond a critical distance from
E 1782 Ecological Literacy

equilibrium, the organizational capacity of fixed and fundamentally benign. Zizek (2006)
a system is overwhelmed and the systems beha- insists that the nature we see and work with is
vior leaves the domain of self-organization and necessarily radically imagined, scripted, symbol-
becomes uncertain and chaotic. This is largely ically charged, and radically distant from the
a function of positive and negative feedback various natures that are out there, which are com-
loops. Holling (1986) has developed a general plex, chaotic, often unpredictable, often radically
model of ecological change that proposes the contingent, risky, and patterned in endlessly com-
internal dynamics of ecosystems cycle through plex ways.
four phases: rapid growth (r), conservation (k), However, at some larger scale it becomes
collapse or release (O), and reorganization (a). difficult to detect diversity and subtle difference
The model proposes that, as weakly connected in local environments. In the same way as surface-
processes interact, some processes reinforce to-volume ratios limit the size of biological
one another, rapidly building structure or organi- organisms and naturally formed physical struc-
zation (rapid growth (r) and conservation (k) tures, proponents of decentralization (Kohr,
phases). However, the system becomes depen- 1978; Schumacher, 1974) argue that there are
dent upon structure and constraint for its persis- these similar principles of optimum-size decen-
tence leaving it vulnerable to either internal tralization for cities, nations, corporations, and
fluctuations or external disruption. Eventually, technologies. One reason for this has to do with
the system collapses (O), allowing the remaining human limits to understand and manage complex
disorganized structures and processes to reorga- systems. Orr (1992) argues, for example, that the
nize (a). Exit from the cycle occurs when ecolog- ecological knowledge and level of attention nec-
ical reorganization into a more or less productive essary to good farming limits the size of farms.
and organized ecosystem is most likely to occur. Beyond that limit, the eyes-to-acres ratio is
As the phases of the adaptive cycle proceed, insufficient for land husbandry (Orr, 1992:
an ecosystems resilience expands and contracts. 3536). At some larger scale it becomes harder
In ecology, an example of such a system is to detect subtle differences in soil types, changes
a mature forest. An ecological disturbance such in plant communities and wildlife habitats, and
as fires, floods or grazing, or disease disturbs variations in topography and microclimate. The
ecological processes. This results in a release memory of past events like floods and droughts
or collapse phase because it indicates the end of fades. As scale increases, the farmer becomes
an existing organization. It is this shift from a manager who must simplify complexity and
release to reorganization that creates uncertainty. homogenize differences in order to control.
This state is transitory. During this phase, an Beyond some threshold, control therefore requires
ecosystem can easily lose resources and new power not stewardship. Orr (1992:36) argues that
actors can enter it. The lack of control allows beyond this scale, it is not possible to see the out-
novel organizations to form. New species of comes of your actions or where your waste and
plants and animals can invade the ecosystem as energy goes. He argues that the same is true for
the ecosystem has little resilience. Such changes things in the built and natural environment other
make it impossible for a given organization to than farms. Increasing scale increases the number
remain static and stable. This alternation between of things that must be attended to and the number
stages may represent a necessary tension between of fluctuating interactions and interrelatedness
invention and efficiency. between components. He also asserts that rising
Such a conceptualization of nature being scale increases the cost of carelessness.
uncertain, dynamic, complex, and adaptive sys- According to Capra (2003) every living com-
tems is in contrast to an often imaginary fixed munity is a learning community and that devel-
idealized nature that is harmonious and bal- opment and learning are always part of the very
anced. Swyngedouw (2007) refutes the singular essence of life because of this continually fluctu-
idea of nature which has a rightful point that it is ating network pattern. A community can learn
Ecological Literacy 1783 E
from its mistakes, because the mistakes travel and Bramewell, A. (1989). Ecology in the twentieth
come back along feedback loops. Then one can century: A history. New Haven, CT: Yale University
Press.
learn, and the next time around one can do it Capra, F. (1997). The web of life: A new synthesis of mind
differently. Then the effect will come back and matter. London: Harper Collins.
again and one can learn again, in steps. Capra, F. (2003). The hidden connections. London: Harper
A community potentially has its own intelligence Collins.
Checkland, P. (1981). Systems thinking, systems practice.
and its own learning capability. However, when Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley.
the change will precisely occur and what state Holling, C. S. (1986). The Resilience of Terrestrial Eco-
the system will change to are generally not systems: Local surprise and global change. In W. M.
predictable. Clark & R. E. Munn (Eds.), Sustainable development
in the biosphere (pp. 292317). Cambridge: E
This philosophy represents not just a shift in Cambridge University Press.
the way things are made and designed but also Holmgren, D. (2002). Permaculture: Principles and path-
a shift in language and epistemology. Form and ways beyond sustainability. Hepburn, VIC: Holmgren
pattern are visualized, and hence, relationships Design Services.
Kay, J. (2002). On complexity theory, exergy, and indus-
cannot be measured and weighed. Capra trial ecology. In C. Kibert, G. Sendzimir, & B. Guy
(2003:202) states that what is important is (Eds.), Construction ecology: Nature as the basis for
a pattern of organization to understand, (and green buildings (pp. 72107). London: Spon Press.
his principles of ecology include networks, Kohr, L. (1978). The breakdown of nation. New York:
E.P. Dutton.
cycles, solar energy, partnerships, diversity, Lovelock, J. E. (1979). Gaia: A new look at life on earth.
and dynamic balance) what Bateson refers Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
to as the pattern that connects (Bateson, McHarg, I. L. (1992). Design with nature: An ecological
1979:1315). basis for architectural design. New York: Doubleday.
McIntosh, R. P. (1989). Citation Classics of Ecology. The
Thinking ecologically is therefore a way Quarterly Review of Biology, 64, 3149.
of integrating human purpose with natures Odum, E. (1983). Basic ecology. Philadelphia: Saunders.
own flows, cycles, and patterns and its natural Orr, D. (1992). Ecological literacy: Education and the
flux. In this way, Orr (1992) states that ecology transition to a postmodern world. Albany, NY: State
University of New York Press.
is an applied subject. Its goal is not just Prigogine, I., & Nicolis, G. (1977). Self-organization in
a comprehension of the interrelationship non-equilibrium systems. New York: Wiley.
between things and therefore how the world Schneider, E. D., & Kay, J. J. (1994a). Complexity and
works, but, in the light of that knowledge, Thermodynamics: Towards a new ecology. Futures,
24, 626647.
a particular worldview and a life lived accord- Schneider, E. D., & Kay, J. J. (1994b). Life as
ingly. He uses the term ecological literacy to a manifestation of the second law of thermodynamics.
imply the ability to think broadly, to know what Mathematical and Computer Modelling, 19, 2548.
is linked to what the interrelationships and Schumacher, E. (1974). Small is beautiful. New York:
Harper Torchbooks.
interdependence of things. Swyngedouw, E. (2007). Impossible Sustainability and
the Postpolitical Condition. In R. Krueger & D. Gibbs
(Eds.), The sustainable development paradox: Urban
Cross-References political economy in the United States and Europe
(pp. 1341). New York: Guildford Press.
Tansley, A. G. (1935). The use and abuse of vegeta-
Community tional concepts and terms. Ecology, 16, 284307
Interdependence [reprinted as part of Trudgill, S. (2007). Classics
Solar Energy Revisited].
van Bertalanffy, L. (1969). General systems theory.
New York: Brazillier.
Yeang, K. (1995). Designing with nature: The ecological
References basis for architectural design. New York: McGraw
Hill.
Bateson, G. (1979). Mind and nature: A necessary unity. Zizek, S. (2006). The parallax view. Cambridge, MA:
Hampton, NJ: Hampton Press. MIT Press.
E 1784 Ecological Momentary Assessment

and more generally the planet Earth. Because an


Ecological Momentary Assessment ecological system includes its inhabitants, human
quality of life is directly tied to the health of the
Daily Diary Methodology environment and vice-versa. Therefore, ecologi-
Experience Sampling cal well-being does not only refer to the well-
being of the natural environment or the planet but
encompasses the relationship between humans
and the environment. The actions of humans
Ecological Sustainability (individuals or societies) on their natural environ-
ment may impact the well-being of ecological
Environmental Sustainability systems, which in turn impact the quality of
life of current human populations and future
generations. Of course, major natural disasters
(e.g., tsunami) could also affect ecological
Ecological Systems Theory well-being, while human actions might not be
(at least directly) at the origin of these natural
Political Context and Social Change disturbances.
The conceptualization of ecological well-being
as the result of humans action has greatly
influenced the measure of ecological well-being.
Ecological Well-Being For example, current measures of ecological well-
being include ecological footprint, the Happy
Frederick M. E. Grouzet and Elliott S. Lee Planet Index, and specific pro-environmental
Department of Psychology, University of behaviors. However, further developments of
Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada both the conceptualization and measure of eco-
logical well-being are ongoing.

Synonyms Toward a Comprehensive Model


of Well-Being
Planetary well-being In positive psychology, various models of
well-being have been proposed. The most
comprehensive one (Keyes, 2003; Keyes &
Definition Magyar-Moe, 2003) involves three dimensions:
emotional well-being (aka hedonic well-
Ecological well-being refers to the harmonious being), psychological well-being, and social
relationship between people and their ecological well-being. Each dimension refers to one impor-
system, which leads to a successful manage- tant aspect of human being and well-being. On
ment, distribution, and sustainability of environ- one hand, ones emotional state is directly related
mental resources for current and future to the hedonistic functioning of human body. On
generations. the other hand, an optimal human being is based
on the individuals personal functioning (psycho-
logical well-being or eudaimonia) and social
Description functioning (social well-being). This model of
well-being captures well the principle of
Ecological well-being is a generic term that is a physiological body within an individual, within
used in several disciplines, such as ecology, soci- a social environment. Following the same
ology, politics, psychology, and economics, to principle, Grouzet (in preparation) proposed that
describe the wellness of the ecological system the inclusion of ecological well-being in the
Ecological Well-Being 1785 E
model would capture the last element of the analytical and educational tool that the creators
Russian-nesting doll model where the social believe can foster public action from sustainabi-
environment is within the natural environment. lity concerns (Wackernagel & Rees, 1996).
This proposition has been echoed in recent While original conceptions consisted of calculat-
environmental critiques to personal well-being ing populations consumption of resources that
models (e.g., Carlisle, Henderson, & Hanlon, are required for food, transportation, housing,
2009; Clayton & Opotow, 2003). The exclusive energy, and goods and services, it has evolved
pursuit of one form of well-being (e.g., hedonis- to encompass broader categories of consumption
tic) may compromise the well-being of others or and greater accessibility for users.
the environment, which may negatively affect A number of questionnaires have grown out of
E
social and ecological well-being. By including the original conceptualization of the ecological
ecological well-being in a more general model footprint to be more accessible to the general
of well-being and positive mental health, the public and to help researchers to measure the
symbiotic relationship between human being and ecological footprint of individuals. The EcoCal
the ecological system is acknowledged. Various is one such self-assessment tool that was created
conceptualizations and assessment of quality in an effort to narrow the ecological footprint
of life also include indicators of ecological from local, region, or global footprinting to
well-being in addition to individual, social, and a household level in the UK (Simmons &
economic factors. Indeed, ecological well-being Chambers, 1998). The EcoCal encompasses
is directly related to individuals health and categories of transportation, energy, water,
well-being (Boyd & Genuis, 2008; McMichael & purchasing, house and garden, and waste.
Butler, 2011; Mitchell & Popham, 2008). The individuals footprint is compared to the
For example, nef (the new economics foundation) potential 15.71 renewable global hectares that
proposed the Happy Planet Index which are available per person to everyone on the
includes not only physical well-being ( Life earth, resulting in a ratio that represents
Expectancy) and personal well-being ( Life the number of earths required if everyone were
Satisfaction) but also ecological well-being to live as the user does. In counter distinction
( Ecological Footprint). to early ecological footprint measures, this
In order to assess ecological well-being, updated version (Footprint 2.0) uses the entire
researchers, decision-makers, and policy-makers earth in calculation of biocapacity, other species
have used various measures. The most used is the needs are taken into account, as well as other
ecological footprint analysis that is an assessment accounting strategies as suggested by Venetoulis
of human demand on the Earths resources (e.g., and Talberth (2008).
Brown & Kasser, 2005; Sheldon, Nichols, & This form of self-assessment has, however,
Kasser, 2011). Other measures includes self-report important limitations. For example, Simmons
of pro-environmental behaviors. and Chambers (1998) noted that households
with large ecological footprints were often
Ecological Well-Being and Ecological those with large families, energy inefficient
Footprint homes, taking distance holidays, and a product
During the last decade, ecological well-being of one-off large purchases such as a car. All
was often assessed through the measure of of these things could be amortized over several
ecological footprint, which has led to consid- years. Self-report measures, such as the Center
ering ecological well-being as synonymous of for Sustainable Economys ecological footprint
planetary well-being or the well-being of the quiz, make gross approximations. For instance,
Earth. However, ecological footprint has some in the food category, an item concerned with
limitations. Ecological footprint was introduced diet limits possible responses to vegan, vegetar-
in the late twentieth century by Rees and ian, omnivore, carnivore, and top of the food
Wackernagel (1994) and now serves as an chain, which does not correspond to all possible
E 1786 Ecological Well-Being

diets (CSE, 2012). Then the choice becomes three levels of difficulty for pro-environmental
whether the responder indicates their level behaviors: self- and other-education on environ-
above their true behavior, potentially increasing mental issues, environmentally friendly consump-
their footprint, or indicating their level below tion, and recycling behaviors. Therefore, any
their true behavior, potentially decreasing their effort to measure ecological well-being should
footprint. Ecological footprint is also very take into consideration the difficulty level of
complex and each component may interact the behavior. For example, each self-reported
with others. For example, living in an urban behavior could be weighted by its difficulty,
area could be compensated by ecological trans- which is directly correlated with its impact on the
portation (e.g., bicycle) and urban gardening. well-being of the planet. Indeed, recycling is rela-
tively easy and its impact is relatively local (and, as
shown above, a potential indicator of ecological
Ecological Well-Being and Pro-environmental ill-being), while purchasing organic food is more
Behaviors difficult and the impact is more global.
Another, but related, method to assess ecological
well-being is the use of self-reports of indi- Ecological Well-Being Beyond Behavioral
viduals pro-environmental behaviors. Pro- Measures
environmental behaviors are vast, so in an effort Ecological footprint and pro-environmental
to create a comprehensive measure of pro- behavior are good assessments of a persons
environmental behaviors, Kaiser (1998) com- behaviors and/or how the planet is doing as
piled a list of 38 behaviors, from the use of a result of those behaviors. However, they do not
chemical cleaners to the use of public transporta- encompass the full definition of ecological well-
tion, to create the General Ecological Behavior being that is the harmonious relationship between
scale. However, using self-reported pro- people and their ecological system. They are
environmental behaviors to assess ecological mainly behavioral and correspond to an anthropo-
well-being has some limitations. First, a well- centric view of ecological well-being. In order to
accepted pro-environmental behavior, such as fill this gap, Grouzet (in preparation) has under-
recycling, could be detrimental for ecological taken a series of studies to develop a
well-being. Indeed, recycling a lot also means multidimensional measure of ecological well-
consuming a lot. Inversely, low frequency of being that captures the affective, cognitive, and
recycling could be associated with reduced use behavioral components of the harmonious
of paper. Therefore, as De Young (198586) sug- relationship. For example, the affective connec-
gests, the assessment of recycling behaviors tion to nature (or biophilia) is an important
should go further than ones household recycling component of ecological well-being.
by asking how often one recycles products that In conclusion, ecological well-being is an
cannot be picked up curbside and how often important component of quality of life. Under
one encourages others to recycle. Second, com- different forms, ecological well-being has been
mon assessments of pro-environmental behaviors included in different conceptualization and
include behaviors that often correspond to assessment of well-being and quality of life.
a direct interaction between humans and the envi- The best example is the Happy Planet
ronment. Ecological protection in the form of Index that considers ecological footprint as
political advocacy, education, voluntary simplic- a moderator of traditional measures of well-
ity, or environmental activism can also be being and health. This acknowledges the
considered as pro-environmental behaviors, how- importance of the ecosystem in determining
ever. For example, in a study of motivation humans well-being. Future research on the con-
toward pro-environmental behaviors, Green- ceptualization, measurement, and determinants
Demers, Pelletier, and Menard (1997) identified of ecological well-being are still needed.
Economic and Financial Literacy 1787 E
Cross-References measures (pp. 411425). Washington, DC: American
Psychological Association.
McMichael, A. J., & Butler, C. D. (2011). Promoting
Affective Connection to Nature global population health while constraining the envi-
Ecological Footprint ronmental footprint. Annual Review of Public Health,
Ecosystem Approach to Human Health 32, 179197.
Environment and Health Mitchell, R., & Popham, F. (2008). Effect of exposure to
natural environment on health inequalities: An obser-
Environment Friendly Index vational population study. Lancet, 372, 16551660.
Fostering Pro-environmental Behavior Rees, W. E., & Wackernagel, M. (1994). Ecological foot-
Happy Planet Index prints and appropriated carrying capacity: Measuring
Nature Relatedness and Subjective Well-Being the natural capital requirements of the human econ-
omy. In A. M. Jansson, M. Hammer, C. Folke, & E
Sustainability R. Costanza (Eds.), Investing in natural capital: The
ecological economics approach to sustainability
(pp. 362390). Washington, DC: Island Press.
References Sheldon, K. M., Nichols, C. P., & Kasser, T. (2011).
Americans recommend smaller ecological footprints
when reminded of intrinsic American values of self-
Boyd, D. R., & Genuis, S. J. (2008). The environmental expression, family, and generosity. Ecopsychology, 3,
burden of disease in Canada: Respiratory disease, car- 97104.
diovascular disease, cancer, and congenital affliction. Simmons, C., & Chambers, N. (1998). Footprinting UK
Environmental Research, 106, 240249. households: How big is your ecological garden? Local
Brown, R., & Kasser, T. (2005). Are psychological and Environment: The International Journal of Justice and
ecological well-being compatible? The role of values, Sustainability, 3, 355362.
mindfulness, and lifestyle. Social Indicators Research, Venetoulis, J., & Talberth, J. (2008). Refining the eco-
74, 349368. logical footprint. Environment, Development, and
Carlisle, S., Henderson, G., & Hanlon, P. W. (2009). Sustainability, 10, 441469.
Wellbeing: a collateral casualty of modernity? Wackernagel, M., & Rees, W. E. (1996). Our ecological
Social Science and Medicine, 69, 15561560. footprint: Reducing human impact on the earth.
Center for Sustainable Economy. (2012). Ecological Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers.
footprint quiz. Retrieved December 12, 2012, from
http://myfootprint.org/
Clayton, S., & Opotow, S. (2003). Justice and identity:
Changing perspectives on what is fair. Personality and
social psychology review, 7, 298310.
De Young, R. (198586). Encouraging environmentally Ecology
appropriate behavior: The role of intrinsic motivation.
Journal of Environmental Systems, 15, 281292.
Green-Demers, I., Pelletier, L. G., & Menard, S. (1997). Environment and Health
The impact of behavioral difficulty on the saliency of
the association between self-determined motivation
and environmental behaviours. Canadian Journal of
Behavioural Science, 29, 157166.
Grouzet, F. M. E. (in preparation). Ecological well-being: Economic and Financial Literacy
Conceptualization and measurement. Victoria, BC:
University of Victoria.
Kaiser, F. G. (1998). A general measure of ecological Celeste Amorim Varum
behavior. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 28, Department of Economics, Management and Ind.
395422. Engineering, University of Aveiro, Aveiro,
Keyes, C. L. M. (2003). Complete mental health: An
agenda for the 12st century. In C. L. M. Keyes &
Portugal
J. Haidt (Eds.), Flourishing: Positive psychology and
the life well-lived (pp. 293312). Washington, DC:
American Psychological Association. Definition
Keyes, C. L. M., & Magyar-Moe, J. L. (2003). The mea-
surement and utility of adult subjective well-being.
In S.J. Lopez & C.R. Synder (Eds.), Postive psycho- Capacity to apply reasoning when making
logical assessment: A handbook of models and decisions about using scarce resources.
E 1788 Economic and Financial Literacy

Description 2002; see also the National Council on Economic


Education, 2003). The economy performs better
Economic reasoning implies having the capa- when its participants are well informed because
bilities to identify the choice-related problems well-informed participants make decisions that
which confront us, define criteria and goals enhance resource allocation and thus contribute
which frame our choices, identify and analyze to rising economic efficiency, productivity,
the possible effects and opportunity cost of and living standards. Economic knowledge
each alternative, and take actions based upon also helps to promote entrepreneurship and
acost-benefit analysis of the various alternatives active citizenship.
(Symmes & Gilliard, 1981). While the importance of economic literacy
Knowledge of economic-related aspects has is recognized, for many countries there are sub-
become determinant to deal with the increasing stantial deficiencies in populations knowledge
complexity of the day-by-day decisions that on economic matters. Hence, projects to enhance
a normal citizen has to take. population general knowledge and interest on
Not surprisingly, the issues related to eco- economics are to be supported. The projects
nomic education are under increasing attention. may be related to lifelong learning initiatives,
Our survey of the literature conducted under the to formal courses at the university level (e.g.,
Project Economicando (Varum & Ferreira, 2011) Becker, 1997), as well as to child education.
shows that in more recent years, economic educa- Broad-based economic education initiatives for
tion has enjoyed a clear revival, reflected in the school-age children will translate into a society of
boom in published research on the matter. As financially literate adults, with eventual positive
a result, from its initial contributions in the 1960s effects on the well-being of future generations.
(e.g., Senesh, 1964), economic education has This takes to a second question in the litera-
developed into a major subfield of economics ture: should economics be infused in young peo-
(Marlin & Durden, 1993, p. 171) with its own ple? How capable are youngsters to understand
field classification in the Journal of Economic economic concepts? A vast body of research has
Literature, namely, with codes A20A29. examined economics education in primary and
The literature on the matter discusses three elementary school and beyond, mostly in the
critical aspects. First, there is an ongoing discus- USA, with the overwhelming finding that young
sion about the advantages of people having eco- students are capable of understanding a variety of
nomic knowledge and of receiving some type of economic concepts (Ajello, Bombi, Pontecorvo,
education in economics (Walstad, 1991). In spite & Zucchermaglio, 1987; Davison & Kilgore,
of the critiques, there are numerous potential 1971; Laney, 1988; Laney & Schug, 1998).
benefits for people and for the society as However, economics it is not in the formal
a whole. Economic knowledge, of financial school curricula, nor even as complementary
issues, for example, supports peoples (financial) extracurricular activity, for most economies. The
decisions and enhances their autonomy and advances in the USA are reflected in the existence
prevents over indebtedness (FES Report, 2007). of the National Council on Economic Education
From research on economic education in the that promotes economic literacy and in the formal
USA, Stern (2002) concludes that those who inclusion of economics in the childrens educa-
have had classes in economics or finance on the tional curriculum. There are no formal indicators,
secondary school tend to have significantly but for most economies, economics is addressed in
higher levels of wealth in adulthood. But the the curricula accidentally, being approached very
advantages of economic literacy go well beyond superficially in some subjects.
the private benefit, as discussed by Lucey and A third question raised in the literature relates
Giannangelo (2006). Eventually, invisible hand to the methods used to educate people in econom-
works better when the agents of the economy are ics. Among different alternatives, it has been
economically and financially literate (Stern, defended that using computer games, in class or
Economic and Social Indicators 1789 E
outside the classroom, is very consistent with the Marlin, J. W., & Durden, G. C. (1993). An analysis of
emerging paradigm of instruction. These studies contributions and contributors in economic education
research. Journal of Economic Education, 24(2),
show how apart from being enjoyable, fun and 171186.
games can be effective methods to teach, espe- National Council on Economic Education. (2003). Survey
cially for early childhood. of the States: Economic and personal finance education
in our nations schools in 2002. New York: Author.
Senesh, L. (1964). Our working world. Chicago: Science
Acknowledgments Project Economicando, (PTDC/ Research Associates.
EGE-ECO/100923/2008) financed by FCT - Fundacao Stern, G. H. (2002). From pocketbook to policymaking,
para a Ciencia e Tecnologia and co-financed by FEDER economic education matters. The Region, 16(2), 25.
funds through the Programa Operacional Fatores de Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
Competitividade COMPETE. Symmes, S. S., & Gilliard, J. V. (Eds.). (1981). Economic E
literacy What is it? In economic education: Links to
the social studies. Washington, DC: National Council
Cross-References to the Social Studies.
Varum, C. A., & Ferreira, A. (2011). Survey of economic
education literature in recent decades. Mimeo,
Active Citizenship Projecto Economicando, DEGEI, and GOVCOPP,
Capabilities University of Aveiro, financed by FCT/MCTES
Economic Efficiency (PIDDAC) and Co-financed by Fundo Europeu de
Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER) atraves do
Education COMPETE Programa Operacional Factores de
Entrepreneurship Competitividade (POFC).
Indicators, Quality of Life Walstad, W. B. (1991). A flawed ideological critique.
Lifelong Learning Journal of Economic Perspectives, 5(3), 167173.
Literacy

References Economic and Social Indicators

Ajello, A. M., Bombi, A. S., Pontecorvo, C., & Cecilia Wong


Zucchermaglio, C. (1987). Teaching economics in Centre for Urban Policy Studies, The University
primary school: The concepts of work and profit. of Manchester, Manchester, UK
International Journal of Behavioral Development,
10, 5169.
Becker, W. E. (1997). Teaching economics to undergrad-
uates. Journal of Economic Literature, 35(3), Synonyms
13471373.
Davison, D., & Kilgore, J. (1971). A model for evaluating
the effectiveness of economic education in primary
Socioeconomic indicators
grades. Journal of Economic Education, 3(1), 1725.
FES Report. (2007, April 1213). EU Project FES, Finan-
cial education & better access to adequate financial Definition
services. In International Conference: Financial edu-
cation & better access to adequate financial services.
Best practices and ways forward to combat financial Economic and social indicators are statistics that
exclusion in Europe, Vienna. measure different aspects of development and
Laney, J. D. (1988). Can economic concepts be learned and performance of the economy and the society.
remembered: A comparison of elementary students.
Journal of Economic Research, 82(2), 99105.
Laney, J. D., & Schug, M. (1998). Teach kids economics
and they will learn. Social Studies and the Young Description
Learner, 11(2), 1317.
Lucey, T. A., & Giannangelo, D. M. (2006). Short
changed: The importance of facilitating equitable
The history of using quantitative indicators to
financial education in urban society. Education and guide policy making can be traced back to the
Urban Society, 38(3), 268287. 1940s when the monthly economic indicators,
E 1790 Economic and Social Indicators

e.g., GDP, were first published to measure the related to them. Indicators based on the natural
buoyancy of the US economy. This was partly sciences he considered should also be treated
a response to the Great Depression happening in this common framework. It is clear that he
in the decade preceding World War II when broadens the notion of policy indicators with an
the severe economic depression had devastating inclusive approach and emphasizes on their
effects worldwide. This success in developing interrelationships.
a set of reliable economic indicators prompted Economic and social indicators can be used to
American social scientists, welfare advocates, measure socioeconomic development of the soci-
and civil servants to develop indicators to ety by having indicators such as GDP, GVA
measure social change in the mid-1960s. The (gross value added), unemployment level, life
term social indicators was popularized by expectancy, education level, crime and safety,
Raymond Bauer (Bauer, 1966), who was and level of participation in civil society.
commissioned by the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA) to examine the
impact of the space program on American soci- Discussion
ety. The idea of compiling social indicators
spread rapidly from the USA to international Socioeconomic development encapsulates the
organizations such as the Organization for Eco- dynamic process of change (i.e., causes and
nomic Cooperation and Development (OECD) contributing factors) as well as the state of
and the Social and Economic Council of the development (i.e., performance and outcomes)
United Nations (Horn, 1993), which began to (Wong et al., 2004; Wong & Watkins, 2009).
develop social accounting and reporting Many indicator models thus have a theoretical
schemes (e.g., Stone, 1971; UN Statistical assumption that there is a causal chain of rela-
Office, 1975). This wave of research was tionships to be measured by different types of
named the social indicators movement by indicators. However, due to the complexity and
Otis Dudley Duncan (1969). the lack of strong theoretical underpinning of
There is a thorough discussion on social indi- the precise interrelations between different
cators in this encyclopedia. The inclusion of socioeconomic issues, it is rather difficult
economic and social indicators into one domain to untangle the web of causal relationships
is closely linked to the debate over the scope and (Wong & Watkins, 2009). The operation of
coverage of indicators (Wong, 2006). Some different aspects of change may reinforce and
authors deliberately demarcate social indicators enhance the restructuring process (such as qua-
from their economic cousins to repudiate the lity of life and economic competitiveness),
view that social indicators only play an auxiliary but their interaction can also be contentious.
role to their economic counterpart (Cazes, Knowing that it is not easy to develop a linear
1972). Such a distinction is not very helpful causal chain model of socioeconomic indica-
because it fails to clarify the sphere of social indi- tors, the solution is often found to have
cators. Bauer (1966: xvi) thus defined the term a comprehensive indicator framework (Wong &
social as societal and saw social indicators as Watkins, 2009; UNDESA, 2007).
indicatorls for society. This broader notion of
social indicators aims to take into account both
social and economic considerations and to inte- Cross-References
grate them into policy decisions.
Duncan (MacRae Jr 1985; Wong et al., GDP Growth
2004) puts forward the view that policy indi- Indicators, Quality of Life
cators should be all inclusive and that Life Expectancy
economic indicators should be joined in Quality of Life
a single inclusive domain with the social and Social Indicators
Economic Development 1791 E
References
Economic Development
Bauer, R. A. (1966). Social indicators. Cambridge, MA:
MIT.
Robert Pittman1 and Rhonda Phillips2
Cazes, B. (1972). The development of social indicators: 1
A survey. In A. Shonfield & S. Shaw (Eds.), Social Janus Economics, Atlanta, GA, USA
2
indicators and social policy, published for the social Community Resources/Development, Arizona
science research council. London: Heinemann Educa- State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA
tional Books.
Duncan, O. D. (1969). Towards social reporting: Next
steps. New York: Russell Sage.
Horn, R. V. (1993). Statistical indicators for the economic Synonyms E
and social sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Local and regional development; Market-measured
Mac Rae, D., Jr. (1985). Policy indicators: Links between
social science and public debate. Chapel Hill: Univer- development
sity of North Carolina Press.
Stone, R. (1971). Demographic accounting and model-
building. Organisation for economic cooperation
and. Paris: Development.
Definition
UN Statistical Office. (1975). Towards a system of
social and demographic statistics, studies in methods The process of creating wealth through the
(Vol. Series F, No. 18). New York: UN Statistical mobilization of human, financial, physical, and
Office.
natural resources to generate marketable goods
UNDESA. (2007). Indicators of sustainable development:
Guidelines and methodologies, department of eco- and services for improving standards of living
nomic and social affairs (3rd ed.). New York: United and quality of life in an area.
Nations.
Wong, C. (2006). Quantitative indicators for urban and
regional planning: The interplay of policy and
methods. Royal town planning institute library book Description
series. London: Routledge.
Wong, C., Jeffrey, P., Green, A., Owen, D., Coombes, M., Economic development planning is undertaken
& Raybould, S. (2004). Developing a town and city
for the purposes of increasing standards of living
indicators database, final report to the office of the
deputy prime minister. Liverpool: University of through:
Liverpool. Greater per capita income
Wong, C., & Watkins, C. (2009). Conceptualising spatial Quality and quantity of employment
planning outcomes: Towards an integrative measure-
opportunities
ment framework. Town Planning Review, 80(45),
481516. Increased quality of life for the persons
represented within the development district
Economic development should be judged in
terms of effects on the community, not just
in quantitative terms. Activities, policies, and
Economic and Social Life Goals approaches comprising it should be focused
toward goal-oriented change, not change for the
Material and Nonmaterial (Family, Social, purpose of change. This is reflective of the
Leisure) Values
argument of growth versus development.
Who does economic development? Everyone
can be involved, from residents to professional
practitioners, and generally, there are offices and
Economic and Social Values activities around economic development found in
the following sectors:
Material and Nonmaterial (Family, Social, Private sector
Leisure) Values Utilities
E 1792 Economic Development

Banks business climate and economic development


Public sector mobilizes these assets to realize benefits for the
National/federal community. Community development, therefore
Provincial/state/region can be viewed as creating a development ready
Local community: a good place to live, work and play
Nonprofit/nongovernmental sector with a good labor force, quality of life, infrastruc-
Chambers of commerce ture, education system, government, etc. that
Industrial development authorities facilitates successful economic development.
Advocacy groups The process of economic development is defined
There are numerous issues around economic above; the outcome is more and better jobs,
development, not the least of which is the issue of increased incomes and wealth and an increase
political influences. Another area of paramount in the standard of living (Pittman, Pittman,
concern is that of sustainable development which Phillips, & Cangelosi, 2009).
implies integrating fully with all aspects of plan- Economic development is a process. Communi-
ning and development in an area. Economic ties successful in economic development devote
development can be seen as one of the three the appropriate resources to the effort, design
major pillars of sustainability economics, good programs, and stay with them for the long-
term. Over time a good economic development
equity, and environment and, as such, has program pays dividends. If communities approach
major influences on sustainability. economic development in a start-and-stop fashion,
Another issue of concern in economic deve- frequently changing programs as, say, new politi-
lopment is how to measure, gauge, and respond cal officials take office, the likelihood of success
is significantly lower. A well-planned and widely
to outcomes and impacts of various policies, supported economic development program based
actions, and investments done in the name of on consensus building through the process of
economic development. One way is to use com- community development has a much higher likeli-
munity and regional indicators and other methods hood of success (Phillips & Pittman, 2009, 5).
Schaffer, Deller, and Marcouiller (2006: 61)
for evaluating/monitoring/planning future out- describe the relationship and synergy between
comes. However, these measures should reflect community development and economic develop-
not only the economic components but also ment as follows:
include social and environmental aspects to We maintain that community economic deve-
lopment occurs when people in a community ana-
paint a more holistic picture of what is happening lyze the economic conditions of that community,
in the area. Traditional measures of economic determine its economic needs and unfulfilled
development, such as the gross domestic or opportunities, decide what can be done to improve
national product, simply do not capture the full economic conditions in that community, and then
move to achieve agreed upon economic goals and
impact, and there is much debate around the need objectives.
to expand beyond traditional approaches to mea-
surement to more fully reflect the goals and
desires to be more sustainable. Economic devel-
opment theory and policy have historically Cross-References
focused only on traditional factors of production
to the detriment of inclusion of a whole range of Community Economic Development
other considerations in social and environmental Development
dimensions. United Nations Development Programme
Looking more deeply at a definition, economic
development can be viewed as both a process and
outcome. It is also tied closely to community References
development, with definitions of each closely
related: community development produces Phillips, R., & Pittman, R. (2009). Introduction to
assets for improving the quality of life and community development. London: Routledge.
Economic Efficiency 1793 E
Pittman, R., Pittman, E., Phillips, R., & Cangelosi, J. Description
(2009). The community and economic development
chain: Validating the links between CED practice and
outcomes. Community Development, 40(1). Under the neoclassical economics tradition, eco-
Schaffer, R., Deller, S., & Marcouiller, D. (2006). nomic efficiency is the sum and outcome of static
Rethinking community economic development. Eco- efficiency and dynamic efficiency. Static effi-
nomic Development Quarterly, 20(1), 5974. ciency occurs when a market operates under two
conditions (Cabral, 2000; Church & Ware, 2000;
Holmstrom & Tirole, 1989; Schmalensee, 1989;
Tirole, 1989). In general, both conditions might
Economic Development be violated in the presence of externalities that
for Communities E
lead to market failures. The first condition is
that every resource is subject to optimal alloca-
Community Economic Development tion, so every resource produces maximum out-
put or else waste for the production of a given
good or service is minimum. This condition is
called allocative efficiency. See also X-efficiency
Economic Development Website for an analysis of efficiency of production
(Leibenstein, 1966). Overall market surplus,
Praxis that is, the combined consumer surplus and
producer surplus, is used to measure allocative
efficiency. Overall surplus accounts for the value
that is created because of the operation of a given
Economic Efficiency market or else it measures the benefits to a society
from the existence and operation of any given
Anastasia Petrou market. Since the price mechanism is responsible
Department of Economics, University for allocating resources at their best use,
of Peloponnese, Tripolis, Greece allocative efficiency losses occur when a price
is above marginal cost, that is, it exceeds con-
sumers willingness to pay. The second condition
Synonyms is that the actual cost of production of a unit of
good, that is, unit cost, is the lowest possible cost.
Market-measured efficiency; Static and dynamic This condition is called productive efficiency.
efficiency Productive efficiency is measured as the sum of
technical efficiency and scale efficiency levels.
Both technical and scale efficiency levels are
Definition measured as deviations from a given production
boundary that relates aggregate input quantities
Economic efficiency is a broad term typically to aggregate output quantities in technological
used in microeconomics in order to denote the terms. Technical efficiency represents a firms
state of best possible operation of a product or current inputoutput combination distance from
service market. Economic efficiency assumes that boundary. For any technical efficient firm,
minimum cost for the production of a good or scale efficiency represents its deviation from the
service, maximum output, and maximum surplus most productive scale size, that is, the distance
from the operation of the market. Economic effi- from the constant returns to scale area (Banker,
ciency is the sum, and outcome of, static effi- Charnes, & Cooper, 1984). Consistent estimates
ciency and dynamic efficiency (Cabral, 2000; of technical and scale efficiency may be derived
Church & Ware, 2000; Holmstrom & Tirole, through the specification and estimation of
1989; Schmalensee, 1989; Tirole, 1989). a production boundary using either parametric
E 1794 Economic Efficiency

(stochastic) or nonparametric (data envelopment Nonparametric Analysis


analysis) methods (Aigner, Lovell, & Schmidt, Parametric Analysis
1977; Battese & Coelli, 1992, 1995; Battese &
Corra, 1977; Charnes, Cooper, & Rhodes, 1979;
Coelli, Rao, & Battese, 1998; Farrell, 1957;
References
Kumbhakar, 1996; Olson, Schmidt, & Waldman,
1980; Schmidt, 1985). Aigner, D. J., Lovell, C. A. K., & Schmidt, P. (1977).
Dynamic efficiency occurs when new prod- Formulation and estimation of stochastic frontier produc-
ucts are introduced in the market and the existing tion function models. Journal of Econometrics, 6, 2137.
Banker, R. D., Charnes, A., & Cooper, W. W. (1984).
production techniques are improved. New prod-
Some models for estimating technical and scale inef-
ucts are important as product variety is ficiencies in data envelopment analysis. Management
a determinant of consumer utility, while Science, 30(9), 10781092.
improvements in the existing production tech- Battese, G. E., & Coelli, T. J. (1992). Frontier production
functions, technical efficiency and panel data: With
niques allow adjustments towards minimum pro-
application to paddy farmers in India. Journal of Pro-
duction costs. Dynamic efficiency is difficult to ductivity Analysis, 3, 153169.
measure and highly dependent upon the sector Battese, G. E., & Coelli, T. J. (1995). A model for techni-
under study (Cabral, 2000). cal inefficiency effects in a stochastic frontier produc-
tion function for panel data. Empirical Economics, 20,
Evidently, economic efficiency is a broad term
325332.
difficult to measure in all its aspects and phases. Battese, G. E., & Corra, G. S. (1977). Estimation of
The term is commonly used to denote the eco- a production frontier model: With application to the
nomic state of minimizing waste and inefficiency pastoral zone of eastern Australia. Australian Journal
of Agricultural Economics, 21, 169179.
while producing maximum output, while an
Cabral, L. (2000). Introduction to industrial organization.
economy is economically efficient, if any Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
changes made to increase the welfare of one Charnes, A., Cooper, W. W., & Rhodes, E. (1979). Short
person would decrease the welfare of another communication: Measuring the efficiency of decision
making units. European Journal of Operational
(Pareto efficiency). In other words, economic
Research, 3, 339.
efficiency is used as a criterion regarding the Church, J., & Ware, R. (2000). Industrial organization.
operation of markets and economies. Thus, eco- A strategic approach. Boston: Irwin McGraw-Hill.
nomic efficiency can even be subjective based on Coelli, T., Rao, D. P., & Battese, G. (1998). An introduc-
tion to efficiency and productivity analysis. Dordrecht,
measurement assumptions about the desirability
The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
of a social good that is created and the degree in Farrell, M. J. (1957). The measurement of productive
which this might serve consumers (marginal efficiency. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society,
social cost and marginal social benefit). Series A, Part III, 120, 253281.
Holmstrom, B. R., & Tirole, J. (1989). The theory of the
Markets and their operation, through basic
firm. In R. Schmalensee & R. Willing (Eds.), Handbook
market forces such as the prices, employment of industrial organization. Amsterdam: North Holland.
rates, and interest rates, are responsible for driv- Kumbhakar, S. C. (1996). Efficiency measurement with
ing an economy and society towards achieving multiple outputs and multiple inputs. Journal of Pro-
ductivity Analysis, 7(2/3), 225256.
economic efficiency. The operation of markets in
Leibenstein, H. (1966). Allocative efficiency vs. X-effi-
such a framework is subject to a number of ciency. American Economic Review, 56, 392415.
hypotheses such as the ceteris paribus hypothesis Olson, J. A., Schmidt, P., & Waldman, D. M. (1980).
in the case of static analysis. A Monte Carlo study of stochastic frontier production
functions. Journal of Econometrics, 13, 6782.
Schmalensee, R. (1989). Inter-industry studies of structure
and performance. In R. Schmalensee & R. Willing
Cross-References (Eds.), Handbook of industrial organization. Amster-
dam: North Holland.
Schmidt, P. (1985). Frontier production functions. Econo-
Data Envelopment Analysis
metric Reviews, 4(2), 289328.
Economic Freedom (Fraser Institute and Tirole, J. (1989). The theory of industrial organization.
Heritage Foundation) Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Economic Freedom (Fraser Institute and Heritage Foundation) 1795 E
political freedom and a free market. I know of no
Economic Freedom (Fraser Institute example in time or place of a society that has
and Heritage Foundation) been marked by a large measure of political
freedom, and that has not also used something
Fred McMahon comparable to a free market to organize the
International Research, The Fraser Institute, bulk of economic activity. He concluded that
Toronto, ON, Canada no effort to measure economic freedom or test
the proposition had been undertaken (Walker,
1996, p. 1).
Synonyms That launched a still ongoing research project
E
that would define and measure economic free-
Economic efficiency dom, coordinated by Walker and Milton and his
wife Rose Friedman. Three Nobel Laureates and
61 of the worlds top scholars participated in
Definition these seminars, which led to the publication of
three books of essay exploring the question (see
Economic freedom is the ability of individuals Walker (1988), Block (1991), and Easton and
to make their own economic decisions without Walker (1992)).
interference or limitations by government or The seminars and the books explored the
governments protection of anti-market behavior theoretical and philosophical questions surround-
in favor of powerful groups and these groups ing the nature and meaning of economic freedom.
abuse of this power to limit market choices of Thanks to these discussions, the idea now can
other. be intuitively and simply presented. Economic
freedom is the ability of individuals, families,
and businesses to make their own economic deci-
Description sions free of coercion. The classic summary is as
follows:
For at least a quarter of a millennium, thinkers Individuals have economic freedom when (a) prop-
have noted the power of economic freedom. erty they acquire without the use of force, fraud, or
When in 1776, Adam Smith famously wrote, theft is protected from physical invasions by others
It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, and (b) they are free to use, exchange, or give their
property as long as their actions do not violate the
the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our din- identical rights of others. An index of economic
ner, but from their regard to their own interest, freedom should measure the extent to which rightly
he was talking about economic freedom. Neither acquired property is protected and individuals are
benevolence nor coercion brought Smith his engaged in voluntary transactions. (Gwartney,
Lawson, & Block, 1996, p. 12)
supper. Instead, it was freely agreed upon eco-
nomic exchange. The project faced an important question
Yet, until a quarter century ago, economic when it came to constructing the actual index.
freedom was an intuitive concept, unmeasured, This was the nature of the measurement should
and with no rigorous definition. Michael A. it be subjective, based on experts opinions,
Walker, then executive director of Canadas or should it be objective, based on third-party
Fraser Institute, noted this significant gap in measurements. Several surveys of experts were
knowledge in the 1984 meeting of the Mont undertaken, but comparisons across expert
Pelerin Society in Cambridge, UK. He cited the opinions proved difficult since few possessed
famous passage in Capitalism and Freedom writ- expert knowledge of more than one or two
ten by Milton Friedman and Rose Friedman, in nations.
which the authors note that Historical evidence On the other hand, an objective measure had
speaks with a single voice on the relation between strong attractions. The use of third-party data
E 1796 Economic Freedom (Fraser Institute and Heritage Foundation)

meant that the index was reproducible by other editions, but these differences have tended to
researchers, a key principle of empirical research. narrow over the years.
Some survey data were also included. While hard Nonetheless, the overlap is almost complete
data would have been preferable, the use of third- with only the organization being significantly
party surveys maintained the reproducibility of different.
the survey, since other researchers have access to Government spending and fiscal freedom
these surveys. More importantly, it maintained or size of government, depending on index,
objectivity. The authors and any expert panel measures the space government takes up, lim-
chosen by them would have biases that would iting the scope for free exchange and also
influence the results, perhaps even influence involving property expropriation to fund the
scores for nations they liked or disliked for spending.
entirely noneconomic reasons. The use of third- Monetary policy measures expropriation
party data maintains the necessary distance through inflation.
between the researchers and the results. Legal structure and property rights measures
The first index appeared in 1996, and since whether property is protected with fairness in
then the index has expanded to include five the legal system so that the powerful cannot
equally weighted areas: size of government, use their power to limit the economic freedom
legal structure and security of property rights, of the week.
sound money, freedom to trade, and regulation Freedom to Trade Internationally measures
of credit, labor, and business. Forty-two variables whether people can make free exchanges
are used to measure these areas. across borders.
Since the publication of the first edition of the Frasers regulation of credit, business, and
Economic Freedom of the World in 1996, there labor, and the Heritages business, investment,
have been about 350 scholarly and policy articles financial, and labor freedom measure the
that have used the economic freedom indexes extent to which freedom exchange is limited
to explore the relationship between economic by regulations; individuals should be able to
freedom and other socioeconomic outcomes hire and work for whom they wish; borrow,
(http://www.freetheworld.com/papers.html). For lend, or invest with whom they wish; and
example, it was used as the key measure of good set up a business and close it without undue
institutions in the International Monetary Funds red tape.
(2005) recent investigation of institutions, its Unlike the Heritage index, the Fraser index
2005 report World Economic Outlook: Building does not have a full area devoted to Freedom
Institutions. from Corruption. Instead, the Fraser index
The Heritage Foundations work on economic includes only one variable on Extra payments/
freedom went in another direction and combined Bribes/Favoritism out of the 16 variables in the
third-party data with subjective analysis. Its first Regulation area. Corruption is a controversial
report appeared in 1995 (Johnson & Sheehy), but topic in economics. Corruption on one hand can
unlike the Fraser study, it was not preceded by allow voluntary exchange which would have
extensive earlier studies devoted to the analysis been prohibited without money passing hands;
of economic freedom and developing an index on the other hand, corruption is clearly a tax,
based on that analysis. limiting economic freedom and, often worse,
Heritage uses ten categories: business free- particularly if payoffs have to made to competing
dom, trade freedom, fiscal freedom, government officials who may or may not have the power to
spending, monetary freedom, investment free- facilitate the transaction, potentially a criminal
dom, financial freedom, property rights, freedom tax without the service.
from corruption, and labor freedom. The two There are a couple other differences between
indexes would differ sometimes quite a bit for the two projects. The Fraser Institute has
individual nations, for example, Israel, in early established the Economic Freedom Network of
Economic Freedom (Fraser Institute and Heritage Foundation) 1797 E
the world which has member institutions and the well-being of other individuals (by efficiently
co-publishers of the index in 85 different creating goods and services people want) differs
nations and territories, including Israel and the dramatically from the dynamics of society where,
Gaza Strip, Pakistan and India, Cambodia and in the absence of economic freedom, rent seek-
Vietnam, Georgia and Russia, and Colombia ing, and power hoarding to the disadvantage
and Venezuela to name a few (http://www. of others is the path to increased wealth and
freetheworld.com/member.html). As well, the power. The first dynamic is conducive to
Fraser Institute has spun off a number of regional a stable, peaceful, civil society marked by free-
reports, for example, the Economic Freedom dom; the latter produces dynamics that create
of the Arab World: Annual Report (Al Ismaily incentives to reduce freedoms.
E
et al. 2008; 2010) (http://www.freetheworld.com/ Intuitively, one would expect that economic
regional.html). freedom would have a positive impact on
economic growth because economic freedom
Benefits of Economic Freedom creates a climate that allows individuals and
Most of the research on economic freedom seems business to allocate their resources to the highest
to have used the Fraser Institute index, likely end use. However, the question is ultimately
because it is replicable. A search of the social an empirical one. In one of the first studies,
science citation index in June 2011 for 2009 to Easton and Walker (1997) found that changes in
2011 found 103 citations for the Fraser report economic freedom have a significant impact on
compared to 31 for the Heritage report, once the steady-state level of income even after the
duplicates were eliminated for both. level of technology, the level of education of the
Nonetheless, the now high level of correlation work force, and the level of investment are taken
between the two reports suggests that they are into account.
measuring the same thing, albeit by slightly De Haan and Sturm (2000) show empirically
different methods. However, given the larger that positive (negative) changes in economic
volume of research based on the Fraser report, freedom lead to positive (negative) changes in
the discussion of the benefits for economic free- economic growth rates. Using the economic free-
dom will be based on research using this report. dom index published in Gwartney et al. (1996)
Economic freedom creates positive social and and per capita GDP data for 80 countries, their
economic dynamics, which can be described results indicate that after accounting for educa-
intuitively. In economically free nations, people tional level, investment, and population growth,
succeed by creating goods or services that others changes in economic freedom have a significant
want to buy. In other words, people get ahead by impact on economic growth.
creating benefits for other people. It also gener- Gwartney and Lawson (2004) examined
ates economic growth as discussed below. the impact of economic freedom on economic
Where economic freedom does not exist, growth but with a specific focus on investment
economies grow slowly, if at all, and people and productivity. They found that economic
gain by rent seeking and limiting the possibilities freedom strongly promotes investment. Nations
of others. In the case of economic freedom, the with an economic freedom score below 5 (on
biggest gains are achieved by people who a scale from 0 to 10 where higher value
increase the size of the pie for everyone; without indicates higher level of economic freedom)
economic freedom, the biggest gains are by those attracted US$845 in investment per worker
who cut a bigger slice of the pie for themselves to over the period from 1980 to 2000 and only
the disadvantage of others. US$68 per worker in foreign direct investment.
This is a key reason that economic freedom Nations with an economic freedom score above
has been shown to promote democracy and other 7 attracted US$10,871 in investment per
freedoms (Griswold, 2004). The dynamics of worker, including US$3,117 of foreign direct
a society where individuals gain by promoting investment.
E 1798 Economic Freedom (Fraser Institute and Heritage Foundation)

Moreover, investment is more productive access to safe water compared to nearly 100 % in
in economically free nations. Holding constant the mostly free economies. Life expectancy of
factors thought to affect growth and productivity, people in the mostly free group is over 20 years
such as initial per capita GDP, tropical location, greater than for those in mostly unfree economies
coastal location, change in human investment, and Mostly free economies have more than twice
public investment, Gwartney and Lawson found as many physicians per 1,000 population than
that an increase of one percentage point in the mostly unfree economies. For every 1,000 births,
ratio of private investment to GDP leads to 64 more babies survive in mostly free economies
increases in the growth rate of per capita GDP by per year than in the mostly unfree countries. For
0.33 percentage point in an economically free every 1,000 children under age of five, 109 more
country. The same increase in private investment children survive in mostly free countries each year
in a less economically free country increases the than in those countries that are mostly unfree.
growth rate of per capita GDP by 0.19 percentage A large body of peer-reviewed empirical
point. In other words, investment in economically research shows similar results as well as economic
free nations (with a score above 7) had a positive freedoms relationship with other positive out-
impact on growth that was 70 % greater than comes. For a sample of literature on economic
investment in nations with poor levels of economic freedom, see the website http://www.freetheworld.
freedom (below 5). com. For a summary of literature on economic
Using the same regression model, Gwartney freedom and economic prosperity, see Berggren
and Lawson also calculated the impact of (2003) and Doucouliagos and Ulubasoglu (2006).
economic freedom on overall growth through While correlation is not causation, it may
both direct and indirect effects. They found that be useful for illustrative purposes to examine
if a nation increased its economic freedom by one to examine the following tables (or charts)
unit (on a scale from 0 to 10) in the 1980s, it (Gwartney, Lawson, & Hall, 2011).
would have seen increased growth of 1.9 percent-
age points a year over the period from 1980
to 2000. Because of the high rates of growth Cross-References
associated with economic freedom, they also
found that over the long term economic freedom Good Governance and Happiness in Nations
explains over two-thirds of the cross-country World Bank Government Indicators
variation in GDP.
Increases in economic freedom also reduce
poverty (Norton and Gwartney, 2008). Specifi- References
cally, the weighted $1-per-day poverty rate was
29.7 % in 2004 for countries with EFW ratings of Al Ismaily, S., Karabegovic, A., & McMahon, F. (2008).
less than 5, but only 7.7 % for countries with EFW Economic freedom of the Arab world: 2008,
ratings between 6 and 7; the $2-per-day poverty Co-published by: The Friedrich Naumann Foundation
for Liberty, Cairo office; The International Research
rate declines from 51.5 % to 46.2 % to 38.9 % as
Foundation, Muscat; and The Fraser Institute,
one moves from the least to the most free econo- Vancouver.
mies. Moreover, a one-unit increase in the EFW Al Ismaily, S., Karabegovic, A., & McMahon, F. (2010).
rating between 1980 and 1995 was associated with Economic freedom of the Arab world: 2010,
Co-published by: The Friedrich Naumann Foundation
a 5.21 percentage-point reduction in the $1-per- for Liberty, Cairo office; The International Research
day poverty rate and a 5.22 percentage-point Foundation, Muscat; and The Fraser Institute,
reduction in the $2-per-day poverty rate. Vancouver.
Norton and Gwartney also examined the Berggren, N. (2003). The benefits of economic freedom:
A survey. Independent Review, 8(2), 193211.
relationship between economic freedom and
Block, W. (Ed.). (1991). Economic freedom: Toward and
other measures of well-being. In the mostly theory of measurement. Vancouver, BC: The Fraser
unfree economies, 72.6 % of the population has Institute.
Economic Growth 1799 E
De Haan, J., & Sturm, J.-E. (2000). On the relationship Definition
between economic freedom and economic growth.
European Journal of Political Economy, 16, 215241.
Doucouliagos, C., & Ulubasoglu, M. A. (2006). Economic Economic growth is about accounting of the
freedom and economic growth: Does specification observed pattern, across countries and across
make a difference? European Journal of Political time, in levels and rates of growth of per capita
Economy, 22(1), 6081. income (Lucas, 1988). It is the process by which
Easton, S. T., & Walker, M. A. (Eds.). (1992). Rating
global economic freedom. Vancouver, BC: The Fraser the state of material well-being of a nation and
Institute. the productive capacity of an economy increase
Easton, S. T., & Walker, M. A. (1997). Income, growth, over time to bring about rising levels of national
and economic freedom. The American Economic output and income (Barro & Sala-i-Martin,
Review, 87(2), 328332. E
Griswold, D. T. (2004). Trading tyranny for freedom: How 2004). Economic development, on the other
open markets till the soil for democracy (Trade policy hand, is a multidimensional process involving
analysis, Vol. 26). Washington, DC: Cato Institute. changes in individual behaviors, social struc-
Gwartney, J., & Lawson, L. (2004). Economic freedom of the tures, popular attitudes, and national institutions
world: 2004 annual report. Vancouver, BC: The Fraser
Institute. Available online at www.freetheworld.com (Basu, 1997). Development, in that sense, is
Gwartney, J., Lawson, R., & Block, W. (1996). Economic about achieving not only growth but also equity,
freedom of the world: 19751995. Vancouver, BC: poverty reduction, political, and economic
The Fraser Institute. stability and democracy (Basu). In short, devel-
Gwartney, J., Lawson, R., & Hall, J. (2011). Economic
freedom of the world: 2011 annual report. Vancouver, opment is a process of improving the quality of
BC: The Fraser Institute. Available online at www. life of all human lives by improving all the
freetheworld.com economic, social, political, and institutional
International Monetary Fund. (2005). World economic out- mechanisms that operate in the public and pri-
look: Building institutions. Washington, DC: Author.
Johnson, B., & Sheehy, T. (1995). Index of economic vate sectors of an economy (Basu). The third
freedom. Washington, DC: Heritage Foundation. key process refers to human development,
Norton, S. W., & Gwartney, J. D. (2008). Economic freedom a concept that evolved rapidly under the
and world poverty chapter 2. In J. Gwartney, & R. Lawson commonly held view that the quality of develop-
(Eds.), Economic freedom of the world: 2008 annual
report (pp. 2340). Vancouver, BC: The Fraser Institute. ment matters. According to Ranis, Stewart, and
Available online at http://www.freetheworld.com Ramirez (2000), while economic growth provides
Walker, M. A. (Ed.). (1988). Freedom, democracy, and the resources to permit sustained improvements in
economic welfare. Vancouver, BC: The Fraser Institute. human development, it is improvements in the
Walker, M. A. (1996). The historical development of the
economic freedom index. In J. Gwartney, R. Lawson, quality of the labor force that is an important
& W. Block (Eds.), Economic freedom of the world: contributor to economic growth.
19751995 (pp. 17). Vancouver, BC: The Fraser
Institute.
Description

The Industrial Revolution in England in the


Economic Growth 1870s marks the emergence of systematic
and intellectual interest in understanding how
Anastasia Petrou and why economic growth occurs. Theories of
Department of Economics, University economic growth date as far back as classical
of Peloponnese, Tripolis, Greece economics of Adam Smith, David Ricardo,
Thomas Malthus, and Karl Marx. The major
preoccupations of classical economics were
Synonyms about the relationship between free markets
with everyone pursuing their own personal
Endogenous economic growth; GDP growth; gain and the development of a good society.
Neoclassical economic growth The key questions that emerged in the eighteenth
E 1800 Economic Growth

and the nineteenth centuries were what propels the future with an even larger capacity for produc-
economic growth? and what determines its tion and so an economy grows. The two basic
distribution? Classical theorizing included app- assumptions of the Harrod-Domar model involve
roaches of rational competitive behavior and (a) fixed ratios of the inputs in production and
equilibrium, the role of diminishing returns and (b) constant returns to scale. Fixed proportions
their relation to the accumulation of physical and the lack of technological flexibility were
capital, the interplay between per capita income acknowledged as the sources of disequilibrium
and the growth rate of the population, the effects that called for public policy intervention and
of technology changes in the forms of produc- manipulations if the assumed model stability
tion, the role of comparative advantage and was to be achieved (Ray, 1998).
specialization, and the trade effects on economic
growth. Despite different theoretical methods, The Neoclassical Growth Model
concepts, and outcomes, classical economic Solows seminal contribution to the economic
thinking about growth has two basic ingredients growth literature is usually considered as a
in common: (a) the political economy approach response to the unstable disequilibrium behavior
to economic growth where issues such as class, of the Harrod-Domar model. Solow (1956) made
power, individual equity, and the search of the now-standard neoclassical assumption of cap-
a good society played a critical role and (b) the ital and labor substitutability in production, using
search of factors that limit growth and the rate of the Cobb-Douglas production function subject
capitalist accumulation (Cypher & Dietz, 2009). to the law of eventually diminishing returns. For
any rate of savings a steady-state equilibrium
Modern Growth Theory level of income per person can be achieved. The
After the 1870s, interest among economists in possibility that public policy can impact the
examining the sources of economic growth and growth rate of countries is again present, however
in understanding the development of capitalist via policies that affect the rate of savings or the
society disappeared from view for a time. The population growth rate (Cypher & Dietz, 2009).
neoclassical marginalist revolution redirected Solows model led to the hypothesis of interna-
the research agenda focus on the utility- tional convergence as it infers that regardless of
maximizing behavior of individuals and the the initial per capita capital stock, two countries
profit-maximizing rational actions of perfectly with similar savings rates, depreciation rates, and
competitive firms. Modern growth theory population growth rates will converge to similar
emerged in the 1930s with the Harrod-Domar standards of living in the long run. This is the so-
model which attempted to integrate Keynesian called extreme version of this concept, known as
tradition in the analysis of the economys increas- unconditional convergence, under which rela-
ing production capacity. The principal mecha- tive income differences between countries must
nism of growing production is savings and die away in the long run. A weaker version, called
investment. Actually, Sir Roy Harrod of the conditional convergence, states that controlling
University of Oxford, UK, and Evsey Domar of for possible differences in cross-country parame-
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, ters, such as in the rates of savings, initially poor
USA, developed in 1939 and 1946, respectively, countries grow faster. Convergence is intimately
broadly similar explanations for the aggregate connected to the notion of diminishing marginal
economic process. According to the Harrod- productivity of capital: it is based on the idea that
Domar model, economic growth is the result of a poorer country has a marginal return to capital
abstention from current consumption. House- and therefore exhibits a higher rate of per capita
holds hold back income from consumption in growth (Ray, 1998: 89). The debate on the mere
a year making available funds that firms use to existence of convergence, and of its types, is open
buy capital goods. These goods add to the and a large body of literature, and in particular the
stock of capital in the economy and endow it in endogenous growth empirical literature today
Economic Growth 1801 E
addresses these themes (Islam, 2003). Actually, positive effect on the rate of growth of produc-
the literature on convergence has developed tion output. Grossman and Helpman (1990) and
parallel and in conjunction to the literature on Romer (1990) moderate the features of know-
endogenous growth models. ledge, arguing that knowledge is at least partly
an appropriable good, and the positive out-
New Growth Theory or Endogenous comes may be appropriated by the knowledge
Growth Theory producer in the form of monopoly rents. These
New growth theorists made a great effort to models release the assumption of perfect com-
refine the Solovian view by building models that petition and actually introduce monopolistic
endogenize technology and explain the innova- competition, and economic growth takes the
E
tion-driven growth (Aghion & Howitt, 1992; form of an increasing variety of intermediate
Lucas, 1988; Romer, 1986). Comprehensive sur- capital goods. Endogenous growth models
veys in the field of endogenous growth theories evolve rapidly around new and more compli-
include Aghion and Howitt (1998), Temple cated assumptions about the nature of knowl-
(1999), and Islam (2003). New growth models edge production and the organization of market
initially developed in the late 1980s in order to competition. Aghion and Howitt (1992) model
overcome the problems left unresolved by the innovation as an uncertain and nondeter-
Solow model. Actually, new growth theories were ministic process with no certain outcomes for
motivated by researchers largely unsatisfied with knowledge producers and point out that tech-
the exogenous character of technological change nological competition and economic growth is
assumed by the Solow-type models. The Solow characterized by Schumpeterian creative destruc-
model, under its basic assumptions of constant tion, wherein the monopoly power associated
returns to scale of the production function and of with an innovation is only temporary. In this
decreasing marginal productivity of capital in the framework, economic growth in the long run
long run, predicted economic growth up to an end is attributed to the amount of human capital
point. The only possible source of permanent employed in the research sector, the degree of
growth was technological change, but techno- market power in the intermediate capital goods
logical change was left unexplored by the sector, and the productivity in the research sector
model and was indeed considered exogenous. (Castellacci, 2007).
Another shortcoming of the neoclassical growth
model was the assumed public good character of Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change
technology. Technology was conceived as a good The prominent role of innovation and techno-
that is freely available to all countries, albeit this logical knowledge for economic growth has
neoclassical assumption was in mere contrast been increasingly recognized in the last three
with the empirical evidence on the persistence decades, though in a different theoretical and
of growth rate differences over long periods methodological framework, that of the modern
of time (Barro, 1991; Barro & Sala-i-Martin, evolutionary economics. Evolutionary thinking
1995). Trying to overcome this inconsistency, of economic change, inspired from Schumpeter
Romer (1986) and Lucas (1988) in their semi- work on innovations, and Veblens Institutional
nal contributions explicitly analyzed that tech- theorizing influentially contribute to the under-
nological knowledge, as a public and non-rival standing of economic change and growth
good, introduces important externalities in the (Dosi, 1982; Nelson & Winter, 1982). Modern
economic system and it may explain existence evolutionary models of economic growth and
of increasing returns to scale in the production change further criticize neoclassical and new
function. Technological knowledge and the growth theories and introduce a rather different
way that it accumulates through innovations research agenda. They emphasize the evolution-
and human capital improvements explain ary character of economic and technological
how an economy can achieve a permanent change and formulate distinctive assumptions
E 1802 Economic Growth

about the engine of growth. The basic features of met, there is a strong indication of existing diver-
the evolutionary theory of economic change gence between added income and added
relate to the following understandings: well-being. Several studies have been published
Technological change and the way that it in the last two decades on alternative measures
evolves are critical for economic growth, of well-being/ quality of life/ happiness/
while technological advance is essentially societal progress, all terms closely related to
a disequilibrium process. Economic growth each other (Sirgy et al., 2006). Academics,
is seen as a non-predictable process, because researchers, official statisticians, and interna-
fundamental sources of uncertainty in the tional organizations have proposed different
economic system exist. measures as alternatives to the traditional GDP
Economic and technological change are both measures. The Istanbul Declaration, adopted
dynamic processes, wherein firm capabilities in 2007 by the European Commission, the
and firms different routines are central OECD, the United Nations, the United Nations
elements leading to rather different production Development Programme, and the World Bank,
outcomes. recognized the need to go beyond GDP when
The recognition of a microeconomic approach measuring the well-being of people and nations
to economic growth, focusing on the evolu- (Giovannini, Hall, & DErcole, 2007).
tionary patterns of firms change, introduced An influential policy report highlighting
the need for understanding the institutional the need to better measures of well-being
environment within which these patterns of for designing policies and assessing social pro-
technological change evolve. gress is the report by the Commission on the
Measurement of Economic Performance and
Measurement Issues of Economic Growth Social Progress known as the Sarkozy Report.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita The Sarkozy Report advocates the use of sub-
has long been used for measuring economic jective measures of well-being. The Report
growth and comparing living standards across is comprised by three core thematic segments
countries. GDP per capita is considered as an entitled Classical GDP Issues, Quality of
accurate tool that measures the value of the Life, and Sustainable Development and
goods and services produced within a country Environment and proposes a conceptual dis-
during a given period of time. GDP actually mea- tinction among four types of measures: (1) pro-
sures the production of those activities that fall duction (economic performance), (2) material
within the boundary of the System of National living level (economic well-being), (3) overall
Accounts. The production of these goods and (multidimensional) well-being, and (4) well-
services is valued at market prices. Yet, per capita being of current versus future generations
income may increase or decrease with respect to ( sustainability). This conceptual distinction
net transfers from abroad, in this case Gross of measures actually asserts the limited power
National Income (GNI) is more relevant to the or the deficiency of GDP to measure social pro-
material well-being of a countrys population. gress and actual well-being. The Sarkozy Report
Both GDP and GNI, in order to be comparable advocates a shift of emphasis from a production-
between countries, need to be converted to oriented measurement system to one focused on
a common currency using purchasing power par- the well-being of current and future generations
ity (PPPs) exchange rates. Nowadays, the con- (Easterlin, 2010). This shift in orientation on
sensus on the use of GDP per capita as a good what to measure as progress and development
proxy measure of material well-being is becom- is even stronger than previously successful
ing less obvious for both economists and policy attempts like the Human Development Index
makers, as modern economies move from (HDI), as it advocates not just the addition of
a situation of scarcity to a situation of plenty. new statistics but a shift in the orientation of the
Once a certain level of material needs has been entire measurement system.
Economic Rationality Assumption 1803 E
Cross-References Ranis, G., Stewart, F., & Ramirez, A. (2000). Economic
growth and human development. World Development,
28(2), 197219.
Economic Development Ray, D. (1998). Development economics. Princeton, NJ:
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Happiness Princeton University Press.
Happiness Romer, P. (1986). Increasing returns and long-run growth.
Human Capital Journal of Political Economy, 94, 10021037.
Romer, P. (1990). Endogenous Technological Change,
Human Development Journal of Political Economy, 98(5), S71102.
Human Development Index (HDI) Sirgy, M. J., Michalos, A. C., Ferriss, A. L., Easterlin,
Quality of Life (QOL) R. A., Patrick, D., & Pavot, W. (2006). The quality-of-
Societal Progress life (QOL) research movement: Past, present and
future. Social Indicators Research, 76, 343466. E
Sustainability Solow, R. (1956). A contribution to the theory of
Sustainable Development economic growth. Quarterly Journal of Economics,
70, 6594.
Temple, J. (1999). The new growth evidence. Journal of
Economic Literature, 37, 112156.
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Aghion, P., & Howitt, P. (1992). A model of growth through


creative destruction. Econometrica, 60, 323351.
Aghion, P., & Howitt, P. (1998). Endogenous growth Economic Opportunity Loss
theory. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Barro, R. (1991). Economic growth in a cross-section of Opportunity Cost
countries. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 106,
407443.
Barro, R., & Sala-i-Martin, X. (1995). Economic growth.
Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Barro, R., & Sala-i-Martin, X. (2004). Economic growth Economic Performance Indicator
(2nd ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Basu, K. (1997). Analytical development economics: The
less developed economy revisited. Cambridge, MA/ Cost-Efficiency Indicators
London: MIT Press.
Castellacci, F. (2007). Evolutionary and new growth the-
ories. Are they converging? Journal of Economic
Surveys, 21(3), 585627.
Cypher, J. M., & Dietz, J. L. (2009). The process of Economic Rationalism
economic development. London: Routledge.
Dosi, G. (1982). Technological paradigms and technolog- Economic Rationality Assumption
ical trajectories. Research Policy, 11, 147162.
Easterlin, R. (2010). Well-being, front and center: A note
on the Sarkozy report. Population and Development
Review, 36(1), 119124.
Giovannini, E., Hall, J., & DErcole, M. M. (2007). Economic Rationality Assumption
Measuring well-being and societal progress. Organi-
zation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Background paper for the conference Beyond GDP, Peter DiRita
1920 November, Brussels. University of Sydney, Baulkham Hills,
Grossman, G., & Helpman, E. (1990). Trade, Innovation, NSW, Australia
and Growth. The American Economic Review, 80(2),
8690.
Islam, N. (2003). What have we learnt from the conver-
gence debate? Journal of Economic Surveys, 17(3), Synonyms
309362.
Lucas, R. E. (1988). On the mechanisms of economic devel- Bounded rationality; Economic rationalism;
opment. Journal of Monetary Economics, 22, 342.
Logical thought; Rational behavior; Rational
Nelson, R., & Winter, S. (1982). An evolutionary theory
of economic change. Cambridge, MA: Harvard choice; Rationalism; Rationality; Reasoning and
University Press. economic rationality; Utility maximization
E 1804 Economic Rationality Assumption

Definition aimed at enhancing and sustaining general well-


being, broader economic policy and measures
The economic rationality principle is based on will provide an additional boost to overall quality
the postulate that people behave in rational of life through unintended outcomes of the macro
ways and consider options and decisions within level. The association between rational behavior
logical structures of thought, as opposed to and instrumentalism within economic principles
involving emotional, moral, or psychological underlying policy and funding frameworks high-
elements. lights the rational choice approach (Zafirovski,
2003). This association constructs the conception
of rational behavior as economic rationality in
Description linking providers with consumer utility.
However, the conception of rational behavior
The economic rationality principle is based on and self-interest assumed in this context fails to
the postulate that people behave in rational account for the emotional and psychological fac-
ways and consider options and decisions within tors involved in choice and behavior nor does it
logical structures of thought, as opposed to consider the boundedness experienced by people
involving emotional, moral, or psychological ele- hoping to address individual and group needs,
ments. In relation to choosing and undertaking wants, and desires. The conception of rational
options within publicly funded service provision, action assumes that the relationship between eco-
the principle assumes that people will act in a nomic, instrumental, egoistic, and private moti-
reasonable fashion by behaving and thinking in vations and intentions is restricted to a single
a way that a reasonable person would, given the class. The underlying assumption of this proce-
situation. Effectively, this can mean weighing dure is that only such goals and the corresponding
up the pros and cons and choosing from what actions, means, and choices are rational, and
is available as opposed to seeking alternative others nonrational or even irrational (Zafirovski,
measures of support. Applying the rationality 2003). The association presented within institu-
principle through policy and publicly funded tionalized conventions for choice making (in the
programs in this context implies that services context of matching available services with indi-
designed to meet a predefined need is a sufficient vidual need) portrays the intended outcome or
means to account for quality of life by addressing policy aim as a reasonable choice for consumers
localized and broader socioeconomic issues to make and reasonable outcome for them to
impacting on the community. align their motivations. This may be viewed as
A central tenet of the economic rationality a demarcation between the reasonable and the
principle is that self-interest provides a guide preferred (Goux, 2001). In effect, the person is
for optimizing outcomes and, to some degree, bounded by the situation and surrenders any pri-
allows for a regard for others that affords benefi- ority in deviant interests by internalizing through
cial social results (including economic growth) action and the uptake of the service the logical
(Friedman, 2005). To a large extent, the latter and functional choice-making process available.
rests on unintended outcomes delivering benefi- This internalization provides a structure for
cial results. Similarly, it is assumed that the subjective and objective understanding through
trickle-down effect of boosting the economic a reasoning logic.
wealth and capacity of the community will in People considering decisions and options
turn deliver economic benefits to those with within a given situation of available services
lower economic participation and power, based and supports do so in light of the immediate
on the notion that the self-interest of those with institutional context while involving personal
greater wealth and economic power will deliver biases and interpretative stances that make up
benefits to others. Therefore, while economic their lived experience. In considering service
policy and funding initiatives target key factors options that they have not had a role in designing,
Economic Rationality Assumption 1805 E
people are forced to choose what they believe tend to narrow the available choices and lower
comes the closest to meeting the needs of their the available redress for recipients of services.
situation. Making rational choices even in this Human economic behavior is influenced by
context suggests that there is a constraint upon interpersonal social considerations involving trust,
what is considered reasonable. This is both in reciprocity, fairness, and other socio-moral connec-
terms of what a reasonable person would do and tions (Arsenio, 2008) whose relationship has a deep
in terms of what is considered as reasonable to impact on economic choices and beliefs. At the
offer given the broader socioeconomic climate. same time, behaviors are guided by cognitive pro-
Indeed, the broader economic construct creates cesses that are deeply and systematically irrational.
overarching parameters for reasonable actions Adult economic decisions can be affected by arbi-
E
and choices that establish a stable choice-making trary framing, irrelevant emotional arousal, and
situation. Over time, this becomes a set of con- other biases that can render economic decision mak-
ventions that establishes what is possible and ing flawed. Rational behavior can include not just
what is not, irrespective of what may be the purely instrumental ends, such as utility, profit, or
persons need and interest. In this sense, deliber- wealth, but also social ones. It is a fundamental
ative strategies coalesce with institutionalized fallacy of rational choice theory to subsume inten-
conventions to deliver a subtle coercion of pre- ded ends of action to just one type (the economic)
ferred outcomes as routinized set of directions (Zafirovski, 2003). In a given situation, restrictions
(Raines & Jung, 1992). What is aimed at quality limit the leeway of action (such as income, pricing,
of life is subsumed within the parameters of con- availability) as well as the (expected) reactions of
ventions and reasonable outcomes, as divined by other individuals. There are the various alternatives
community norms and economic priorities. within the leeway, and in reality, the person would
Peoples deliberations will tend to be only have limited information and therefore limited
governed by the nature of this construct by awareness of consequences on which to weigh up
acknowledging that only certain types of deci- options and directions. Ensuing preferences relay
sions can be made relative to the immediate situ- intentions that in themselves reflect values and
ation and that quality of life is defined by inherent socialization, eventually choosing an option that
understanding of what is reasonable at the time matches closely with these influences hence, ratio-
and in the situation. nal choice within the constraints of uncertainty
This context conflates consent with choice, by (Kasper, 1997; Kirchgaessner, 2005).
involving contractualism through institutional The broader context of economic rationalism
design (Yeatman, 1996), as a self-regulation prin- as a principle of practice and philosophy under-
ciple. In regard to the development of individu- pinning policy development discounts moral
alized services and innovative models of support, argumentation and construes a particular under-
the intent of a consumer-driven service delivery standing of individualism and access (Rowse &
market does not shift the notion of blame from the Mitchell, 2005). The overarching context of eco-
recipient of service (Kerr & Savelsberg, 2001). nomic priorities and reasonableness in lieu of
Such a model of competition reflects the rational community norms forces a compromise between
choice model of individualism with the assump- individual interests and a satisfying quality of life
tion that individuals will regulate services to fur- and political priorities.
ther their interest (Kerr & Savelsberg, 2001). The
intent of increasing choice through purchasing
power and sidelining poor-quality services
(Jacobsen, 1997) and the side effect of distancing References
government ownership of services increase the
Arsenio, W. F. (2008). Psychological limits of economic
vulnerability of persons who factor lower in the
rationality: Relational contexts and cognitive irratio-
broader community cost/benefit calculation. Eco- nality. Commentary on Gummerum, Hanoch and
nomic rationalism and competitive environments Keller. Human Development, 51, 268273.
E 1806 Economic Value

Friedman, D. (2005). Economics and evolutionary psy- Description


chology. In R. Koppl (Ed.), Evolutionary psychology
and economic theory, Advances in Austrian econo-
mics, Vol. 7. Emerald Group Publishing. eBook down- A central question in economics is: How do we
load. Electronic copy available from http://www. assess the economic value of a good? Among
daviddfriedman.com/Academic/econ_and_evol_psych/ the competing schools of economic theory, there are
economics_and_evol_psych.html. Retrieved 18 April differing metrics for value assessment, which con-
2011.
Goux, J. (2001). Utility: Equivocation and demoralization. stitute what is widely known as the theory of value.
Discourse, 23(3), 323. Therefore, there are different theories of value
Jacobsen, J. (1997). Market theory in human services: based on various schools of economic theory.
Dancing with wolves or better choice? Interaction, In neoclassical economics the value of a good
11(1), 2125.
Kasper, W. (1997). Ignorance, discovery and choice or service is determined by the price it would
A requiem for economic rationalism. Australian derive from an open and a competitive market,
Journal of Legal Philosophy, 22, 114. which in turn is determined by the demand for the
Kerr, L., & Savelsberg, H. (2001). The community service good relative to the supply of the good. Buyers
sector in the era of the market model: Facilitators of
social change or servants of the state. Just Policy, 23, attempt to maximize their gains from getting
2232. goods, and they do this by increasing their pur-
Kirchgaessner, G. (2005). The weak rationality principle in chases of a good until what they gain from an
economics. Paper presented at the Workshop on Ratio- extra unit is just balanced by what they have to
nality and Commitment, University of St. Gallen, May
1315, 2004 Revised Version, Sept 2004. give up to obtain it. In this way they maximize
Raines, J., & Jung, C. R., Jr. (1992). Schumpeter and utility, i.e., the satisfaction associated with the
Knight on economic and political rationality: A com- consumption of goods and services. Likewise,
parative restatement. Journal of Socio-Economics, individuals provide labor to firms that wish to
21(2), 109124.
Rowse, T., & Mitchell, D. (2005). From social issues to employ them, by balancing the gains from offer-
social policy: Engaging professionals and the public. ing the marginal unit of their services (the wage
Australian Journal of Social Issues, 40(1), 155180. they would receive) with the disutility of labor
Yeatman, A. (1996). Interpreting contemporary contrac- itself the loss of leisure. Individuals make
tualism. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 31(1),
3954. choices at the margin. Similarly, producers
Zafirovski, M. (2003). Human rational behavior and eco- attempt to produce units of a good so that the
nomic rationality. Electronic Journal of Sociology, 7, cost of producing the incremental or marginal
ISSN: 1198 3655. Available from http://www.sociology. unit is just balanced by the revenue it generates.
org/content/vol7.2/02_zafirovski.html.
In this way they maximize profits. Firms also hire
employees up to the point that the cost of the
additional hire is just balanced by the value of
Economic Value
output that the additional employee would pro-
duce. The neoclassical economic theory of value
Evangelos Charalambakis
is based on three fundamental assumptions. First,
Economic Research Department, Special Studies
individuals have rational expectations among out-
Division, Bank of Greece, Athens, Greece
comes. Second, individuals maximize utility and
firms maximize their profits. Third, individuals act
Synonyms independently on the basis of full and relevant
information. The neoclassical economic theory
Financial value was originated by Thorstein Veblen (1900).
The classical economic theory of value states
that the value of a good or service is determined by
Definition the price that is derived from the amount of labor
invested in the production of a good. This eco-
Economic value is the worth of a good or service, nomic concept is widely known as the labor
which is determined by the market. theory of value, which was developed by
Ecosystem 1807 E
Adam Smith (1776[1981]), David Ricardo (1817), Ricardo, D. (1817). On the principles of political economy
and Karl Marx (1865[1975]). Smith argued that and taxation. In: Sraffa, P. (Ed.). The works and
correspondence of David Ricardo, Vol. I. Cambridge:
price equals the value of labor. When capitalists Cambridge University Press, 1951.
begin to organize the labor of others, however, Smith, A. 1776 [1981]. An Inquiry into the Nature and
price includes the profits of the capitalists, i.e., Causes of the Wealth of Nations. In: R. H. Campbell &
the difference between the market price and the A. S. Skinner (Eds), Vol. I and II. Indianopolis: Liberty
Fund.
cost of wages and inputs. According to David Veblen, T. (1900). The preconceptions of economic
Ricardo, the value of a good is proportional to science III. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 14,
how much labor was required to produce it, 240269.
including the labor required to produce
E
the raw materials and machinery used in the pro-
cess. Marx distinguished between the value in
use and exchange value. The value in use refers
Economic Well-Being
to what utility a commodity provides to its buyer.
The exchange value addresses how much labor-
Income, Motivation, and Life Satisfaction
time the sale of the commodity can claim. Marx
also uses the concept of socially necessary
abstract labor-time. The socially necessary
labor refers to the quantity required to produce
a commodity in a given state of society, under Economic Well-Being, Arctic
certain social average conditions or production,
with a given social average intensity, and average Material Well-Being, Arctic
skill of the labor employed. Unlike previous clas-
sical economists, Marx argues that the value of
a product is determined more by societal standards
than by individual conditions. This explains why Economics of Welfare
technological breakthroughs lower the price of
commodities and put less advanced producers Welfare Economics
out of business. He also makes the distinction
between productive labor and unproductive
labor. Finally, Marx states that it is not the labor
per se that creates value but the labor power sold
by free wage workers to capitalists. Only wage Economist Intelligence Unit Quality
workers of productive sectors of the economy of Life Index
produce value.
Livability Index

Cross-References

Economic Rationality Assumption Ecopolis


Leisure
Sustainable Communities Movement

References

Marx, K. (1865 [1975]). Value, price, and profit. In:


K. Marx & F. Engels (Eds.), Works (pp. 186468)
Ecosystem
Vol. 20 of the collected works of Karl Marx and
Frederick Engels, New York: International Publishers. Environment and Health
E 1808 Ecosystem Approach to Human Health

of environmental attitudes (Ferrer-i-Carbonell &


Ecosystem Approach Gowdy, 2007).
to Human Health Different underlying theories explain why
the environment exerts a beneficial effect on
Finbarr Brereton human health. The most important theories
UCD Earth Institute, University College Dublin, concerning the influence of nature on health are
Belfield, Ireland the biophilia hypothesis (Wilson, 1984), the
psycho-evolutionary model (Ulrich, 1993), and
the Attention Restoration Theory (Kaplan &
Synonyms Kaplan, 1989) (based on the idea that the resto-
rative effects of nature have an innate, evolution-
Human ecology ary basis). The processes by which effects occur
are varied. For example, the environment affects
human health through how we organize our urban
Definition areas; it is now believed that quality of life and
land use are interrelated (MEA, 2005).
(a) Ecological: In sociology the branch that is On a global scale, there is essentially a
concerned with studying the relationships U-shaped relationship between land use/density
between human groups and their physical and health: the most urban and densely populated
and social environments. Also called human areas and the most remote and sparsely populated
ecology. areas are both correlated with health issues
(b) Health: Health is a state of complete phy- (Barnett et al., 2001). Hence, health is lowest in
sical, mental, and social well-being and not both less accessible, remote rural locations and
merely the absence of disease or infirmity. densely populated urban areas and highest in
accessible, low density locales.
Research includes studies exploring the impact
Description of the built environment on physical activity
(Racioppi et al., 2005), the availability of green
The environment is essential for human existence spaces and health differences (Verheij et al.,
through the vital ecosystem services that the 2008), the relationship between the built environ-
Earth produces and its assimilative capacity to ment and self-rated stress (Yang & Matthews,
process wastes. Nature provides a range of life 2010), and the effect of the physical and built envi-
support services necessary to maintain the habit- ronment on mental health (Clark, Myron, Stansfeld,
ability of the planet (Costanza et al., 1997). The Candy, 2007). Emerging evidence suggests that
literature shows that the environment has a direct changing environments may help to change behav-
effect on human health (Ulrich, 1984). The ior for positive health outcomes (Kahn et al., 2002).
environment is viewed as one of the key determi- Finally, the environment affects human
nants of health alongside inherited characteris- health as a function of economic activity. Nature
tics, lifestyle, and social and economic variables (natural capital) constitutes the source of all
(Barton, 2009). economic activity. These services can be divided
The environment also exhibits an influence into the following: direct contributions to eco-
on subjective measures of human welfare nomic activity (raw materials, energy), goods
such as well-being and happiness (Diener, Suh, and services for consumption, and services
Lucas, Smith, 1999). Environmental variables provided by the environment, which range from
such as noise (Van Praag & Baarsma, 2005), current values such as extractive uses (fish,
air pollution (Luechinger, 2009), and the pharmaceuticals), non-extractive uses (recrea-
prevailing climate (Rehdanz & Maddison, 2005) tion, aesthetic), and future values (options and
influence subjective well-being; the same is true existence values) (Mankiw & Taylor, 2006).
EDI 1809 E
Ongoing research is now moving toward activity: A systematic review. American Journal of
measuring the health effects of the outdoors, Preventive Medicine, 22, 73107.
Kaplan, R., & Kaplan, S. (1989). The experience of nature.
including the development and validation of A psychological perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge
novel personal monitoring and biomarkers of University Press.
exposures and effects, and the disentangling of Luechinger, S. (2009). Valuing air quality using the
social and environmental impacts (Daly, Delaney, life-satisfaction approach. The Economic Journal,
119, 482515.
Harmon, 2009). Mankiw, N. G., & Taylor, M. P. (2006). Economics.
The environment has an impact on human London: Thomson Learning.
health (1) directly, (2) through how we organize MEA. (2005). Millennium ecosystem assessment. Ecosys-
our urban areas, and (3) through economic activ- tems and human well being: Synthesis report. Island
Press, Washington. E
ity. Hence, the environment, human health, and Racioppi, F., Dora, C., & Rutter, H. (2005). Urban settings
well-being are interlinked. and opportunities for healthy lifestyles: Rediscovering
walking and cycling and understanding their health
benefits. Built Environment, 31, 302314.
Rehdanz, K., & Maddison, D. (2005). Climate and
Cross-References happiness. Ecological Economics, 52, 111125.
Ulrich, R. S. (1984). View through a window may influ-
Ecosystem ence recovery from surgery. Science, 224, 420421.
Environment and Health Ulrich, R. S. (1993). Biophilia, biophobia and natural
landscapes. In S. R. Kellert & E. O. Wilson (Eds.),
Healthy Cities The Biophilia hypothesis (pp. 75137). Washington,
Healthy Communities DC: Island Press.
Van Praag, B. M. S., & Baarsma, B. E. (2005). Using
happiness surveys to value intangibles: The case of
airport noise. The Economic Journal, 115, 224246.
References Verheij, R. A., Mass, J., & Groenewegen, P. P. (2008). Rural
health differences and the availability of green space.
Barnett, S., Roderick, P., Martin, D., & Diamond, I. European Urban and Regional Studies, 15, 307316.
(2001). A Multilevel analysis of the effects of rurality Wilson, E. O. (1984). Biophilia. Harvard, MA: President
and social deprivation on premature limiting long term and fellows of Harvard College.
illness. Journal of Epidemiological and Community Yang, T. C., & Matthews, S. A. (2010). The role of social
Health, 55, 4451. and built environments in predicting self-rated stress:
Barton, H. (2009). Land use planning and health and A multilevel analysis in Philadelphia. Health & Place,
well-being. Land Use Policy, 26, S115S123. 16, 803810.
Clark, C., Myron, R., Stansfeld, S. A., & Candy, B. (2007).
A systematic review on the effect of the built and
physical environment on mental health. Journal of
Public Mental Health, 6, 1427.
Costanza, R., dArge, R., de Groot, R., Farber, S., Grasso, M., Ecosystem Approaches to Health
Hannon, B., Limburg, K., Naeem, S., ONeill, R. V.,
Paruelo, J., Raskin, R. G., Sutton, P., & van de Belt, M.
(1997). The value of the worlds ecosystem services and Ecohealth
natural capital. Nature, 387, 253260.
Daly, M., Delaney, L., & Harmon, C. (2009). Psycholog-
ical and biological foundations of time preference.
Journal of the European Economic Association, 7,
659669. Ecosystem Management
Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. L.
(1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of
Natural Resource Management (NRM)
progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 276302.
Ferrer-i-Carbonell, A., & Gowdy, J. M. (2007). Environ-
mental degradation and happiness? Ecological
Economics, 60, 509516.
Kahn, E. B., Ramsey, L. T., Brownson, R. C.,
Heath, G. W., Howze, E. H., Powell, K. E.,
EDI
Stone, E. J., Rajab, M. W., & Corso, P. (2002). The
effectiveness of interventions to increase physical Education for All Development Index (EDI)
E 1810 Education

of relevant indicators ( composite indicator(s))


Education developed by the Education for All Global
Monitoring Report team in 2003, provides
Human Capital a way of measuring overall progress, stressing
the need for more balanced education policies
that sustain advances on all fronts. The EDI
should ideally reflect all six EFA goals. How-
Education for All Development ever, it currently includes only the four most
Index (EDI) easily quantifiable goals, attaching equal weight
to each:
EFA Global Monitoring Report Team Universal primary education (Goal 2), mea-
Education for All Global Monitoring Report, sured by the primary adjusted net enrolment
UNESCO, Paris, France ratio (ANER), which measures the proportion
of primary school-age children enrolled in
either primary or secondary education
Synonyms Adult literacy (first part of Goal 4), measured
by the literacy rate for those aged 15 and above
EDI Gender parity and equality (Goal 5, gender
and education), measured by the gender-
specific EFA index (GEI), an average of the
Definition gender parity indexes of the primary and
secondary gross enrolment ratios and of the
The Education for All Development Index adult literacy rate ( gender-sensitive educa-
(EDI) is a composite index of relevant indicators tion statistics and indicators)
( composite indicator(s)) for measuring overall Quality of education (Goal 6, educational
progress toward the six Education for All (EFA) attainment), measured by the survival rate to
goals ( education) agreed upon in 2000 at the grade 5 or to the last grade of primary school
World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal for countries where primary education lasts
(UNESCO, 2000), developed by the Education fewer than 5 years
for All Global Monitoring Report team in 2003. The remaining two goals, early childhood care
and education (Goal 1) and learning needs of
youth and adults (Goal 3), have been excluded
Description from the index to date. This is mainly due to data
limitations, as well as conceptual challenges, in
In Dakar, Senegal, in 2000, governments particular for the latter goal.
from 164 countries met at the World Education The EDI value for a given country is the arith-
Forum and pledged to make Education for All metic mean of indicators measuring each of its
(EFA) a reality by 2015 (UNESCO, 2000). components. It falls between 0 and 1, with 1
They committed themselves to six wide-ranging representing full EFA achievement across the
education goals that would vastly improve four goals.
learning opportunities for children, youth, and The Education for All Global Monitoring
adults, stressing the need for more inclusive Report annually draws on internationally com-
education systems ( educational inequality). parable data to calculate the EDI. For the school
Each goal matters in its own right, but year ending in 2008, the EDI was calculated for
only the achievement of all will make EFA 127 countries out of 204. Forty-four had
as a whole happen. The Education for All achieved the four easily quantifiable EFA
Development Index (EDI), a composite index goals included in the EDI, with index values
Education for All Global Monitoring Report 1811 E
of 0.971.00, and 18 were close to doing so on Definition
average, with values of 0.950.96. Thirty-six
countries were at mid-distance to the EFA over- The Education for All Global Monitoring Report
all achievement, reporting an EDI value of is an annual publication, developed by an inde-
0.800.94. Finally, 29 low- and lower-middle- pendent team and published by UNESCO
income countries remained far from achieving ( United Nations Educational, Scientific and
EFA as a whole, with an EDI below 0.80. Most Cultural Organization (UNESCO)). Its mandate
of these countries have a poor record across the is to track progress toward achieving the six Edu-
EFA goals. (UNESCO, 2011). cation for All (EFA) goals agreed upon in 2000 at
the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal
E
(UNESCO, 2000); to identify effective policy
Cross-References reforms and best practice in all areas relating to
EFA; to draw attention to emerging challenges;
Composite Indicator(s) and to promote international cooperation in favor
Education of education.
Education for All Global Monitoring Report
Educational Attainment
Educational Inequality Description
Gender and Education
Gender-Sensitive Education Statistics and In April 2000, more than 1,100 participants from
Indicators 164 countries gathered in Dakar, Senegal, for the
Literacy World Education Forum. The participants ranged
from teachers to prime ministers, academics to
policymakers, and nongovernmental organiza-
tions to the heads of major international orga-
References
nizations. They adopted the Dakar Framework
UNESCO (2000). The Dakar framework for action: Edu- for Action, Education for All: Meeting Our Col-
cation for all meeting our collective commitments lective Commitments (UNESCO, 2000) and
(including six regional frameworks for action). agreed upon six wide-ranging education goals
Adopted by the World Education Forum, 2628 Apr: to be met by 2015 that would vastly improve
Dakar: UNESCO.
UNESCO (2011). EFA global monitoring report 2011: learning opportunities for children, youth, and
The hidden crisis Armed conflict and education. adults:
Paris: UNESCO. Goal 1: Expanding and improving compre-
hensive early childhood care and education,
especially for the most vulnerable and disad-
vantaged children (educational inequality)
Education for All Global Monitoring Goal 2: Ensuring that by 2015 all children,
Report particularly girls, children in difficult circum-
stances and those belonging to ethnic minori-
EFA Global Monitoring Report Team ties have access to, and complete, free, and
Education for All Global Monitoring Report, compulsory, primary education of good qua-
UNESCO, Paris, France lity ( educational inequality)
Goal 3: Ensuring that the learning needs of all
young people and adults are met through equi-
Synonyms table access to appropriate learning and life-
skills programs (adult vocational training,
EFA Global Monitoring Report; EFA GMR training)
E 1812 Education for All Global Monitoring Report

Goal 4: Achieving a 50% improvement in The quality of education remains very low
levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially in many countries. Millions of children are
for women, and equitable access to basic and emerging from primary school with reading,
continuing education for all adults writing, and numeracy skills far below
Goal 5: Eliminating gender disparities in pri- expected levels.
mary and secondary education by 2005 and Another 1.9 million teachers will be needed by
achieving gender equality in education by 2015 to achieve universal primary education,
2015, with a focus on ensuring girls full and more than half of them in sub-Saharan Africa.
equal access to and achievement in basic edu- About 17 % of the worlds adults 796 million
cation of good quality ( gender and educa- people still lack basic literacy skills. Nearly
tion, educational inequality) two-thirds of these are women.
Goal 6: Improving all aspects of the quality Governments and donors will have to demon-
of education and ensuring excellence of all strate a far greater sense of urgency, resolve, and
so that recognized and measurable learning common purpose to bring the targets within
outcomes ( educational attainment) are reach.
achieved by all, especially in literacy, numer- While the report has an annual agenda for
acy, and essential life skills reporting progress on each of the six EFA goals,
International agencies pledged that no country each edition also adopts a particular theme,
engaged in this effort would be hindered by a lack chosen because of its central importance to the
of resources. EFA process. To date, nine reports have been
Governments recognized that regular and rig- published:
orous monitoring was required to track progress 2002 Education for All Is the world on track?
toward the six goals, identify strategies that 2003/4 Gender and Education for All The
make a difference, and hold governments and leap to equality
donors to account for their promises. The EFA 2005 Education for All The Quality
Global Monitoring Report was created to fill this Imperative
role. Aiming to inform and influence education 2006 Literacy for life
and aid policy through an authoritative, evi- 2007 Strong foundations Early childhood
dence-based review of progress and a balanced care and education
analysis of the most critical challenges facing 2008 Education for All by 2015. Will we
countries, the report sets out an ambitious make it?
agenda for reform. Despite significant progress 2009 Overcoming inequality: why governance
in many areas, the world is not on track to matters
achieve the Education for All goals. The 2011 2010 Reaching the marginalized
EFA GMR warns that: 2011 The hidden crisis: Armed conflict and
There were 67 million out-of-school children education
in 2008, down from 106 million in 1999. The The 2012 report will focus on skills develop-
number is falling too slowly to meet the Edu- ment for increasing employment opportunities
cation for All target by 2015. among marginalized groups. Since the 2003/
Many children drop out of school before com- 2004 report, an Education for all Development
pleting a full primary cycle. In sub-Saharan Index (EDI) has been developed by the team to
Africa alone, 10 million children drop out of provide a rounded picture of progress toward the
primary school every year. most measurable EFA goals.
Gender disparities continue to hamper pro- The report is funded jointly by UNESCO
gress in education. Had the world achieved and several bilateral agencies. It benefits from
gender parity at the primary level in 2008, the expertise of an international advisory board,
there would have been an additional 3.6 million composed of representatives from UNESCO and
girls in primary school. other multilateral agencies, bilateral agencies,
Education for All Global Monitoring Report 1813 E
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and level. Just as crucial an audience are all those
regional networks, and other invited experts. engaged in promoting the right to quality
While the report is published and part-funded education teachers, nongovernmental organiza-
by UNESCO, it is recognized as independent. tions (NGOs), civil society groups, researchers,
Because the six Dakar goals are the result of and the media. By enriching understanding of
a collective agreement and partnership, the report education issues, the report is a springboard for
itself does not represent the voice of one organi- debate, knowledge-sharing, and advocacy.
zation; rather, it is an international project that Along with a range of associated materials
tracks the performance of governments, civil (e.g., summaries, regional overviews, presenta-
society, bilateral donors, and international tions), background papers, and statistical data,
E
agencies. the report is available freely online at www.
Each report is developed over a 12- to efareport.unesco.org. The report is disseminated
18-month period. It draws on scholarship and widely, in every region, through a series of
expertise, including a core of commissioned launches, media events, and policy seminars
work, from governments, NGOs, bilateral and that generate strong press coverage and local
multilateral agencies, UNESCO institutes, and interest. It is widely cited in scholarly publica-
research institutions. Since 2005, online consul- tions and often spurs debate in both policy and
tations have also been organized to broaden the academic circles.
scope and content of the report. In order that the reports messages and find-
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) ings may be widely shared, it is published in
plays the lead role in providing the report team the six languages of the United Nations
with extensive data collected from national gov- (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and
ernments. Serious limitations in data coverage Spanish). The summary is often translated into
exist, however, making it difficult to monitor additional languages; these have included Cata-
some dimensions of EFA. Using the International lan, German, Hindi, Japanese, Kiswahili, Korean,
Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), Lao, Portuguese, and Telegu. Over 20,000 copies
statistics are internationally comparable for the of the 2010 EFA GMR were distributed, along
majority of countries. However, as not all coun- with approximately 25,000 copies of the sum-
tries use the same classification systems, discrep- mary and over 10,000 copies of regional over-
ancies between national data and those published views. There were also approximately 90,000
internationally sometimes emerge. Differences recorded downloads of full reports, summaries,
can also stem from discrepancies between and regional overviews from the website in the
national and international population estimates 12-month period following the launch.
and from a time lag inevitably accompanying The World Education Report, prepared by
the quality assurance process. UNESCO, was a precursor to the Education for
The report is submitted to the director-general All Global Monitoring Report. Five reports were
of UNESCO on an annual basis and considered published (1991, 1993, 1995, 1998, and 2000).
by the High-Level Group on Education for All, The first three focused on multiple themes, while
whose members include government ministers, the final two focused on teachers and teaching
representatives of donor organizations, UN agen- and the right to education, respectively.
cies, and nongovernmental organizations. The
role of the High-Level Group, as stated in the
Dakar Framework for Action (UNESCO, 2000), Cross-References
is to sustain and accelerate the political momen-
tum created at the World Education Forum and Education
serve as a lever for resource mobilization. Education for all Development Index (EDI)
The publication is targeted at education Educational Attainment
decision-makers at the national and international Educational Inequality
E 1814 Education for Sustainable Development

Gender and Education ESD has four main thrusts: (1) improving
Gender-sensitive Education Statistics and basic education, (2) reorienting education to
Indicators include sustainable development, (3) developing
Literacy public awareness, and (4) training. Further, ESD
Public Spending for Education has the following essential characteristics:
Training Based on principles and values of sustainable
United Nations Educational, Scientific and development
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Deals with the well-being of all four dimen-
sions of sustainability environment, society,
culture, and economy
References Uses a variety of pedagogical techniques that
promote participatory learning and higher-
UNESCO (2000). The Dakar Framework for Action: order thinking skills
Education for All Meeting our Collective Commit-
Promotes lifelong learning
ments (Including Six Regional Frameworks for
Action). Adopted by the World Education Forum. Is locally relevant and culturally appropriate
Dakar, April 2628 UNESCO. Is based on local needs, perceptions, and
conditions, but acknowledges that fulfilling
local needs often has international effects
and consequences
Engages formal, nonformal, and informal
Education for Sustainable education
Development Accommodates the evolving nature of the
concept of sustainability
Tarah Wright Addresses content, taking into account con-
Environmental Science, Dalhousie University, text, global issues, and local priorities
Halifax, NS, Canada Builds civil capacity for community-based
decision-making, social tolerance, environ-
mental stewardship, an adaptable workforce,
Definition and a good quality of life (see http://www.
unesco.org for more information)
Education for sustainable development (ESD) is ESD is a concept that has emerged over the
any formal, informal, or nonformal education that past four decades, as humanity becomes more
empowers people to assume responsibility for aware of the growing number of social, eco-
creating a sustainable society. nomic, and environmental problems that threaten
human and ecosystem health. These issues have
led many governments and international agencies
Description to highlight the need for human development to
be based on principles of sustainable develop-
ESD uses education as a means to achieve global ment. Sustainable development is defined by
sustainability by focusing on social justice, eco- the World Commission on Environment and
nomic responsibility, and environmental health Development as meeting the needs of the pre-
for educational initiatives. ESD emphasizes sent generation without compromising the ability
examining both the physical/biological and of future generations to meet their needs
socioeconomic environments, as well as human (World Commission on Environment and Devel-
development, in all disciplines as a way to call opment [WCED], 1987, p. 4). This concept has
attention to the connections among humans, their been affirmed as a guiding principle for planetary
activities, and the natural environment (United progress by both the UN Rio Summit on
Nations, 1992). Environment and Development in 1992 and
Education for Sustainable Development 1815 E
the UN Johannesburg Summit in 2002. It is which was the result of the 1992 United Nations
generally accepted that the term sustainable Conference on Environment and Development
development refers to the balance of the triple in Rio de Janeiro. While practically all of the
bottom line ecological integrity, social equity, chapters in Agenda 21 are related to education,
and economic prosperity (Dale & Hill, 2001; Chapter 36 in particular (education, awareness,
Dale & Onyx, 2005; Robinson, van Bers, & and training) deals with issues related to ESD
McLeod, 1996). (UNCED, 1992). The three main thrusts are as
While a sustainable future cannot be achieved follows:
through changes and actions in one sector alone, Reorienting education toward sustainable
education is a key component in working toward development
E
this goal. The concept of education for sustain- Increasing public awareness of environmental
able development (ESD) asserts a vision of issues
education that empowers people to assume Promoting environmental training among
responsibility for creating sustainable societies. educators
As the United Nations Educational, Scientific and In 1997, the government of Greece hosted
Cultural Organization says, the goal of educa- the UNESCO Conference on Environment and
tion is to make people wiser, more knowledge- Society: Education and Public Awareness for
able, better informed, ethical, responsible, Sustainability. This resulted in the Thessaloniki
critical and capable of continuing to learn. Declaration which stressed that radical social
Education, in short, is humanitys best hope and change must occur in order for ESD to be effec-
most effective means in the quest to achieve tive globally: Poverty makes the delivery of
sustainable development (UNESCO, 1997). education and other social services more difficult
The Stockholm Declaration, written at the and leads to population growth and environmen-
Stockholm Conference on the Human Environ- tal degradation. Poverty reduction is thus an
ment in 1972, was the first international declara- essential goal and indispensable condition for
tion to make reference to the concept of ESD, sustainability (UNESCO, 1997).
recognizing the interdependency between In addition, the Declaration argued that the
humanity and the environment, and discuss concept of environmental sustainability must be
inter- and intragenerational equity. Principle 19 clearly linked with poverty, population, food
of the Declaration is most relevant to ESD in that security, democracy, human rights, peace and
it call for education from grade school to adult- health, and a respect for traditional cultural and
hood to broaden the basis for enlightened ecological knowledge.
opinions and responsible conduct by individuals, Due to this pivotal role in humanitys future,
enterprises and communities in protecting and the United Nations declared 20052014 the
improving the environment in its full human United Nations Decade of Education for Sustain-
dimension (United Nations, 1972). able Development (UNESCO, 2004). The goal of
Another important document in the evolution the Decade (DESD) is to integrate the principles,
of ESD was the Tbilisi Declaration of 1977 values, and practices of sustainable development
(UNESCO-UNEP, 1977). The Tbilisi Declara- into all aspects of education and learning with the
tion echoes the sentiments of the Stockholm goal of encouraging changes in behavior that
Declaration by stating that environment and will create a more sustainable future in terms of
sustainability must be considered within the environmental integrity, economic viability, and
framework of the education system and at all a just society for present and future generations.
levels and academic aptitudes in both formal As such, UNESCO (the lead agency) has worked
and nonformal settings. to facilitate networking, linkages, exchange, and
ESD was also prominent in the 1987 World interaction among stakeholders in ESD; foster an
Commission on Environment and Development increased quality of teaching and learning in
report and more fully developed in Agenda 21 education for sustainable development; help
E 1816 Education Index

countries make progress toward and attain the UNESCO. (2009). Bonn declaration. Bonn, Germany:
Millennium Development Goals through ESD UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sus-
tainable Development.
efforts; and provide countries with new opportu- UNESCO-UNEP. (1977). Tbilisi declaration and final
nities to incorporate ESD into education reform report. Tbilisi: Intergovernmental Conference on
efforts (United Nations, 2007). Environmental Education.
The UNESCO World Conference on Educa- United Nations. (1972). Declaration of the United
Nations conference on the human environment. Stock-
tion for Sustainable Development was held in holm: United Nations Conference on the Human
Bonn, Germany, in 2009, and was considered Environment.
the halfway point of the DESD. This conference United Nations. (1992). Rio Declaration on Environment
gave the global community an opportunity to and Development. Report of the United Nations Confer-
ence on Environment and Development. Retrieved from
reflect on the progress of ESD during the decade http://www.un.org/documents/ga/conf151/aconf15126
and plan for the future. The final report echoes 1annex1.htm.
the words of former declarations, calling for United Nations. (2007). The UN decade of education for
increased ESD efforts throughout the globe in sustainable development (DESD 2005-2014): The first
two years. UNESCO: Paris.
order to work toward a sustainable future. The World Commission on Environment and Development.
report emphasizes that knowledge acquired (1987). Our common future. Oxford: Oxford Univer-
through education is not enough to achieve sus- sity Press.
tainable development and asserts that ESD must
provide the values, knowledge, skills, and com-
petencies for sustainable living and participation
in society (UNESCO, 2009). Education Index

Michaela Saisana
Cross-References Econometrics and Applied Statistics, Joint
Research Centre, European Commission, Ispra,
Italy
Agenda 21
Sustainable Development

Synonyms
References
Human Development Report (HDR)
Dale, A., & Hill, S. B. (2001). At the edge: Sustainable
development in the 21st century. Vancouver, BC: UBC
Press.
Dale, A., & Onyx, J. (Eds.). (2005). A dynamic balance:
Definition
Social capital and sustainable community develop-
ment. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press. The United Nations Development Program
Robinson, J. B., van Bers, C., & McLeod, D. (1996). Life (UNDP) Education Index is published in the
in 2030: The sustainable society project. In A. Dale &
J. Robinson (Eds.), Achieving sustainable develop-
context of the Human Development Report
ment. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press. (HDR), and it is one of the three components of
UNCED. (1992). Agenda 21: Programme of action the Human Development Index (HDI).
for sustainable development. Rio de Janeiro: The new Education Index (since the 2010
United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development.
HDR) is calculated as the simple geometric
UNESCO. (1997). Educating for a sustainable future: average of two indicators: mean years of school-
A transdisciplinary vision for concerted action. ing and the expected years of schooling (UNDP,
Thessaloniki: International Conference on Environ- 2010, 2011). Past versions of the Education Index
ment and Society.
UNESCO. (2004). The UN decade of education for
differed from the current one in all three key
sustainable development (DESD 2005-2014): Draft issues: indicators, weights, and functional form
international implementation scheme. Paris: Author. (UNDP, 2009).
Education Index 1817 E
Description two-thirds weighting) and the combined primary,
secondary, and tertiary gross enrollment ratio
Since its introduction in the first HDR in 1990, (GER) (with one-third weighting). The adult
the HDI has attracted great interest in policy and literacy rate was used as an indication of the
academic circles, as well as in the media ability to read and write, while the GER gave
and national audiences around the world an indication of the level of education from
(UNDP, 1990). The HDI popularity can be kindergarten to postgraduate education.
attributed to the simplicity of its characterization In recent versions (since 2010) of the HDR,
of development an average of achievements adult literacy is replaced with mean years of
in health, education, and income and to its schooling (as calculated in Barro & Lee, 2010)
E
underlying message that development is much in order to measure the education of adults. This
more than economic growth. indicator is defined as the average number of
In the new HDI (introduced in the 2010 HDR), years of education received by people ages
the Education Index is calculated for 176 countries 25 and older, converted from education attain-
as the geometric average of mean years of ment levels using official durations of each
schooling and of expected years of schooling in level. Mean years of schooling is more frequent,
a given country/territory. The two education- has broader coverage, and has better discrimina-
related variables are first normalized into a [0, 1] tory power than literacy. The methodology
scale by subtracting the minimum value and divid- used to estimate mean years of schooling is
ing by the range (maximum-minimum value). The well established and broadly accepted, and the
maximum values are set to the actual observed Barro-Lee estimates of educational attainment
maximum values of the indicators from the have become the standard measure of human
countries in the time series (19802011). The capital used in cross-country empirical work
maximum values observed are 13.1 years (Czech (Bosworth & Collins, 2003; Durlauf, Johnson, &
Republic) for the mean years of schooling and Temple, 2005). The replacement of the literacy
capped at 18 years for the expected years of variable by mean years of schooling is, however,
schooling. The minimum values (conceived also an example of a revision whose main pur-
of as subsistence values) are set at 0 years for pose is to ensure current relevance.
both education variables. The index is then nor- Literacy which had up to now carried a
malized using zero and the observed maximum 2/3 weight in the Education Index has become
value of the composite Education Index (0.978, deeply unsatisfactory over time as a measure of
for New Zealand, 2010). progress in education. The world average literacy
Example of calculation of the Education Index rate rose from 60 % to 83 % between 1970 and
(2011) for Qatar: 2010. Almost half of the countries have a literacy
rate higher than 95 %, and indeed, developed
7:3  0 countries no longer collect data on basic literacy.
Mean years of schooling 0:557
13:1  0 Further, many developing countries are poised
12:0  0 to attain universal literacy in future years, as
Expected years of schooling 0:667
18:0
p  0 younger cohorts emerge from the schooling
0:557  0:667  0 systems. While literacy was likely to be a good
Education index 0:623
0:978  0 measure to evaluate progress during the past
two decades, it is unlikely to be as informative
of the future.
The new Education Index also changed its
Discussion measure of the education of children, replacing
In past releases of the HDR, the Education the gross enrolment ratio with a measure of
Index was built as a weighted arithmetic average expected years of schooling (else term school
of two indicators: adult literacy rate (with life expectancy). This captures the average
E 1818 Education Index

Education Index, Fig. 1 The UNDP Education Index and its underlying indicators regions/groups of countries
(Data source: UNDP Human Development Report, 2011)

number of years that children today could be The reasoning behind the use of a geometric
expected to attain in adulthood if enrolment mean was to address one of the most serious
rates stay at their current levels. Formally, criticisms of the linear aggregation formula,
expected years of schooling in year t are calcu- which allowed for perfect substitution across the
lated as variables. Some substitutability is inherent in
the definition of any index that increases with the
X
n
Et values of its components (Klugman, Rodrguez, &
eyst i
Choi, 2011).
i0
Pti
Since 2010, an inequality-adjusted Education
where Eit is the enrolment of children of age i, Pit Index is also calculated. The inequality-adjusted
is the population of age i in that year, and n is the Education Index equals the Education Index
theoretical maximum age of schooling. Thus, when there is no inequality across people but is
if all the school-age population is enrolled less than the Education Index as inequality rises.
in school, eyst n, but with less than 100 % In this sense, the inequality-adjusted Education
enrolment, eyst will generally be lower than n Index is the actual level of education (accounting
(see UNESCO, 2011). for this inequality), while the Education Index
Hence, the new Education Index is now can be viewed as an index of potential
framed as a measure of years of schooling, with education (or the maximum level of the
the education of current and future generations Education Index) that could be achieved if there
receiving equal weights. This is an example of was no inequality. The loss in potential
a conceptual reconsideration, where it was education due to inequality is given by the
deemed desirable to have an Education Index difference between the Education Index and
expressed in terms of a relevant outcome inequality-adjusted Education Index and can be
variable, in this case years of schooling. expressed as a percentage.
The new functional form of the Education Figure 1 presents the 2011 Education Index
Index is a geometric mean, as opposed to scores (and the values for the two education-
an arithmetic average in the previous version. related indicators) for the regions of Arab States,
Education, Satisfaction with 1819 E
East Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Central UNDP. (2011). Human development report 2011.
Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, South Sustainability and equity: A better future for all.
New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, the North America, UNESCO Institute for Statistics. (2011). School-life
the OECD countries, and the 27 European expectancy. http://www.uis.unesco.org/i_pages/indspec/
Union Member States. Highest Education Index tecspe_sle.htm. Accessed 2 May 2012.
scores are achieved on average in the USA and in
EU27, followed closely by the OECD countries;
South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa have the
lowest average Education Index scores.
Education International Assessment
E
International Assessment of Educational
Cross-References Progress (IAEP)

Education
Education for all Development Index (EDI)
Education, Satisfaction with Education, Satisfaction with
Education, Special
Gender and Education Ellen Klemera
International Assessment of Educational Center for Research in Primary and
Progress (IAEP) Community Care, Hertfordshire University,
Level of Education Hertfordshire, UK
National Assessment of Educational Progress
(NAEP)
Public Spending for Education Synonyms
UNESCO World Culture Report
Academic satisfaction

References
Definition
Barro, R. J., & Lee J. W. (2010). A new data set of
educational attainment in the world, 19502010. Satisfaction with education indicates how much
NBER Working Paper, N 15902. one is happy with her or his education and learn-
Bosworth, B., & Collins, S. (2003). The empirics of
growth: An update. Brookings Papers on Economic
ing experiences; the concept also includes how
Activity Fall, 4, 136147. much an individuals experience of education
Durlauf, S., Johnson, P., & Temple, J. (2005). Growth (including attainment) contributes to overall life
econometrics. In P. Aghion & S. Durlauf (Eds.), satisfaction (Campbell, 1981; Michalos, 2005).
Handbook of economic growth (pp. 555677).
Satisfaction with education sometimes also can
Amsterdam: North Holland.
Klugman, J., Rodrguez, F., & Choi, H-J. (2011). The HDI be understood as satisfaction with the current
2010: New controversies, old critiques. Human level of education in the particular institution.
Development Research Paper 2011/01. Alongside other domains of life, such as self-
UNDP. (1990). Human development report 1990. Concept
and measurement of human development. New York:
esteem, finances, friendship, family relations,
Oxford University Press. and others, satisfaction with education appears
UNDP. (2009). Human development report 2009. Over- to be as one of the most important part of overall
coming barriers: Human mobility and development. life satisfaction. Aggregated with other important
New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
UNDP. (2010). Human development report 2010. The real
domains of satisfaction, satisfaction with educa-
wealth of nations: Pathways to human development. tion can predict or explain the extent of indivi-
New York: Palgrave Macmillan. duals overall life satisfaction.
E 1820 Education, Satisfaction with

Description correlated more strongly with well-being than is


education (Pinquart & Sorensen, 2000).
Education, Well-Being, Life Satisfaction, Overall subjective well-being and life satis-
and Happiness faction have been also identified as being
A large body of literature suggests that education positively associated with educational success
is positively associated with a variety of social (Proctor, Linley, & Maltby, 2010). However,
outcomes, such as better health, stronger civic the reasons for this appear to be multifaceted:
engagement, and reduced crime. A small but that is, education has positive effect on the
increasing number of studies further suggest sense of control individuals feel over life circum-
that education has a positive causal effect on stances and events and therefore has a positive
these social outcomes. Moreover, educational effect on psychological well-being (Ross & Van
success can also be linked to health-promoting Willigen, 1997); education (or studying) has also
lifestyles and health status including BMI been positively related to future planning, and
(Grossman, 2006; Michalos, 2008; Organisation these future-oriented planning strategies had
for Economic Co-operation and Development positive effects on life satisfaction (Prenda &
[OECD], 2007c, 2010e, 2011). Lachman, 2001). However, other authors have
Furthermore, poverty and inequality is closely indicated that educational success by itself does
linked to low educational attainment (Michalos, not always affect subjective well-being and
2008, OECD, 2011). People with a higher edu- should be viewed through social comparisons:
cation level also have higher income levels, those adolescents who were more successful
are more likely to secure higher-benefit and in education and occupation in comparison to
status jobs, have a higher probability of being their parents experienced an increase in well-
employed, and thus report higher levels of being over time, whereas adolescents, who were
well-being and happiness (Witter, Okun, unsuccessful in comparison to their parents,
Stock, & Haring, 1984; Michalos, 1991; Ross & experienced a decrease in well-being over time
Van Willigen, 1997; Michalos, 2008 Cunado & (Samuel, Bergman, & Hupka-Bruner, 2012).
de Gracia, 2011; OECD, 2011). A number of authors (90 American studies)
The benefits of educational satisfaction appear indicate that educational attainment accounts
to extend beyond income enhancement and the for between 1 % and 3 % of the variance in
benefits associated with higher wealth. Adults adult subjective well-being (Michalos, 1991;
aged 2564 with higher levels of educational Witter et al., 1984).
attainment are more satisfied with life, engaged in Moreover, the process and impact of studying
society, and tend to have high civic engagement itself has been found to have a positive relation-
(i.e., vote, volunteer, express political interest and ship to life satisfaction. Decreasing the amount of
show interpersonal trust), better perceived health, time allocated to study led to a decrease in life
and high quality of life even after accounting for satisfaction levels. Based on his empirical study
differences in gender, age, and importantly income in Australia, Hillman (Hillman & McMillan,
(Keyes, Shmotkin, & Ryff, 2002; Michalos, 2008; 2005) found that engagement in some form of
OECD, 2011, Ross & Van Willigen, 1997). How- purposeful activity, such as academic activity
ever, it has been also suggested that income can be and education, may have benefits for the healthy
a stronger predictor of well-being than education functioning of young people that extend beyond
(Pinquart & Sorensen, 2000). Using meta-analysis having sufficient income or a future career and
to synthesize findings from 286 empirical studies impact especially on their emotional well-being.
on the association of socioeconomic status (SES), The results suggested that decreasing the amount
social network, and competence with subjective of time allocated to study led to decreased life
well-being (SWB) in older people, the authors satisfaction levels. Those young people who
found that all three aspects of life circumstances moved from full-time study into part-time study
are positively associated with SWB, but income is or no study at all reported decreased general and
Education, Satisfaction with 1821 E
career satisfaction compared to those who average in northern countries than in southern
remained in fully allocated activities (Hillman countries (Albert & Davia, 2005).
& McMillan, 2005). Although the reasons for
decreasing study need to be taken into account Satisfaction with Education and Overall Life
too, personal or financial considerations may Satisfaction
generate the change and therefore also contribute How much satisfaction with education contri-
to the reduction in life satisfaction. butes to overall life satisfaction?
Direct effects of education on happiness also Surprisingly, in studies from the USA, the
have been identified. The authors analyzed the degree of satisfaction people felt with their edu-
connection between different educational level as cation was found to be only weakly related to
E
proxy variable of human capital and subjective their overall life satisfaction (Campbell, 1981).
well-being in Spain in 2008. The subjective well- Research has tended to indicate that an indi-
being response was higher when the educational viduals level of satisfaction with their education
level was higher. Even after controlling by is a much poorer indicator of general feelings
income, labor status, and other socioeconomic of well-being than being satisfied with other
variables, it has been found that education had life domains (Campbell, 1981; Michalos, 2008;
a positive (and direct) impact on happiness, poten- Wu, 2008).
tially indicating evidence of an effect on self- In the USA, reported satisfaction with the
confidence or self-estimation from acquiring level of educational qualification was not as
knowledge (Cunado & de Gracia, 2011). high as satisfaction with other domains (e.g.,
The negative association between education satisfaction with family relationships, health).
and psychological distress has also been well With the general upgrading of educational levels
documented (Glenn & Weaver, 1981; Kessler, in the USA, a small decline was found in the
1982; Lennon & Rosenfield, 1992; Link, degree of satisfaction Americans felt with their
Lennon, & Dohrenwend, 1993; Mirowsky & education. They were most likely to express low
Ross, 1989; Mirowsky & Ross, 1989, 1995; satisfaction with their education compared to
Pearlin, Lieberman, Menaghan, & Mullan, high satisfaction with their marriage and their
1981; Ross & Huber, 1985). family life. It has been suggested that such an
The highly educated people had lower levels impersonal domain such as education is less cen-
of emotional and physical distress than the poorly tral to the emotional life of the person and less
educated (education was measured as years capable of giving satisfaction (Campbell, 1981).
of formal education completed) (Ross & Van Although a strong bidirectional link between
Willigen, 1997). Education had a negative academic satisfaction and life satisfaction has
effect on distress of all kinds. Compared to been found in some investigations (Heller,
well-educated people, the poorly educated had Watson, & Ilies, 2004; Lent et al., 2005), these
higher levels of depression, anxiety, malaise, studies did not include variables (e.g., goal
aches and pains, and, to a lesser extent, anger. progress) that may affect the nature of the inter-
Poorly educated persons (people who have not relationship among domain and life satisfaction
completed formal education) had lower levels of (Singley, Lent, & Sheu, 2010).
enjoyment, hope, happiness, fitness, and energy. Social cognitive researchers may also have
There are, however, some cultural differences missed any significant bidirectional path between
regarding how much education influences life academic domain and global life satisfaction;
satisfaction. In Southern European countries, the neither unidirectional path (academic satisfaction
link between education and life satisfaction is to life satisfaction or life satisfaction to academic
more significant and positive than in northern satisfaction) has been found significant (Singley,
countries, even after controlling for relative Lent, & Sheu, 2010).
differences in income and salaries. However, Contribution of satisfaction with education in
workers are more satisfied and better paid on overall life satisfaction has been tested several
E 1822 Education, Satisfaction with

times employing Multiple Discrepancy Theory develop skills, social status, and access to net-
(Michalos, 1991, Michalos, 2005; Michalos & works that could lead to greater satisfaction with
Orlando, 2006). In 1985 study of a sample of life (OECD, 2011).
nearly 700 undergraduates, the domain of edu- Education can be defined as having either very
cation has been found to have the greatest little or enormous influence on life satisfaction
impact on its corresponding global discrepancy and happiness. A formal education leading to
score (self needs, self future, self progress). Also only diplomas and degrees might have a very
satisfaction with education, same as satisfaction little influence on life satisfaction and happiness.
with self-esteem and financial satisfaction, had Broadly defined, given more robust definition
a significant impact on all seven global discrep- including also works of art and culture, work-
ancies (Michalos, 2005). But there have not been related training and experiences, social interac-
found any overwhelming results for satisfaction tion and routine, as well as extraordinary life
with educations contribution in overall life experiences, education can have an enormous
satisfaction, although there was a small impact influence on happiness and life satisfaction
identified of satisfaction with education on (Michalos, 2008).
happiness in a female group (Michalos, 2005).
In another study, in combination with the life
domain variables, the university-related vari- Cross-References
ables added practically nothing to the expla-
natory power on some global quality of life Adolescent Life Satisfaction Measurement
variable (e.g., life satisfaction) (Michalos & Adolescents Life Satisfaction
Orlando, 2006). Domain Satisfaction
However, earlier in 1991, in the 39-country Education
survey, satisfaction with ones university educa- Life Satisfaction, Concept of
tion (b 0.19) has been found nearly as influen- OECD List of Social Indicators
tial for life satisfaction as satisfaction with ones Quality of Life
self-esteem (b 0.20) (Michalos, 1991). Quality of Life Research
Quality of Life, Satisfaction with
Conclusion School Satisfaction
How much satisfaction with education contri-
butes to overall life satisfaction and happiness
remains contested. Some authors doubt that sat-
References
isfaction with education has a great impact on
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Synonyms
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Mirowsky, J., & Ross, C. E. (1995). Sex differences in
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Review, 60, 449468. Definition
OECD (2007c), Understanding the social outcomes of
learning, OECD, Paris. Special education is the education of students
OECD (2010e), Improving health and social cohesion
who have a learning difficulty or identified
through education, OECD, Paris.
OECD. (2011). www.oecd.org/edu/eag2011 disability. It includes both the education of
Pearlin, L. I., Lieberman, M. A., Menaghan, E. G., & school-aged children and intervention for
Mullan, J. T. (1981). The stress process. Journal of children whose disability is identified before
Health and Social Behavior, 22, 337356.
school age, possibly from birth. Special educa-
Pinquart, M., & Sorensen, S. (2000). Influences of socio-
economic status, social network, and competence on tion may take place in special schools, special
subjective well-being in later life: A meta-analysis. classes in regular schools, or in regular classes.
Psychology and Aging, 15(2), 187224. In the case of preschool-aged children, special
Prenda, K., & Lachman, M. (2001). Planning for the
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Aging, 16(2), 206216. intervention center, or in the childs home.
E 1824 Education, Special

Special education may be implemented by deprivation in these institutions and a significantly


a trained special education teacher, a regular decreased quality of life.
class teacher, or a teaching assistant. Parents Schools for students with a sensory impair-
and other professionals such as physical thera- ment (hearing or vision loss) tended to be more
pists, occupational therapists, speech patholo- educationally focused than those for students
gists, and psychologists may participate in the with an intellectual or physical disability and
planning and implementation of special educa- tried to lessen the childs handicap by teaching
tion programs. Braille, sign language, lip reading, or oral English
as appropriate, and introducing the child to
the broader curriculum. However, even the
Description well-run residential institutions resulted in the
removal of the child from family and community
History of Special Education and led to major limitations in opportunity and
While education for all children with a disability choice.
became law as recently as 1975 in the United In the twentieth century, there was an
States, and later in some other countries, special increase in the number of day schools for stu-
education has a history that stretches back at dents with a disability. Many of these were run
least as far as the eighteenth century, and possi- by parent organizations or charities, although
bly further (Rotatori, Obiakor, & Bakken, 2011). some were government operated. After World
Typically, the first special schools were for War 2, there was an upsurge in the develop-
students who were deaf, and these commenced ment of powerful parental advocacy groups
in France and Britain in the mid-eighteenth demanding a better deal for children with
century. This was a period of social change and a disability, including more community-based
enlightenment in Europe, with a move schooling. By the latter part of the twentieth
towards a just society. The United States and century, there was a strong movement against
Canada followed early in the nineteenth century residential institutions, particularly in the
with schools for deaf students. Schools for stu- United States, and many larger institutions
dents who were blind typically came next, and some day schools closed. Many children
followed by schools for students with an intel- who would previously have lived their lives in
lectual disability by the mid- to late nineteenth a large institution were now living at home and
century. These schools were usually run on either attending a local school or a special
a charity basis and often had the effect of remov- school in the community.
ing children from their home communities to
live with other students who had a similar dis- Legislative Basis for Change
ability in order to provide specialized teaching During the early part of the twentieth century,
and care. governments in many developed countries
The intention in most cases was to improve began a gradual acceptance of responsibility for
the childs quality of life by providing access the education of students with a disability.
to educational opportunities. However, in some For example, between 1900 and 1930, 17
cases, particularly for students with an intellectual American states passed legislation either permit-
or physical disability, a sub-agendum was to pro- ting or mandating education for students with
vide a place to which the child could be removed, a sensory or intellectual disability (Winzer,
often with little further contact with their family. 1993). These gradual changes culminated in
Large institutions for students with an intellec- 1975, when the United States Congress passed
tual disability followed a custodial or medical PL94/142, the Education for All Handicapped
model, rather than an educational model, and Children Act. This was undoubtedly landmark
there is no doubt that many children suffered legislation, as it required public schools to
Education, Special 1825 E
provide free appropriate public education to all disability. The most typical placement was a day
students with a disability. Prior to this, students in school or a special unit or class within a regular
many states could be refused an education on the school.
basis that they had a disability, despite the fact The United States has continued to be
that education was compulsory. For example, in a trailblazer in legislation for students with
the case of intellectual disability, children were special educational needs, and its legislation
frequently classified at the time as educable, has tended to be more prescriptive than that of
trainable, or custodial. Those who were con- other countries. PL 94/142 was subsequently
sidered educable may have been placed in reauthorized in 1990 and 1997 and renamed the
a special class, if one were available. If they Individuals With Disabilities Education Act
E
were classified as trainable or custodial, the (IDEA). The name change was an important
only option was frequently a charity-run private symbolic move towards people first language.
school or residential institution. Many children IDEA and its subsequent authorizations have
stayed at home and missed out altogether on any included specific requirements about the way in
chance of an education. which the education of students with a disability
PL94/142 not only permitted Federal funding should be provided. IDEAs requirements cover
for special education, it also stipulated the way in a very large range of disabilities from mild
which it should take place. Testing and placement speech impediments to severe and multiple dis-
procedures had to be nondiscriminatory. Parents abilities and a very wide age range from early
gained the right to be involved in decision mak- childhood to post-school transitions. Parents are
ing about their childs educational program given strong rights related to decisions about their
and future. Education had to be free, appropriate childs education, and there are strong stipula-
to the childs needs, and to take place in the tions about how and where services are to be
least-restrictive environment. A segregated, provided.
residential institution, for example, would be Another piece of legislation impacting on the
regarded as a restrictive environment. way special education is provided is the No Child
In the United Kingdom it was the 1981 Left Behind Act of 2001 (PL 107110). This act
Education Act, following the Warnock Report focuses on accountability through an expectation
of 1978, that signalled a major change to the that all students will have access to teaching in
way the education of students with a disability basic skills and will be assessed against national
was to be viewed. In particular, there was standards. Schools that do not show good out-
a movement away from the negative classifica- comes are expected to develop programs that
tion of students by their supposed deficits (e.g., will improve student achievement. While the
maladjusted; educationally subnormal) towards motivation behind the act was positive, some
a concept of special educational needs (SEN). commentators have pointed to negative conse-
Importantly, from a QOL perspective, the com- quences for students with a disability who are
mon goals for all students were independence, seen as bringing down the standards in
enjoyment, and understanding. a school. Debate continues about the adequacy
Australia has tended to make educational of Federal funding to support the legislation
changes for students with a disability through and on whether the legislative requirements assist
policy rather than legislation, although the Com- or impede teachers daily work and student
monwealth Disability Discrimination Act and its outcomes.
associated Educational Standards have provided
legislative backup for the policy. Education in Models of Special Education: The Movement
Australia is a State matter, and by the late Towards Inclusion
1970s, the States were providing educational pro- During the 1960s and 1970s, the level of restric-
grams for all children, regardless of their level of tion imposed on people with a disability by large
E 1826 Education, Special

institutions and segregated day schools was seen Article 24, Education: 1. States Parties recognize
by many as both unnecessary and undesirable and the right of persons with disabilities to education.
With a view to realizing this right without discrimi-
as a major impediment to the affected peoples nation and on the basis of equal opportunity, States
quality of life. Researchers and commentators Parties shall ensure an inclusive education system
began to analyze the provision of services to at all levels . . . (United Nations General Assembly,
people with a disability from a social justice 2006)
and human rights perspective. In Denmark, As at June 2011, there were 149 signatories to
Niels Erik Bank-Mikkelsen developed the the Convention and 90 signatories to the Optional
important concept of normalization. This was Protocol which allows the Committee on the
further developed in Sweden by Bengt Nirje and Rights of Persons with a Disability to receive
introduced to the English-speaking world by communications from persons who believe that
Wolf Wolfensberger (Bank-Mikkelsen, 1969; they have been a victim of a violation of the
Nirje, 1970, 1985; Wolfensberger, 1972). Convention. The Optional Protocol strengthens
The normalization principle recognizes that the impact of Article 24 on students with
all people are entitled to live a lifestyle that other a disability. The signatories to the Convention
people would regard as normal. Normal can be include Algeria, Australia, Brazil, Chile, China,
defined as what most others in that culture usu- Germany, India, the Russian Federation, the
ally do or would prefer to do. The most normal United States, and the United Kingdom.
educational placement in most societies is Research on the impact of the type of place-
a regular school chosen by the students parents, ment on social and academic outcomes is difficult
either in the public or independent system. and has produced equivocal results. At an intui-
Applying the normalization philosophy to tive level, it appears logical that students in
school choice leads to the view that children, a smaller specialized class with a teacher
regardless of their disability, should have the trained in special education will receive a better
opportunity to attend a regular school, if that is education than students floundering in the
what they or their parents see as the best thing for mainstream. However, this is not necessarily
them. the case. As long ago as 1968, Lloyd Dunn
Most modern school systems provide a range questioned whether separate education for stu-
of different educational settings for students with dents with a mild disability produced better out-
a disability, and the trend over the last 30 years comes and pointed out the overrepresentation of
has been to move towards settings that are more minority groups in such classes (Dunn, 1968).
culturally normal and inclusive. The range of More recent research has suggested that students
educational settings provided by most school with a disability are likely to achieve more aca-
systems ranges from separate special day schools demically in a regular class, perhaps due to a greater
to full inclusion in a regular class. Residential emphasis on academic outcomes and greater access
schools for students with a disability are to the regular curriculum in mainstream classes.
now a rare occurrence. Other variations include Research on social interaction has also produced
a separate special school on a regular campus, patchy results (see Foreman, 2009).
a special unit of two or three classes located
in a regular school, a single special class in reg-
ular school, and part-time regular placement. Curriculum and Teaching in Special
The movement towards inclusive schooling Education
has also been supported by human rights state- Curriculum and teaching in special education
ments. Most recently, on December 13, 2006, the have been heavily influenced by American legis-
United Nations passed the Convention on the lation. For example, since PL 94/142 in 1975,
Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Article 24 individual goal planning in the form of an Indi-
of the Convention provides clear support for vidualized Educational Program (IEP) has been
inclusive education: a requirement for all students with a disability in
Education, Special 1827 E
the USA. The 2004 IDEA amendments require individualized plans should be designed to
a statement of the childs present level of aca- promote progress in the general curriculum.
demic and functional performance and how this The alternative argument is that the general cur-
affects participation in the general curriculum, riculum is of limited relevance to students with
measurable functional and academic goals, a significant disability and that the curriculum
a statement of specialized services needed, for such students should be directly related
a statement of modifications for statewide assess- to their current and future life needs. Proponents
ments, and a statement of how progress in meet- of this view believe that such students should be
ing the goals will be assessed and reported. For following a functional curriculum such as the
students aged over 16 years, a transition program one outlined by Bender, Valletutti, and Baglin
E
must also be developed. The IEP team must (2008).
include the student, where appropriate, and his
or her parents. The American legislation has The Future
influenced policy and practice elsewhere in the Two main issues will continue to impact on
world. the education of students with a disability relat-
Careful assessment and planning, setting of ing to where it takes place and how it takes place.
short-term and long-term goals, and monitoring From a QOL perspective, many have argued that
of progress are seen by many as the essential the lives of people with a disability are immea-
elements of special education that differentiate surably improved when they leave the restric-
it from regular education, whether this occurs in tions of institutions and segregated settings and
a regular class or a special class. Curriculum take their place in the community. However,
adaptation, supported participation, technologi- others have argued that removing students from
cal support, and the use of behavioral techniques the more sheltered environments of special
such as positive reinforcement and chaining are schools leaves them open to isolation, bullying,
all strategies used in special education, but also and stigmatism. Evidence can be found to sup-
by many regular education teachers. Techniques port both arguments. The conclusion is probably
such as task analysis, direct instruction, and pre- that the impact of various educational place-
cision teaching are regarded by many as special ments will vary from student to student. Some
education teaching techniques that can be used students will thrive in the challenge of an inclu-
with students who have learning difficulties rang- sive setting, while others will find such settings
ing from mild to severe in regular or special to be confronting and overwhelming. The
classes. For a comprehensive review of strategies important aspect of current policy and law in
that have been used extensively in special educa- most developed countries is that parents are
tion, see Mitchell (2008). now in a position to make a choice about what
There is some debate among special educators type of education they want for their child, based
about the extent to which students with on their assessment of the effect of the place-
a disability, particularly those with an intellectual ment on the childs current and future quality
disability, should have access to the general of life.
curriculum. One side of the argument, put for- The question of how special education
ward by Wehmeyer and colleagues (e.g., should occur is more easily resolved through
Wehmeyer, Sands, Knowlton, & Kozleski, empirical means. There is strong evidence that
2002, Wehmeyer, Lattin, Lapp-Prinker, & careful planning, individualized instruction,
Agran 2003), is that access to the general curri- appropriate feedback, and ongoing monitoring
culum will lead to higher expectations and and evaluation lead to better outcomes for stu-
consequently higher academic outcomes for dents with all types of learning difficulties.
students with a disability. They argue that stan- Modern technological approaches using com-
dards should be open ended, based on principles puter-assisted instruction provide opportunities
of Universal Design for Learning and that to use these techniques efficiently in regular
E 1828 Education, Special Needs

classes, and it is likely that the future will see the


further development of technology as an essential Education, Traditional
component of special education.
Raymond Barnhardt
University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks,
AK, USA
References

Bank-Mikkelsen, N. E. (1969). Normalization: Letting


the mentally retarded obtain an existence as close to Synonyms
normal as possible. Washington, DC: Presidents
Committee on Mental Retardation. Aboriginal education; First Nations education;
Bender, M., Valletutti, P. J., & Baglin, C. (2008). A func-
Indigenous education; Indigenous epistemology;
tional assessment & curriculum for teaching students
with disabilities (Self-care skills, Vol. 1). Austin, Indigenous knowledge; Native education; Native
TX: ProEd. science; Traditional ecological knowledge
Dunn, L. M. (1968). Special education for the mentally
retarded: Is much of it justifiable? Exceptional
Children, 35, 522.
Foreman, P. (2009). Education of students with an intel- Definition
lectual disability: Research and practice. Charlotte,
NC: Information Age Publishing. A form of educational practice associated
Mitchell, D. (2008). What really works in special and
with traditional lifestyles, world views, and
inclusive education? Using evidence-based teaching
strategies. Abingdon: Routledge. ways of knowing. Traditional education pro-
Nirje, B. (1970). The normalization principle: Implica- cesses of indigenous people have been carefully
tions and comments. British Journal of Mental constructed around observing natural processes,
Subnormality, 16, 6270.
adapting modes of survival, obtaining sustenance
Nirje, B. (1985). The basis and logic of the normalization
principle. Australia & New Zealand Journal of Devel- from the plant and animal world, and using
opmental Disabilities, 11, 6568. natural materials to make their tools and
Rotatori, A., Obiakor, F., & Bakken, J. (Eds.). (2011). implements. All of this is made understandable
History of special education. Bradford: Emerald
through demonstration and observation accom-
Group Publishing.
United Nations General Assembly. (2006). Convention on panied by thoughtful stories in which the lessons
the rights of persons with disabilities. Accessed are imbedded.
December 12, 2012, from www.un.org/disabilities/
documents/convention/convoptprot-e.pdf
Wehmeyer, M., Lattin, D. L., Lapp-Prinker, G., &
Agran, M. (2003). Access to the general curriculum Description
for middle school students with mental retardation.
Remedial and Special Education, 34(5), 262272. Indigenous people have had their own ways of
Wehmeyer, M., Sands, D. J., Knowlton, H. E., &
looking at and relating to the world, the universe,
Kozleski, E. B. (2002). Teaching students with mental
retardation: providing access to the general curricu- and to each other. However, indigenous views of
lum. Baltimore, MD: Paul H Brookes. the world and approaches to education have been
Winzer, M. (1993). The history of special education. brought into jeopardy with the spread of western
Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press.
social structures and institutionalized forms of
Wolfensberger, W. (1972). The principle of normalization
in human services. Toronto, ON: National Institute on cultural transmission. Many indigenous as well
Mental Retardation. as nonindigenous peoples have begun to recog-
nize the limitations of a monocultural education
system, and new approaches have begun to
emerge that are contributing to our understanding
Education, Special Needs of the relationship between indigenous ways of
knowing and those associated with western soci-
Education, Special ety and formal education. Efforts are underway
Education, Traditional 1829 E
around the world to devise a system of education both of which were sponsored by the Indigenous
for all people who respect the epistemological Peoples Secretariat of the Arctic Council.
and pedagogical foundations provided by both Similar cultural indicators have been developed
indigenous and western cultural traditions by Alaska Native Educators for use in assessing
(Aikenhead, 2011; Barnhardt & Kawagley, learning opportunities for Alaska Native students
2011). (Alaska Native Educators, 2012; Assembly of
While western science and education tend Alaska Native Educators, 1998).
to emphasize compartmentalized knowledge The study of indigenous knowledge systems
which is often de-contextualized and taught in as it relates to education falls into three interre-
the detached setting of a classroom or labora- lated research themes: documentation and
E
tory, indigenous people have traditionally articulation of indigenous knowledge systems;
acquired their knowledge through direct experi- delineating epistemological structures and
ence in the natural world. For them, the particu- learning/cognitive processes associated with
lars come to be understood in relation to the indigenous ways of knowing; and developing/
whole, and the laws are continually tested in assessing educational strategies integrating
the context of everyday survival (Kawagleyu, indigenous and western knowledge and ways
1995; Kawagley et al, 1998). In western terms, of knowing. These issues encompass some of
competency is often assessed based on the most long-standing cultural, social, and
predetermined ideas of what a person should political challenges facing education in indige-
know, which is then measured indirectly nous societies around the world. Public debate
through various forms of objective assessments. on these issues has revolved around apparent
In the traditional indigenous sense, competency conflicts between educational, political, and cul-
has an unequivocal relationship to survival or tural values, all of which are highly interrelated,
extinction. For an indigenous student imbued so it is essential that future research address the
with an indigenous, experientially grounded, issues in an integrated, cross-cultural and cross-
holistic world view, typical approaches to disciplinary manner, and with strong indigenous
schooling can present an impediment to learn- influence (Guitieerrez and Rogoff, 2003; Smith,
ing, to the extent that they focus on compartmen- 1999, 2002).
talized knowledge with little regard for how Indigenous scholars have begun to identify
academic subjects relate to one another or to the epistemological underpinnings and learning
the surrounding universe. Learning occurs best processes associated with indigenous knowledge
when the subject matter is based on something systems and ways of knowing Comparative
useful and suitable to the livelihood of the com- research has been undertaken to gain a better
munity and is presented in a way that reflects understanding of the inner-workings of the
a familiar world view (Barnhardt and Kawagley, many and varied indigenous knowledge systems
2011; Battiste, 2002). around the world. By utilizing research strategies
Given the critical role of groundedness in the that link the study of learning to the knowledge
context of traditional education, the assessment of base and ways of knowing already established
educational indicators can be problematic when in the local community and culture, indig-
relying on conventional measures of learning in enous communities are able to find value in
western institutional environments. Consequently, what emerges and are able to put the new insights
numerous initiatives have been implemented to into practice toward achieving their own
develop indicators that capture the cultural under- ends as a meaningful exercise in sustained self-
pinnings of traditional educational practices. determination (Meyer, 2001). In turn, the know-
These include the Survey of Living Conditions in ledge gained from these efforts has applicability
the Arctic (www.arcticlivingconditions.org), and in furthering our understanding of basic human
the Arctic Social Indicators (http://www.svs.is/ processes associated with learning and the trans-
ASI/Report%20Chapters/Report%20Chapters.htm), mission of knowledge in all forms.
E 1830 Educational Attainment

Cross-References Smith, G. H. (2002). Kaupapa Maori theory: An indigenous


theory of transformative praxis. Auckland: University
of Auckland/Te Whare Wananga oAwanuiarangi.
Education for All Development Index (EDI) Survey of Living Conditions in the Arctic. http://www.
Education for All Global Monitoring Report arcticlivingconditions.org. Accessed June 6 2012.
Education for Sustainable Development
Educational Inequality
Educational System
Subsistence in the Arctic
Educational Attainment

Level of Education
References

Aikenhead, G. (2011). Bridging cultures: Indigenous and


scientific ways of knowing nature. Toronto: Pearson
Publishers. Educational Attainment,
Alaska Native Educators. (2012). Guide to implementing
the Alaska cultural standards for educators. Juneau:
Mathematics
Alaska Department of Education.
Arctic Social Indicators. http://www.svs.is/ASI/Report% Mathematics Achievement
20Chapters/Report%20Chapters.htm. Accessed June 6
2012.
Assembly of Alaska Native Educators. (1998). Alaska
standards for culturally responsive schools. Fairbanks,
AK: Alaska Native Knowledge Network, University
of Alaska Fairbanks. Educational Child Care
Barnhardt, R., & Kawagley, A. O. (2005). Indigenous
knowledge systems and Alaska native ways of Parental Time and Child Well-Being
knowing. Anthropology and Education Quarterly,
36(1), 823.
Barnhardt, R., & Kawagley, A. O. (2011). Sharing our
pathways: Native perspectives on education in Alaska.
Fairbanks, AK: Alaska Native Knowledge Network.
Battiste, M. (2002). Indigenous knowledge and pedagogy Educational Effect of Pornography
in first nations education: A literature review
with recommendations. Ottawa, Canada: Indian and Pornography, Sexual Socialization, and
Northern Affairs.
Cajete, G. (2000). Native science: Natural laws of Satisfaction
interdependence. Sante Fe, NM: Clear Light
Publishers.
Gutierrez, K. D., & Rogoff, B. (2003). Cultural ways of
learning: Individual traits or repertoires of practice.
Educational Researcher, 32(5), 1925. Educational Inequality
Kawagley, O. (1995). A Yupiaq world view: A pathway to
ecology and spirit. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland
Press. Marcel Crahay1 and Marion Dutrevis2
1
Kawagley, A. O., Norris-Tull, D., et al. (1998). The indig- University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
enous worldview of Yupiaq culture: Its scientific 2
Faculty of Educational Science, University of
nature and relevance to the practice and teaching of
Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching,
35(2), 133144.
Meyer, M. A. (2001). Our own liberation: Reflections on
Hawaiian epistemology. The Contemporary Pacific, Synonyms
13, 124148.
Smith, L. T. (1999). Decolonizing methodologies:
Research and indigenous peoples. New York: Zed Inequality of educational opportunities; Intergroup-
Books. achievement disparities
Educational Inequality 1831 E
Definition France). Through general or specific programs,
compensatory education aims at establishing
Educational inequality can be defined as more equality in education.
intergroup disparities regarding the opportunities Despite these political decisions, we can but
for academic achievement. These disparities can observe a remaining achievement gap between
concern a variety of educational factors, such as historically minority groups and others. Different
resources, treatment, access, and/or results. indicators reveal the difficulties encountered by
minority groups. School marks, standardized
tests, grade retention, dropout rates, or academic
Description orientations confirm that educational inequalities
E
are far from removed. Moreover, this intergroup-
Intergroup Educational Inequalities achievement gap is at stake during the whole
and Their Historical Evolution of students curriculum. Access to education has
Historically, educational inequality emerges undoubtedly positively evolved for minority
over (affects) some particular social groups. groups. But enrollment in education does not
Access as well as success in education has mean equality of treatment no equality of results.
long been far from equal for all pupils and stu- In other words, higher quantitative access to edu-
dents regarding their group membership. Some cation does not amount to higher education qual-
minority groups are particularly concerned: ity for all.
ethnic minorities, low socioeconomic class,
and women are undoubtedly the most represen- Do Schools Make a Difference?
tative and studied groups in the field of educa- The Coleman report (1966) can be considered as
tional inequalities. the starting point of scientific inquiry concerning
During the twentieth century, national and educational inequality. In Equality of Educa-
international policies have largely focused on tional Opportunity, Coleman et al. (1966) tested
intergroup-achievement disparities in order to reading performances of more than 150,000
favor educational equality for all. For example, students in the USA and observed huge differ-
Brown versus Board of Education of Topeka ences between pupils related to racial and/or
(1954) represents a landmark decision in the socioeconomical status: in general, socially
American policy fight against segregation and disadvantaged black pupils have poorer perfor-
ethnic inequalities. Commissioned by the U.S. mance than white ones. On the basis of regression
Department of Education and the Civil Rights analysis, he argued that student background and
Act (1964), the Coleman Report or Equality socioeconomic status weight much more than
of Educational Opportunity (Coleman et al., school resources in determining educational
1966) is one of the most famous studies that outcomes. More specifically, Coleman et al.
emphasized the contribution of socioeconomic concluded that funding variations are not related
status in determining educational outcomes. to outcomes variations. According to these
Regarding gender, many countries have also researchers, more important is the school compo-
progressed in terms of expected equality between sition: black students take important benefit to be
men and women. School separated by gender is integrated in racially mixed classrooms. This
now dead in most countries. finding gave the impulse to a policy of school
As a symbol of this political interest for edu- desegregation. The busing system that consists of
cational equality, many states have developed driving lower-class black students into higher-
what can be equally called compensatory educa- class mixed race schools was the more radical
tion or positive discrimination (e.g., Head Start, facet of this policy; this highly disputed proce-
Follow Through or No Child Left Behind in dure had not the wished effects.
the United States, Educational Priority Areas The Colemans findings were largely misun-
in England, or Zones dEducation Prioritaire in derstood and wrongly diffused. For example,
E 1832 Educational Inequality

Hodgson (1975) summarized them by the for- into a track or stream), number of programs
mula: schools make no difference. This assertion offered to 15-year-old students, and rate of stu-
and the following debates generated a large cur- dent retention. More generally, it appears that
rent of research on the school effects. Two years education systems that group students according
after, Good, Biddle, and Brophy (1975) proposed to their ability (or any surrogate factor) tend to
a reply with the book Teachers make have a higher correlation between the social
a difference. On the basis of the synthesis of background of the pupils and their performance
the process product studies (Brophy & Good, (Baye & Monseur, 2006).
1986), it is possible to confirm that, to some According to Keeves synthesis (1995), some
extent, what teachers do in the classroom affects teaching variables have positive effect on student
pupils school learning and can contribute to achievement and, in consequence, can contribute
reduce inequalities related to socioeconomical to reduce inequalities. Shortly said, there is
status. a positive relationship between opportunities to
It is also important to notice that, since the learn and pupils learning: the more the teacher
Coleman report, most of the educational research allocates time to activities of reading, the more
concerned by inequalities assumes implicitly the pupils will learn to read. International surveys
a theory of justice that can be resume by the also indicate that, especially in less developing
formula: academic success in school should not countries, the availability of textbooks can posi-
depend on social origin or ethnicity (Meuret, tively affect school learning.
2001). Gender difference is also a matter of con-
cern for researchers and politicians. How School Contributes to Educational
International surveys proceeded by IEA and Inequality
by PISA contribute to document this debate. In Even if it is henceforth demonstrated that some
a review of the key findings from 35 Years of school characteristics can contribute to reduce
IEA Research, Keeves (1995) observed a link the social inequalities of academic success, nev-
between socioeconomic background and stu- ertheless, the social origin of the pupils continues
dents achievement, at different grades and in to be the most powerful predictor of students
different cognitive areas, in all participating achievement. This apparently universal pheno-
countries. However, the strength of the relation- menon needs to be explained. This is the aim of
ship varies according to school system. Findings Bourdieu theory of reproduction (Bourdieu &
from more recent IEA surveys (Mullis, Passeron, 1964). Influenced by Marxist theory,
Martin, Gonzales, & Chrostowski, 2004a, b; Bourdieu, with his colleague Passeron (1973),
Mullis, Martin, Gonzales, & Kennedy, 2003) introduced the concept of Cultural Capital in
and of PISA ones (Organisation for Economic order to attempt to explain differences in chil-
Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2005) drens outcomes. In several writings, Bourdieu
confirm this assertion. More precisely, some used some terminology of economics to analyze
characteristics of the school systems appear as the process of social and cultural reproduction, of
parameters that amplify or reduce the strength how the various forms of capital tend to transfer
of this relationship. Tracking (or streaming) is from one generation to the next. For the French
regularly pointed out as a factor, which has sociologist, school success mobilizes a large
a negative effect on equality (Hanushek & spectrum of cultural behavior, not necessarily
Woessmann, 2005). Similarly, PISA 2003 directly related to academic learning as accent,
data (OECD, 2006) suggest that in countries dress, postures, and so on. Privileged children
with comprehensive systems, the relationship have learned at home these behaviors that are
between socioeconomic background and considered by the teacher as the norm. Therefore,
achievement is weaker than in systems which the privileged children fit the pattern of their
have implemented some forms of institutional teachers expectations with ease. This is not the
differentiation: age of first selection (i.e., entry case of unprivileged children.
Educational Inequality 1833 E
In the theory of Bourdieu, the notion of hab- Intergroup-Achievement Gap as a
itus occupies a central place. It sends back to Consequence of Educational
coherent set of subjective capacities, able at Inequality: Processes and Consequences
once of structuring representations and of of Negative Stereotypes
engendering practices. Living in a given social From a psychosocial perspective, social stereo-
context, each individual sees himself or herself types constitute one of the main contributors to
endowed, in the course of his experiences, of explain this intergroup-achievement gap. Stereo-
some specific habits. These ones are, at first, the types applying in academic contexts deal with
product of the socialization of the individual; supposed inferior intellectual ability of minority
each child is thus marked by its family tastes groups. For example, African Americans are ste-
E
and style. Finally, the habitus operates as reotyped as lazy or ignorant (cf. the Princeton
a schema of assimilation in the sense that it Trilogy and its replications; see, e.g., Devine &
determines, in the form of aspiration and of Elliot, 1995). Similar stereotypes are assigned to
fashions to act and to feel, the way the individ- people from low socioeconomic backgrounds
ual will approach his later experiences of life. (e.g., Bullock, 1995). Gender stereotypes regard-
Led by the contexts of socialization, the habit ing education are more specific to certain dimen-
appropriate for a child carries the marks of its sions. Women are notably perceived as less
social membership. Imposing on all the pupils competent than men for scientific domains (and,
the habits of the middle class, the school offers conversely, men would be less competent in
an education that can be completely understood social domains; Eccles, 1994). Such stereotypes,
only by those who already arrange schemas of implicitly or explicitly, may convey a different
thought, action, and perception appropriate for way of experiencing education for targeted group
this class. Afterward, the school claims to members.
estimate in the same way at all a range of A look at past literature reveals that different
knowledge and skills, which only a part of discriminatory processes, based on social stereo-
them is really capable of acquiring. So, we types, may account for intergroup-achievement
have the demonstration of the duplicity of the disparities. These processes, not mutually exclu-
principle of equal treatment: by imposing to all sive, seem to be of great interest to understand
the pupils the cultural habit of the dominant how stereotypes can play a key role in scholastic
social classes, the system of teaching exercises curriculum. Three largely documented models
on a number of them a symbolic violence, can illustrate the processes through which stereo-
which it hides by putting forward the legitimate types can hamper groups school performance
superiority of this particular culture. and curriculum.
Some sociologists (for example, Husen, Past literature in social psychology has largely
1972; Perrenoud, 1995) and psychologists (for emphasized the consequences of stigma internal-
example, Brophy, 1983; Brophy & Good, 1974) ization. Indeed, as suggested by Allport from
are explicitly or implicitly opposed to the thesis 1954, ones reputation, whether false or true,
according to which educational inequality results cannot be hammered, hammered, hammered
from the teachers indifference to the pupils into ones head, without doing something to
differences. Indeed, many authors argue that ones character (p. 142). Expected-value model
teaching is regularly the vector of practices that (Eccles-Parsons et al., 1983) offers an illustration
induce negative discriminations with intergroup- of this theoretical background. This model
achievement gap as a consequence. According to focuses on womens academic and professional
this theoretical perspective, research has to ana- performances and aspirations. It suggests that
lyze classroom and school functioning and drive gender stereotypes have an effect on teachers,
out processes that generate or increase inequa- parents, and pairs behaviors and attitudes.
lities and, in a second time, to look for the means Girls perceptions are influenced by these stereo-
to stop the effects. typic attitudes and behaviors. This corresponds to
E 1834 Educational Inequality

the phase of internalization. Once internalized, Negative Discrimination Throughout


these self-perceptions will influence their aca- the School Program
demic performances and aspirations. According to Boudon (1973), a school system,
Pygmalion effect (Rosenthal & Jacobson, whatever it is, can be likened to a suite of points
1968) and, more generally speaking, self- of bifurcation (possibly, of trifurcation, etc.)
fulfilling prophecies (Merton, 1948) illustrate (p. 105). Now, the risk to take a wrong way
a more situational role of stereotypes. In their given to a point of fork varies according to the
famous Oak school experiment, Rosenthal and social origin of the pupils. In other words
Jacobson revealed how inducing false expecta- the decision-making crossroads inherent to the
tions among teachers could affect students learn- school organization could be translated in events
ing outcomes. Teacher expectations are mainly during which the individual differences of cul-
based on individual or stereotyped information, tural heritage are transformed into social inequal-
which can lead to differential interactions and ities of success. In a system in which grade
opportunities of learning. This differential treat- retention is annually allowed, the risk of being
ment, when perceived by students, would influ- retarded is high for socially at-risk children.
ence their level of achievement. Stereotyped At the beginning of the secondary level, when
expectations are largely relevant to point out the instructional tracks exist, there is again a risk for
intergroup treatment inequalities that may be at those children to miss the best way. And so on.
stake in the classroom. Research reveals that This schema of thought leads to assimilate the
teacher expectations impact more minority school course of the children to a jump race; in
than majority students. The frequent exposure each of these, a part of the children stemming from
to stereotyped information increases minority lower social categories knock over and borrow an
students susceptibility to Pygmalion effect. So, impasse or a way of relegation. Among others,
even if teacher expectations are not consciously a longitudinal study of Duru-Bellat, Jarousse, and
conveyed, they may participate in educational Mingat (1993) illustrates this process with multi-
inequalities in the classroom. ple discriminations. These researchers followed
Stereotype threat theory (Steele, 1997) offers approximately 2,000 pupils since their entrance
an explanation for difficulties encountered by to the school until the level of the sixth year of
minority group members, even when they have high school. Their main objective was to explain
overcome many barriers. Pernicious effects factors affecting the probability to reach the long
of stereotypes are revealed by the fact that cycle of the secondary education in France. In
the mere implicit presence of stereotypes in an their publication, they showed that grade retention,
academic situation may undermine students educational guidance, and the social origin mix
intellectual functioning, as well as students their effects to produce inequalities.
aspirations. Even if relevant at each level of First important finding: the probability to
school, stereotype threat theory furnishes reach the long cycle is dependent on the success
a complementary explanation to understand how at the first grade: grade retention at this level is
even low status group members who have a past a highly negative predictor of school success
history of school success may still experiment (measured by the access to the long cycle of the
achievement difficulties. Inequality then arises secondary education).
from the additional pressure resulting from the The weight or more exactly the part of variance
risk of confirming the negative social stereotype explained by the success in the first year of primary
about their social group. When exposed to an school is relatively low (32.9 %). For the authors, it
evaluative situation, minority students have to is excessive to proclaim that everything takes
deal concurrently with the evaluative pressure place at the beginning of the primary sector. The
and with an extra pressure rooted in their group statistical analysis highlights the contribution of
membership. As such, they may encounter addi- success at the fifth year of primary school and at
tional difficulties in academic achievement. the end of the fifth grade. Exactly, when explaining
Educational Inequality 1835 E
the access to the long cycle, it seems that success at second long cycle (after the College unique) vary
school increases as the pupil advances in the pro- not only according to notes obtained by the chil-
gram: this one explains 32.9 % of the variance in dren, but also according to their family circle. So,
the first year of primary school, rises to 45 % at the the council of educational guidance corrects little
end of the fifth year of primary school, and to 54 % the weight of social origin. Moreover, Duru-Bellat
at the end of the class of fifth. (1988) showed that this council operates mainly in
To progress in the understanding of the pro- the decline with regard to the wishes of the parents
cess, Duru-Bellat, Jarousse, and Mingat (1993) from lower social classes. This observation is cru-
calculated the average probability of access to the cial since it has been demonstrated that the families
upper long cycle of the children from high or low of lower socioeconomic level accuse a lack of
E
social classes according to their school results at ambition compared with the families of high socio-
various levels: grade 1, 5, 6, and so on. The most economic status. This phenomenon contributes to
significant information is given by the social dis- maintain the process of socioeconomic and socio-
tance from access to the long cycle. This index is cultural reproduction.
obtained by calculating the difference between Finally, all these studies indicate that genera-
the probability of access observed between both tion of educational inequalities is a complex and
categories. So, the probability of access to the multidimensional social process.
long cycle is estimated, according to the results
in the first year of primary school, at 55.2 % for
the children of upper social classes, and at 39.6 % Cross-References
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access to the long cycle is, at this stage of the Education
program, 15.6 %. At the end of primary school, Measures of Social Cohesion
the probability of access to the long cycle is
estimated at 58.8 % for the children of upper
social classes and 38.5 % for those of workers; References
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Boudon, R. (1973). Linegalite des chances. Armand
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Colin: La mobilite sociale dans les societes
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Bourdieu, P., & Passeron, J. C. (1973). Cultural reproduc-
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Synonyms
mathematics report: Findings from IEAs Trends in
International Mathematics and Science Study at the Educational organization
Educational System 1837 E
Definition are characterized by their public character every-
where that is, they are provided directly by the
Patterns of organization of education provision state or their provision is supervised by the state,
approached usually at country (or nation) level, as a public good and by mass provision, that
the most important level where formal education is, by universal or quasi-universal access to some
is regulated. cycles, in principle at the primary and secondary.
Another defining characteristic for modern
teaching is the importance of universities for the
Description creation and distribution of knowledge but
also through allocation mechanisms in social
E
Introduction positions.
The concept of education systems refers to the The emergence of this system is the result of
patterns of organization of education provision a process started in the Western world in the
approached usually at country (or nation) level, mid-eighteenth century and which consisted of
the most important level where formal education two classes of phenomena extended currently on
is regulated. Systematic description, comparison, a global scale: (1) increased rates of participation
and analysis of evolution of education systems at all levels of education, which have known
are the main subjects of comparative education, sometimes explosive forms, that is, the expansion
an interdisciplinary field developed at the border of tertiary education in the last two decades
of education sciences, history, economics, and worldwide and (2) diffusion on a planetary scale
philosophy. of a relatively homogeneous model of organiza-
In this chapter, I will treat education tion of education, recognizable in structure and
systems applying the following blueprint: I will content or cycles which are a great sameness in
start discussing the models of convergence and whatever form of government or the degree of
divergence in education systems, then I will refer development of the country.
briefly to theories of change in educational
organization and will end the section by referring Convergent but Still Different
to contemporary tendencies in the organization Cummings (2003) admits also the thesis of the
of both tertiary and pre-tertiary education. worldwide converge of educational practices
Moreover, I will treat tertiary and pre-tertiary but highlights the fact that six specific educa-
systems separately as the two fields have devel- tional systems (called by him educational institu-
oped and are still evolving largely following tions) can be identified, each with its own
separate paths. strengths, weaknesses, reform, and renewal
cycles. In line with institutional theorists, Cum-
Current State: Two Conflicting Views mings maintains that the key element in educa-
Theoretical representations of educational sys- tional systems classification is the cultural model
tems in comparative perspective allow us to dis- which they have developed or have borrowed.
cern between two streams of theories: (1) models The central point of such cultural model is the
of convergence, according to which educational ideal individual virtuous clerk for Confucian-
arrangements in all countries tend to converge, in ism, devoted servant of God in medieval Europe,
time to the same configuration and (2) models of and the encyclopedic and intelligent scientist in
divergence, which stress the between-country the French Enlightenment while modern US
variation behind the more or less similarities. educationalists believe in the lifelong learning
individual.
Apparent Historical Convergence Modern educational systems are the results of
According to Adick (1995), one can talk for more or less violent changes which stretch on
the last century of the emergence of a global a time span of more than 200 years (starting in
model of education. Modern educational systems Prussia from the middle of the eighteenth century
E 1838 Educational System

until the Bolshevic Revolution in 1917). Thus, the organization of educational career. Some
the curriculum reflects the ideal individual, more economically advanced nations, like the
which embodies the values and the objectives USA, Canada, Germany, or Holland, give large
transmitted through the appropriate educational decisional competence to authorities at levels of
organizational configuration. Moreover, each province and community and even to school
education institution has its own representative government. In other developed nations though,
school which best reflects the new ideals and the most important decisions regarding education
most clearly indicates its institutional script: the are taken by central regulating bodies like
new primary school in Japan, the college in the education ministries. This is the case, for exam-
USA, and the lycee and the ecole polytechnique ple, in France where the curriculum and the
in France. Comparing various educational schools are under the direct control of the
organizations around the world, Cummings Ministry of Education.
concludes that there are six distinct systems: Concerning the educational careers, issues of
Prussian, French, English, US, Japanese, and horizontal and vertical differentiation are salient
Russian, each of them distinguished by its ideal and reveal large variations among countries on
individual, representative school, aim, ways of dimensions like the importance of vocational
classroom teaching, learning theory, manage- tracks at the secondary level, the link between
ment, expenses, and financing. According to education and the placement on the labor market,
Cummings, the six educational institutions can the university enrollment rate of upper secondary
be differentiated based on the following criteria: level graduates, and the organization of the
(1) horizontal differentiation designed in order to higher education system. Concerning these
serve various groups identified by religion, social dimensions, one cannot ignore the discrepancies
class, ethnicity, race, or gender; (2) the vertical between the organization of US pre-tertiary
integration of levels described, for example, by system (no specialization before entering the
the degree of selectivity of transition from one tertiary) and the German one in which students
level to the other; (3) the vertical integration of have to choose between academic and profes-
school and economy, describing the degree to sional tracks much earlier.
which the graduates, especially of the upper
secondary level, are expected to be prepared to Theories of Change in Education Systems
specific job requirements and if the transition Although establishment of mass compulsory
from school to work occurs on a deregulated primary education, the sign of institutionalization
market or is controlled by strong professional of the global model of education, was done in
bodies; and (4) the level of private initiative almost all European countries before the First
allowed in the provision of education. World War broke out, at the national level its
Not far from the above vision of differen- introduction happened in various ways and at
tiation are other attempts of describing the different paces. As Soysal and Strang (1989) or
similarities and differences between national Archer (1981, 1984) have shown, this can be best
systems. Obviously, differences are largest understood through the ease with which the new,
when one compares the situation in rich countries secular state controlled educational organization
with that in the developing world, as priorities was able to replace the previous one, mostly
and resources are far from being similar and church based.
access to education at the basic levels (primary Understanding the configuration of a certain
and lower secondary) is still lagging behind in educational system must take into account the
many parts of the world. In the same time, interactions between interest groups, primarily
comparisons among developed countries can of corporate actors that provide educational
be made focusing on at least two criteria services (associations or unions of teachers,
(Dougherty & Hammack, 2000): the localization churches, business groups, the state, etc.) and
of decisional authority in educational issues and the beneficiaries of education students and
Educational System 1839 E
their parents. Margaret Archer (1984) believes development or of cultural traits which would
that the inflationary development of school evidence fundamental differences.
flows is inevitable, growth being in the interests Meyers studies (Meyer, Ramirez, Rubinson,
of providers of education, while the beneficiaries & Boli-Bennett, 1977; Meyer, Ramirez, &
of educational services, those who lose from Soysal, 1992) have shown that the policies that
uncontrolled development, are less able to con- generated the world educational revolution
trol the growth of educational systems in the following the end of the Second World War
endogenous. were introduced in various countries of the
Initiation of process of educational expansion world not at the moment of reaching a necessary
involved the replacing of the traditional level of development but when the global norms
E
educational institutions dominated by the succeeded in being influential. Meyer and his
church in Europe before the spread of mass collaborators (1977) highlighted that enrollment
education, with modern networks, institutional figures increased in a spectacular way until
changes that reflect the competition between 1970 in the most various countries once as
interest groups. According to Archer, the former mass education has been defined as being
institutional arrangements are removed either by essential for economic development and for
restriction or by substitution. Restriction is democracy. Meyers researches evidenced also
defined by Archer as a political process whereby that economic, social, or political development
groups destroyed the monopoly of the dominant does not predict the expansion of mass education.
group through legal constraints and intervention The diffusion of the model of mass education
of the state, while substitution is the process by occurred in every places regardless of local
which groups dispute the hegemony of the state specific and especially regardless if the country
through the creation of private institutions. The had or not a demand for educated workforce. The
first track of changes characterizes the revolu- worldwide expansion of education in the period
tionary turns in which the establishment of 19501970 had been dependent primarily, at
educational institutions shall be preceded by the national level, on the available population to be
acquisition of control over the state. The two educated and on the level of education in 1950.
mechanisms of change anticipate the organiza- While expansion of mass education had been
tion of education systems from the point of seen necessary in Europe in order to sustain
view of the location of decision making: while industrialization, it finally became seen every-
transformation through restriction leads to cen- where as indispensable all around the world for
tralization, change through substitution produces nation building. Actual educational systems have
decentralized systems. In the case of restriction, to be understood, therefore, as consubstantial
the subsequent transformations require control to the construct of modernity. According to
over the state, so that all the actors concerned Ramirez and Boli (1987) and to Andy Green
are moving in area politics. (1990), the factor that best explains the adoption
A variant of institutionalist theory is the of the modern model of organization of education
constructivist institutionalism. In contrast with was the degree of embracement of the project of
those who assume that the adoption of a certain national organization of the society. In countries
vision on regulation in education answers to some that had been in the phase of national develop-
social needs or results from the contradictions ment, the key role in coordinating education was
between specific categories of actors with inter- assumed by the state who took care of the
ests in the field, constructivists highlight the role preparation of the new generations for the new
of the diffusion of ideas and norms which, political and social organization. The school,
constituted in a global political culture, make along with the military and the civil service, had
the spread of certain principles and rules as to lay the foundation for an elite able to assure
human rights and free trade to be universal social cohesion through competence, loyalty,
and synchronous, regardless of economic and sharing of common experiences, this last
E 1840 Educational System

condition depending on the recruitment of the a cultural institution, where personalities are
elite from all social strata. developed as is the focus in the Anglo-Saxon
Schofer and Meyer (2005) have approached in tradition. During the last decades, university
the same manner the expansion of higher educa- systems around the world became more and
tion which they consider a global institution more diversified, departing from the three-tier
whose generalization does not allow neither models identified by Gellert as a consequence of
demographic, political, nor economic explana- higher education expansion and a stronger focus
tions. While studies that interrogated the process on vocational education at this level.
of expansion in some limited areas have attrib- More recently, in terms of roles, size, and
uted it to some processes and phenomena from allocated resources, the higher education displays
those contexts like the famous law providing a very heterogeneous landscape in which, in
tuition free access to university education the same country colleges of various sizes, edu-
to Second World War veterans in the USA or cational programs, reputations, and affiliations,
decolonization in the Third World robust accreditation a.s.o. coexist. An attempt to
international comparisons proved that such organize on unitary grounds, this apparent chaos
explanations are not sound. All researches of that has resulted from the accelerated changes
this sort recorded the statistical reality of the brought by the expansion of higher education
expansion without being able to identify indepen- during the last 30 years was made by Scott
dent variables explaining it. For the expansion of (1996) who identified four organizational models
tertiary education in the twentieth century, insti- (ideal types) which are all determined by
tutionalist theory receives great empirical support the relative positions of genuine universities and
(Schofer & Meyer, 2005): growth patterns are other postsecondary educational institutions (like
similar in all types of countries, are higher in polytechnic schools, short-term colleges a.s.o.):
countries better linked to the world society, and 1. The dual system: in which universities are
accelerate strongly after 1960. According to the considered as totally separated, different, and
authors, the rapid expansion during the second usually above the other postsecondary schools
half of the previous century signals the replace- 2. The binary system: in which postsecondary
ment of the vision of higher education producing institutions are seen as alternative and
an educated elite with a new one, more open, in complementary to universities
which education is seen as provider of human 3. The unified systems: in which all institutions
capital or as investment. belong to a common and non-differentiated
system
Systems of Higher Education 4. The stratified system: higher education
Education systems are subject to various classifi- institutions are given specific, differentiated,
cations based on criteria like organization, and hierarchized roles within the system.
governance, financing, values, and targets. The national higher education systems are
Concerning mission and values in higher nevertheless dynamic realities which neither
education, Claudius Gellert has identified correspond entirely to one or other ideal type
(Gellert (1993) apud Scott (1996)) three strands nor are fixed in an immutable organization. In
within the modern European university tradition: Scotts opinion the developments of the Western
(1) the university as a scientific institution, higher education area bring evidence of a general
a tradition which is identified mainly in Germany process in which dual systems evolve into binary
where creation and transmission of knowledge is ones, which then transform into unified systems
at the heart of the universitys mission; (2) the and, finally, convert into stratified systems.
university as a professional institution, best This evolutionary vision of Scott, as well as all
recognizable in the French tradition of the institutional analyses which highlight the lack
grandes ecoles, where students acquire high- of exogenous determination of the dynamics
level vocational skills; and (3) the university as of education systems, can be contrasted to the
Educational System 1841 E
theory of distribution and redistribution elabo- One of the most compelling trends in the
rated by Iversen and Soskice (2009) which new waves of educational reforms occurring in
connects the structure of education systems with all countries, in line with the above-mentioned
that of the general social, economic, and political managerialist orientation, has been the disman-
organization in developed nations. The two tling of the centralized educational bureaucracies
authors argue that the contemporary institutional and the marketization of education by empha-
designs in advanced capitalist nations have their sizing parental choice and competition between
origins in the second half of the nineteenth cen- schools (Whitty & Power, 2000). In many coun-
tury when two types of capitalisms emerged: tries funding of pre-tertiary schools is done
coordinated capitalism in which locally coordi- through educational vouchers which are distrib-
E
nated economies are combined with strong guild uted to parents and whose choice the schools are
traditions and large investments in skill for- competing by displaying their offers. One impor-
mation, on the one hand, and liberal capitalism tant consequence of introduction of competition
which are recognized through market-based in education provision is the acceleration of
economies, liberal states, and low investment in privatization of education at all levels, either
skills formation. Coordinated capitalist countries, through the subcontracting of school manage-
like Scandinavian countries, invest more in ment to private operators or though the encour-
primary and secondary education and in voca- agement of private investments in educational
tional education including important institutions institutions.
of reskilling of workforce through adult edu- The final trend that is worth mentioning is
cation. Conversely, liberal capitalist states will vocationalism: the attempt to cover the supposed
invest more in tertiary education and encourage technical functions of education by giving up the
the unification of higher education institutions. academic contents of objectives of instruction
Such evolutions can explain the sometimes and focusing instead on the transmission of
counterintuitive relationships between actual competencies and knowledge which are of imme-
measures of skills (i.e., assessed through inter- diate use on the labor market. This leads to hor-
national evaluations like PISA or TIMMS) izontal differentiation in the upper secondary
and the measures of access to educational track with the encouragement of vocational
credentials. schools.

Current Trends
Education systems are dynamic realities.
The existing institutional arrangements are, cer- References
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Effects of Stress
EEG Training
Stress Reactivity
Neurotherapy

Effort-Reward Imbalance Model


of Work Stress
e-Exclusion
Occupational Stress in a Multicultural
Digital Divide Workplace
Egalitarian Dating over 35 Years 1843 E
global gender stereotypes in which men are char-
Egalitarian Dating over 35 Years acterized by agentic traits and the possession of
social power and status and women are characte-
Benjamin Fay1 and Asia A. Eaton2 rized by communal traits and a relative lack of
1
Department of Psychology, Florida social power and status (see Eagly, 1987 for
International University, Miami, FL, USA a comprehensive discussion of the content and
2
Psychology and Womens Studies, Florida origin of gender roles).
International University, Miami, FL, USA Since that time, dating norms and practices in
the USA appear to have undergone some mean-
ingful changes. For example, men and womens
E
Definition explicit attitudes toward sex and romance
have become more egalitarian and permissive
Egalitarian dating is courtship by romantically (e.g., Garcia, Reiber, Massey, & Merriwether,
interested partners that is not structured by gender 2012). Dating is no longer the direct path to
role norms but instead favors and promotes marriage that it once was (Libby, 1976), and
equality between partners and the sharing of first marriage is becoming increasingly delayed,
power and responsibilities. taking place at a later mean age and well
after sexual involvement (Sassler, 2010). Dating
is also no longer the only (or even primary) type
Description of initial romantic encounter young singles
engage in today, with hookups and hanging out
Dating is a form of public courtship undertaken becoming increasingly prominent (e.g., Bogle,
by romantically interested partners for the pur- 2008; Eaton & Rose, 2012). The last 10 years
pose of getting to know one another better. The have also witnessed new approaches to initiating
practice of dating in the USA goes back about a first dates, such as Internet dating and speed dat-
century and is well documented and researched ing (e.g., Finkel & Eastwick, 2008).
by social scientists (e.g., Bailey, 1988). Sociolo- The addition of these new scripts and
gists, for example, published scientific research approaches along with an increase in young
on dating as early as the 1940s covering topics adults experience with and acceptance of
such as courtship attitudes (e.g., Rockwood & casual sex may mean that dating today is less
Ford, 1945), courtship behavior and personality gender typed. That is, if the avenues for finding
(e.g., Nimkoff & Wood, 1948), and courtship mates, interacting with mates, and expressing
behavior and demographic variables (e.g., sexuality have broadened, then perhaps the stan-
Winch, 1946). dards for acceptable dating behavior for men
and women have become wider and more
overlapping. However, a thorough review
Gender Roles in Dating of dating research over the last 35 years reveals
that young adults in the USA have not regularly
Early norms and scripts for heterosexual embraced egalitarian practices on dates
dating relied heavily upon gender roles, depicting (for a review, see Eaton & Rose, 2011).
the male partner as active and assertive
and portraying the female partner as reactive and
passive (Ehrmann, 1959). For example, the man 19801989
was expected to plan date events and make sexual
advances, while the woman was expected to serve In the 1980s, research on hypothetical dating
as the gate keeper for sexual activity and scripts revealed that the male partner was
accept or reject the mans efforts. This distinction expected to be in control of the public domain
between activity and passivity is at the heart of while the female partner was concerned with
E 1844 Egalitarian Dating over 35 Years

the private domain (e.g., Rose & Frieze, 1989). the hypothetical first-date scripts produced by
This dichotomy was also reflected in studies of young heterosexual adults heavily emphasized
actual dating, where men reported outer-directed gender roles regardless of who initiated the date,
orientations toward intimacy and women replicating the hypothetical scripts generated by
reported inner-directed orientations (Stephen & young adults 20 years earlier (Rose & Frieze,
Harrison, 1985). Examinations of influence strat- 1989). Despite young adults professions of egal-
egies used in dating relationships also revealed itarian attitudes about dating, men and women
strong gender-typed behavior, with men using today continue to ascribe the active date behav-
more direct and bilateral strategies such as iors (e.g., asking for the date, picking up the date,
bargaining and reasoning, possibly reflecting and paying for the date) for men and reactive
mens greater power in relationships than behaviors (e.g., primping during the date and
women (Falbo & Peplau, 1980). waiting for the date to arrive) to women (Laner
& Ventrone, 2000). Moreover, in spite of some
evidence that young adults today have moved
19901999 away from a dating culture (e.g., Bogle, 2008),
dates continue to be the dominant form of
In the 1990s, dating research continued to getting together in some samples of young adults
uncover gender-typed behavior in dates, with (e.g., Eaton & Rose, 2012).
men being more proactive on first dates, includ-
ing picking up the woman, paying for the date,
and taking her home, and women being more The Persistence of Gender Roles
reactive (Rose & Frieze, 1993). Research by in Dating
Felmlee (1994) revealed that participants felt
men made more of the decisions on dates, were Several explanations may contribute to the con-
less emotionally involved, and in general were tinued gender role norms in dating relationships.
getting a better deal on dates. Even laboratory- Gender disparities may be a reflection of
based efforts at challenging gender roles in prevailing gender discrimination in society.
dates were unsuccessful (e.g., Gilbert, Walker, Regardless of improvements in womens status
McKinney, & Snell, 1999). When women partic- and power in recent decades, the median annual
ipants were instructed to initiate dates and sexual full-time earnings for women continue to be 77 %
intimacy in role-playing exercises, men still of that of men (Institute for Womens Policy
asked for the date 31 % of the time, and discourse Research, 2012). Additionally, women serve as
about male sex drive was prevalent in both the CEOs of only 4 % of Fortune 500 companies,
gender-typical and gender atypical conditions. despite earning about one third of MBAs each
Additional research showed dating and gender year in the USA over the last decade (Catalyst,
roles to be so intertwined that discussions about 2012; Leahey, 2012).
relationship intimacy among dating couples The persistence of long-held gender stereotypes
produced increased endorsement of traditional in dating scripts may also serve cognitive
gender roles for both men and women participants and social functions. In early dating encounters,
(Vogel, Wester, Heesacker, & Madon, 1999). scripts and stereotypes may provide couples with
a familiar and mutually agreed upon backdrop that
helps to reduce the anxiety associated with get-
20002010 ting to know a new person. The heavy reliance
of these scripts on gender may merely be
Research in the last decade has shown that a remnant of the explicit sexism that was more
the traditional dyadic dating script has remained prevalent when the institution of dating was
stable. Morr Serewicz and Gale (2008) found that founded. Following well-established social scripts
Egalitarian Dating over 35 Years 1845 E
may also be a way of demonstrating social com- use of traditional dating scripts all together.
petence to a potential romantic partner. Finally, The friendship script provides an alternative to
most early romantic encounters revolve around the dating script for initial romantic encounters.
how to reduce uncertainty about the relationship Friendships tend to be characterized by reciprocal
and the partner (Afifi & Lucas, 2008). The use liking, mutual involvement, and equality, even in
of social scripts and stereotypes provides the early stages of a developing friendship
a common and low-effort means of interpersonal (Fehr, 2008). In fact, the majority of both male
synchronization in a situation otherwise full and female cross-gender friends report that power
of ambiguity. and control are either shared equally within their
friendship or irrelevant to the friendship
E
(Monsour, Harris, Kurzweil, & Beard, 1994),
Problems with Gender Roles in Dating
and the friendship script appears to prioritize
equality more so than other relationship scripts
Regardless of the cause, the persistence of
(see Fehr, 1996, for review).
gender inequalities in dating may be related to
An initial romantic encounter based on the
poor relational outcomes. Unequal power in
friendship scripts would be characterized by
a romantic relationship, as reflected in prevalent
mutual responsiveness and shared responsibility
gender stereotypes in dating scripts, tends to moti-
for all the date events, from asking for the
vate both partners to hide the thoughts, feelings,
date and paying for it, to monitoring the date
and needs that are inconsistent with their gender
conversation and its emotional undercurrent.
role norms (Beavers, 1985), leading to lower levels
Although the traditional dating script involves
of intimacy between partners and higher levels of
gender role norms, women and men appear
relationship dissatisfaction (Schwartz, 1994). The
to be equally competent and socially skilled at
exercise of power and dominance of one partner
initiating friendships an important factor in
over another is a deterrent to relationship success
early friendship development (Fehr, 2008).
(Greenberg & Goldman, 2008). People who try to
Evidence suggests that the friendship script is
embody gender ideals in the bedroom experience
easily applicable to romantic relationships. Self-
diminished sexual satisfaction (Sanchez,
reports among heterosexuals about relationships
Crocker, & Boike, 2005). Gender differences in
show Storge (friendship) love style to be the most
sexual passivity and dominance are also of con-
common, with college students often citing
cern. Attitudes toward traditional sexual roles are
their romantic partner as their closest friend
linked with increased sexual passivity for women,
(e.g., Hendrick & Hendrick, 1993). There is
which predicts poor sexual functioning and sat-
also considerable overlap between the ideal char-
isfaction (Kiefer & Sanchez, 2007b). Investment
acteristics of a romantic partner and friendships
in meeting gender ideals is associated with an
(e.g., Cann, 2004). Men and women tend to
automatic sex-dominance association in men
agree on the qualities that are most important in
(Kiefer & Sanchez, 2007a), and associating dom-
a spouse, and many of those qualities correspond
inance with sexual relations is predictive
to qualities desired in a friend (Laner &
of likelihood to rape and self-reported
Russell, 1998).
history of sexual coercion (Murnen, Wright, &
Further, the friendship script already appears
Kaluzny, 2002).
to be the predominant script in use in gay and
lesbian relationships (e.g., Rose & Zand, 2000).
The Friendship Script Gay and lesbian couples are often more egalitar-
ian than heterosexual couples. For example, they
A reduction in the reliance of relationships often divide household labor more equitably
on gender stereotypes and a move toward egali- (Peplau & Fingerhut, 2007). This may be
tarianism may require a shift away from the a result of same-sex couples increased likelihood
E 1846 Egalitarian Dating over 35 Years

of basing romantic relationships on friendships Eaton, A. A., & Rose, S. (2011). Has dating become more
(e.g., Schwartz, 1994). egalitarian? A 35 year review using sex roles. Sex
Roles, 64(1112), 843862.
Given the apparent dominance of the friend- Eaton, A. A., & Rose, S. (2012). Scripts for actual first
ship script and egalitarianism in gay and lesbian date and hanging-out encounters among young hetero-
relationships and the potential for friendship as sexual Hispanic adults. Sex Roles, 67, 285299.
the basis for romantic relationships among Ehrmann, W. (1959). Premarital dating behavior.
New York: Henry Holt.
heterosexual couples (e.g., heterosexuals report Falbo, T., & Peplau, L. A. (1980). Power strategies in
wanting similar qualities in their spouse that they intimate relationships. Journal of Personality and
want in a friend), the friendship script may prove Social Psychology, 38(4), 618628.
a useful tool for exploring more egalitarian forms Fehr, B. (1996). Friendship processes. London: Sage.
Fehr, B. (2008). Friendship formation. In S. Sprecher,
of heterosexual relationships. Changing the script A. Wenzel, & J. Harvey (Eds.), Handbook of relation-
used as the basis for romantic relationship forma- ship initiation (pp. 2954). New York: Psychology
tion may be easier to do than adjusting global Press of Taylor and Francis.
gender stereotypes. Felmlee, D. H. (1994). Whos on top? Power in romantic
relationships. Sex Roles, 31, 275295.
Finkel, E. J., & Eastwick, P. W. (2008). Speed-dating.
Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17(3),
193197.
Cross-References Garcia, J. R., Reiber, C., Massey, S. G., & Merriwether,
A. M. (2012). Sexual hookup culture: A review.
Gender and Health Review of General Psychology, 16(2), 161176.
Marriage, Cohabitation, and Child Care in Gilbert, L. A., Walker, S. J., McKinney, S., & Snell, J. L.
(1999). Challenging discourse themes reproducing
the USA gender in heterosexual dating: An analog study. Sex
Marriage, Cohabitation, and Well-Being in Roles, 41, 753774.
30 Countries Greenberg, L. S., & Goldman, R. N. (2008). Emotion-
Womens Empowerment focused couples therapy: The dynamics of emotion,
love, and power. Washington, DC: American Psycho-
Womens Health logical Association.
Hendrick, S. S., & Hendrick, C. (1993). Lovers as friends.
Journal of Social and Personal Relationships,
10, 459466.
References Institute for Womens Policy Research. (2012). The gen-
der wage gap: 2011. Retrieved September, 2012, from
Afifi, W. A., & Lucas, A. A. (2008). Information seeking http://www.iwpr.org/publications/recent-publications
in initial stages of relational development. In Kiefer, A. K., & Sanchez, D. T. (2007a). Mens sex-
S. Sprecher, A. Wenzel, & J. Harvey (Eds.), Handbook dominance inhibition: Do men automatically refrain
of relationship initiation (pp. 197215). New York: from sexually dominant behavior? Personality and
Psychology Press. Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 16171631.
Bailey, B. L. (1988). From front porch to back seat: Kiefer, A. K., & Sanchez, D. T. (2007b). Scripting sexual
Courtship in twentieth-century America. Baltimore: passivity: A gender role perspective. Personal Rela-
Johns Hopkins University Press. tionships, 14, 269290.
Beavers, W. R. (1985). Successful marriage: A family Laner, M. R., & Russell, J. N. (1998). Desired character-
systems approach to couples therapy. New York: istics of spouses and best friends: Do they differ by sex
WW Norton. and/or sex? Sociological Inquiry, 68, 186202.
Bogle, K. A. (2008). Hooking up: Sex, dating, and rela- Laner, M. R., & Ventrone, N. A. (2000). Dating scripts
tionships on campus. New York: New York University revisited. Journal of Family Issues, 21(4), 488500.
Press. Leahey, C. (2012). Update: Fortune 500 women CEOs hits
Cann, A. (2004). Rated importance of personal character- a record 20. Fortune. Retrieved July, 2012, from
istics across four relationships. Journal of Social http://postcards.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2012/07/18/
Psychology, 144, 322334. fortune-500-women-ceos-2/
Catalyst. (2012). Women MBAs. Retrieved from http:// Libby, R. (1976). Social scripts for sexual relationships.
www.catalyst.org/publication/250/women-mbas. In S. Gordon & R. Libby (Eds.), Sexuality today
Eagly, A. H. (1987). Sex differences in social behavior: and tomorrow: Contemporary issues in human
A social-role interpretation. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence sexuality (pp. 172173). North Scituate, MA: Duxbury
Erlbaum Associates. Press.
Eigenvalues 1847 E
Monsour, M., Harris, B., Kurzweil, N., & Beard, C.
(1994). Challenges confronting cross-sex friendships: Eigenvalues
Much ado about nothing?. Sex Roles, 31, 5577.
Morr Serewicz, M. C., & Gale, E. (2008). First-date
scripts: Gender roles, context, and relationship. Sex Ralph L. Piedmont
Roles, 58, 149164. Pastoral Counseling Department, Loyola
Murnen, S. K., Wright, C., & Kaluzny, G. (2002). If University Maryland, Columbia, MD, USA
boys will be boys, then girls will be victims?
A meta-analytic review of the research that relates
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Synonyms
Nimkoff, M. F., & Wood, A. L. (1948). Courtship and
personality. The American Journal of Sociology, 53, Autovectors E
263269.
Peplau, L. A., & Fingerhut, A. W. (2007). The close
relationships of lesbians and gay men. Annual Review Definition
of Psychology, 58, 405424.
Rockwood, L. D., & Ford, M. E. N. (1945). Youth,
marriage, and parenthood; the attitudes of 364 The term eigenvalues refers to the variance of
university juniors and seniors towards courtship, a data matrix. While a common term in matrix
marriage, and parenthood. Oxford, England: algebra, in statistics, eigenvalues are commonly
Chapman & Hall, Oxford. discussed in factor analysis. Here, an eigenvalue
Rose, S., & Frieze, I. H. (1989). Young singles scripts for
a first date. Gender and Society, 3, 258268. represents the amount of variance contained by
Rose, S., & Frieze, I. H. (1993). Young singles contem- a factor. It is an important index for determining
porary dating scripts. Sex Roles, 28, 499509. the number of factors to retain in the analysis.
Rose, S., & Zand, D. (2000). Lesbian dating and courtship Factors should contain a substantive amount of
from young adulthood to midlife. Journal of Gay and
Lesbian Social Services, 11, 77104. variance if they are to warrant being retained and
Sanchez, D. T., Crocker, J., & Boike, K. R. (2005). Doing interpreted. There are at least three ways that
gender in the bedroom: Investing in gender norms eigenvalues are used for determining how many
and the sexual experience. Personality and Social factors to retain. The simplest, and now
Psychology Bulletin, 31, 14451455.
Sassler, S. (2010). Partnering across the life course: Sex, discredited method, is the Kaiser criterion
relationships, and mate selection. Journal of Marriage which only keeps factors with eigenvalues
and Family, 72(3), 557575. greater than 1. The idea behind this method is
Schwartz, P. (1994). Peer marriage: How love between that any factor should explain as much variance
equals really works. New York: The Free Press.
Stephen, T. D., & Harrison, T. M. (1985). A longitudinal in the overall matrix as any single item. A second
comparison of couples with sex-typical and non-sex- application is the scree plot, which is a simple
typical orientations to intimacy. Sex Roles, 12, graphical line plot of the eigenvalues of each
195206. successive factor (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2001).
Vogel, D. L., Wester, S. R., Heesacker, M., & Madon, S.
(1999). Dating relationships & the demand/ Given that each successive factor extracts less
withdraw pattern of communication. Sex Roles, 41, variance than the one before it, the graph of the line
297306. will quickly decline and eventually flatten out. The
Winch, R. F. (1946). Interrelations between certain social point at which the line plot stops dropping and
background and parent-son factors in a study of court-
ship among college men. American Sociological begins to flatten out (much like the rocky scree
Review, 11, 333343. on the side of a mountain) is the cutting point for
selecting factors. A third application is parallel
analysis, a technique that involves a Monte Carlo
simulation of the data. Here, multiple random
matrices (usually 5,00010,000) are created of
Egalitarianism the same magnitude as the real data and eigen-
values are extracted. The average amount of vari-
Sex-Role Egalitarianism Scale ance (the eigenvalues) extracted from each factor
E 1848 Eindhoven

is then plotted and compared to the eigenvalues younger than 20 years, almost 65 % is between
obtained in the real data. Factors with eigenvalues 20 and 65 years old, and about 15 % is 65 years or
larger than the average eigenvalue found in the older. 70 % of the population is indigenous; about
random data are retained for interpretation (Lee 17 % are non-Western ethnic minorities.
& Ashton, 2007). Eigenvalues should not be con- Almost 4 % of the people are single-person
fused with the term eigenvector, which refers to households, 6 % are one-parent households, almost
the factor loadings obtained for items in a factor 30 % are couples without children, and 22 % are
analysis. Eigenvectors are the correlations couples with children. Unemployment is about 6 %.
between observed items and the factor dimensions. All these figures can be found at the website of
the municipality, not only for the city at large but
for the various boroughs as well (http://eindho-
Cross-References ven.buurtmonitor.nl/). The figures are also
presented in a report with the core figures of
Bi-factor Analysis Eindhoven. A broad collection of domains is
Exploratory Factor Analysis included: demography, housing, economy,
Factor Analysis safety, livability, education, culture, recreation
and sport, health, and participation.
In addition to these topics, the Eindhoven
References website also presents figure on the life situation
index. This index is developed by the Netherlands
Lee, K., & Ashton, M. C. (2007). Factor analysis in Institute for Social Research|SCP. This index inte-
personality research (pp. 424443). In R. Robin,
grates eight important life domains: health,
R. Fraley, & R. Krueger (Eds.), Handbook of research
methods in personality psychology. New York, NY: housing, participation in sports, social participa-
Guilford Press. tion, sociocultural leisure activities, ownership of
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2001). Using durable consumer goods, holidays, and mobility
multivariate statistics (4th ed.). Needham Heights,
(see life situation index and Boelhouwer, 2010).
MA: Allyn and Bacon.
After some years of improving life situation,
the index got worse between 2009 and 2010
(Table 1). Especially people aged 65 years or
Eindhoven older and people with low income are confronted
with a relative bad life situation.
Jeroen Boelhouwer Next to this report, Eindhoven publishes
The Netherlands Institute for Social a yearly City Monitor (De Eindhovense
Research|SCP, The Hague, The Netherlands Stadsmonitor 2011) which is aimed at providing
policy with the relevant figures (the subtitle is
signals for policy). In this City Monitor the
Definition
included domains are more or less the same as
presented in the core figures. They do not over-
Eindhoven is situated in the southern part of
lap completely, however, because the City Mon-
the Netherlands, in the Dutch province
itor is based on domains that are distinguished in
Noord-Brabant, and is located about 115 km south
the budget of the city and in policy.
of Amsterdam, the capital city of the Netherlands.
The domains included in the City Monitor are
work and income, participation and care, youth and
Description education, housing and community development,
accessibility and public transport, environment,
Eindhoven has 216.157 inhabitants (1 April culture and design, sport, safety, and economy.
2011) and is the fifth largest city of the With these domains, the monitor provides
Netherlands. Almost 21 % of the population is policymakers and the wider public with the state
Elder Abuse 1849 E
Eindhoven, Table 1 The life situation for some social Definition
groups
Life situation index 2007 2008 2009 2010 The World Health Organization defines elder
Eindhoven mean 104 105 106 105 abuse as any action or inaction by a person in
(1997 100 for the a relationship of trust that causes harm or distress
Netherlands)
to an older person (Krug, Dahlberg, Mercy, Zwi
Deviation from the mean
& Loranzo, 2002). Commonly recognized types
Low income 10 0 8 9
of elder abuse include physical abuse, psycholog-
Low education 7 7 7 7
Non-Western immigrants 7 6 6 7
ical abuse, financial abuse, sexual abuse, and
10 10 8 8 neglect.
65 years or older E
Not participating 2007 2008 2009 2010
% in Eindhoven 5 5 4 4
% with low income 11 10 8 9 Description
% with low education 12 10 11 10
% of non-Western immigrants 8 5 6 8 The first reference to elder abuse in the literature
% aged 65 years or older 16 16 15 13 was in Britain in the mid-1970s when it was
Source: De Eindhovense Stadsmonitor (2011) termed granny battering and recognized as
systematic physical abuse of an older person by
a relative (McCreadie, 1993). It is now recog-
of the city. When policy has set goals, the monitor
nized that elder abuse occurs within many differ-
provides effect indicators to follow developments
ent contexts and that a relationship of trust is key
towards these goals.
in defining it. This differs from other types of
victimization of older adults, including frauds
Cross-References and scams and other crimes where the perpetrator
is a stranger. Perpetrators of abuse of older adults
Life as a Whole, Satisfaction with are often adult children, grandchildren, spouses
Neighborhood (which may be domestic violence grown old,
i.e., abuse which started earlier in a relationship
and continues into the later years or abuse
References
which begins in a new relationship), other family
Boelhouwer, J. (2010). Wellbeing in the Netherlands. The members, friends, or professionals.
SCP life situation index from 1974. The Hague SCP Although individuals and organizations strug-
publication 2010-17. gle with increasing awareness and recognition of
De Eindhovense Stadsmonitor 2011, Signalen voor beleid,
elder abuse, it has grown in recent years and is
Beleidsinformatie en Onderzoek.
now being recognized by many as a significant
social problem. It is also expected that the inci-
dence of elder abuse will increase along the aging
Elder Abuse of our population. Therefore, there is more atten-
tion being paid to education, awareness, and
Susan Crichton training frontline workers in elder abuse preven-
Manitoba Healthy Living, Seniors and Consumer tion and intervention.
Affairs, Seniors & Healthy Aging Secretariat, There have been few large-scale studies to
Winnipeg, MB, Canada measure the prevalence of elder abuse, and it is
generally recognized that statistics commonly
Synonyms cited likely represent only a small proportion of
actual cases. Results of the only national preva-
Abuse of older adults; Elder mistreatment; Senior lence study in Canada, along with a few smaller
abuse; Seniors abuse scale studies, suggest that 410 % of older adults
E 1850 Elder Abuse

are affected by abuse (Department of Justice Risk factors for which there is substantial
Canada, 2009; Podnieks, 1992; Statistics Canada, evidence include:
2007). However, it has also been suggested Living arrangement a shared living arrange-
that for every incident of elder abuse disclosed ment is a major risk factor for elder abuse. Living
to authorities, five more go undisclosed (National with someone else increases contact and potential
Center on Elder Abuse, 1998). Older people are for conflict (see Domestic Violence).
often reluctant to disclose abuse due to shame, Social isolation older adults who are socially
fear, embarrassment, isolation, do not know isolated are more at risk of abuse due to fewer
where to get help, do not recognize they are opportunities for detection by an outsider and
being abused, fear of having to move, and a limited social network to offer assistance.
a belief that no one can help. Dementia there is substantial evidence that
Abuse of older adults occurs in many different older adults affected by dementia are more at risk
types of relationships and contexts. However, it is of abuse. However, there is question as to
recognized that regardless of the type of abuse whether it is the dementia itself or disruptive
perpetrated, the abuser uses power and control to behaviors that result from the dementia that
take advantage of the older adult. Early theoreti- place an older person more at risk (Bonnie &
cal perspectives suggested that abuse of older Wallace, 2003).
adults occurred in relationships where a frail Mental illness, hostility, and alcohol abuse of
older adult was dependent on a caregiver, which abusers are also risk factors validated by substan-
caused stress in the relationship and was tial research. In addition, as previously noted,
exhibited in the form of abuse (Pillemer & abuser dependency on the older person (particu-
Finkelhor, 1989). This has been challenged over larly financial dependence and for housing) is
the last number of years, and it is now recognized well substantiated in both research and practice
that it is the abuser who is more often dependent (Bonnie & Wallace, 2003).
on the older adult for food, money, housing, It is often difficult to detect elder abuse due to
etc. This may be related to a change in life cir- the secrecy, shame, and isolation associated with
cumstance (loss of job, divorce) or mental health this issue. This is why increasing awareness and
issues. It is also suggested that personality traits education is key to prevention. This includes
of abusers are key factors in situations of elder educating neighbors, friends, and family mem-
abuse, including psychological issues or sub- bers along with professionals and frontline
stance abuse and/or gambling problems. workers to recognize the signs that an older per-
Given the complexity of the dynamics of son may be affected by abuse. Signs may include:
abuse of older adults and issues with defining it,
it has also been challenging to establish key risk Behavior
factors that make older adults vulnerable to abuse Anxious, withdrawn, evasive, depressed
by others. It is acknowledged that there are sig- Appears fearful in the presence of another
nificant limitations with the current research base person
(i.e., using different definitions, varying age
cutoffs, differing sampling methods). However, Habits
one of the most comprehensive analyses of the Sudden/unexpected change in social habits
research to date included an examination of risk Sudden/unexpected change in living
factors and those that are validated by substantial arrangements
evidence. They categorized risk factors into three Unexplained or sudden inability to pay bills,
groups: risk factors validated by substantial account withdrawals, changes to a will or
evidence, possible risk factors for which evi- power of attorney, or disappearance of
dence is limited or mixed, and contested risk possessions
factors for which there is a lack of evidence Refusal to spend money without consulting
(Bonnie & Wallace, 2003). the suspected abuser
Elder Abuse 1851 E
Missed/cancelled appointments nature of elder abuse and responses to it from
Confusion about legal or financial documents a global perspective (Podnieks, Anetzberger,
Wilson, Teaster, & Wangmo, 2010). The scan
Health/Well-Being received responses from 53 countries
Sudden/unexpected decline in health or cog- representing all six WHO regions. Questions
nitive ability were asked regarding knowledge of elder abuse,
Decline in personal hygiene laws pertaining to elder abuse, agencies leading
Dehydration or malnutrition initiatives, services available, resources for infor-
Signs of over-/under-medication mation, training, and research. The scan provides
Suspicious injuries (e.g., bruising in various a good snapshot of promising approaches that are
E
stages of healing, unusually shaped bruises) being used on a global scale at all levels of
Sexually transmitted disease; itching, pain, or prevention.
bleeding in genital area; difficulty sitting or Results of the scan indicate that on a global
walking level, definitions of abuse vary and differing
Unexplained delay in seeking treatment factors are recognized as causes of abuse.
Explanation of injury does not fit with For example, in developing countries, poverty is
evidence recognized as a cause of elder abuse, while this
Previous reports of similar injury was not identified in developed countries. The
scan also found that few countries have
Environment age-specific laws to prevent elder abuse. Protec-
Poor living conditions in comparison to assets tion and criminal laws are the two most common
Inappropriate or inadequate clothing approaches used in developed countries, while
Lack of food criminal and constitutional laws are used in
Lack of required medical aids (glasses, hear- developing countries. Agencies leading preven-
ing aid, walker) or medications tion efforts are mostly NGOs and government
agencies in developing counties and social
Suspected Abuser services, police, and government in developed
Is verbally aggressive, insulting, or threaten- nations. However, all countries report limited
ing toward older person funding as a key challenge. The scan found that
Shows unusual amount of concern over older both developing and developed countries have
person (either too little or too much) services in place for prevention, detection, and
Speaks for older person and does not permit intervention. In developing countries, services
involvement in decision making include counseling programs, help lines, legal
Is reluctant to leave older person alone with assistance, and medical assistance. In developed
professional. countries, help lines, education, legal assistance,
In recent years, there has been significant activity and reporting agencies are the most common
in ensuring that resources and supports are avail- approaches.
able and accessible to older adults affected by The scan also found that there is a significant
abuse. Currently, approaches that seem to be difference among countries regarding resources
effective are termed promising approaches as available for information. It was identified
very little has been evaluated to provide evidence that resources are very limited in developing
to indicate best practices. So, promising countries due to barriers including literacy levels,
approaches are those that practitioners in the poverty, cultural factors, and lack of education.
field feel are effective but which have not been Most developed countries indicated that
evaluated (Canadian Network for the Prevention resources for information are available and
of Elder Abuse, 2007). that internet accessibility and poor understanding
In 2010, A WorldView Environmental Scan of elder abuse were the key barriers. Both devel-
was undertaken to collect information about the oped and developing countries indicated that
E 1852 Elder Abuse and Neglect, Institutional

training for frontline responders is lacking and Krug, E., Dahlberg, L., Mercy, J., Zwi, A., & Lozano, R.
what is available is extremely limited. Finally, (Eds.). (2002). World report on violence and health.
Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.
both developing and developed countries indi- McCreadie, C. (1993). From granny battering to elder
cated that further research is needed on preva- abuse: A critique of U.K. writing, 1975-1992. Journal
lence, etiology, and evaluation. Developed of Elder Abuse and Neglect, 5(2), 725.
countries also indicated a need for further National Center on Elder Abuse. (1998). National Elder
Abuse Incidence Study: Final report. Washington, DC:
research on abuse in institutional settings American Public Human Services Association in
(Podnieks et al., 2010). collaboration with Westat, Inc.
In North America, key points of contact Pillemer, K., & Finkelhor, D. (1989). Causes of elder
to learn more about promising approaches in abuse: Caregiver stress versus problem relatives. The
American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 59(2), 179187.
this field include the National Center on Podnieks, E. (1992). National survey on abuse of the
Elder Abuse (US) http://www.ncea.aoa.gov/ elderly in Canada. Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect,
NCEAroot/Main_Site/Index.aspx and the Cana- 1(2), 558.
dian Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse Podnieks, E., Anetzberger, G., Wilson, S., Teaster, P., &
Wangmo, T. (2010). Worldview environmental scan
http://www.cnpea.ca. on elder abuse. Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect, 22,
164179.
Statistics Canada. (2007). Family violence in Canada:
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day A statistical profile. Ottawa, Ont: Canadian Centre
for Justice Statistics.

Given that elder abuse continues to be an under-


recognized issue, the International Network for
the Prevention of Elder Abuse held the first
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) Elder Abuse and Neglect,
on June 15th, 2006, and it is now recognized each Institutional
year. It provides an opportunity for individuals,
communities and organizations to collectively Bridget Penhale
raise awareness of elder abuse. More information School of Nursing, University of East Anglia,
about WEAAD is available at www.inpea.net. Norwich, UK

Cross-References Synonyms

Domestic Violence Institutional elder abuse


Same-Sex Partner Violence
Violence
Violence Against Women Definition

Institutional abuse of older people refers to forms


References of abuse that occur within institutional settings
for older people. It is the term used to denote
Bonnie, R., & Wallace, R. (Eds.). (2003). Elder mistreat- physical or psychological harms as well as viola-
ment: Abuse, neglect, and exploitation in an aging
tions of rights in any setting where treatment,
America. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Canadian Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse. care, and assistance are provided to dependent
(2007). Outlook 2007: Promising approaches in the older adults or others. Neglect refers to depriving
prevention of abuse and neglect of older adults. a person of food, heat, clothing, medication, or
Ottawa, Ont: Public Health Agency of Canada
essential items for daily living and includes dep-
Department of Justice Canada. (2009). Abuse of older
adults: Department of Justice Canada overview rivation of needed services to an individual. The
paper. Ottawa, Ont: Justice Canada. deprivation may be intentional (active neglect)
Elder Abuse and Neglect, Institutional 1853 E
or happen due to lack of knowledge or resources other visitors to the institution. It may be
(passive neglect). In relation to institutional a continuation of a preexisting abusive situation,
neglect, it is more likely to occur in intentional for example, from family members, or it may
than unintentional forms. Increasingly the occur for the first time in this type of setting.
word mistreatment is used to denote abuse The abuse of older individuals receiving care
and neglect; thus, use of the term institutional in institutions is not a new phenomenon. Reports
mistreatment may be used in place of of institutional abuse appear regularly but are
institutional abuse. often only superficially covered by the media. In
recent years it has become increasingly apparent
that the abuse of older people who live in institu-
E
Description tions is part of the experience of many residents
in a number of different settings and that such
The abuse found in institutional settings may be abuse may be both widespread and
physical, including sexual abuse and harassment; systematic. However, there is no currently
psychological and emotional types of abuse are reliable epidemiological evidence relating to the
also apparent and may often occur with situations prevalence and incidence of institutional mis-
of physical mistreatment. Situations of racial and treatment. There has been a lengthy tradition in
other forms of discriminatory abuse are also the UK and elsewhere of scandals in institutional
included. Neglect, either active or passive, is care relating to older people. Such scandals tend
usually included within definitions, as is financial to have been investigated and treated as separate
abuse. This latter form of abuse is also known inquiries into standards of care rather than as
as material abuse or exploitation as it includes directly concerned with mistreatment. Coverage
the misappropriation of money, property, or concerning such scandals and inquiries tends to be
possessions. short-lived and rather cursory. There are a number
Institutional settings in which abuse or neglect of reasons for this, but these include nature and
may occur include those run by public, private impact of societal ageism and ambivalence
and voluntary, or not-for-profit organizations. concerning the care afforded to older people.
The range of settings includes hospitals and res- A lack of sufficient attention, in general, societal
idential and nursing homes, known in a number terms to the quality of life of older people in their
of terms in different countries, day hospitals and final years of life is also an important factor.
day care settings, and congregate living centers. This entry concerns institutions for older peo-
Occupational training centers may also be ple that provide care, protection, and sometimes
included where older people with mental or phys- treatment. In these places, the duty of care is
ical disabilities are in attendance. All older peo- perhaps of principal concern, perhaps especially
ple who live in or use such institutions could be at when it relates to those older people who are
risk of experiencing abuse or abusive regimes. particularly frail and vulnerable and in the latter
While some of the mistreatment may be individ- stages of life. When abuse happens in such set-
ual in nature, targeted at one particular resident or tings, therefore, it may be perceived as particu-
patient, often the mistreatment arises through the larly at variance with the institutions stated aims
organizational culture that exists and operates and objectives. Abuse that occurs within penal
within the setting. settings is not usually included within consider-
The mistreatment may therefore be indicative ations of institutional abuse. Definitions of abuse
of the type of regime that occurs within the in such settings need to be constructed in the
institution, whereby individual residents or context of different institutional objectives such
patients are mistreated and various rights, for as punishment and crime prevention, which are
example, the right to dignity, privacy, and respect the predominant focus for such environments.
are denied. Abuse may be committed by rela- When considering institutional abuse, it is also
tives, care staff, other residents, volunteers, or necessary to recognize that abuse may occur
E 1854 Elder Abuse and Neglect, Institutional

between individual service users. Residents of Structural factors, including the potential roles
institutions live together, often in conditions of of gender, race, disability, and class, are clearly
some intimacy, but will not necessarily be in of major importance within examination of abuse
close or intimate relationships with one another, as much as within quality of life. Considerations
and situations of abuse may arise between indi- of gender are of particular relevance in relation to
viduals. In addition, within institutional settings sexual and physical forms of abuse, as men pre-
there may also be risks of abuse being directed by dominantly perpetrate these. Perspectives of race
residents at members of staff or at relatives and class are notable as relevant structural factors
(Department of Health, 1996). within many situations of institutional abuse.
Factors regarding disability, where there may be
Discussion an emphasis on vulnerability, which may itself be
In general terms, the definition of abuse remains an oppressive concept, are also of note. Many of
a contested area, and there is an absence of the models of causation that have been developed
agreement as to what comprises abuse and concerning institutional abuse have tended to
neglect. There is no universal, standardized def- focus on perpetrators and their associated pathol-
inition, although that which was developed by ogy; this is the so-called bad apple approach
the UK charity Action on Elder Abuse (1995) (Biggs et al., 1995; Stanley & Manthorpe, 2004).
and subsequently adopted by the WHO (2002) Use of such approaches has meant that the
tends to be the most frequently cited, even if this identification of and responses to institutional
does not specifically refer to particular settings abuse has tended to focus on flushing out individ-
in which abuse and neglect may occur. Contro- ual abusers and that other, arguably more critical
versy also exists about the definition of institu- factors have not been accorded sufficient atten-
tional abuse, indicators of abuse, and the role of tion. Factors that concern wider structural
neglect within the spectrum of institutional mis- oppressions and inequalities require much more
treatment. While the use of different definitions detailed consideration.
need not be problematic (Penhale, 1993), it is In considering definitions, meanings, and
important that there is clarity from the outset understanding, it is also necessary to explore
about which definition is being used and for what is understood by the term institution. As
what purposes. In relation to institutional settings, with abuse, there is no standard definition. Dic-
definitions need to establish some distinction tionary definitions provide a number of different
between individual acts by abusers within institu- meanings. Institution may mean a society or
tions, abusive regimes that arise and are perpetu- organization. The term concerns structure, func-
ated, and examples of poor or indeed bad practice tion, and process, not just the presence of
of management and care. This latter point relates a physical entity or building (Jack, 1998). In an
to organizational and structural problems within examination of residential provision, (Jack,
the institution in which abuse occurs (Bennett 1998) posits that institution has become iden-
et al., 1997; Utting, 2000). tical to a particular form of service provision and
Although there are differences between abuse processes of institutionalization (Jack, 1998). He
in domestic settings and that which occurs within argues that a rather simple, dualistic concept can
institutions, power relations are central to all abu- be identified in public and professional arenas
sive situations. What needs to be considered are and suggests that this concept equates commu-
the dynamics and variables, which inform the nity with good features and institutions with
abuse of power within different settings. The all that is bad. While (Jack, 1998) is surely correct
work of Goffman provides an essential back- to challenge such oversimplifications, the alter-
ground, which any exploration of the working native model which contrasts neglect in the com-
of power within institutions must take account munity with high-quality residential care appears
of (Goffman, 1961). equally misleading. It is also noteworthy that his
Elder Abuse and Neglect, Institutional 1855 E
analysis fails to include any detailed consider- schema can be used to structure the concept of
ation of institutional abuse. institutional abuse:
For our purposes, institution in terms of Level 1: abuse between individuals within the
residential and/or nursing care refers to care institutional setting
provided within a home which is not owned by Level 2: abuse arising due to the regime of the
the individual and where the locus of control lies institution
beyond the individual living in that environ- Level 3: abuse arising at a system level
ment. Also central to the definition is that the (broader social structure)
individual lives with others and there is likely to This type of approach is also suggested within
be little, often no, choice as to who those indi- the work of Gil (1982), which identified three
E
viduals are. Control over the structure, function, different forms of institutional abuse in relation
and organization of the home is not within the to children. These were first, the overt or direct
power of the individual but is owned by mem- abuse of a child by a care worker. The second
bers of staff who are not ordinarily resident in form of abuse identified was termed program
that environment. Indeed, the extent of control abuse and referred to the existence of an abusive
or lack of control by individuals in relation to regime or treatment program within an institu-
their living environment appears to be a key tion. The third form of abuse was called system
defining element of an institution although the abuse. This corresponds to the third level, that of
degree of control available to them is likely to the broader social system, and refers to abuse
vary between different settings. which is perpetrated and perpetuated by the sys-
Much of the care given in institutional settings tem and in which the safety of individuals (within
is valuable, of good quality, and provided well. institutional care) cannot be assured. By chang-
A polarization between community living as first ing the first part of the definition proposed by Gil
choice and institutional care as last resort seems (1982) from child to individual, the definition of
evident in many recent statements about institu- institutional abuse can be considered in a rather
tional care and quality of life in old age. This has more holistic way than either the different types
not been helped by much of the rhetoric surround- of abuse or the range of settings in which abuse
ing community care, which has tended to suggest occurs.
that community provision is the only appropriate Any discussion of institutional abuse must
form of care, which is relevant for individuals in also take in to account sociological perspectives
later life. on institutionalization. This term refers to the
However, in avoiding the oversimplified con- generally negative aspects of institutional life,
flict model of community care versus institutions, which some individuals experience while in insti-
we must not ignore the testaments of service users tutions. Psychiatrist (Barton, 1959), from work
in general, and of survivors of institutional abuse done in the 1950s, developed the concept of insti-
in particular. Such testaments tend to affirm tutional neuroses, in an attempt to understand the
views that care in community settings is more ways in which many patients of psychiatric insti-
desirable for individuals than continuing long- tutions became dependent and apathetic. Later it
term care in institutions. This appears particularly became apparent that the term could equally
apposite if those settings are ones in which abuse apply to the behaviors of many older people and
occurs and is sometimes perpetuated and where adults with disabilities living in care settings.
people experience harm in the very settings in Subsequent to this, in the early 1960s, a seminal
which they are supposed to be safe. work on institutions was produced (Goffman,
A number of approaches have been taken to 1961). In this influential text, a model of the
establish understandings of institutional abuse. total institution was constructed, which
Institutional abuse can be conceived of as explored the processes of institutionalization as
existing at three different levels. The following experienced by inmates. The work examined
E 1856 Elder Abuse and Neglect, Institutional

the processes of depersonalization which individ- perspective in which individuals are viewed as
uals experience when living in such institutions. in some way less than human and not like us,
In this work, the routines and structures of insti- then abuse of those individuals becomes more
tutions were interrogated, and five basic types of understandable, if not justifiable (Wardhaugh &
institutions were identified: Wilding, 1993).
Institutions designed to care for the incapable There has been some criticism of the work on
and harmless (e.g., homes for the blind, total institutions, with proponents arguing that
aged, or orphaned) the account did not really examine the relation-
Institutions established to care for the inca- ship between the institution and the broader social
pable who present an unintended threat to the context in which care was provided (Perring,
community (e.g., sanitaria, mental hospitals) 1992). Moreover, few current institutions fit
Institutions organized to protect the commu- within (Goffman, 1961)s original definition.
nity from intentional dangers (e.g., prisons) However, the basic tenets of institutionalization
Institutions established for some work-like remain instructive when considering mistreat-
task (e.g., army barracks, boarding schools) ment within institutional settings.
Institutions set up as retreats from the world The move toward smaller community-based
(e.g., monasteries) institutions, which have developed in many coun-
It is with the first two types that this entry tries in recent years, may imply an underlying
is principally concerned. For (Goffman, 1961), change in the nature of institutional care. Smaller
all these different types of institutions shared institutions often lack the elaborate hierarchies
some common characteristics, albeit to varying that made it so difficult to achieve change in the
degrees. The key features of total institutions larger institutions. It may also mean that it is
were: easier to intervene to achieve change and that
First all aspects of life are conducted in the same the boundaries between the home and the com-
place, and under the same single authority. Second, munity are more permeable. However, in some
each phase of the members daily activity is carried instances the person responsible for the daily
on in the immediate company of a large batch of management of the unit may own the institution,
others, all of whom are treated alike and required to
do the same thing together. Third, all phases of the which can present particular areas of difficulty.
days activities are tightly scheduled with one activ- It is arguable, too, that in smaller units the
ity leading at a pre-arranged time into the next, the balance of power and the opportunities for
whole sequence of activities being imposed from abuse of that power continue to be potentially
above by a system of explicit formal rulings and
a body of officials. (Goffman, 1961, p. 17) problematic. Within smaller institutions, how-
ever, the population of residents/patients and
For (Goffman, 1961), it was the fundamental staff may change more frequently than in larger,
nature of institutions and institutional care that more traditionally run units, and this may bring
leads to a degradation of that care. He argued that different perspectives on the care and treatment
the removal of normal, everyday patterns of of individuals.
activity and identities for individuals provided a Institutions do not stand alone, but increasingly
specific cultural and social context within which work in partnership with other forms of care pro-
institutions operated. Further, it was within those vision. The potential partnerships with short-term
specific contexts for particular institutions that provision such as respite care (also called short
individuals became depersonalized (Goffman, breaks) and fostering or of residential and nursing
1961). And it is within this context of deperson- care homes providing day and domiciliary care
alization that abuse may occur, as (Wardhaugh & services to older people within the locality may
Wilding, 1993) suggest in their exposition on the be indicative of positive developments. Residen-
corruption of care and associated consequences. tial homes have also been developing a much more
In settings in which there is a predominant person-centered and homely style of provision
Elder Mistreatment 1857 E
(Peace, 1998). There have, in addition, been References
moves to make care homes more open, with
more links to communities, and this may act in Action on Elder Abuse. (1995). Definition of elder abuse.
AEA Bulletin, 3, 11.
a protective way (if the environment is more open,
Barton, R. (1959). Institutional neurosis. Bristol: Wright.
then it is less likely that abusive situations will Bennett, G., Kingston, P., & Penhale, B. (1997). The
occur or go unrecognized). dimensions of elder abuse: Perspectives for practi-
This leads to a challenge: how to provide tioners. Basingstoke: Macmillan Press.
Biggs, S., Phillipson, C., & Kingston, P. (1995). Elder
a home which is more homely, yet which is
abuse in perspective. Basingstoke: Macmillan.
also more open to public scrutiny and regulatory Department of Health. (1996). Responding to residents.
mechanisms in a way in which domestic homes London: HMSO.
Gil, E. (1982). Institutional abuse of children in out-of-
E
are not. It is also the case that the existence of
home care. In R. Hanson (Ed.), Institutional abuse of
smaller homes which are more integrated in the
children and youth. New York: Haworth Press.
local community does not necessarily mean that Goffman, E. (1961). Asylums: Essays on the social situa-
the home will be more open or free from abuse or tion of mental patients and other inmates. New York:
abusive practices, nor should we assume that this Anchor/Doubleday.
Jack, R. (Ed.). (1998). Residential versus community care.
will be the case.
Basingstoke: Macmillan.
The response to institutional abuse does not just Peace, S. (1998). Caring in place. In A. Brechin, J.
concern improving standards of care. Awareness Walmsley, J. Katz, & S. Peace (Eds.), Care matters:
of the possibility of abuse occurring within insti- Concepts, practice and research in health and social
care. London: Sage.
tutions and the risk factors involved can affect
Penhale, B. (1993). The abuse of elderly people: Consid-
decisions about the provision of care and, for indi- erations for practice. British Journal of Social Work,
viduals, decisions about choice of care. Within the 23(2), 95112.
field of childcare, the publicized failure of care Perring, C. (1992). The experience and perspectives of
patients and care staff of the transition from hospital
provided in some residential homes and schools,
to community based care. In S. Ramon (Ed.), Psychi-
together with scandals relating to abuse within atric hospital closure: Myths and realities. London:
such settings, has led to an increasing loss of public Chapman Hall.
confidence in the ability of such homes to provide Stanley, N., & Manthorpe, J. (Eds.). (2004). The age of the
inquiry: Learning and blaming in health and social
safety and protection for their residents. It is pos-
care. London: Routledge.
sible that to a lesser extent this is also the case in Utting, W. (2000). People like us. London: HMSO.
relation to perceptions about institutional care of Wardhaugh, J., & Wilding, P. (1993). Towards an expla-
older people and adults with disabilities. nation of the corruption of care. Journal of Social
Policy, 13(37), 431.
Developments that are taking place or are
WHO. (2002). World report on violence and health.
likely to happen, such as improvements in regu- Geneva: WHO.
latory mechanisms, including regulation of the
workforce and the protection of vulnerable adults
in care homes may go some way toward restoring
confidence. It will take some time, however, for
the public to feel sufficiently assured that institu-
Elder Care
tional care is anything other than a last resort for
Quality of Life and Quality of Care: an
individuals who need care, and this may in itself
Integrated Model
be a key factor in the development and perpetu-
ation of abuse within institutions.

Cross-References Elder Mistreatment

Elder Abuse and Neglect, Institutional Elder Abuse


E 1858 Elderly Activity and Engagement with Life

disease-related physiological changes are not


Elderly Activity and Engagement present. Normal aging is divided into two
with Life different categories: usual aging and successful
aging. Usual aging is defined as experiencing
Jacqueline A. Liffiton and Patricia L. Weir typical non-pathological age-related losses Rowe
Department of Kinesiology, University of and Kahn (1987). While these older individuals are
Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada fortunate to be disease-free, decreases in
cognitive and physical function are still present
which puts them at risk for illness/disability.
Synonyms Successful aging, on the other hand, is when an
individual exhibits minimal or no cognitive and
Normal aging; Successful aging (SA); Usual physical losses when compared to the average
aging younger individual. They are at low risk for
any disease and are high-functioning adults
(Rowe & Kahn, 1997).
Definition Rowe and Khans model of SA contains three
main components (Rowe & Kahn, 1997). The
SA is mainly defined from two different first is a low probability of disease and
approaches. The first reflects a continuous disease-related disability. This not only includes
adaptation to age-related change, where the the absence of disease but also the absence of risk
aging process presents unavoidable declines in factors for disease. Disease or disease-related
performance as well as function. The aging disability is considered to be any physical- or
individual adapts to these changes through health-related problem that lasts for at least
a process of selection, optimization, and six months and limits daily tasks and occupations
compensation to continue to live productively (Gilmour & Park, 2004). Common risk factors for
(Baltes & Baltes, 1991). The second and disease include changes in abdominal fat,
more common definition describes SA as a state changes in systolic blood pressure, or decreases
of being that may be objectively measured at in organ and immune function (Rowe & Kahn,
a particular moment in any stage of life. These 1987). The second component of the model is
measures include disease and disability high cognitive and physical functioning. This
(Fries, 1980; Rowe & Kahn, 1997), cognitive includes the potential for function and activity,
performance (Rowe & Kahn; Salthouse, 1991), as it is more important to know what an
physical functioning (Rowe & Kahn, 1997; individual is capable of doing, not simply what
Schulz & Heckhausen, 1996; Strawbridge, Cohen, they are doing. Physical functioning is typically
Shema, & Kaplan, 1996), life satisfaction assessed using functional performance on tasks
(Palmore, 1979), and overall quality of life such as the ability to walk mile, the ability to
(Strawbridge, Wallhagen, & Cohen, 2002). stand without feeling faint, and the ability to
climb one flight of stairs (Strawbridge et al.,
2002), while cognitive functioning is assessed
Description using memory or recall-based items
(Strawbridge et al.). The final component is
Rowe and Kahns (1987) model of SA has been active engagement with life. This component of
the most commonly used and widely accepted Rowe and Khans model primarily focuses on
in research (Depp & Jeste, 2006; Strawbridge interpersonal relations and productive activity.
et al., 2002). Rowe and Kahn (1987) Interpersonal relations are classified as contact
believe that some pathological changes are with others (i.e., emotional support), whereas
age-determined and inevitable; however, normal productive activities must create societal value,
aging is usually reserved for situations when whether it is paid or volunteer work, caring for
Elderly Activity and Engagement with Life 1859 E
others, or household activities. All three of Rowe keeping fit. In all three of these studies, the
and Khans components work together as seniors included the importance of remaining
a hierarchy to create successful aging. When dis- physically and socially active as important fac-
ease/disability is absent, cognitive and physical tors for SA, running parallel with the third com-
functions are easier to maintain. In turn, the main- ponent of Rowe and Khans SA model, remaining
tenance of function helps individuals stay actively engaged with life.Throughout research
engaged with their lives (Rowe & Kahn, 1998). active engagement, social participation, interper-
One of the most important features of the Rowe sonal relationships, productive activities, leisure
and Kahn model is the recognition that older activities, social activities, and physical activities
adults have some control over their physical and are all terms that have been used to describe
E
cognitive functioning through the adoption of different components of engagement with life
healthy lifestyle choices such as physical activity (Bukov, Maas & Lampert, 2002; Glass, Seeman,
and diet. Herzog, Kahn, & Berkman, 1995; Menec, 2003;
In research, when older adults have been sub- Palmore, 1979; Rowe & Kahn, 1997;
jectively asked their views of SA, the importance Strawbridge et al., 1996). The many forms of
of the third component of Rowe and Khans engagement all have positive influences on
model seems to stand out. Older adults often maintaining functioning with age. Engaging in
believe social engagement and a positive productive activities has been associated with
outlook towards life rather than physical health better health and functioning (Glass et al.,
are important factors contributing to SA 1995), while social activities were predictive of
(Strawbridge et al., 2002). For example, Knight increased physical function and a slower decline
and Ricciardelli (2003) used semi-structured in functional status (Unger, Johnson, & Marks,
interviews to ask seniors what they thought 1997) and passive and active leisure activities
successful aging was. Fifty-three percent of the have been associated with better overall function-
participants responded health with activity ing and survival (Glass, De Leon, Marottoli, &
a close second, being mentioned by 50 % of Berkman, 1999). Conversely older adults with
participants. After Knight and Ricciardellis higher levels of physical activity exhibit higher
interview, they asked their participants to rate levels of social engagement (Mendes de Leon,
the importance of ten common criteria of SA Glass, & Berkman, 2003).
that emerge from the literature. Their rank- It is known that participation in active leisure
ordered answers were as follows: health, activities or physical activities has positive
happiness, mental capacity, adjustment, life sat- effects on improving and maintaining mental
isfaction, physical activity, close personal rela- health, preventing and minimizing effects of
tionships, social activity, sense of purpose, and chronic diseases, enhancing physical health and
withdrawal. Similarly, Fisher (1995) employed functioning, as well as overall quality of life in
a similar interview methodology where partici- older adults (National Advisory Council of
pants reported that SA was described as Canada, 2006). Quality of life (QOL), or
a persons ability to adjust to their present as health-related quality of life (HRQL) (Acree
well as future conditions. Activity, income, et al., 2006), includes a persons physical health,
health, interactions with others, and a positive psychological state, personal beliefs, social
attitude were the common factors leading to SA relationships, and their relationship to salient
in their study. Tate, Lah, and Cuddy (2003) sur- features of the environment (Oort, 2005).
veyed a group of retired individuals from an Air Depp and Jeste (2006) surveyed 29 peer-
Force crew and asked, What is your definition of reviewed studies of adults over the age of
SA and would you say you have aged success- 60 years that included a definition of successful
fully? Of the participants, 83.8 % felt they were aging. The top three independent variables/
successfully aging based on components such as predictors of SA were disability/physical
health, life satisfaction, keeping active, and functioning, cognitive functioning, and life
E 1860 Elderly Activity and Engagement with Life

satisfaction/well-being. All three of these In a longitudinal study of Canadian seniors


variables fall under the quality of life definition. spanning 6 years, Menec (2003) examined the
Adopting a broad conceptual framework is con- relationship between different types of activi-
sistent with the early work of Stewart and King ties, activity level, function, well-being, and
(1991) that QOL is composed of two domains: mortality. Well-being was measured based on
(1) functioning (physical, cognitive, engagement happiness as well as life satisfaction, while
with life, and objective health measures) and function was defined using a measure which
(2) well-being (bodily well-being, emotional combined physical as well as cognitive
well-being, self-concept, and global perceptions functioning. Participants were instructed to indi-
of well-being). QOL is subjective, and the value of cate the types of activities they participated
various components differs not only among indi- in throughout the past week via a 21-item
viduals but within individuals at different stages of checklist. The activities were then divided
life. A number of systematic and meta-analytic into three different categories: social activities
reviews have been published, and have consis- (i.e., visiting family), solitary activities (i.e.,
tently reported that engagement in physical activ- collecting hobbies), and productive activities
ity or exercise can contribute to an enhanced (i.e., housework or volunteering). All activities
quality of life in older adults. Specifically, older including sports and games were related to happi-
adults aged 65+ years that engage in long-term ness. In contrast, the only activity that signifi-
physical activity postpone disability and tend to cantly contributed to life satisfaction was
live an independent lifestyle resulting in a higher participating in sport or games.
quality of life (Spirduso & Cronin, 2001). Healthy The association between types of participation
aging was also achieved if individuals were and intensity of participation is important because
engaged several times per week in walking, gar- as an individual experiences age-related changes
dening, and/or vigorous exercise at a rate of >500 in health, they will have to give up more physically
kcals per week (Peel, McClure, & Bartlett, 2005). demanding activities for these lower-intensity
Netz, Wu, Becker, and Tenenbaum (2005) leisure activities (Everard et al., 2000; Menec,
concluded that participation in either aerobic or 2003; Netz et al., 2005). This is consistent with
resistive exercise training, across all age groups Baltes and Baltes (1990) model of compensation,
(5475+ years), led to improved psychological where the goal is to remain flexible and open in
well-being. For adults aged 75+ years, moderate- terms of adapting to changing roles and activities.
intensity exercise benefitted psychological well- While aging is associated with inevitable
being, suggesting that high-intensity exercise is changes in both physical and cognitive systems,
not required to promote either physical or psycho- the successful aging framework provides an
logical health. opportunity to examine the influence that
Linking these ideas back to successful aging lifestyle has on the aging process. While a great
and engagement, Everard, Lach, Fisher, and deal of time has been spent understanding the
Baum (2000) surveyed older adults to examine disease-related changes and their impact on phys-
the relationship between the maintenance of ical and cognitive functioning, engagement with
performing leisure, social, physical, productive, life is becoming recognized as a key component to
and instrumental activities and active engage- success. It is well known that participation in
ment with life. When older individuals remained regular physical activity and active leisure
involved in high-demand leisure activities activities is important for the maintenance of
(i.e., swimming, walking, gardening), higher physical and cognitive well-being. It is important
physical function scores, as measured by the for future research to continue to examine the
SF-12, were maintained. It was further noted impact of many different types of engagement
that low-demand leisure activities were associ- (productive, social, active leisure, and passive
ated with better mental health and contributed to leisure) and how they relate to overall functioning
the maintenance of function. and well-being.
Elderly Activity and Engagement with Life 1861 E
Cross-References community population of older adults The New
Haven EPESE. American Journal of Epidemiology,
157(7), 633642.
Relationship Satisfaction Menec, V. H. (2003). The relation between everyday
Social Participation activities and successful aging: A 6-year longitudinal
Successful Aging (SA) study. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psycho-
logical Sciences and Social Sciences, 58(2), S74S82.
National Advisory Council on Aging. Seniors in Canada:
2006 Report Card (Cat.HP301/2006E). Ottawa,
References ON: Author.
Netz, Y., Wu, M. J., Becker, B. J., & Tenenbaum, G.
Acree, L. S., Longfors, J., Fjeldstad, A. S., Fjeldstad, C., (2005). Physical activity and psychological
Schank, B., Nickel, K. J., et al. (2006). Physical activ- well-being in advanced age: A meta-analysis of inter- E
ity is related to quality of life in older adults. Health vention Studies. Psychology and Aging, 20(2),
and Quality of Life Outcomes, 4(1), 37. 272284.
Baltes, P. B., & Baltes, M. M. (1991). Psychological Oort, F. (2005). Using structural equation modeling to
perspectives on successful aging: The model of detect response shifts and true change. Quality of Life
selective optimization with compensation. Research, 14(3), 587598.
Successful Aging: Perspectives from the Behavioral Palmore, E. (1979). Predictors of successful aging. The
Sciences, 1, 134. Gerontologist, 19(5), 427431.
Bukov, A., Maas, I., & Lampert, T. (2002). Social partic- Peel, N. M., McClure, R. J., & Bartlett, H. P. (2005).
ipation in very old age: Cross-sectional and longitudi- Behavioral determinants of healthy aging. American
nal findings from BASE. The Journals of Gerontology Journal of Preventive Medicine, 28(3), 298304.
Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, Rowe, J. W., & Kahn, R. L. (1987). Human aging: Usual
57(6), P510P517. and successful. Science, 237, 143149.
Depp, C. A., & Jeste, D. V. (2006). Definitions and pre- Rowe, J. W., & Kahn, R. L. (1997). Successful aging. The
dictors of successful aging: A comprehensive review Gerontologist, 37(4), 433440.
of larger quantitative studies. The American Journal of Rowe, J. W., & Kahn, R. L. (1998). Successful aging: The
Geriatric Psychiatry, 14(1), 620. MacArthur Foundation Study. New York: Pantheon.
Everard, K. M., Lach, H. W., Fisher, E. B., & Baum, M. C. Salthouse, T. A. (1991). Cognitive facets of aging well.
(2000). Relationship of activity and social support to Generations, 15, 3538.
the functional health of older adults. The Journals of Schulz, R., & Heckhausen, J. (1996). A life span model of
Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and successful aging. American Psychologist, 51(7),
Social Sciences, 55(4), S208S212. 702714.
Fisher, B. J. (1995). Successful aging, life satisfaction, and Spirduso, W. W., & Cronin, D. L. (2001). Exercise dose
generativity in later life. International Journal of response effects on quality of life and independent
Aging & Human Development, 41(3), 239250. living in older adults. Medicine and Science in Sports
Fries, F. J. (1980). Aging, natural death, and the compres- and Exercise, 33(6; SUPP), 598608.
sion of morbidity. The New England Journal of Stewart, A. L., & King, A. C. (1991). Evaluating the
Medicine 303, 130135. efficacy of physical activity for influencing quality-
Gilmour, H., & Park, J. (2004). Dependency, chronic of-life outcomes in older adults. Annals of Behavioral
conditions and pain in seniors. Health Report (Statis- Medicine, 13(3), 108116.
tics Canada Catalogue No. 82003), 16, 2131. Strawbridge, W. J., Cohen, R. D., Shema, S. J., & Kaplan,
Glass, T. A., De Leon, C. M., Marottoli, R. A., & Berkman, G. A. (1996). Successful aging: predictors and associ-
L. F. (1999). Population based study of social and ated activities. American Journal of Epidemiology,
productive activities as predictors of survival among 144(2), 135141.
elderly Americans. BMJ, 319(7208), 478483. Strawbridge, W. J., Wallhagen, M. I., & Cohen, R. D.
Glass, T. A., Seeman, T. E., Herzog, A., Kahn, R., & (2002). Successful aging and well-being self-rated
Berkman, L. F. (1995). Change in productive activity compared with Rowe and Kahn. The Gerontologist,
in late adulthood: MacArthur studies of successful 42(6), 727733.
aging. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Tate, R. B., Lah, L., & Cuddy, T. E. (2003). Definition of
Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, successful aging by elderly Canadian males: The Man-
50(2), S65. itoba follow-up study. The Gerontologist, 43(5),
Knight, T., & Ricciardelli, L. A. (2003). Successful aging: 735744.
Perceptions of adults aged between 70 and 101 years. Unger, J. B., Johnson, C. A., & Marks, G. (1997). Func-
International Journal of Aging & Human Develop- tional decline in the elderly: Evidence for direct and
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Mendes de Leon, C. F., Glass, T. A., & Berkman, L. F. tions and physical activity. Annals of Behavioral
(2003). Social engagement and disability in a Medicine, 19(2), 152160.
E 1862 Elderly Couples

satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, and


Elderly Couples health satisfaction. One such significant domain
is that of environmental satisfaction, also known
Older Couples as residential satisfaction. Residential
satisfaction deals with ones happiness with
ones home and the associated physical
environment.
Elderly People Several general theories have been advanced
to explain how the interaction of a person with his
Spanish Social Service Recipients or her physical residential environment can
result in satisfaction or dissatisfaction.
Morris and Winter (1978) describe residential
satisfaction as the result of comparing ones
Elderly Rental Housing Satisfaction needs and expectations with the realities of the
residential environment. Expectations can be
Elderly Tenants, Residential Satisfaction of influenced by ones childhood experiences and
family norms, the norms of ones social group,
and cultural convention. These expectations are
typically related to ones position in the family
Elderly Tenants, Residential life cycle. So, for example, a young college
Satisfaction of student may see renting as the ideal
tenure, whereas the same person, after
Russell N. James III becoming an established professional, may
Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA prefer homeownership. Not only do housing
expectations change over the family life cycle
but so to do housing needs. Thus, a family
Synonyms with small children will have different housing
preferences based on the needs of the children.
Elderly rental housing satisfaction Issues such as a large yard and good school
district may be paramount to families with
children, where earlier or later in life these may
Definition be of little interest.
One theory that has been used in a variety of
The residential satisfaction of elderly tenants life satisfaction domains is Rotters (1966)
refers to the self-reported satisfaction with the locus of control approach. The basic premise
living units of residents over age 65 of rented of this model is that satisfaction is greater to the
property. extent that a person perceives himself or herself
as being in control of his or her environment
(known as internalized locus of control).
Description Conversely, satisfaction is lesser to the extent
that a person perceives himself or herself as
One common approach in quality of life research being controlled by his or her environment
is to separately consider life satisfaction in (i.e., externalized locus of control). One
different major life domains, rather than attraction of this model is that it has been
simply relying on a single summative successfully applied in a variety of life
measurement of global life satisfaction satisfaction domains such as job satisfaction
(Cummins, 2005). Thus, a persons quality of (Spector, 1986), political satisfaction (Frey &
life may be influenced by domains such as job Stutzer, 2000), body image satisfaction
Elderly Tenants, Residential Satisfaction of 1863 E
(Furnham & Greaves, 1994), and residential of residential satisfaction for older adults (65+)
satisfaction (James, 2008). than for younger residents. The growing
Whether the residential satisfaction model is importance of neighborhood social connections
based upon locus of control (Rotter, 1966) or may result not only from reduced mobility but
needs and expectations (Morris & Winter, also from diminished social contacts in other
1978), it is clear that housing satisfaction is contexts due to retirement from work or
subject to change with age. For example, the death of friends. Accordingly, age-restricted
physical realities of aging can influence the senior housing in larger apartment buildings that
suitability of housing. The presence of stairs is provides for convenient community services and
of no major consequence for younger families, age-appropriate social interaction may be espe-
E
but may be an insurmountable barrier for elderly cially attractive. Thus, increased housing density
residents. Accordingly, there is much emphasis in (i.e., the number of people within a certain area)
the residential design community on the is often undesirable at younger ages, but may be
concept of universal design accommodating preferable at older ages. This is especially likely
those with and without physical disabilities given previous research suggesting that higher
(Iwarsson & Stahl, 2003). density living arrangements encourage the for-
Along with greater needs in some mation of social connections among residents
areas, elderly residents may have diminished (Baldassare, 1979).
needs and expectations in other areas. As elderly As with a variety of other life domains,
residents are much less likely to have children, problems in satisfaction with the residential
the need for space may be significantly environment can influence other areas of life
diminished. Accordingly, the typical housing satisfaction. So, for example, housing with poor
environment of older adults is also different accessibility or universal design features can
from younger individuals. Among apartment significantly increase the likelihood of injuries
dwellers, elderly residents are more likely to related to falls, thus impacting health-related
have fewer bedrooms, bathrooms, and other satisfaction. Or, as another example, the limited
rooms. This corresponds with the reality that ability to make social contacts within the
such households have fewer people living in neighborhood (due to inaccessibility or
them (whether from absence of children or neighborhood age mismatch) can diminish social
death of a spouse). Additionally, these connectedness. Elderly people with a weaker
apartments are, on average, newer and located social network are then at increased risk of
in much larger buildings (James, 2008). dementia (Holmen & Furukawa, 2002). These
The consequences and correlates of aging may potential side effects of residential dissatisfaction
also influence housing satisfaction in more issues may be more significant for older adults as
subtle ways. For example, advanced age may such dissatisfaction appears to be more damaging
limit ones mobility, including diminishing to health outcomes in an elderly population than
the ability to drive. This limited mobility in a younger group (Lawton & Nahemow, 1973).
may make neighborhood characteristics Homeownership is a particularly important
much more important to an older resident factor influencing residential satisfaction. Elsinga
(McAndrew, 1993). A more mobile, younger and Hoekstra (2005) found tenant residential
resident may be less concerned with neighbor- satisfaction to be significantly lower than
hood availability of social relationships or homeowner residential satisfaction, even after
retail shopping. However, an older resident with controlling for housing quality. This was
mobility concerns will naturally be more closely consistently true in Ireland, the United Kingdom,
tied with the neighborhood. In an examination of the Netherlands, Denmark, Greece, Italy, and
satisfaction of rental housing residents, James Spain. Only in Austria was there no significant
(2008) found that rating of the neighborhood difference between homeowner and tenant
was significantly more important as a predictor satisfaction. Other studies in the United States
E 1864 Elderly Tenants, Residential Satisfaction of

have also found that homeowners reported a home at any point. A homeowner can paint
a higher degree of housing satisfaction than did a wall, add a room, change the flooring, and so
similarly situated tenants (Rohe & Stegman, forth. The tenant typically has no such abilities to
1994). This near universal difference, however, alter the environment in these ways. The
appears to be substantially related to age. The homeowners greater control can naturally lead
general relationship between age and residential to a greater sense of internalized locus of control
satisfaction is positive (James, 2008). This corre- and thus greater satisfaction. However, this
sponds with a wide variety of studies finding that advantage may be substantially age related.
self-reported life satisfaction increases with age Whereas homeownership gives one the ability
(Carstensen & Turk-Charles, 1994; Lawton, to make residential alterations, it also gives one
1996). Of special note in residential satisfaction the responsibility to maintain the home. This may
is that the gap between tenant residential be a minor issue for physically capable younger
satisfaction and homeowner residential homeowners, but could become a major issue for
satisfaction remains fairly constant throughout elderly residents who may not be able to perform
life until about age 65; when the gap begins to such chores. In some cases, the homeowner may
shrink dramatically until at the oldest ages (90+), resolve the issue by hiring outside contractors.
apartment tenants report greater residential And yet, this solution is fraught with difficulty
satisfaction than do homeowners (James, 2008). as home repair can often be a source of fraud
In other words, residential satisfaction increases targeting the elderly (Smith, 1999). For the cur-
with age, but after age 65, it increases with age at rent generation of elderly, the problem may be
a much faster rate for tenants than for exacerbated by the traditional role of women in
homeowners. Indeed, residential satisfaction the household. Having men be primarily respon-
among homeowners peaks in the 1970s sible for household repairs creates a substantial
and declines thereafter, whereas residential knowledge deficit for widows and divorced
satisfaction for apartment dwelling tenants con- women. This may partially explain the reality
tinues to increase into the 1990s and beyond. that nearly two-thirds of all tenants over the age
This may relate both to tenure status and to of 65 are unmarried women.
the kind of housing structure. So, for example, Further, the unexpected and substantial finan-
in younger ages (below 50), self-reported cial impacts from major repairs may be particu-
satisfaction is greater among tenants of larly difficult for older adults on a fixed income.
single-family houses than among apartment ten- James (2008) found that tenants age 65 and over
ants. However, this gap disappears from age 50 to had average household incomes approximately
69 and reverses at the oldest ages (70+) where half that of tenants under age 65. Thus, at the
apartment tenants report being more satisfied older ages, homeownership becomes more likely
than do single-family residence tenants. Thus, to place the owner in situations where the envi-
part of this age-related difference in satisfaction ronment is seemingly in control (external locus of
may come from the increased benefits of control), as each new unexpected repair brings
apartment living for older adults, especially in with it potentially unmanageable physical and
the context of large age-restricted apartment financial challenges. In contrast with this,
communities offering a number of opportunities a tenant of a well-managed apartment has
for social interaction. stable housing expenses and, in the event of
Aside from the issue of density, this change in a maintenance issue, need only pick up the
housing satisfaction with age may also relate to phone to advise the management of the problem.
home maintenance. In the context of Rotters Correspondingly, James (2008) found that among
(1966) locus of control model, homeownership a wide variety of factors potentially
has a natural advantage in that it provides greater influencing the satisfaction of elderly tenants
potential for controlling ones immediate envi- (including neighborhood satisfaction, noise
ronment. A homeowner may choose to modify problems, building age, number of rooms, rent,
Elderly Tenants, Residential Satisfaction of 1865 E
building entry system, central air conditioning, Locus of Control
dishwasher, disposal, fireplace), the most Mobility
important factor was the residents satisfaction Relationship Satisfaction
with maintenance. This makes sense in the Residential Satisfaction
context of a locus of control model. To the extent Social Network
that maintenance issues are handled quickly and
efficiently, the resident is more likely to feel as if
he or she is in control of his or her environment. References
This can be superior to the feeling of control
Baldassare, M. (1979). Residential crowding in urban
where one has limited physical and financial America. Berkeley: University of California Press. E
resources to deal with maintenance problems Carstensen, L. L., & Turk-Charles, S. (1994). The salience
of an owned home. However, this superiority of emotion across the adult life span. Psychology and
rapidly diminishes when the maintenance issues Aging, 9, 259264.
Cummins, R. A. (2005). The domains of life satisfaction:
are not dealt with by management, leaving the An attempt to order chaos. In A. C. Michalos (Ed.),
resident in the unenviable position of living with Citation classics from social indicators research:
environmental problems that he or she has no Social indicators research (Vol. 26, pp. 559584).
ability to change. Netherlands: Springer.
Elsinga, M., & Hoekstra, J. (2005). Homeownership
Other environmental factors may be also and housing satisfaction. Journal of Housing and the
differentially important for residential satisfac- Built Environment, 20, 401424.
tion of the elderly. For example, elderly apart- Frey, B. S., & Stutzer, A. (2000). Happiness prospers in
ment residents were significantly less likely to democracy. Journal of Happiness Studies, 1(1), 79102.
Furnham, A., & Greaves, N. (1994). Gender and locus of
complain of hearing noise from neighboring control correlates of body image dissatisfaction.
apartments than were non-elderly apartment res- European Journal of Personality, 8(3), 183200.
idents. This may be driven in part by reduced Holmen, K., & Furukawa, H. (2002). Loneliness, health
noise problems in age-restricted apartment com- and social network among elderly people - a follow-up
study. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics,
munities and perhaps by age-related reduction in 35, 261274.
hearing abilities. However, aside from the differ- Iwarsson, S., & Stahl, A. (2003). Accessibility, usability
ential importance of neighborhood quality and and universal design-positioning and definition of
maintenance quality discussed previously, concepts describing person-environment relationships.
Disability and Rehabilitation, 25(3), 5766.
a variety of other factors influencing residential James, R. N., III. (2008). Residential satisfaction of
satisfaction (such as building age, size, number of elderly tenants in apartment housing. Social Indicators
rooms, rent, subsidization, and the presence of Research, 89, 421437.
a building or community entry system, central Lawton, M. P. (1996). Quality-of-life and affect in later
life. In C. Magai & S. McFadden (Eds.), Handbook of
air conditioning, dishwasher, disposal, garage, emotion, adult development and aging (pp. 327348).
and fireplace) were not significantly different for San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
elderly tenants than for younger tenants (James, Lawton, M. P., & Nahemow, L. (1973). Ecology and the
2008). Thus, while many factors contributing to aging process. In C. Eisdorfere & M. P. Lawton (Eds.),
The psychology of adult development and aging
residential satisfaction are important to both (pp. 619674). Washington, DC: American
young and old alike, the few points of distinction Psychological Association.
are critical to understanding the determinants of McAndrew, F. T. (1993). Environmental psychology.
residential satisfaction among the elderly. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Morris, E. W., & Winter, M. (1978). Housing, family, and
society. New York: Wiley.
Rohe, W. M., & Stegman, M. A. (1994). The effects of
Cross-References homeownership on the self-esteem, perceived control
and life satisfaction of low-income people. Journal of
the American Planning Association, 60(2), 173184.
Body Image Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for
Good Neighborhood Index internal versus external control of reinforcement.
Job Satisfaction Psychological Monographs, 80(1), 128.
E 1866 Elderly Workers QoL

Smith, R. G. (1999). Fraud and financial abuse of older gets most votes. But if there are more than two
persons, trends and issues in crime and criminal candidates, it is quite possible that the wrong
justice, no. 132. Canberra, Australia: Australian
Institute of Criminology. candidate gets elected (i.e., he/she is not the most
Spector, P. E. (1986). Perceived control by employees: popular or considered best for the role). Consider
A meta-analysis of studies concerning autonomy the situation where three candidates A, B, and
and participation at work. Human Relations, C stand for election, and there are nine voters. If
39(11), 10051016.
each just indicates her/his preferred candidate,
the outcome may be:

Elderly Workers QoL ABDFI BEGHJ CDEFG ADEHI BCEHI


45.4 48.4 46.4 46.8 47.0
Aging Workers and the Quality of Life
in which case A would be declared the winner,
although getting only a minority of all the votes
cast. What, however, if the voters had been asked
Elections to rank order all of the candidates? The rankings
might have been:
Ron Johnston A, B, C 3 voters
School of Geographical Sciences, University of A, C, B 1 voter
Bristol, Bristol, UK B, C, A 3 voters
C, B, A 2 voters
Here it is clear that all of those who placed
Description either B or C first placed A last; five voters would
have preferred either B or C to A. Since B got
Democracy, in Abraham Lincolns famous more first preferences than C, then perhaps B
phrase, involves government of the people, by should be elected as the most popular
the people, for the people. Whereas in institu- candidate? A has most first preferences, but
tions where the number of people involved is cannot win overall, it seems (she is either the
small a sport club, for example all of the most or the least popular of the three for each of
members can be involved in the decision-making, the electors).
in most, including nation-states and their This situation could be resolved in the
subsidiary institutions, this is not feasible. Thus, following way. In the first round of voting, A and
decisions have to be made by a body representing B get more votes than C, so for the next round C is
and acting on behalf of the larger population. eliminated: B would presumably then get 5 votes
Although one way of ensuring that the (i.e., C0 s two supporters would switch their
decision-making body acted on behalf of the votes to B) and A 4 with B declared the winner.
larger population would be to choose its members (This two-round system is what is done in the
by random lots, and change the membership election of French Presidents and Parliaments).
regularly, this rarely if ever happens. Instead, If a second round of voting is not undertaken,
elections are used; candidates indicate their then the preferences could be expressed and
willingness to act on behalf of those to be analyzed to find a winner in a variety of ways.
represented (e.g., as members of a legislative One is to identify what is generally known as the
body) and the electorate (the people) select Condorcet winner, by restructuring the election
from among them those that they consider as a series of two-way contests. Thus, in the
best suited for the position. above example, A is preferred to B by four voters,
If there are only two candidates for a position, and B is preferred to A by five so B wins the
the selection of the person considered best is contests between A and B. In the contest between
straightforward it is the one of the pair who A and C, again A has four preferences and C five,
Electric Folk Music 1867 E
so C is the winner. Finally, in the contest between to A by three, for example). Such an outcome is
B and C, B is preferred to C by six voters, unlikely in elections with large electorates, but
with just three preferring C to B, so B is the could be the case in a small one; it is however
winner. B thus wins two of the sets of widely cited as indicating the impossibility of
three two-way contests, C one and A none, so B devising a system that will always identify
is the Condorcet winner. a clear winner.
An alternative procedure is to apply what is This situation known as Arrows paradox
known as the Alternative Vote (AV) used in means that there is no perfect voting system,
elections to the Federal House of Representatives no way of ensuring that the most preferred
in Australia, for example, and rejected in candidate is identified and elected in every
E
a referendum in 2011 for elections to the UK circumstance. As a consequence, all electoral
House of Commons. When the first preference systems are compromises although the nature
votes are counted and no candidate has of those compromises may not be always
a majority as in our example the candidate apparent and people continue to design new
with fewest first preferences is eliminated systems to produce the best (most acceptable)
as the least popular candidate and her second outcome. (The history of those attempts
preferences distributed among the remaining is described in Poundstone (2009), and
two. In this case, C is eliminated, both of her Szpiro (2010); for a more recent analysis, see
second preferences go to B, and B is elected. Balinski & Laraki, 2010).
Alternatively in what is known as the Coombs
variation A could be eliminated as being the
most unpopular candidate by getting most third References
places (so not the same as the least popular), and
Balinski, M., & Laraki, R. (2010). Majority judgment:
his second preferences allocated; three go to B Measuring, ranking and electing. Cambridge, MA:
and 1 to C, so B is again declared the winner. The MIT Press.
Although the AV system is widely used for Poundstone, W. (2009). Gaming the vote: Why elections
arent fair (and what we can do about it). New York:
elections in a range of organizations, it has not
Hill and Wang.
been widely adopted for Parliamentary contests; Szpiro, G. (2010). Numbers rule: The vexing mathematics
objections include the equal weighting given to of democracy from Plato to the present. Princeton:
first and lower preferences (third, fourth, and Princeton University Press.
even lower preferences may be used when there
are more than a few candidates) and against
a compromise candidate (one with many second
Electoral Democracy
but few first preferences) winning. An even more
fundamental objection, however, is that in some
Conceptualizing Democracy and
situations there may be no winner whether Nondemocracy
Condorcet, alternative vote, or . . .. Take the
situation where the votes for three candidates in
ranked order are:
A, B, C 3
Electorate
B, C, A 3
C, A, B 3 Voting Behavior
In this case, if the alternative vote procedure
were being used, there is no candidate to exclude
because all have three first preference votes (nor
can the Coombs variation be used). And using the Electric Folk Music
Condorcet procedure, all of the two-way contests
are tied (A is preferred to C by three voters and C Folk Music
E 1868 Electric Light

this he intended to convey that our bodies are not


Electric Light a constant presence; they change over time, as we
age, suffer injury, and so on. Thus, for Descartes,
Light and Quality of Life who we are as a person is essentially separate
from our body. In what became known as Carte-
sian mind-body dualism, the mind was elevated
and the body relegated to the status of mere
Emancipatory Research matter.
In The Phenomenology of Perception, philos-
Community-Based Participatory Research opher Merleau-Ponty (1962, p. 145) emphasized
the irreducible fusion of mind and body. He
depicted the body as a mediator of the world
that shapes a persons perception and conscious-
Embodied Subjectivity ness, or to use his term, their way of being-in-
the-world (p. 78). He argued that the body is not
Oliver S. Williams1 and Ellen Annandale2 simply a vessel controlled by the mind but that
1
Department of Sociology, University of the mind realizes itself through the body. There-
Leicester, Leicester, UK fore, the body actually shapes our perceptions of,
2
Department of Sociology, University of York, or our way of being in, the world. This is known
York, UK as embodiment (Csordas, 2003; Leder, 1990).
The concept of embodiment therefore goes
beyond the Cartesian mind-body binary. It
Synonyms depicts the fusion of the mind and body in
a process whereby the society and culture within
Subjective embodiment which we live are experienced in bodily terms
and internalized by us: they are embodied.
Our experience of the body is at one and the
Definition same time both objective and subjective.
Crossley (2006) uses the term reflexive
Subjective embodiment denotes the fusion of embodiment to capture this interdependent
mind and body. We experience our bodies both state: we are our bodies but also sometimes
subjectively and objectively in a reflexive process perceive our bodies as objects that we possess.
informed by sociocultural norms. Bodily norms, When the body is experienced as an object, it can
both medically and culturally defined, influence be understood as something that has failed us
a persons experience of their body and inform or let us down by becoming ill or by doing
their sense of well-being and perceived quality of something beyond our control that causes us to
life. As such, self-perceived quality of life and feel embarrassed in the company of others, e.g.,
a personal sense of well-being are socially having a nosebleed at a social occasion. Our
formed and subjectively embodied. body as an object can also be perceived as
a project to be controlled, acted upon, and
improved. Examples of this include dieting or
Description exercising to lose or to gain weight and under-
going cosmetic surgery. As the notion of reflex-
Seventeenth-century philosopher Rene Descartes ivity implies, these objective experiences of our
maintained that my mind, by which I am what bodies are informed by, but also inform, our
I am, is entirely and truly distinct from my body, subjective bodily experience.
and may exist without it; ergo, I think, there- This process of reflexive embodiment is
fore I am (Descartes, 1637/2008, p. 115). With informed by the norms and values of the societies
Embodied Subjectivity 1869 E
and communities we live in. It is through this activities that others take for granted due to
process that mind-body-society are connected. feelings of unattractiveness. Alternatively, if an
All societies and cultures have established individual is considered healthy and attractive,
norms and expectations which inform our under- they may feel liberated and fulfilled. This is how
standing of our bodies, our state of personal well- sociocultural and medical norms and expecta-
being, and our quality of life. These norms derive tions which are external to the individual
from medical systems and from wider society. become subjectively embodied and affect qual-
Health and quality of life are neither objective ity of life.
nor fixed states; rather we calibrate our assess- The established theories of George Herbert
ments relative to others. For example, although Mead (1934) and Cooley (1902) contribute to
E
we might expect persons suffering from chronic our understanding of why and how people are
illnesses to report poor health and low quality of affected by norms. By taking the attitude of the
life, they often adapt to their circumstances and other in social interaction, we are able cogni-
report better than expected health and well-being. tively to step outside of ourselves and to see
While persons in lower socioeconomic groups ourselves as others see us through what Cooley
usually are found to be in poorer health than (1902) called the reflected or looking-glass
those in higher socioeconomic groups by objec- self. In so doing we engage in a kind of inner
tive measures, lower expectations of health can conversation assuming the attitudes of others
prompt more positive self-assessments (Beam and acquiring the ability to see our world
Dowd, 2012). from their perspectives. In its most developed
Obesity is a useful example to illustrate the form, this involves absorbing attitudes which
subjective embodiment of social norms. Some- belong to the generalized other, or the wider
one will be medically labeled as obese, and moral order, such as adopting the social and
therefore considered to be at an increased risk of moral connotations of obesity, e.g., gluttony
illness and disease, if they score 30 or above on and sloth, and of slenderness, e.g., restraint and
the body mass index (BMI). A person with vigor. Feelings of pride or shame are brought
a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 is considered to about because of the imagined judgment and
have a reduced risk of developing illness and reaction of others. In this sense, we subjectively
disease and therefore to be a healthy weight. embody the imagined/perceived judgments of
Awareness of these medical norms and where others.
someone lies in relation to them is likely to Thus, subjective embodiment, the reflexive
contribute to a persons understanding of their process of both being a body and having a body,
body and influence their sense of well-being and has a great effect on how people understand,
quality of life regardless of whether a state of ill assess, and feel about themselves and hence on
health is actually experienced. Being labeled quality of life. This can be further illustrated in
obese is likely to negatively affect a persons current approaches to health promotion which
sense of well-being. Conversely, having/being stress healthy lifestyles (Petersen & Lupton,
a BMI score that is considered healthy is likely 1996). In western societies in particular, good
to positively affect someones sense of well- health increasingly is understood as a state
being. This will also be informed by the wider achieved through the prudence and individual
sociocultural norms that ascribe aesthetic appeal efforts of conscious and responsible citizens
to slimness and stigmatize fat (Bordo, 1993; (Howell & Ingham, 2001; Lupton, 1995). Behav-
Lewis et al., 2011; Orbach, 1978). Together ior and appearances that contradict what is under-
these factors are likely to influence self- stood as being healthy can therefore be
perceived quality of life. Social stigma may understood as lazy, irresponsible, and immoral
lead to feelings of personal irresponsibility for (Cheek, 2008; Crawford, 1980). This creates
putting ones body at risk. Additionally, people a situation whereby good health is visualized
may also feel unable to engage in social in peoples physical form and behavior, e.g., what
E 1870 Embodied Subjectivity

they choose to eat, how often they exercise, and the personal interact in such a way as to shape
whether they smoke tobacco. a persons sense of well-being and perceived
To return to the example of body weight, quality of life.
the widely accepted notion that much of the
developed world is currently experiencing an
References
obesity epidemic frames big(ger) bodies as
risky and/or unhealthy. Obesity is one of the Beam Dowd, A. (2012). Whiners, deniers, and self-rated
more obvious examples of how within popular, health: what are the implications for measuring health
contemporary conceptions of health death is inequalities? A commentary on Layes et al. Social
Science & Medicine, 75(1), 1013.
written on the body (Prior, 2000, p. 195). As
Bordo, S. (1993). Unbearable weight: Feminism, western
such, being a big(ger) body in a society per- culture, and the body. London: University of Califor-
ceived to be in the grips of an obesity epidemic nia Press.
is likely to negatively affect someones sense Cheek, J. (2008). Healthism: A new conservatism. Qual-
itative Health Research, 18, 974982.
of well-being and perceived quality of life.
Cooley, C. H. (1902 [1983]). Human nature and the social
Equally, being a body and acting in a way that order. London: Transaction Publishers.
is considered healthy is likely to do the Crawford, R. (1980). Healthism and the medicalization of
opposite (Zanker & Gard, 2008). For instance, everyday life. International Journal of Health
Services, 10, 365388.
a sense of well-being may be experienced by
Crossley, N. (2006). Reflexive embodiment in contempo-
individuals if they exercise regularly because rary society. Berkshire, UK: Open University Press.
of the positive health effects that are associated Csordas, T. (2003). Embodiment and experience. Cam-
with physical activity. This exemplifies how, bridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Descartes, R. (2008). A discourse on method (J. Veitch,
through particular definitions of health, the
Trans.). New York: Cosimo Inc. (Original work
body is centrally positioned in a process which published 1637)
positively influences some peoples sense of Howell, J., & Ingham, A. (2001). From social problem to
well-being and perceived quality of life while personal issue: The language of lifestyle. Cultural
Studies, 15, 326351.
negatively influencing others.
Leder, D. (1990). The absent body. London: University of
Chicago Press.
Conclusion Lewis, S., Thomas, S. L., Blood, R. W., Castle, D. J.,
Subjective embodiment helps us to understand Hyde, J., & Komesaroff, P. A. (2011). How do obese
individuals perceive and respond to the different types
how the body and peoples perception of the body
of obesity stigma that they encounter in their daily
are intimately tied to a sense of well-being and lives? A qualitative study. Social Science & Medicine,
perceived quality of life. It is a concept which 73, 13491356.
avoids Cartesian mind-body dualism by Lupton, D. (1995). The imperative of health. London:
Sage.
acknowledging that bodies are experienced
Mead, M. (1934). Mind, self and society: From the stand-
objectively and subjectively in a reflexive pro- point of a social behaviourist. London: University of
cess. This reflexive process means that bodies are Chicago Press.
both our possession and project as well as who we Merleau-Ponty, M. (1962). The phenomenology of percep-
tion (C. Smith, Trans.). London: Routledge & Kegan
are. Our understanding of our bodies as objects
Paul.
and as who we are is contingent on the social Orbach, S. (1978). Fat is a feminist issue: How to lose
conditions that we find ourselves in and are part weight permanently without dieting. London: Pad-
of creating. These conditions envisage different dington Press.
Petersen, A., & Lupton, D. (1996). The new public health:
bodies positively and negatively and this informs
Health and self in the age of risk. London: Sage.
our sense of self. These evaluations are therefore Prior, L. (2000). Reflections on the mortal body in late
likely to be intimately entwined with a persons modernity. In S. J. Williams, J. Gabe, & M. Calnan
perception of the quality of their life and feed into (Eds.), Health, medicine and society: Key theories,
future agendas (pp. 186202). London: Routledge.
their general sense of well-being. Subjective
Zanker, C., & Gard, M. (2008). Fatness, fitness, and the
embodiment then describes the centrality of moral universe of sport and physical activity.
the body in a process whereby the social and Sociology of Sport Journal, 25, 4865.
Emergency Workers Quality of Life 1871 E
Experience of trauma for emergency workers
Embroidery/Needlepoint comes also from helping suffering people
(Beaton et al., 1998): in this sense, a major issue
Arts in British Columbia, Canada concerns secondary exposure to extremely stress-
ful events which results in a secondary traumatic
stress or compassion fatigue (Figley, 1995).
A further issue stemming from the helping nature
Emergency Workers Quality of Life of emergency work, arising from an excessive
and prolonged job stress, is the risk of developing
Elvira Cicognani a burnout syndrome. Emergency work charac-
E
Department of Psychology, University of teristics that are consistently related to burnout
Bologna, Bologna, Italy are perceived workload and time pressure,
client-related stressors (e.g., problems in
interacting with victims, confrontation with
Synonyms death and dying), emotional demands of working
with other people in a caregiving role, and
Avoidance coping; Burnout scale; Compassion other emotion-work variables (e.g., requirement
satisfaction and fatigue subscales-revision IV; to suppress emotions on the job and/or to be
Compassion satisfaction scale; Emotion-focus emotionally empathic) (Maslach, Schaufeli, &
coping among workers; Problem-focused coping; Leiter, 2001).
Professional quality of life scale (PROQoL); More recently, it has been emphasized that
Trauma/compassion fatigue scale emergency workers quality of life should not
be reduced to the absence of negative conse-
quences but also on the positive effects
Definition of a helping profession. For example,
research findings evidenced that emergency
The phrase refers to quality of life (QoL) of ambulance personnel reported positive
individuals engaged in emergency work, either pro- post-trauma changes (post-traumatic growth) as
fessionally (e.g., health-care workers, fire fighters) the result of the experience of occupational
or as volunteers. Dimensions of QoL that have been trauma (Shakespeare-Finch, 2003). Stamm
proposed in the literature include PSTD, compas- (2002) introduced the concept of compassion
sion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfac- satisfaction, defined as the benefits that
tion. Recent perspectives advocate the adoption individuals derive from working with
of a multidimensional approach including both traumatized or suffering persons. These benefits
negative and positive outcomes (Stamm, 2005). include positive feelings about helping others,
contributing to the work setting and even to
the greater good of society, and the overall
Description pleasure derived from being able to do ones
work well.
The scientific literature on emergency work has A multidimensional instrument introduced
put an increasing focus on psychological dis- to measure professional quality of life of emer-
tress resulting from repeated exposure to critical gency workers is the PROQoL (Professional
incidents and traumatic events experienced as Quality of Life Scale. Compassion Satisfaction
part of a persons everyday professional activity. and Fatigue Subscales-Revision IV) (Stamm,
A critical incident may be any event that has 2005), including 30 items corresponding to
a stressful impact sufficient enough to overwhelm three scales: Compassion Satisfaction Scale,
an individuals sense of control, connection, and Burnout Scale, and Trauma/Compassion Fatigue
meaning in his/her life. Scale (Stamm, 2005).
E 1872 Emergency Workers Quality of Life

Research on quality of life among emergency maladaptive coping strategies, but no studies
workers has focused increasing attention on cor- have been able to identify any adaptive coping
relates, mediators, and moderators of reactions strategies. However, there is currently sufficient
to critical incidents (Marmar et al., 1999; Regehr, literature supporting the independence of positive
Hill, & Glancy, 2000; Weiss, Marmar, Metzler, & and negative outcomes (Shakespeare-Finch,
Ronfeldt, 1995), particularly among professional 2003) and the use of differential coping strategies
rescue workers (e.g., fire fighters, health in emergency service workers as an initial
personnel). protective mechanism (McCammon, Durham,
Among correlates of QoL, the role of coping Jackson Allison, & Williamson, 1988).
strategies has been extensively investigated, as The literature has initially focused on post-
the way emergency workers cope with the expo- traumatic psychological difficulties, such as
sure to critical incidents plays a crucial role in the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as the
development of the different QoL outcomes. main effect of exposure to critical incidents. Find-
Emergency workers can be considered a self- ings range from the prevalence of PTSD diagno-
selected occupational group which faces unusual ses (e.g., Wagner, Heinrichs, & Eklert, 1998) to
demands and may not be compared with the gen- the longitudinal presence of post-traumatic symp-
eral population in terms of coping strategies use tomatology (e.g., Marmar et al., 1999; Ursano,
and effectiveness (Beaton, Murphy, Johnson, Fullerton, Tzu-Cheg, & Bhartiya, 1995).
Pike, & Cornell, 1999).
Results concerning the relationship between
coping strategies and mental health in rescue
References
personnel are contradictory (except for avoidance
coping). There is evidence that the use of cogni- Beaton, R., Murphy, S., Johnson, C., Pike, K., & Cornell,
tive and behavioral avoidance, commonly W. (1999). Coping responses and posttraumatic stress
observed after a trauma, predicts greater psycho- symptomatology in urban fire service personnel. Jour-
nal of Traumatic Stress, 2, 293308.
logical distress among professional fire fighters
Brown, J., Mulhern, G., & Joseph, S. (2002). Incident-
and ambulance personnel (Brown, Mulhern, & related stressors, locus of control, coping, and psycho-
Joseph, 2002; Chang et al., 2003; Cicognani, logical distress among firefighters in Northern Ireland.
Pietrantoni, Palestini, & Prati, 2008; Prati, Journal of Traumatic Stress, 15, 161168.
Chang, C. M., Lee, L. C., Connor, K. M., Davidson, J. R.,
Pietrantoni, & Cicognani, 2010), but denial and
Jeffries, K., & Lai, T. J. (2003). Posttraumatic distress
behavioral distraction coping have not been and coping strategies among rescue workers after an
related to mental health (Beaton et al., 1999; earthquake. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Dis-
Clohessy & Ehlers, 1999). Problem-focused cop- ease, 191, 391398.
Cherniss, C. (1980). Staff burnout job stress in the human
ing has been found associated both to high
services. New York: Praeger.
(Marmar et al. 1996) and low levels of distress Cicognani, E., Pietrantoni, L., Palestini, L., & Prati, G.
(Brown et al.) among fire fighters. The use of (2008). Emergency workers quality of life: The pro-
emotion-focused coping has been associated to tective role of sense of community, efficacy beliefs and
coping strategies. Social Indicators Research, 94(3),
lower psychological distress (Brown et al.), but
449463.
seeking social support for emotional reasons and Clohessy, S., & Ehlers, A. (1999). PTSD symptoms,
venting of emotions are not (Clohessy & Ehlers, response to intrusive memories and coping in ambu-
1999). Finally, fostering positive attitudes does lance service workers. The British Journal of Clinical
Psychology, 38, 251265.
not predict future changes in self-reports of post- Figley, C. R. (1995). Compassion fatigue as secondary
traumatic stress (Clohessy & Ehlers, 1999) while traumatic stress disorder. An overview. In C. R. Figley
positive reappraisal has been found to predict (Ed.), Compassion fatigue (pp. 120). New York:
a post-traumatic symptomatology (Chang et al., Brunner Mazel.
Marmar, C. R., Weiss, D. S., Metzler, T. J., Delucchi,
2003). In their review focused on negative mental
K. L., Best, S. R., & Wentworth, K. A. (1999). Longi-
health outcomes, Sterud, Ekeberg and Hem tudinal course and predictors of continuing distress
(2006) concluded that some studies identified following critical incident exposure in emergency
Emotional Bond 1873 E
services personnel. The Journal of Nervous and Men-
tal Disease, 187, 1522. Emigration
Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B., & Leiter, M. P. (2001). Job
burnout. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 397422.
McCammon, S., Durham, T., Jackson Allison, E., & Migration, an Overview
Williamson, J. (1988). Emergency workers cognitive
appraisal and coping with traumatic events. Journal of
Traumatic Stress, 1(3), 353372.
Prati, G., Pietrantoni, L., & Cicognani, E. (2010). Self-
efficacy moderates the relationship between stress Emigres
appraisal and quality of life among rescue workers.
Anxiety, Stress and Coping, 23(4), 463470. Refugees, Quality of Life
Regehr, C., Hill, J., & Glancy, G. D. (2000). Individual E
predictors of traumatic reactions in firefighters. The
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333339.
Shakespeare-Finch, J. (2003). The prevalence of post- Emotion Rules
traumatic growth in emergency ambulance personnel.
Traumatology, 9(1), 5871.
Stamm, B. H. (2002). Measuring compassion satisfaction Emotions, Sociology of
as well as fatigue: Developmental history of the com-
passion fatigue and satisfaction test. In C. R. Figley
(Ed.), Treating compassion fatigue (pp. 107119).
New York: Brunner-Routledge.
Stamm, B. H. (2005). The professional quality of life Emotional Abuse
scale: Compassion satisfaction, burnout, and compas-
sion fatigue/secondary trauma scales. Latherville, Child Maltreatment: Psychological
MD: Sidran Press.
Sterud, T., Ekeberg, ., & Hem, E. (2006). Health status in Maltreatment
the ambulance services: A systematic review. BMC
Health Services Research, 6, 82.
Ursano, R. J., Fullerton, C. S., Tzu-Cheg, K., & Bhartiya,
V. R. (1995). Longitudinal assessment of
posttraumatic stress disorder and depression after Emotional Abuse and Neglect
exposure to traumatic death. The Journal of Nervous
and Mental Disease, 183, 3642. Child Maltreatment: Psychological
Wagner, D., Heinrichs, M., & Eklert, U. (1998). Preva- Maltreatment
lence of symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder in
German professional firefighters. The American Jour-
nal of Psychiatry, 155, 17271732.
Weiss, D. S., Marmar, C. R., Metzler, T. J., & Ronfeldt,
H. M. (1995). Predicting symptomatic distress in Emotional Affinity Toward Nature
emergency services personnel. Journal of Consulting
and Clinical Psychology, 63, 361368.
Affective Connection to Nature

Emerging and Developing


Economies Emotional Affliction

Developing Countries Poverty and Psychological Distress

Emerging Territories Emotional Bond

Sharing Space in the Contemporary City Attachment


E 1874 Emotional Commitment to Nature

Emotional Commitment to Nature Emotional Security

Affective Connection to Nature Attachment

Emotional Concordance
Emotional Suffering and Poverty
Affective Contagion
Poverty and Psychological Distress

Emotional Contagion

Affective Contagion Emotional Support and Self-Worth

Social Support and Self-Worth Among


Emotional Disorder African-American Youth

Mental Illness

Emotional Well-Being
Emotional Expression Recognition
Eva Langeland
Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Bergen
Face Perception
University College, Bergen, Norway

Emotional Instability Synonyms

EPI Neuroticism Scale Well-being, subjective

Definition
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional well-being (EWB) includes a positive
Measuring Emotion Recognition Ability balance of pleasant to unpleasant affect and
a cognitive appraisal of satisfaction with life in
general (Keyes, 2003).
Emotional Intimacy over 25 Years

Marital Adjustment over 25 Years Description

Well-being and mental health are issues of


everyday life. Emotional well-being may be
Emotional Maltreatment seen as a component of positive mental health.
A tripartite positive mental health concept
Child Maltreatment: Psychological including emotional well-being (EWB),
Maltreatment psychological well-being (PWB), and social
Emotional Well-Being 1875 E
well-being (SWB) is suggested (Keyes, 2002, sense of contentment, or satisfaction with past or
2010). The presence of mental health may be present life overall or in life domains. Examples
defined as flourishing, a condition character- of life domains are employment, marriage, and
ized by the presence of high levels of EWB and neighborhood (Keyes, 2003). One definition of
positive functioning. This is consistent with the overall life satisfaction is given by Revicki et al.
following definition by WHO of mental health: (2000, p. 888): a broad range of human
a state of well-being in which the individual experiences related to ones overall subjective
realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with well-being. It implies value based on subjective
the normal stresses of life, can work produc- functioning in comparison with personal expec-
tively and fruitfully, and is able to make tations and is defined by subjective experiences,
E
a contribution to his or her community states and perceptions. Quality of life is
(World Health Organization [WHO], 2005, inherently idiosyncratic to the individual but
p.2). The absence of mental health may be intuitively meaningful and understandable to
called languishing, a condition characterized most people.
by low levels of EWB and low levels of positive Positive emotions are one of the pillars in
functioning (Keyes, 2002). Positive Psychology. Having a positive sense of
According to the hedonic tradition, well-being emotional well-being can be looked at as both the
comprises happiness and the experience of pleas- experience of emotions and as the regulations of
ant emotions. Research on emotional well-being emotions. Emotional well-being includes posi-
reflects this affective aspect of the hedonic tradi- tive subjective experience of the past, present,
tion. In addition, emotional well-being also and future. Emotional well-being related to the
includes a cognitive appraisal of satisfaction past is contentment and satisfaction. Positive sub-
with life in general (Lamers, Westerhof, jective experience about the present is happiness,
Bohlmeijer, ten Klooster, & Keyes, 2011). flow, ecstasy, and the sensual pleasures. EWB
Accordingly, EWB focuses on subjective well- related to the future is optimism and hope.
being in terms of overall life satisfaction and Positive emotions trigger upward spirals toward
happiness. This is different from PWB that emotional well-being (Fredrickson & Joiner,
mainly draws on formulations from human devel- 2002). This prediction stems from the broaden-
opment and existential challenges of life such as and-build theory of positive emotions
self-acceptance, personal growth, purpose in life, (Fredrickson, 2004). This theory, together with
positive relations with others, autonomy (Ryff, research review (Fredrickson, 2004), suggests
1989), and environmental mastery and from that positive emotions broaden peoples attention
SWB that consists of dimensions describing and thinking and thought-action repertoires, undo
functioning optimally in life such as social inte- lingering negative emotional arousal and fuel
gration, social contribution, social coherence, psychological resilience, build consequential per-
social actualization, and social acceptance sonal resources, and fuel psychological and phys-
(Keyes, 1998, 2002). Accordingly, while EWB ical well-being. These factors will again trigger
belongs to the hedonic tradition, PWB and SWB upward spirals toward emotional well-being and
belong to the eudaemonic tradition. thus seed human flourishing. The broaden-and-
EWB is a cluster of signs reflecting the pres- build theory thus conveys how positive emotions
ence and absence of positive feelings about life. move people forward and lift them to higher
The positive feelings may be operationalized as ground of optimal emotional well-being and
positive affect, happiness, and life satisfaction. healthy longevity.
Positive affect may be such as regularly cheer- Positive institutions such as democracy, strong
ful, in good spirits, happy, calm, peaceful, satis- families that support the virtues, will in turn sup-
fied, and full of life. Happiness may be to feel port the positive emotions and emotional well-
happiness toward past or about present life over- being. The strengths and virtues of emotional
all or in domains of life. Life satisfaction may be well-being function as a buffer against misfortune
E 1876 Emotional Work

and mental health problems and they may be the WHO. (2005). Promoting Mental Health: Concepts,
key to building resilience (Seligman, 2003). emerging evidence, practice: A report of the World
Health Organization, Department of Mental Health
A questionnaire measuring EWB is the Mental and Substance Abuse in collaboration with the Victo-
Health Continuum Long Form (MHC-LF) where rian Health Promotion Foundation and The University
EWB is included as one dimension measuring of Melbourne. Geneva: Author.
how much of the time during the past 30 days
you felt cheerful, in good spirits, extremely
happy, calm and peaceful, satisfied, and full of
life. There is also a short form the Mental Health Emotional Work
Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF) where EWB
is included as one dimension measuring happy Emotions, Sociology of
with life, interest in life, and satisfaction with life
(Keyes, 2002).
Emotion-Focus Coping Among
Workers
References
Emergency Workers Quality of Life
Fredrickson, B. L. (2004). The broaden-and-build theory
of positive emotions. Philosophical Transactions of
the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological
Science, 359(1449), 13671378. Emotions, Sociology of
Fredrickson, B. L., & Joiner, T. (2002). Positive emotions
trigger upward spirals toward emotional well-being.
Psychological Science, 13(2), 172175.
Scott Grills
Keyes, C. L. M. (1998). Social well-being. Social Psy- Department of Sociology, Brandon University,
chology Quarterly, 61(2), 121140. Brandon, MB, Canada
Keyes, C. L. M. (2002). The mental health continuum:
From languishing to flourishing in life. Journal of
Health and Social Behavior, 43(2), 207222.
Keyes, C. L. M. (2003). Complete mental health: An Synonyms
agenda for the 21th century. In C. L. M. Keyes & J.
Haidt (Eds.), Flourishing: Positive psychology and the
Affective states; Cultural bases of emotion; Emo-
life well-lived (pp. 293312). Washington, DC: Amer-
ican Psychological Association. tion rules; Emotional work; Feelings; Gender and
Keyes, C. L. M. (2010). The next steps in the promotion emotions; Sentiments; Social rules for emotion
and the protection of positive mental health. Canadian
Journal of Nursing Research, 42(3), 1728.
Lamers, S. M. A., Westerhof, G. J., Bohlmeijer, E. T., ten
Klooster, P. M., & Keyes, C. L. M. (2011). Evaluating Definition
the psychometric properties of the mental health con-
tinuum-short form (MHC-SF). Journal of Clinical The sociological study of emotions examines
Psychology, 67(1), 99110.
the expression and experience of emotions in
Revicki, D. A., Osoba, D., Fairclough, D., Barovsky, I.,
Berzon, R., Leidy, N. K., et al. (2000). Recommenda- everyday life. Areas of study include, in part,
tions on health-related quality of life research to sup- social interaction and emotions, identity and
port labeling and promotional claims in the United emotions, the cross-cultural study of emotions,
States. Quality of Life Research, 9, 887900.
Ryff, C. D. (1989). Happiness is everything, or is it?
and emotions and deviance.
Explorations on the meaning of psychological
wellbeing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychol-
ogy, 57(6), 10691081. Description
Seligman, M. (2003). Foreword. In C. L. M. Keyes & J.
Haidt (Eds.), Flourishing: Positive psychology and the
life well-lived (pp. xixx). Washington, DC: American A sociological interest in the study of human
Psychological Association. emotions draws attention to the cultural and
Emotions, Sociology of 1877 E
interactional basis of emotion. Emotions and when expected natural or normal emotive
emotion sets are framed in the context within experiences were not enacted by the individual.
which they are learned and enacted (Turner & The problem with all of this is that there is no
Stets, 2005). Drawing on Cooleys notion of the universal human response to death. Grief, deep
looking-glass self, Scheff (2000) suggests that and profound, tied to a sense of crushing personal
human actors operate within the context of loss is one response. However, so too is joy, the
a constant state of self-feeling. As social actors joy that comes with an assurance of the elevation
participate in face-to-face interactions, they are of the person to another form of existence. The
capable of engaging in taking the role of the other worlds cultures offer many versions of next-life
and attempting to view themselves as others see narratives, many of which allow for a non-grief-
E
them. Emotions such as pride and shame, there- based response to death. There can be pride in
fore, are directly tied to the social self the inflicting death on others in a time of war or as an
attempt to see ourselves as others see us and to act of revenge or the shame of believing that one
attribute affective qualities to how we see our- is somehow responsible for the death by suicide
selves and how we think others see us. As Shields of a loved one. The Kwaio of the Solomon Islands
(2002) has suggested, the emotive experience of may come to see death as an act inflicted by the
everyday life involves the very real experience of hands of deceased ancestors and indicative of
taking things personally of caring, hurting, taboo practices on the part of the group and there-
lamenting, and rejoicing. All require the person fore associated with the emotion of guilt.
to reflectively make an affective turn toward the (Keesing, 1982) Rosaldo (1989) writes elo-
self and assign personal meaning toward an inter- quently about the unique emotive sets of the
action sequence or outcome. An appreciation of Ilongot, a headhunting culture of the Philippines.
the sociology of emotion encourages actors to When experiencing the death of his wife in the
more fully attend to the extent to which the emo- field, Rosaldo writes, of sharing with the Ilongot,
tional life of the person is created and sustained in an emotive experience for which there is no word
a relational context. in English. This unique culturally located experi-
ence is best captured as a combination of grief
Cultural Basis of Emotion and rage an emotive cocktail best remedied by
In the classic article The Cultural Basis of Emo- the practice of headhunting (a solution to grief/
tion and Gesture, Lebarre (1947) argued that in rage that Rosaldo did not elect). While one could
addition to the physiological, anatomical, and go on, hopefully the point is clear. Culture, both
psychological determinants of emotions, cultural writ large and more localized, is vital for the
determinants are in play as well. Eurocentric the- understanding of human emotionality. Impor-
ories of emotions had tended to assume an ethno- tantly for quality of life studies, the cultural
centric approach to the study of emotion. By, in basis of emotion moves us away from the notion
essence, writing culture out of the study of emo- that emotive experiences are inherently appropri-
tion, theorists could and did advance the notion ate or inappropriate, natural or unnatural, and
that western idealized accounts of emotions and allows us to find our joys in multiple ways and
emotionality provided models of the preferred to marry who we love.
emotional sets for given life experiences.
Such approaches are additionally problematic Emotions, Occupations, and Involvements
(and potentially harmful to individuals) when Another important contribution to the study
associated with the notion that emotions require of emotions that has been made by the sociolog-
particular stages of experience (e.g., Kubler-Ross ical tradition is the study of emotions in occupa-
(1969) model of denial, anger, bargaining, tional settings and in various subculture
depression, and acceptance with respect to involvements (e.g., prostitution, drug dealing,
grief and death). Such models may allow strip clubs, mushroom gatherers, and extreme
for medicalized/pharmacological interventions sports enthusiasts). In order for individuals to
E 1878 Emotions, Sociology of

become involved in an activity initially and to requires the development of skills in the manage-
maintain their involvements in whatever it is they ment of performer/customer interactions. The
are undertaking, they need to learn to manage the dancers sense of self, success in the industry,
emotional aspects of the activity. Simply put, if and indeed personal safety are influenced by
the recruitment and socialization activities of developing these interactional skills. As Goffman
those who are promoting the involvements of (1959) notes, the distinction between cynical and
others into a particular activity fail to allow the sincere performances is a helpful one. Actors can
person to learn the perspectives and emotions of and do distance the self and thereby manage
the group, then their ability to maintain involve- emotions by engaging in cynical performances
ments will be compromised. performances where the actor is giving off one set
The emotions work undertaken in the sociali- of impressions, but their relationship, instrumen-
zation of participants may be marked and distinct. tal or otherwise, to the performance is different
Studies of two occupations illustrate the point: from those impressions. For lap dancers, emo-
strippers/lap dancers and high iron-steel workers. tions in the setting may be managed by a series
Hass (1977) essay Learning Real Feelings made of cynical performances intended to encourage
an important early contribution to the study of customers to purchase their services. Such per-
emotion in occupational settings. Hass detailed formances, according to Colosi (2010) may
ethnographic work with high iron-steel workers include (1) the ego boost (deceiving the client
examined the reactions of participants to the fear into believing that he is special, attractive, or
and danger that accompanied their workplace. otherwise stands out from others in the setting),
Ironworkers define much of their work situation (2) the bimbo act (self-portrayal as vulnerable,
as dangerous and experience the uncertainty of thick, and nave for the purpose of allowing the
workplace fatalities. Unlike, for example, profes- customer to believe that he is in control of the
sional firefighters whose work month may involve setting), (3) the empty promise (using verbal and
relatively few high-risk activities but when they do nonverbal cues to allow the customer to believe
occur are recognized as such, high iron-steel that the purchase of a lap dance will lead to
workers live with the ever-present risk of falling further sexual relations), and (4) the pity plea
in the hole. It is an inescapable fact of the work. In (appealing to a customer on the basis of financial
response to this uncertainty, Hass notes that high hardship). Interactional strategies of these types
iron-steel workers have developed strategies to allow those engaged in activities considered devi-
gain some interactional control in the setting. ant, demeaning, or degrading by others to manage
These processes of control include testing and the stigma of their roles and the accompanying
assessing other workers, communicating these emotional challenges by maintaining an interac-
evaluations to others, and establishing worker rep- tional and at times moral superiority over their
utations. These forms of social control allow mark or intended target. We find similar emotive
workers some emotive control of the setting. work done by card and dice hustlers (Prus &
Prus and Irini (1988) and Colosi (2010), while Sharper, 1977), muggers (Katz, 1988), and
writing a generation apart, nevertheless provide motorcycle gang members (Wolf, 1991).
a detailed portrait of the emotion work that It is rather essential for those interested
accompanies the everyday practices of strippers in quality of life issues to attend to the emotive
and lap dancers. Drawing in part on Goffmans relationship that participants have to the
(1959) dramaturgical model, both studies draw work that accompanies the accomplishment of
out the emotion work that is required of those everyday life. Unlike those who may argue
working in this side of the sex industry. Dancers that meaning is inherent in an activity, attentive-
may adopt a variety of strategies to manage inti- ness to the perspectives of subcultural members
macy, ensure that their definition of the situation allows for an examination of the emotions
prevails, and engage in emotion work with others learned within the setting and the accompanying
in the setting. Persistence in the sex industry sense of self that is developed and sustained.
Emotions, Sociology of 1879 E
Emotions, Gender, and Emotion Norms emotional palate available to women and men
Like other forms of human action, the expres- varies. Taking all of the other very important
sion of emotion is accompanied by performance experiences that influence the affective person
norms. While these expectations of behavior (sexual orientation, subcultural affiliations, gen-
vary over time and across various settings, erational affiliations, and the like), we neverthe-
the work of doing emotions is accompanied by less return again and again to the gendering of
various rules and shared understandings about emotion as a salient rule type for doing emotion
the acceptable performance of emotion. Crying work for both men and women. Any discussion of
is not only acceptable in some settings but is emotion rules and gender risks moving toward an
encouraged (Katz, 1999). Displays of anger overly simplified dichotomy, one Sydie (1994)
E
and aggression may be encouraged on the sports dissects in her appropriately titled book Natural
field but may be considerably less welcome in Women, Cultured Men. It would be misleading
the classroom. Children may be allowed access to suggest that there are womens emotions and
to emotive outbursts that, if performed by an mens emotions, but rather it is closer to the
adult, would be viewed as an indicator of a lack interactional reality that we live in to note that
of interactional competence that would require the rules in place for doing emotion are intimately
some form of account. The words we use interwoven with the rules for doing gender. When
around such behaviors point to the cultural one is doing emotion, one is doing gender at the
rules around the expression of emotion: tem- very same time. To do emotion properly is to
per tantrum, cry baby, hysterical and engage in gender appropriate behavior.
emotional wreck. The absence of the expres- Shields (2002) attends to the gendering of
sion of culturally appropriate emotion may also emotion rules by suggesting the distinction
be viewed by self and others as deviant or between two emotional styles: (1) extravagant
disreputable in various ways. As previously expressiveness and (2) manly emotion. The
noted, those who do not express appropriate distinction here is a long-standing one in the
remorse or grief over the death of a loved one western tradition; it draws us back to the classic
may experience various stigmas. A relative distinction between passion and reason. Extrava-
absence of grief performance may in fact be gant expressiveness is the emotive set most
used in courts as evidence supporting closely associated with nurturance, while manly
a homicide conviction. Those who are consid- emotion is strongly felt emotion under control
erably less emotively expressive may endure (Shields, 2002, p. 173). To the extent that
various stigmas of the person as they may be audiences attend to these general sets of emotion
labeled as shy, frigid, emotional eunuch, rules, those engaging in extravagant expressive-
or refrigerator mother. ness in non-nurturance settings may experience
The rules for the expression of emotion are a variety of deviance designations. Womens
complex, varied, and situationally specific. There abilities to hold leadership positions in organiza-
are different rules for the workplace and the home, tions may be questioned on emotive grounds,
for subordinates and superordinates, for sacred and men who seek to teach in elementary schools
spaces, and for profane ones. And as those working may have their emotive and professional suitabil-
within the tradition of ethnomethodology have ity questioned in multiple ways. In both cases,
pointed out, these rules are often so taken for the gender/affect disjunction may limit the
granted that we rarely attend to them, unless they life chances of the person. This creates what
are breached. Many candidates for head of state Shields (2002) refers to as a double bind for
have found their fitness for office judged relative to both men and women.
their ability to appropriately do emotion work. For women, doing emotion may involve
A serious misstep can undo a campaign. moving between nurturing and therefore more
But in all of this, we need to attend to the expressive roles (e.g., mother, sister, wife, lover)
gendering of emotions. The culturally available and more emotively constrained roles of the
E 1880 Emotivist Value Theories

workplace. For men the challenge is found in Keesing, R. (1982). Kwaio religion: The living and the
changing cultural expectations to be more expres- Dean in a Solomon Island Society. New York: Colum-
bia University Press.
sive, more nurturing, and more sensitive in ubler-Ross, E. (1969). On death and dying. New York:
K
essence to be more feminine, while at the same Routledge.
time, modeling inexpressiveness to be the keeper Lebarre, W. (1947). The cultural basis of emotions and
of reason and to be calm under pressure. In both gestures. Journal of Personality, 16, 4968.
Prus, R., & Irini, S. (1988). Hookers, rounders and desk
cases, but for differing reasons, women and men clerks: The social organization of the hotel community.
experience the challenge of sharing real feelings in Salem, WI: Sheffield Publishing Company.
the context of authentically expressing the self. Prus, R., & Sharper, C. R. D. (1977). Road hustler.
Toronto, ON: Gage.
Rosaldo, R. (1989). Culture and truth: The remaking of
In Sum social analysis. Boston: Beacon.
A sociological interest in emotions and emotion- Scheff, T. (2000). Shame and the social bond:
ality contributes much to our understanding of the A sociological theory. Sociological Theory, 18, 8499.
human condition and the lives we live. Impor- Shields, S. A. (2002). Speaking from the heart: Gender
and the social meaning of emotion. Cambridge Uni-
tantly, a sociological perspective resists the notion versity Press.
that emotions can be understood outside of the Sydie, R. (1994). Natural women, cultured men:
social and cultural context of the person. Notions A feminist perspective on sociological theory. Vancou-
of self that are held by the person are informed by ver, BC: UBC Press.
Turner, J. H., & Stets, J. E. (2005). The sociology of emo-
self/other identities. Therefore, self-feelings, feel- tions. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
ings that are central to quality of life issues, arise Wolf, D. R. (1991). The rebels: A brotherhood of outlaw
through interaction with others and are modified bikers. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press.
through processes of self-reflection. An attentive-
ness to the social construction of emotions in the
context of occupations and gender illustrates the
social work that goes into the practical accom- Emotivist Value Theories
plishment of emotions in everyday life.
Value Theories

Cross-References
Empathic Concern
Affective Component of Happiness
Feeling Safe Compassion, Happiness, and Self-Esteem
Feelings of Justice
Occupation influence on satisfaction/
happiness
Empedocles
References
Alex C. Michalos
Colosi, R. (2010). Dirty dancing? An ethnography of lap- University of Northern British Columbia, Prince
dancing. London: Routledge. George, BC, Canada
Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday (residence) Brandon, MB, Canada
life. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
Hass, J. (1977). Learning real feelings: A study of high
steel ironworkers reactions to fear and danger.
Work and Occupations, 4, 147170. doi:10.1177/ Birth, Education, Work History,
073088847700400202. and Main Contributions
Katz, J. (1988). Seductions to crime: Moral and sensual
attractions in doing evil. New York: Basic Books.
Katz, J. (1999). How emotions work. Chicago: University Empedocles of Acragas (c.492c.432 BCE) was
of Chicago Press. a gifted son of relatively wealthy aristocrats, who
Empedocles 1881 E
displayed enough sympathy for democracy to get Depending on individuals own behavior, their
himself exiled from his native home in Sicily. In DAIMONES might be reincarnated in greater or
McKirahans (1994, p. 290) view, lesser beings. When Empedocles wrote I have
Empedocles sparkles like a diamond among the already once become a boy and a girl and a bush
Presocratics - many-faceted and appearing differ- and a bird and a fish, he was implying that his
ent from different directions. A poet and DAIMON carried the essence of his personal
a politician, a physician and a philosopher, identity and was the ultimate unobservable recip-
a scientist and a seer, a showman and a charlatan,
he was a fallen divinity who proclaimed himself ient of any rewards and punishments due to him.
already a god, and a visionary who claimed to Such soul-like essences might be reincarnated as
control nature.
... prophets and bards and physicians and chiefs E
Broadly speaking, his poetic fragments among men on earth, and from there they arise as
gods mightiest in honors. Sharing the same hearth
described a universe whose basic material build- and table with other immortals relieved of human
ing blocks are the four everlasting elements, distress, unwearied. (McKirahan, 1994, p. 253)
earth, air, fire, and water, which are brought
The next step-up from being able to dine with
together by Love to form compounds and subse-
other immortals would bring some kind of
quently divided and subdivided by Strife to form
closure to the process of reincarnation, at which
other kinds of compounds. Love and strife
point ones individuality would be blended with
are names used to describe cosmic forces that
that of a supreme being conceived of as only
are not only physical but psychological and
mind, holy, and indescribable. Important
moral as well. Love is sometimes referred to as
features of Empedocles vision of a good life
friendship, joy, and harmony. It is love that
are clearly discernable in this sketch of his
makes the basic elements yearn for one
metaphysics, which is fully informed by his
another, and the harmony produced by loves
ethics. Love, friendship, harmony, peace,
activity is morally good. On the contrary, it is
social and self-esteem, and joy are all posi-
strife and evil quarrels that cause compounds to
tively valued, while strife, quarrels, murder,
split apart, producing war and other kinds of
war, and human distress are all negative.
wretchedness. Human bodies are animated by
Other fragments add familiar themes. Following
DAIMONES, which function like souls but
the Fall, the wretched race of mortals found
have an ontological status which is grander than
themselves quarreling in a joyless place,
souls. DAIMONES are not immortal, but they are
where Murder, Anger...and squalid Diseases
relatively long-lasting compounds subject to
and Rottings...wander in darkness. False
the forces of love and strife. Empedocles told an
oaths are condemned, along with eating meat
elaborate story of the origins of all species,
and beans (McKirahan, 1994, pp. 252254).
including such memorable fragments as the
following:
By her [Love] many neckless faces sprouted, and Cross-References
arms were wandering naked, bereft of shoulders,
and eyes were roaming alone, in need of fore-
heads... Many came into being with faces and Multiple Discrepancies Theory
chests on both sides, man-faced ox-progeny, and Quality of Life, Two-Variable Theory
some to the contrary rose up as ox-headed things Social Indicators
with the form of men.... (McKirahan, 1994, p. 246)

At some time, the DAIMONES enjoyed a state


of bliss overseen by love that was eventually References
shattered as a result of an act of murder provoked
Annas, J. (1993). The morality of happiness. Oxford:
by Strife. Human beings are the product of that
Oxford University Press.
Fall, with human bodies wrapped around Dover, K. J. (1974). Greek popular morality in the time of
DAIMONES as an alien garb of flesh. Plato and Aristotle. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing.
E 1882 Employee Engagement

Kahn, C. H. (1998). Pre-platonic ethics. In S. Everson Description


(Ed.), Companions to ancient thought: 4 ethics. Cam-
bridge: Cambridge University Press.
McKirahan, R. D. (1994). Philosophy before Socrates: An As much as job satisfaction constitutes
introduction with texts and commentary. Indianapolis, a subdomain of overall life satisfaction, subjec-
IN: Hackett Publishing. tive well-being, or happiness, it consists itself of
several subdomains (Kalleberg & Loscocco,
1983). Over the life course the importance of
subdomains of job satisfaction changes in the
Employee Engagement view of individuals. Commonly the following
domains are combined into an overall measure
Psychological Stress and Employee of job satisfaction. These are directly job-related
Engagement satisfaction levels like satisfaction with ones
salary, the type of work contract, the working
hours, and future career prospects. Additional
components of job satisfaction are satisfaction
with commuting time to work, the content of
Employee Insecurity a job, collaboration with colleagues, as well as
training opportunities. Encompassing measures
Employment Insecurity
of job satisfaction include satisfaction with the
work-life balance and with health and safety con-
ditions at the workplace into the full set of mea-
sures summarized under the overall concept of
Employee Satisfaction job satisfaction (Vandenbrande et al., 2006).
Recently explanations of country differences of
Klaus Schomann job satisfaction focus attention on single items
Jacobs Centre for Life-long Learning, Jacobs from the encompassing components of job satis-
University Bremen, Bremen, Germany faction. Research has demonstrated that different
labor market and household dynamics are driving
job satisfaction levels in subdomains of job satis-
Synonyms faction (Fasang, Geerdes, & Schomann, 2012).

Job satisfaction
Explaining Differences
Major theoretical contributions with relevance to
Definition the explanation of why job satisfaction differs
between persons and over time are reference
Job satisfaction is defined as an internal state group theory, multiple discrepancies theory, adap-
that is expressed by affectively and/or cogni- tation level theory also known as hedonic tread-
tively evaluating an experienced job with some mill model (Brickman & Campbell, 1971), and the
degree of favor or disfavor (Brief, 1998, p. 86). revision of the model (Diener, Lucas, & Scollon,
It is one dimension of overall satisfaction with 2006). Related to job satisfaction, the hedonic
life, happiness, or subjective well-being. As treadmill leads to the honeymoon-hangover
other subjective measures of quality of life, hypothesis formulated by Boswell, Boudreau, and
job satisfaction is collected in surveys through Tichy (2005) which states that job satisfaction rises
self-reports of participants. Data collection is after a voluntary job shift (honeymoon) and
made using a hierarchical scale ranging from declines as the person stays on the new job (hang-
very satisfied with your current job to not satis- over). The job reward hypothesis put forward by
fied at all. Quinn, Staines, and McCullough (1974) proposed
Employee Satisfaction 1883 E
that job satisfaction increases as persons move up effects seem to be moderated through social pol-
on the job ladder very much in line with increasing icies or specific institutional arrangements of the
age. Kalleberg and Mastekaasa (2001) contributed welfare state. More generous welfare state pro-
the values-rewards perspective, which holds that visions can lower the negativity of experienced
job satisfaction is most importantly determined by unemployment on job satisfaction in the next job.
rewards in the job like pay and content but co-
determined by a persons values or needs. Values
are seen as changing little over time, comparable to Cross-References
so-called set points; hence, changes in job satisfac-
tion will be largely determined by short-term dif- Adaptation-Level Theory
E
ferences in job rewards or through job mobility. Happiness
Hedonic Treadmill
Results Job Satisfaction
Whereas for satisfaction with life, it is generally Life Satisfaction
reported that there is an inverse U-shape relation- Meaningfulness of Work
ship with age, meaning that the younger and older Multiple Discrepancies Theory
age groups are more satisfied than the middle age Subjective Well-Being
group. For job satisfaction age is less suited as Work-Life Balance
a predictor as more direct links exist with tenure
on the job rather than age as such. For example,
empirical results show a negative effect on tenure
References
on the satisfaction with career prospects.
Boswell, W. R., Boudreau, J. W., & Tichy, J. (2005). The
However, as tenure increases persons report relationship between employee job change and job
higher satisfaction with their work-life balance satisfaction: The honeymoon-hangover effect. Journal
(Fasang et al., 2012). Whereas the effects of of Applied Psychology, 90, 882892.
Brickman, P., & Campbell, D. T. (1971). Hedonic relativ-
tenure are domain specific, the effect of previous
ism and planning the good society. In M. H. Appley
periods of unemployment has negative effects (Ed.), Adaptation level theory: A symposium
across most domains of job satisfaction. Volun- (pp. 287302). New York: Academic.
tary job mobility works as a mechanism to boost Brief, A. P. (1998). Attitudes in and around organizations.
London: Sage.
job satisfaction, whereas subdued job changes
Diener, E., Lucas, R. E., & Scollon, C. N. (2006). Beyond
seem to affect job satisfaction in a negative the hedonic treadmill. Revising the adaptation theory
way. Kalleberg and Mastekaasa (2001) coined of well-being. American Psychologist, 61, 305314.
already the statement that movers were more Fasang, A., Geerdes, S., & Schomann, K. (2012). Which
type of job mobility makes people happy?
satisfied in their new jobs but stayers were more
A comparative analysis of European welfare regimes.
committed to their current job. International Sociology, 27, 349383.
It is no surprise that promotions lead to higher Kalleberg, A. L., & Loscocco, K. A. (1983). Aging,
job satisfaction and higher commitment to the values, and rewards: Explaining age differences in
job satisfaction. American Sociological Review, 48,
job. In most cases job rewards are likely to
7890.
change in line with a promotion. Similarly, Kalleberg, A. L., & Mastekaasa, A. (2001). Satisfied
moving to a lower-status job lowers job satisfac- movers, committed stayers. Work and Occupations,
tion substantially. However, the evidence on 28, 183209.
Quinn, R. P., Staines, G. L., & McCullough, M. R. (1974).
lateral moves or horizontal career changes is Job satisfaction: Is there a trend? Washington, DC:
mixed as some of these moves compromise Department of Labor.
career prospects or salary with the aim to Vandenbrande, T., Coppin, L., Van der Hallen, P., Ester,
achieve a better work-life balance. P., Fouarge, D., Fasang, A., et al. (2006). Mobility in
Europe: Analysis of the 2005 eurobarometer survey on
Macro-level indicators like growth rates and
geographical and labour market mobility. Dublin:
unemployment levels can influence individual European Foundation for the Improvement of Living
job satisfaction levels as well, although these and Working Conditions.
E 1884 Employee Well-Being

about the latent functions of employment.


Employee Well-Being Jahoda maintains that a paid job fulfills five
psychosocial or latent functions, in addition to
Well-Being at Work the economic or the manifest function. First,
employment provides a time structure in that it
offers a time schedule that organizes daily activ-
ities. In spite of this structure being in some
sense understood as a burden, it is often trau-
Employee-Oriented Flexibility
matic for the individual when it no longer exists.
Furthermore, a paid job provides social contacts.
Work, Alternative/Flexible Arrangements
It is in the workplace that adults have most of
their daily contacts outside of the family. Third,
employment also offers participation in collec-
tive purposes, which means that a paid job offers
Employment Commitment the opportunity to work together with others
toward collective goals. According to Jahoda,
Mikael Nordenmark people also need to be engaged in a regular
Dept of Health Sciences, Mid Sweden activity, which is the fourth latent function of
University, Ostersund, Sweden employment, and finally, employment also pro-
vides status and identity in a society where
employment is seen as the norm. This means
Synonyms that a high employment commitment indicates
that employment is important because it pro-
Commitment to the labor market; Nonfinancial vides a social and meaningful activity as well
employment commitment as a status and identity.
The level of employment commitment is
mostly measured by survey questions or state-
Definition ments about the nonfinancial values of employ-
ment. One of the most commonly used
Employment commitment can be defined as the measurements is the work involvement scale
perceived values of employment other than finan- (WIS). The scale was developed by Warr, Cook
cial ones. This means that a persons level of and Wall (1979) to measure subjective work ori-
employment commitment is mainly determined entation. The WIS consists of six statements mea-
by the psychosocial value of paid work in suring in what sense paid work in general is
a general sense (Hult & Svallfors, 2002, a central part of life. Studies of relationships
Nordenmark, 1999a, Warr, 1982). between the WIS and various functions of work
show that the WIS is a valid measure of the
psychosocial meaning of paid work and not of
Description the economic meaning. There is no significant
connection between the WIS and the statement
Employment commitment does not include the the money is very important. However, people
financial value of paid work and is not a measure who emphasize the activity, the coworkers, and
of the nonfinancial value of a particular job. the status that employment provides also have
It refers mainly to the nonfinancial or high scores on the WIS. The conclusion is that
psychosocial meaning of a paid job in general. a high score on the WIS indicates that employ-
To get a more detailed picture of what employ- ment is important because it provides social con-
ment commitment includes and not includes, tacts, a meaningful activity, status, and identity.
one can use Marie Jahodas (1982) theory These are basically the same functions that
Employment Commitment 1885 E
Jahoda focuses on in her theory about the latent other hand, unemployed who have both a low
functions of employment (Nordenmark, 1999a). employment commitment and a weak economic
Research has shown the level of employment need for employment (for instance, unemployed
commitment seems to be high among people in living with a well-paid partner and strongly
general, at least in the western world (Hult & involved in activities not directly connected to
Svallfors, 2002, Nordenmark, 1999a, b, Snir & employment) feel quite well and may adapt rela-
Harpaz, 2002, Warr, 1982). Results indicate that tively well to their situation as unemployed
employment commitment is highest among peo- (Nordenmark & Strandh).
ple living in the Scandinavian countries. One
possible explanation for these results is the
E
extensive labor market policy in these countries References
which has a strong focus on paid labor for all
(Gallie & Alm, 2000, Hult & Svallfors, 2002). Creed, P. A., Lehman, K., & Hood, M. (2009). The
relationship between core self-evaluations, employ-
Most studies show that high education, high
ment commitment and well-being in the unem-
occupational position, and having a stimulating ployed. Personality and Individual Differences, 47,
job are associated with a relatively high employ- 310315.
ment commitment. Analyses of differences Gallie, D., & Alm, S. (2000). Unemployment and attitudes
to work. In D. Gallie & S. Paugam (Eds.), Welfare
between women and men, between employed
regimes and the experience of unemployment in
and non-employed, and between short-term and Europe (pp. 109133). New York: Oxford University
long-term unemployed show small differences Press.
and varying results (Gallie & Alm, 2000; Halvorsen, K. (1999). Employment commitment among
the long-term unemployed in Norway: Is a culture of
Halvorsen, 1999; Hult, 2008; Hult & Svallfors,
dependency about to develop? European Journal of
2002; Nordenmark, 1999a, b). Results from Social Work, l2, 177192.
studies of unemployed people have shown that Hult, C. (2008). Gender, culture and non-financial
the experience of the former job and to what employment commitment in Great Britain and Swe-
den. European Societies, 10, 7396.
extent the unemployed have been successful in
Hult, C., & Svallfors, S. (2002). Production regimes and
replacing employment with other activities work orientations: A comparison of six western coun-
strongly influence the commitment to employ- tries. European Sociological Review, 18, 315331.
ment. Those who have had a stimulating job and Jahoda, M. (1982). Employment and unemployment.
A social-psychological analysis. Cambridge, UK:
find it hard to replace this job with meaningful
Cambridge University Press.
activities also have a high level of employment Nordenmark, M. (1999a). Employment commitment and
commitment, compared to those who have psychological well-being among unemployed men and
a more instrumental attitude to the job and find women. Acta Sociologica, 42, 135146.
Nordenmark, M. (1999b). Non-financial employment
it more easy to adapt to the unemployment situ-
motivation and well-being in different labour market
ation (Nordenmark). situations A longitudinal study. Work Employment
The level of employment commitment has and Society, 13, 601620.
shown to be of major importance for the level Nordenmark, M., & Strand, M. (1999). Towards
a sociological understanding of mental well being
of mental well-being among unemployed
among the unemployed the role of economic and
(Creed, Lehman, & Hood, 2009, Nordenmark & psychosocial factors. Sociology, 33(3), 577597.
Strand, 1999). In the light of previous research, Snir, R., & Harpaz, I. (2002). To work or not to work:
it is possible to distinguish two main dimensions Nonfinancial employment commitment and the social
desirability bias. Journal of Social Psychology, 142,
of employment that structure the level of
635644.
mental health among the unemployed, namely, Warr, P. (1982). A national study of non-financial employ-
the psychosocial and economic dimensions. ment commitment. Journal of Occupational Psychol-
Unemployed who are both strongly committed ogy, 55, 297312.
Warr, P., Cook, J., & Wall, T. (1979). Scales for the
to employment and have a strong economic
measurement of some work attitudes and aspects of
need for employment have a high risk for psychological well-being. Journal of Occupational
experiencing a poor mental well-being. On the Psychology, 52, 129148.
E 1886 Employment Discrimination

The tastes and preferences theory was initially


Employment Discrimination formulated by Becker (1957). It is based on
neoclassical theory, and according to this theory,
Raul Ramos preferences for discrimination are oriented
AQRIREA, Department of Econometrics, to minimize economic transactions with members
Statistics and Spanish Economy, University of of certain demographic groups. Discrimination
Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain arises here because employers, coworkers, and/or
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn, final customers have a preference to work or buy
Germany goods to people from their own group and they are
willing to pay a price in terms of economic
efficiency to avoid contact with other groups
Synonyms (Bodvarsson & Partridge, 2001).
In the case a monopsonistic employer, in the
Labor market discrimination; Workplace presence of two different group of workers who
discrimination are perfect substitutes (i.e., men and women are
equally productive) and the elasticity of worked
hours to wages is lower for one of the two groups,
Definition a profit-maximizing employer would offer lower
wages to this group in order to equate the
Employment discrimination is the situation incremental labor costs of the two groups.
where two identical workers are treated differ- Last, the theoretical explanation based on
ently in terms of access to a particular job, inter- statistical discrimination is related to the fact
nal promotion, tasks assignment, wages, or firing that employment decisions are made on the
decisions. Usually, employment discrimination is basis of real or imagined distinctions between
related to gender, racial, ethnic, or religious the average characteristics of individuals in each
discrimination. of the two groups and not only on the basis of
individual characteristics.

Description Consequences
Employment discrimination can have negative
Since the publication of Gary Beckers (1957) consequences for individuals, groups, and
book titled The Economics of Discrimination, organizations.
economists and other social scientists have Regarding individuals, several studies
devoted considerable attention to the analysis of have found that perceiving discrimination or
labor market discrimination. These analyses prejudice can negatively affect the
include theoretical formulations for the founda- psychological and physical health of workers (see
tions of discrimination, studies about its conse- Goldman, Gutek, Stein, & Lewis, 2006 for
quences and how to measure it, and more a survey). Moreover, there are also economic neg-
recently, on policy advice to fight against ative effects both at the individual and the group
discrimination. levels. Discrimination may result in differences in
pay, job status, and job type between discriminated
Theories of Discrimination groups and not discriminated groups.
According to the survey by Altonji and Several studies have shown that several
Blank (1999), the economic literature has minority groups, including several race and
suggested three different explanatory theories of ethnic groups but also women, earn less for
employment discrimination: tastes and prefer- jobs with the same performance levels and
ences of economic agents, monopsonistic labor responsibilities as white males. The evidence is
markets, and statistical discrimination. fairly stable across countries and across time
Employment Discrimination 1887 E
(OECD, 2008a). According to Oaxaca (2001), The Oaxaca-Blinder method or more sophisticated
most wage discrimination tends to occur methods such as the JMP decomposition technique
in lower-paying positions and involves are usually applied (see Fortin, Lemieux, &
minorities who may not feel empowered to Firpo, 2011 for a review).
file a discrimination lawsuit or complain. Weichselbaumer and Winter-Ebmer (2005)
Discrimination can also be found in hiring carried out a meta-analysis of 263 research papers
decisions. Employers tend to hire a white male applying decomposition techniques to measure
over a minority or a female similar candidate to the gender wage gap in different countries and
carry out a particular task. time periods. Their results show that between the
Last, the negative effects from employment 1960s and the 1990s, wage differentials between
E
discrimination at the organizational level can men and women have fallen substantially world-
also be of different nature. For instance, legal wide from around 65 to only 30 %. The bulk of
battles can be very expensive for an organization this decline, however, must be attributed to better
and the corporate image can also be negatively labor market endowments of females which came
affected by discriminatory practices, reducing the about by better education, training, and work
number of costumers and having a negative effect attachment. However, when looking at the
on sales and profits. estimates for the unexplained component of the
wage gap, the results show a very slow decline in
Measuring Discrimination discrimination over time.
While different forms of discrimination exist, However, there have been several criticisms
employment discrimination is usually measured (Kunze, 2008) to the use of decomposition
through the comparison between employment techniques to measure discrimination, and
rates of individuals from different groups. most researchers are quickly adopting more
According to the OECD (2008a) on average, innovative approaches such as field experiments
20 % fewer women than men have a job in (see Bertrand & Mullainathan, 2004). The
OECD countries. Smaller gaps tend to be most common approach in this context is to use
found in the Nordic countries, while in the rest correspondence tests, in which fictitious
of countries, more than 30 % fewer women are written applications are sent in response to
in employment. Labor market gaps between real job advertisements and discrimination is
minority and nonminority race groups are measured by comparing invitations to interviews
as large as between men and women, while among different groups. As regards ethnic
second-generation immigrants that is, the or racial minorities, virtually all available
native-born with at least one foreign-born parent experiments point in the same direction:
appear to have on average 10 % fewer chances to discrimination in the hiring process is far from
have a job than their native-born counterparts uncommon. According to the OECD (2008b),
with no immigration background. typically, with strictly equivalent diplomas,
But discrimination is also usually measured qualifications, work experiences, areas of resi-
in terms of wages. In particular, the comparison dence, etc., ethnic minorities receive about 30 %
between wages for equally productive workers points less call-backs for interview than the rest
from different groups is usually implemented of the population when applying for a particular
through the estimation of wage differentials job vacancy. This implies that they need to search
conditional on human capital characteristics between 40 % and 50 % longer to find a job,
that reflect productivity potential of the consid- which makes them much more vulnerable to the
ered individuals. The raw wage gap is then risk of long-term unemployment.
decomposed into a portion explained by
differences in human capital endowments Antidiscrimination Laws
and a residual or unexplained part that is According to OECD (2008a), virtually all
interpreted as an estimate of discrimination. developed and some developing countries have
E 1888 Employment Insecurity

enacted antidiscrimination laws in recent Fortin, N., Lemieux, T., & Firpo, S. (2011). Decomposi-
decades, mainly to improve equity and social tion methods in economics. In O. Ashenfelter &
D. Card (Eds.), Handbook of labor economics (4a).
cohesion but also to make the economy more Amsterdam: Elsevier.
efficient. By outlawing barriers to employment Goldman, B. M., Gutek, B. A., Stein, J. H., & Lewis, K.
for underrepresented groups, these policies (2006). Employment discrimination in organizations:
are likely to raise labor supply and thus help Antecedents and consequences. Journal of Manage-
ment, 32(6), 786830.
counteract the effect of population aging. Kunze, A. (2008). Gender wage gap studies: Consistency
However, there is no consensus on how and decomposition. Empirical Economics, 35(1), 6376.
antidiscrimination laws should be designed Oaxaca, R. (2001). Discrimination, economics of. In
(see Donohue, 2007 for a review). In particular, N. J. Smelser & P. B. Baltes (Eds.), International
encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences
should the purpose of antidiscrimination laws be (pp. 37563762). Oxford: Pergamon.
to provide equal opportunity for all, or should it OECD. (2008a). The price of prejudice: Labour market
ensure some sort of equality of resources? discrimination on the grounds of gender and ethnicity.
As Goldman et al. (2006) argue, those who defend In OECD employment outlook (Chap. 3). Paris: OECD.
OECD. (2008b). The price of prejudice: Labour market
that antidiscrimination law should address equal discrimination on the grounds of gender and ethnicity.
treatment tend to focus on societys deep commit- Legal and institutional framework in force in 2007. In
ment to economic efficiency and individual fair- OECD employment outlook (Annex to Chap. 3).
ness, while those who believe that employment Paris: OECD.
Weichselbaumer, D., & Winter-Ebmer, R. (2005).
discrimination laws should redress past wrongs A meta-analysis on the international gender wage
or seek economic equality for minorities are not gap. Journal of Economic Surveys, 19(3), 479511.
content with equal treatment but argue for affirma-
tive action policies. However, according to the
OECD (2008b), the main issue in relation to
antidiscrimination legislation is related to victims Employment Insecurity
willingness to claim their rights, an aspect that
should clearly be improved in the future from Stefani Scherer
a policy perspective. Department of Sociology and Social Research,
University of Trento, Trento, Italy

Cross-References
Synonyms
Meta-analysis
Employee insecurity; Job insecurity

References
Definition
Altonji, J. G., & Blank, R. (1999). Race and gender in the
labor market. In O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (Eds.),
Employment insecurity relates to the subjective
Handbook of labor economics (Vol. 3,
pp. 31443259). Amsterdam: Elsevier. or objective risk of (involuntary) reduction of
Becker, G. S. (1957). The economics of discrimination. welfare coming from employment, most drasti-
Chicago: University of Chicago Press. cally from the loss of employment.
Bertrand, M., & Mullainathan, S. (2004). Are Emily and
Greg more employable than Lakisha and Jamal?
A field experiment on labour market discrimination.
American Economic Review, 94(4), 9911011. Description
Bodvarsson, O., & Partridge, M. D. (2001). A supply and
demand model of co-worker, employer and customer
discrimination. Labour Economics, 8(2), 389416.
Employment insecurity in its most general form
Donohue, J. J. (2007). Chapter 18 antidiscrimination law. is conceived as the loss of welfare that comes
Handbook of Law and Economics, 2, 13871472. from uncertainty at work (Green, 2009: 347).
Employment Insecurity 1889 E
The term is most easily framed in terms of absence Commission, 2006; OECD 1999; OECD,
of security of employment in general and of 2004). Most of the rise has been attributed to
income and job continuity in particular. Employ- changes in the economic systems, changing
ment insecurity is thus a broader concept than employment forms especially the extension
job insecurity, indicating the job loss risk, of temporary employment contracts and
comprising also insecurities associated with job changing relations, linked to developments in
continuity regarding mainly the reduction of the economic environment, like internationali-
income (De Witte, 2005; Green, 2009). Employ- zation of trade, money, and production,
ment insecurity has recently been discussed within and growing competition (often referred to as
the flexicurity debate (Wilthagen & Tros, 2004; globalization) (Blossfeld, 2009). These changes
E
Muffels & Luijkx, 2008), with emphasis on the require that workers take on greater shares
importance of the institutional setting, especially of individual risks, a trend denoted also
the welfare state and the labor market, for shaping as re-commodification of labor (Green, 2009).
the flexibility-security trade-off (Barbieri, 2009; As for objective insecurity, at least during the
Anderson & Pontusson, 2007). 1990s, job tenure remained rather constant,
Notwithstanding this broader concept of though with considerable cross-national varia-
employment security, research is almost exclu- tion, but it seems the chances to find a new
sively concerned with the future continuity of the (adequate) job decreased (Fevre, 2007; OECD
current employment, i.e., the risk of involuntary 1999).
job termination. This job insecurity consists of
three aspects: the probability of job loss, the Determinants
expected costs of this loss (moderated by the A range of factors influence employment insecu-
access to other sources of income such as unem- rity: (1) individual level factors: personality
ployment benefits), and the chance of subsequent traits, perceived powerlessness, and education;
reemployment (Green, 2009; De Witte 2005; (2) employment situation: contract and organiza-
OECD, 1999). tion; and (3) macro aspects: welfare, labor mar-
In contrast to job loss, job insecurity is a product ket, and economic cycle.
of the interpretation of information about the envi- Comparative research has underlined the
ronment. The literature distinguishes between important role played by social security systems
objective insecurity, referring to the observed job (welfare systems and the allocation of welfare
loss risk, and subjective insecurity, meaning the resources to cover different social groups against
subjectively assessed job loss risk. These overlap differentiated social risks) and labor market flex-
(at the individual level), emphasizing that people ibility in moderating the fears, risks, and the
usually have a fairly clear idea of their situation. consequences of job loss for the individual
Subjects interpret the risks and consequences as worker (Anderson & Pontusson, 2007;
a function of their employment situation, available Erlinghagen, 2008; OECD 2004; Barbieri,
resources, access to other income sources, and their 2009). Particularly important are the level and
chance of finding a new (equivalent) job (De Witte mean duration of unemployment (a decline is
& Naswall, 2003). highly beneficial for the increased well-being
Insecurity has been depicted as a multidi- afforded to those in employment, who can feel
mensional concept, comprising cognitive aspects less insecure), available unemployment benefit
(the estimated probability of job loss) and affective (higher replacement rates reduce the costs asso-
aspects (the worry or anxiety resulting from this ciated with loss of employment), and the diffu-
assessment, like the fear of job loss). sion of temporary and part-time employment
contracts, which increase economic insecurity.
Developments Changes in these aspects account for the observed
Recent decades have seen a marked increase in rise in insecurity over the recent decades.
subjective employment insecurity (European Interestingly, higher employment protection
E 1890 Employment Insecurity

legislation of national labor markets is associated Temporary Employment


with higher insecurity perception of individuals, Unemployment
which may be due to reduced chances for Welfare State(s)
reemployment. The issue of how to balance flexi-
bility and security in an increasingly international
References
and competitive environment is known in the
European policy debate as flexicurity Anderson, C. J., & Pontusson, J. (2007). Workers, worries
(Muffels & Luijkx 2008; Wilthagen & Tros 2004). and welfare states: Social protection and job insecurity
In particular, research shows that temporary in 15 OECD countries. European Journal of Political
Research, 46, 211235.
contracts come with considerably higher insecu-
Barbieri, P. (2009). Introduction: Flexible employment
rity, that there is considerable variation in and inequality in Europe. European Sociological
employment insecurity between countries, that Review, 25(6), 621628.
the level of unemployment in a country plays Blossfeld, H.-P. (2009). Globalization. In D. Carr (Ed.),
Encyclopedia of the life course and human
a crucial role for the level of insecurity and that
development (Adulthood, Vol. 2, pp. 174178).
an important role is played by unemployment Farmington Hills: Gale.
replacement rates (the percentage of previous De Witte, H. (2005). Job insecurity: Review if the inter-
wage covered by unemployment benefits) for national literature on definitions, prevalence,
antecedents and consequences. SA Journal of
moderating fears, and that insecurity is differen-
Industrial Psychology, 31(4), 16.
tiated by the classic dimensions of stratification De Witte, H., & Naswall, K. (2003). Objective and
such as age, gender, and education. (OECD, subjective job insecurity: consequences of
2008, 2004, 1999; European Commission 2006; temporary work for job satisfaction and organizational
commitment in four European countries. Economic
Erlinghagen 2008).
and Industrial Democracy, 24, 149188.
Erlinghagen, M. (2008). Self-perceived job insecurity and
Consequences social context: A multi-level analysis of 17 European
Employment insecurity is detrimental for the countries. European Sociological Review, 24(2),
183197.
subjective well-being of workers and their
European Commission (2006). Employment in Europe.
families. Insecurity was found to be associated Brussels
with lower job satisfaction, less organizational Fevre, R. (2007). Employment insecurity and social
and job commitment, poorer health in general theory: The power of nightmares. Work Employment
and Society, 21(3), 517535.
and psychological health in particular, inferior
Green, F. (2009). Subjective employment insecurity
work performance, and low social trust. The around the world. Cambridge Journal of Regions,
impact may be less in countries where temporary Economy and Society, 2(3), 343363.
employment and unemployment are a common Muffels, R. J. A., & Luijkx, R. (2008). Labour market
mobility and employment security of male employees
experience (OECD, 2008, 2004, 1999; Virtanen
in Europe: trade-off or flexicurity. Work,
et al. 2005). Employment and Society, 22(2), 221242.
OECD. (1999). Job insecurity on the increase in OECD
countries? OECD, Paris: Employment Outlook.
OECD. (2004). Employment protection: The costs and
Cross-References benefits of greater job security. OECD, Paris: Policy
Brief.
Education OECD. (2008). Are all jobs good for your health? The
Fear of Job Loss impact of work status and working conditions on men-
tal health. OECD, Paris: Employment Outlook.
Flexicurity
Virtanen, M., Kivimaki, M., Joensuu, M., Virtanen, P., &
Health Elovainio, M. (2005). Temporary employment and
Human Capital health: A review. International Journal of
Job Satisfaction Epidemiology, 34, 610622.
Wilthagen, T., & Tros, F. (2004). The concept of
Job Security
flexicurity: A new approach to regulating
Social Trust employment and labour markets. Transfer, European
Subjective Well-Being Review of Labour and Research, 10(2), 166186.
Empowerment 1891 E
or to authorize, but that its modern use has shifted
Employment Status and Schedule to reflect the civil rights agenda in which margin-
alized people have greater control of their lives
Paid Work and ParentChild Relationship and destinies. Both meanings introduce the diffi-
Quality culty in social or educational services efforts to
empower marginalized people; when under-
stood to mean to invest with power, such
efforts put the loci for that power outside the
Employment, Quality of individual. In the end, when one has the power
to invest someone else with authority, one also
Work and Employment, Quality of E
has the power, presumably, to withhold granting
that authority. Power and control remain, funda-
mentally, with the granter. Defining (and describ-
Empowerment ing) empowerment is complicated in large
measure because of the lack of consensus as to
Michael L. Wehmeyer what terms like power and control mean.
Special Education, University of Kansas, Despite the ambiguities of defining and acting
Lawrence, KS, USA upon an empowerment framework, empower-
ment, as a construct, is clearly connected to social
and civil rights movements and refers to actions
Synonyms that enhance the possibilities for people to con-
trol their lives (Rappaport, 1981, p. 15).
Control; Hopefulness; Learned hopefulness; Cattaneo and Chapman (2010) suggested that
Self-determination one can classify most understandings of empow-
erment in the literature as reflecting (1) mastery
(e.g., Rappaport, 1987), (2) participation (e.g.,
Definition Cornell University Empowerment Group, 1989),
or (3) as forwarding a meaning pertaining to
Empowerment is a mechanism by which people, social good. McWhirter (1991) defined empow-
organizations and communities gain mastery erment consistent with the latter as the process
over their affairs (Rappaport, 1987, p. 122) and by which people, organizations, or groups who
an intentional, ongoing process centered in the are powerless (a) become aware of the power
local community, involving mutual respect, crit- dynamics at work in their life context, (b) develop
ical reflection, caring and group participation, the skills and capacity for gaining some reason-
through which people lacking an equal share of able control over their lives, (c) exercise this
valued resources gain greater access to and con- control without infringing up on the rights of
trol over those resources (Cornell University others, and (d) support the empowerment of
Empowerment Group, 1989, p. 2). others in their community (p. 224). Zimmerman
(1990) proposed psychological empowerment as
referring to multiple dimensions of perceived
Description control, including its cognitive (personal effi-
cacy), personality (locus of control), and motiva-
Empowerment is, essentially, a process by which tional dimensions, and linked psychological
people who are marginalized gain power or con- empowerment to learned hopefulness.
trol. The usage note in The American Heritage Cattaneo and Chapman (2010) proposed an
Dictionary of the English Language (1994) stated empowerment process model that defines empow-
that the mid-seventeenth-century use of the term erment as goal achievement, with the construct
referred to the legal right to invest with authority referring to an iterative process in which
E 1892 Enabling

a person who lacks power sets a personally mean-


ingful goal oriented toward increasing power, Enabling State
takes action toward that goal, and observes and
reflects on the impact of this action, drawing on Welfare State(s)
his or her evolving self-efficacy, knowledge, and
competence related to the goal (p. 647). The
latter, as well as Zimmermans framing of psycho-
logical empowerment, is consistent with current End of Life Comfort Care
movements emphasizing the promotion of self-
determination to enable people who are marginal- Care, Palliative
ized to become casual agents in their lives, through
mechanisms such as goal setting, the expression of
preferences, self-direction of future planning,
involvement in decision making, and problem- End-of-Life Care
solving activities (Wehmeyer, 2004).
Care, End of Life

Cross-References

Goal Achievement
Endogenous Economic Growth
References Economic Growth

American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language,


The (1994). New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cattaneo, L. B., & Chapman, A. R. (2010). The process of
empowerment: A model for use in research and prac- Endurance Exercise Training
tice. American Psychologist, 65(7), 646659.
Cornell University Empowerment Group. (1989).
Empowerment and family support. Networking Bulle- Behavioral Conditioning
tin, 1(2), 123.
McWhirter, E. H. (1991). Empowerment in counseling.
Journal of Counseling & Development, 69, 222227.
Rappaport, J. (1981). In praise of paradox: A social policy
of empowerment over prevention. American Journal Energy Consumption per GDP
of Community Psychology, 9, 125.
Rappaport, J. (1987). Terms of empowerment/exemplars
of prevention: Toward a theory for community psy-
Donglan Zha
chology. American Journal of Community Psychology, College of Economics and Management, Nanjing
15, 121148. University of Aeronautics and Astronautics,
Wehmeyer, M. L. (2004). Self-determination and the Nanjing, China
empowerment of people with disabilities. American
Rehabilitation, 28, 2229.
Zimmerman, M. A. (1990). Toward a theory of learned
hopefulness: A structural model analysis of participa- Definition
tion and empowerment. Journal of Research in Per-
sonality, 24, 7186.
Energy consumption per GDP always called
energy intensity is a way to measure the energy
consumption of per gross domestic production.
Enabling It emphasizes the efficiency of energy use and is
recognized as the reciprocal of energy
Accessibility efficiency.
Energy Consumption per GDP 1893 E
Description methodologies must be the same, (3) the currency
units used must be the same, and (4) the evaluated
Behind the background of soaring energy prices levels of prices must be the same. Generally, the
and global climate change, energy conservation MER tends to be higher than PPP in economically
is being paid more attention internationally. One advanced countries.
of the most eminent examples of this is the energy At the level of a specific technology, energy
per GDP. Interpret the amount of work gained by consumption per GDP is simply the inverse of
using energy quantity. energy efficiency. When multiple technologies or
Energy consumption per GDP can be used in multiple products underlie what is being com-
economy-wide, sector and subsector, named pared, the difference between efficiency and
E
economy-wide energy intensity, sector energy energy intensity is insignificant.
intensity, and subsector energy intensity. Many factors influence an economys energy
Economy-wide energy intensity is also referred intensity. Till now extensive research focused on
to as aggregate energy intensity. It is the aggre- the driving forces of energy intensity evolution
gate of the intensity of the major energy consum- over recent years. Theoretical and empirical stud-
ing end-use sectors, for example, transportation, ies have shown that there are five main factors that
industrial, residential buildings, commercial impact energy intensity of an economy: energy
buildings, and the electricity producing sector. price(Birol & Keppler, 2000), energy composition
Sector energy intensity is calculated at the sector (in terms of hydro, coal, oil, nuclear, etc.), techno-
level. Subsector energy intensity is the energy logical change (in manufacturing, transport, and
intensity for subsectors within a given sector other consuming sectors), industrial structure (in
(US Department of energy). terms of ratio of output by small units compared to
High energy intensities indicate a high price or that of larger units; composition of imports in
cost of converting energy into GDP. While low terms of raw materials, components, and finished
energy intensity indicates a lower price or cost of goods; and other similar factors), and the final
converting energy into GDP. However, there are demand structure (consumption by different
big differences in energy intensity around the segments of the economy, such as transport,
world. Generally poor countries are more energy manufacturing, and commercial). See (Zha,
intensive than rich, and the USA, Canada, and Zhou, & Ding, 2009) for China, (Lescaroux,
Australia are more energy intensive than Europe 2008) for the USA, (Bhattacharyya &
and Japan; see the detailed data from Interna- Ussanarassamee, 2004) for Thailand, (Mendiluce,
tional Energy Agency (IEA) or Energy Informa- Perez-Arriaga, & Ocana, 2010) for Spain and for
tion Association (EIA). Some researchers also do the EU15, (Andrade Silva & Guy Guerr, 2009) for
comparisons between countries, regions, or sec- Brazil, and (Tiwari, 2001) for India. The com-
tors, for example, (Brantley, 2010) for world, monly used method is the index decomposition;
(Jan & Samuel, 2004) for transition countries, see (Ang & Zhang, 2000; Ang, 2004) for a survey
(Anil, Pedroso-Galinato, & Dalia, 2006) for of the research carried out with this methodology.
OECD countries, and (Yutaka, 1997) for USA/
Japan. It should be mentioned there is no interna- Discussion
tional consensus for GDP when comparing the Energy consumption per GDP reflects the
energy intensity from different countries or economic structure, fuel mix, and the level of
regions, always using market exchange rate technology in a country, region, or sector. This
(MER) or purchasing power parities (PPP). The should not be a surprise; all the entities want to
Organization for Economic Co-operation and reduce it to develop low-carbon society. There-
Development (OECD) points out that there are fore, country, region, or sectors can adopt the
four necessary conditions when numerically corresponding measures to make the energy
comparing GDP among countries: (1) the defini- use more efficiently according to their major
tion of GDP must be the same, (2) the measuring driving forces.
E 1894 Energy Efficiency Indicator

Cross-References
Energy Efficiency Indicator
Energy Efficiency Indicator
GDP Growth Beng Wah Ang and Xiaoyan Xu
Low-Carbon Development Department of Industrial and Systems
Engineering, National University of Singapore,
Singapore
References

Andrade Silva, F. I., & Guy Guerr, S. M. (2009). Analysis


Synonyms
of the energy intensity evolution in the Brazilian
industrial sector-1995 to 2005. Renewable and Sus- Energy intensity indicators; Energy performance
tainable Energy Review, 13, 25892596. indicators
Ang, B. W. (2004). Decomposition analysis for
policymaking in energy: Which is the preferred
method? Energy Policy, 32, 11311139.
Ang, B. W., & Zhang, F. Q. (2000). A survey of index Definition
decomposition analysis in energy and environmental
studies. Energy, 25, 11491176.
Energy efficiency indicators are statistics that
Anil, M., Pedroso-Galinato, S., & Dalia, S. (2006). Energy
intensity in transition economies: Is there convergence quantify how efficient energy is used in various
towards the EU average? Energy Economics, 28, human activities.
121145.
Bhattacharyya, S. C., & Ussanarassamee, A. (2004).
Decomposition of energy and CO2 intensities of Thai
industry between 1981 and 2000. Energy Economics, Description
26, 765781.
Birol, F., & Keppler, J. H. (2000). Prices, technology Energy plays an essential role for meeting
development and the rebound effect. Energy Policy,
human needs and economic development.
28, 457469.
Brantley, L. (2010). Revisiting world energy intensity Many studies have shown that energy consump-
convergence for regional differences. Applied Energy, tion and quality of life are closely related. As
87, 32183225. household income rises, its energy consumption
Jan, C., & Samuel, F. (2004). The energy intensity
also increases. Likewise, on a per capita basis,
of transition countries. Energy Economics, 26,
283295. more energy is consumed in industrial countries
Lescaroux, F. (2008). Decomposition of US manufactur- than in developing countries. However, it is also
ing energy intensity and elasticities of components known that the production, transformation, dis-
with respect to energy prices. Energy Economics, 30,
tribution, and utilization of all forms of energy
10681080.
Mendiluce, M., Perez-Arriaga, I., & Ocana, C. (2010). have, in one way or another, environmental,
Comparison of the evolution of energy intensity in health, and safety impacts. The relationship
Spain and in the EU15. Why is Spain different? Energy between energy needs and quality of life is there-
Policy, 38, 639645.
fore a complex one.
Tiwari, P. (2001). An analysis of sectoral energy intensity
in India. Fuel and Energy Abstracts, 42, 69. Fossil fuels have been supplying the bulk of
U.S. Department of energy. Retrieved from 20 July the worlds energy needs. Emissions of carbon
2011 http://www1.eere.energy.gov/ba/pba/intensityin- dioxide resulting from the combustion of these
dicators/trend_definitions.html
fuels are believed to be the main cause of global
Yutaka, N. (1997). The US/Japan comparison of energy
intensity. Estimating the real gap. Energy Policy, 2, warming. The possible effects and consequences
683691. of global warming on human life and the envi-
Zha, D. L., Zhou, D. Q., & Ding, N. (2009). The contri- ronment have been widely reported. Countries
bution degree of sub-sectors to structure effect and
now see the need to reduce their energy consump-
intensity effects on industry energy intensity in China
from 1993 to 2003. Renewable and Sustainable tion and carbon emissions. A widely adopted
Energy Reviews, 13, 895902. strategy is to improve energy efficiency. At the
Energy Efficiency Indicator 1895 E
same time, energy efficiency improvement helps based, while the second is indicators given in
to enhance energy security and industrial com- terms of economic measures for both process
petitiveness. All these are important public policy input and output. The last two categories are
considerations in the face of rising world energy hybrid indicators where the output is measured
prices and increased volatility in global energy in physical and economic units, respectively,
supply. with energy input measured in terms of conven-
Despite the growing interest worldwide, tional thermodynamic units.
energy efficiency is a term that has no single In the energy literature, it is a common prac-
universally accepted definition. Engineers and tice to treat energy efficiency as the inverse of
physicists view it as a technical efficiency, but energy intensity. Energy intensity is the direct
E
economists treat it as an economic efficiency. In energy consumption per unit of an activity that
a more encompassing form, energy efficiency has represents the energy services derived. The
been defined by national energy agencies and activity defined can be a physical or economic
international organizations as how effective measure of the energy services. The terms
energy is used to produce a certain level of output energy efficiency indicator and energy inten-
or service. It has been defined as how effectively sity indicator can be used interchangeably. It is
energy is being used for a given purpose (Office assumed that, other factors being equal, an
of Energy Efficiency, 2009); the ratio of the increase in energy intensity implies a decline in
amount of energy services provided to the energy efficiency. More generally, the term
amount of energy consumed (Energy Informa- energy performance indicator can be used
tion Administration, 1995); and a ratio between to represent either energy efficiency indicator
an output of performance, service, goods or or energy intensity indicator (Ang, Mu, &
energy, and an input of energy (European Zhou, 2010).
Commission, 2006). Energy intensity indicators have been pro-
Energy efficiency improvement means using posed and applied at different levels of sector
less energy to produce the same level of output or aggregation. At the most aggregate level, the
service without lowering output or service qual- ratio of a countrys total primary energy con-
ity, that is, without lowering the quality of life. It sumption to its gross domestic product (GDP),
is different from energy conservation where or simply the energy/GDP ratio, is the best known
a reduction in energy consumption can be energy intensity indicator. Annual statistics on
achieved through lowering the level of output or this ratio are tabulated in national and interna-
service, such as by traveling less or by reducing tional statistical sources. For a specific country,
the level of comfort in space heating/cooling. a decrease in the ratio is often treated as an
There can be an increase in the energy efficiency improvement in energy efficiency, and countries
for a specific energy application when more with a lower ratio are taken to be more efficient in
energy is actually consumed, provided that the energy use. Prior to 1990, how the energy/GDP
growth in energy consumption is less than that ratio evolves as a country develops was a widely
in the output or service derived from the studied topic (Ang, 2006).
application. Although easy to compute, the energy/GDP
Appropriate indicators are needed in order to ratio is too aggregate to be useful as an indicator
measure changes in energy efficiency. In the for studying energy efficiency. Gross domestic
literature these indicators, expressed as a ratio product covers a wide spectrum of economic
of useful output of a process to energy input into activities and a countrys total energy consump-
the process, fall into the following four catego- tion is influenced by not only its total GDP value
ries: thermodynamic, economic, physical-ther- but also the activity mix of GDP. It is a standard
modynamic, and economic-thermodynamic practice in energy efficiency analysis to disaggre-
(Patterson, 1996). The first category is indicators gate a countrys total energy consumption by
which are entirely science and engineering major sector, subsector, and end use and develop
E 1896 Energy Efficiency Indicator

appropriate energy intensity indicators accord- initiatives on the development of these energy
ingly (Office of Energy Efficiency, 2009; intensity indicators can be found in Asia Pacific
Ang, 2006). The four major energy-consuming Energy Research Centre (2000), International
sectors are transport, industry, residential, and Atomic Energy Agency (2005), World Energy
service. The transport sector, for example, is Council (2010). Reviews on the methodology,
often disaggregated into passenger and freight best practice, and potential use of energy effi-
transport. Passenger transport is disaggregated ciency indicators are discussed in de la Rue
into road, rail, water, and air transport modes, du Can, Sathaye, Price, and McNeil (2010),
and road transport is further broken down into Phylipsen (2010).
vehicle types. An example of such hierarchical Economy-wide composite energy intensity
structure for the IEA countries can be found in indicators can be constructed from subsector
International Energy Agency (2007). A myriad of and end-use energy intensity indicators. An
energy intensity indicators have been proposed accounting framework is needed and it comprises
by researchers. In general, the finer the level several components, including a hierarchical sec-
of sector disaggregation, the better the tor classification structure, a basket of activity
corresponding energy intensity indicators are as indicators defined at the subsector or end-use
a proxy for energy efficiency. level, and an appropriate decomposition or aggre-
How good an energy intensity indicator in gation technique (Asia Pacific Energy Research
measuring energy efficiency depends on the Centre, 2000). Examples of such accounting sys-
choice of the activity indicator that represents tems are International Energy Agency (2007),
the energy services derived. The Office of Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Energy (2011), ODYSSEE (2008), Petchey
(2011) website provides a useful guide on the (2010). International Energy Agency (Interna-
choice of such indicators. For the transport sec- tional Energy Agency, 2007) and ODYSSEE
tor, transport needs are generally measured in (2008) are multi-country, while the rest are coun-
terms of passenger-kilometers for passenger try-specific initiatives. A comparison of various
transport and tonne-kilometers of goods moved energy efficiency accounting systems is given in
for freight transport. The respective energy Ang et al. (2010).
intensity indicators are energy requirements As an indicator for studying energy efficiency
per passenger-kilometer and per tonne-kilome- change, composite energy intensity indicators
ter. In the case of industry, energy intensity derived from intensity indicators at finer levels
indicators are often given by energy require- are superior to aggregate indicators such as the
ments per value added or per unit of gross out- energy/GDP ratio. Composite energy intensity
put. Several different energy intensity indicators indicators can be derived using two different
have been proposed and used for the residential approaches, namely, the index decomposition
sector and the service sector. They include analysis approach and the unit consumption
energy requirements per person, dwelling, unit approach. The differences between them, includ-
of floor space, and appliance. ing their strengths and weaknesses, are discussed
Energy intensity indicators have been used in Ang et al. (2010). The index decomposition
for different purposes. Simple indicators such analysis approach is more commonly used and it
as the energy/GDP ratio, energy requirements is described in Ang et al. (2010). Examples of
per passenger-km for passenger transport, studies using the unit consumption approach are
and energy consumption per square meters of given in ODYSSEE (2008).
floor space for buildings may be used for cross- Studies on energy efficiency indicators appear
country comparisons and benchmarking. in many different types of information sources.
When time-series data for such indicators are col- The three principal ones are energy journals;
lected, performance in energy efficiency over reports or websites of national energy agencies
time may be monitored. Specific international and international organizations; and research
Energy Intensity Indicators 1897 E
reports of academic institutions, research insti- References
tutes, think tanks, nongovernmental organiza-
tions, and consultancy firms. Among the energy Ang, B. W. (2006). Monitoring changes in economy-wide
energy efficiency: From energy-GDP ratio to compos-
journals, the following four are the most relevant:
ite efficiency index. Energy Policy, 34, 574582.
Energy Policy which addresses policy issues of Ang, B. W., Mu, A. R., & Zhou, P. (2010). Accounting
energy supply, demand, and utilization; Energy frameworks for tracking energy efficiency trends.
Economics which focuses on the economic and Energy Economics, 32, 12091219.
Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre. (2000). Energy
econometric modeling and analysis of energy
efficiency indicators: A study of energy efficiency
systems and issues; Energy which has indicators for industry in APEC economies. Tokyo:
a multidisciplinary focus for activities relating Author.
European Commission. (2006). Directive 2006/32/EC of
E
to the development, assessment, and manage-
the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April
ment of energy-related programs; and Energy
2006 on energy end-use efficiency and energy services
Efficiency which is a relatively new journal that and repealing Council Directive 93/76/EEC. Official
covers various aspects of energy efficiency in the Journal of the European Union, 114, 6485.
residential, tertiary, industrial, and transport de la Rue du Can, S., Sathaye, J., Price, L., & McNeil, M.
(2010). Energy efficiency indicators methodology
sectors.
booklet. Berkeley, CA: Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory, University of California.
Discussion Energy Information Administration. (1995). Measuring
Improving the quality of life generally leads to energy efficiency in the United States economy:
A beginning. Washington, DC: Author.
increases in energy demand. With the need to
International Atomic Energy Agency. (2005). Energy
ensure energy security, cost competitiveness, indicators for sustainable development: Guidelines
and environmental sustainability, energy effi- and methodologies. Vienna: Author.
ciency now plays a more and more important International Energy Agency. (2007). Energy use in the
new millennium. Paris: OECD.
role in the energy policy agenda of a country.
ODYSSEE. (2008). Definition of energy efficiency indi-
An essential tool of a national energy effi- cators in ODYSSEE Data Base.
ciency program is an accounting and assess- Office of Energy Efficiency. (2009) Energy Efficiency
ment system for tracking energy efficiency Trends in Canada 1990 to 2007. Canada, Ottawa:
Natural Resource.
performance supported by a systematic data-
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
base of energy intensity indicators. Much pro- (2011). Indicators of energy intensity in the United
gress has been made over the past two decades States. US Department of Energy. http://www1.eere.
on the development and application of such energy.gov/ba/pba/intensityindicators/. Retrieved on
April 7, 2011.
energy intensity indicators and accounting and
Patterson, M. G. (1996). What is energy efficiency? Con-
assessment system. Such work, which is of cepts, indicators and methodological issues. Energy
direct relevance to research in quality of life, Policy, 24, 377390.
is conducted in an increasingly number of Petchey, R. (2010). End-use energy intensity in the
Australian economy. ABARE-BRS research report
countries. The concept and techniques have
10.08. Canberra, Australia: ABARE.
also been extended to study energy-related car- Phylipsen, G. J. M. (2010). Energy efficiency indicators:
bon emission trends. Best practice and potential use in developing country
policy making. Washington, DC: Phylipsen Climate
Change Consulting.
World Energy Council. (2010). Energy efficiency: A
Cross-References recipe of success. London: Author.

Benchmarking
Economic Development
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Happiness
Household Income and Wealth Energy Intensity Indicators
Human Needs
Quality of Life Energy Efficiency Indicator
E 1898 Energy Performance Indicators

of Kalkar in North Rhine-Westphalia never went


Energy Performance Indicators live and has since been turned into a childrens
theme park. Renewed public outcry after the
Energy Efficiency Indicator nuclear catastrophe in Fukushima in 2011
resulted in the apparent exit from nuclear power
in Germany under Chancellor Angela Merkel
who was up until then a strong supporter of the
Energy, Public Concern with technology.
In recent years, the United States of America
Anne Schiffer has turned from a major importer of natural gas to
Design, Friends of the Earth, England, an exporter largely due to the exploration of
Wales and Northern Ireland and Queens unconventional gas through fracking (hydraulic
University Belfast, UK fracturing) technology. In the fracking process,
large volumes of water and chemicals are
pumped through a well into shale rock or coal
Definition seams to cause fractures that release natural gas.
The documentary film Gasland (2010) is used by
Energy, public concern with describes energy- environmental campaigners to raise public
related interests and impacts discussed or experi- awareness of negative impacts resulting from
enced by the general public. the fracking process including severe contamina-
tion of drinking water.
Although criticized by environmental organi-
Description zations including Friends of the Earth (2009),
carbon offsetting mechanisms relate to energy
Energy, the public concern with comprises three safety as these are intended to mitigate carbon
broad interrelated themes: energy security, emissions and consequent global warming.
energy safety, and energy justice. Energy is
often described as the ability to do work and Energy Justice
may refer to electricity, heating, and energy Energy justice deals with energy-related impacts
used for transport. on peoples livelihoods that are perceived as
unfair. Public concern may range from
Energy Security a negative visual impact of infrastructure on the
Energy security deals with a nations access to local landscape, fuel poverty, large-scale envi-
energy, related technologies, and resources such ronmental destruction, and forced displacement
as oil, gas, and coal. The term security implies of local people.
vulnerabilities that result from a countries The notion of wind turbines being eyesores
economic dependence on these. in the countryside is a predominately western
phenomenon that has caught on in countries
Energy Safety such as United Kingdom where it is fueled by
The term energy safety is concerned with the the tabloid press. Supporters of wind power
human and ecological health in regard to energy may dismiss this behavior as nimbyism (from
production, consumption, and waste products. not in my backyard) (CSE, 2011). Case stud-
Catastrophes such as nuclear accidents or large ies however suggest a strong correlation
oil spills are long remembered in the public eye. between local ownership and support for renew-
The Chernobyl disaster in 1986 gave rise to able energy developments (Winther, 2011;
the antinuclear movement in Germany. As Simcock, 2011).
a consequence of heavy protests following the It is important to point out that simultaneously
disaster, the newly finished nuclear power plant to opposition, wind parks such as Whitelee
Engaged Scholarship 1899 E
Windfarm in Scotland have become tourist question as pointed out by Scheer (2010): Will
attractions. Moreover, where wind turbines offer the future of energy generation be centralized
affordable access to electricity, they may be asso- and governed by few powerful companies, or
ciated with entrepreneurial opportunities and will the majority of generation take place
a higher standard of living. This is the case in decentralized with ownership in the hands of
the small town of Batokunku in The Gambia, local people and community groups? This con-
which is home to the first large electricity- flict is provoking debates on models such as
producing wind turbine in West Africa (pers. energy sovereignty.
convers 2010).
Fuel poverty largely relates to the heating of
E
homes. In the United Kingdom the term is used to Cross-References
describe a household that spends more than 10 %
of its income on fuel. Livelihoods depend upon Developing Countries
the natural environment; they can be irreversibly Drinking Water
devastated by the extraction of fossil fuels. This Europe, Quality of Life
includes contaminated drinking water caused Germany, Quality of Life
by fracking and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill Land Use
in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010 which destroyed Security
marine habitats and damaged local fishing and Wind Power
tourism industries.
A less well-known example is the Sidoarjo
mudflow located south of Surabaya, Indonesia.
The worlds largest active mud volcano was acci-
References
dentally caused by an Indonesian oil and gas
Bullock, S., Childs, M., & Picken, T. (2009). A dangerous
exploration company while drilling for natural distraction: Why offsetting is failing the climate and
gas in 2006. The mudflow has displaced thou- people: The evidence. London: Friends of the Earth
sands of people and flooded their homes and England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
CSE. (2011). Common concerns about wind power.
land and will continue to spew mud for decades
Bristol: Centre for Sustainable Energy.
to come. Fox, J. (2010). Gasland [Film]. New York: Docurama.
Supporters of large-scale agrofuel production Director.
in developing countries argue the industry Friends of the Earth Europe. (2010). Africa: Up for grabs:
The scale and impact of land grabbing for agrofuels.
stimulates local economies. However, Friends
Brussels, Belgium: Friends of the Earth Europe.
of the Earth Europe (2010) reports of land grab- Scheer, H. (2010). Der Energethische Imperativ: 100 %
bing to describe a situation when land in devel- jetzt: Wie der Wechsel zu erneuerbaren Energien zu
oping countries is taken over by energy realisieren ist. M
unchen: Antje Kunstmann.
Simcock, N. (2011, August). Imposition or the will of the
companies to grow agrofuels destined for
people? The idea of justice in community wind energy
Europe while putting pressure on local food projects. Paper presented at the annual international
supplies and displacing people from land that conference of the royal geographical society,
their livelihoods depend upon. Agrofuel land London.
Winther, A. (2011, August). Energy justice in 2030
use may result in deforestation where forests are
in rural communities in Scotland. Paper presented
replaced with fuel crops such as palm oil. at the annual international conference of the royal
geographical society, London.
Discussion
The public will continue to debate energy
issues that are of local and regional importance
before considering the national and global Engaged Scholarship
context. The danger is that locally focused
debates fail to ask a much more fundamental Community-University Partnership(s)
E 1900 Engagement Coping

enjoyment only informally, and there has been


Engagement Coping little systematic attention directed toward devel-
oping a formal conceptual definition and rigorous
Active Coping psychology of enjoyment. However, the recent
emergence of positive psychology as a social
science subdiscipline has legitimized the study of
enjoyment, and psychologists have now begun to
Enjoying Food During Childhood investigate enjoyment systematically. In this
empirical research, enjoyment is typically mea-
Food in Childhood, Satisfaction with sured using a single-item indicator (e.g., How
much did you enjoy X?) or small composite clus-
ters of several related items assessing enjoyment of
a specific experience. Physiological experiments
Enjoyment have also found that smiles expressing enjoyment
have smoother zygomatic major actions that con-
Jennifer L. Smith, Patrick R. Harrison and sistently last longer, compared to nonenjoyment
Fred B. Bryant smiles (Ekman, Davidson, & Friesen, 1990; Frank,
Department of Psychology, Loyola University Ekman, & Friesen, 1993).
Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA Definition. As with many constructs in the
social sciences, there is no universally accepted
definition of enjoyment. Enjoyment is a higher-
Definition order term that encompasses a wide variety of
lower-order experiences, psychological pro-
Enjoyment is a positive affective state that occurs cesses, and affective responses. Enjoyment can
when a person engages in an experience or activ- be studied at different levels that vary in abstract-
ity that satisfies a desire, goal, or need, including ness (Goetz, Hall, Frenzel, & Pekrun, 2006). At
but not limited to the need for pleasure, meaning, its most general (macro) level, enjoyment can be
security, safety, sustenance, esteem, belonging- defined as a positive affective state that occurs
ness, or love. when a person engages in an experience that
satisfies a desire, goal, or need. At the most spe-
cific (micro) level, researchers can assess peo-
Description ples enjoyment of engaging in a concrete task
or activity (e.g., sports or exercise). At this
History. The study of enjoyment has its earliest microlevel, enjoyment is an immediate, transient
roots in the field of philosophy. In particular, Aris- affective response to a positive experience.
totle (384 BC322 BC) distinguished two forms People typically experience enjoyment when
of happiness: hedonia and eudaimonia. Hedonia they engage in a satisfying activity. This activity
refers to pleasure derived from the gratification may fulfill basic needs, such as physiological,
of needs, whereas eudaimonia refers to the pursuit safety, belongingness, and esteem needs, or
of self-realization and the meaningful life higher-order needs, such as curiosity and spiritu-
(Deci & Ryan, 2008; Waterman, 1993). Enjoy- ality (Maslow, 1943). Nevertheless, need fulfill-
ment is most closely associated with the hedonic ment in and of itself does not always elicit
conception of happiness. The modern-day concept feelings of joy. For example, consuming bland
of enjoyment was also shaped by Epicurus (341 food may alleviate feelings of hunger; however,
BC270 BC), who argued that a happy life could there may be little satisfaction or positive emo-
be obtained through seeking pleasure and avoiding tion with the experience. Furthermore, enjoyment
pain. Traditionally, social scientists have studied may decrease when needs are met or when people
Enjoyment 1901 E
become habituated to a particular positive expe- (anticipation), during (in the moment), or after
rience. The specific experiences that produce (reminiscence) the actual positive experience
enjoyment may also vary over time and across occurs. Compared to levels of enjoyment experi-
the lifespan. For example, physical pleasure is enced in the moment, people often report greater
the primary source of enjoyment for infants, enjoyment in anticipation of a pleasant experi-
while the capacity to enjoy feelings of grati- ence (a phenomenon termed rosy prospection)
tude develops later during middle childhood, typ- and after the experience is over (a phenomenon
ically between ages 7 and 10 (Peterson & termed rosy retrospection; Mitchell & Thomp-
Seligman, 2004). There are also individual dif- son, 1994). Bryant and Veroff (2007) note several
ferences in the degree to which people value necessary preconditions that must exist in order
E
pleasure and enjoyment in life (Rokeach, 1973), for savoring to occur. In particular, savoring is
and these value preferences have been found to more likely to occur when a person is free of
predict a variety of consumer behaviors, includ- worries, esteem concerns, and distractions. In
ing choice of leisure activities, recreational addition, experiences that last longer provide
options, and vacation destinations (Kahle, 1996). more opportunities for savoring.
The primary outcome of enjoyment is pos- In contrast, flow refers to the process through
itive affect, such as pleasure, satisfaction, gratifi- which individuals become so immersed and
cation, fulfillment, awe, pride, or gratitude. The engaged in an experience that they lose aware-
specific types of positive emotions that are acti- ness of self and time (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990).
vated during enjoyment depend largely on the Flow is most likely to occur when people are
situation. Experiences that elicit feelings of engaged in a challenging task that they are skilled
enjoyment are often intrinsically rewarding at performing. People tend to feel anxious when
(e.g., Csikszentmihalyi, 1990; Warner, 1980). task demands exceed their capabilities and bored
Processes underlying enjoyment. Enjoy- when the activity provides too little challenge
ment can occur as the result of different psycho- relative to their skill level. Situations with clear
logical processes, such as savoring (Bryant, goals, immediate feedback, and few distractions
Chadwick, & Kluwe, 2011; Bryant & Veroff, are most likely to promote flow. Because of
2007) and flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). decreased self-awareness during flow experi-
Savoring is a metacognitive process in which ences, people are unlikely to be aware of their
people regulate their reactions to positive experi- enjoyment while they are absorbed in the activity.
ence through specific thoughts and behaviors that Afterward, however, people tend to indicate that
influence the intensity and duration of enjoyment. the flow experience was highly enjoyable. Thus,
Through the process of savoring, people derive in flow experiences, enjoyment is primarily
enjoyment in the present. While savoring, a retrospective phenomenon. This is in stark
peoples awareness of a positive experience contrast to enjoyment that occurs in the present
becomes heightened, and they may engage in when consciously savoring the way one feels
cognitive and behavioral responses that influence while anticipating, enjoying the moment, or
enjoyment of the positive experience (e.g., shar- reminiscing.
ing with others, memory building, counting Distinguishing enjoyment from related con-
blessings, sensory-perceptual sharpening). cepts. The concept of enjoyment is related to, but
During savoring experiences, people may alter- distinct from, quality of life, subjective well-
nate between engrossment in the experience being, life satisfaction, and happiness. Quality
(i.e., experiential absorption) and contemplation of life is a general multifaceted assessment of the
of the experience (i.e., cognitive reflection). degree to which ones life is good, as measured
Encompassing three possible temporal orienta- in terms of either objective social indicators
tions, savoring enables people to experience (Hagerty et al., 2001) or subjective self-
enjoyment in the present either before evaluations of physical, functional, emotional,
E 1902 Enjoyment of Life

and social well-being (Diener & Suh, 1997). Sim- Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Hedonia, eudaimonia,
ilarly, subjective well-being is a broader concept and well-being: An introduction. Journal of Happiness
Studies, 9, 111.
than enjoyment that includes affective responses Diener, E., & Suh, E. (1997). Measuring quality of life:
(e.g., happiness) as well as cognitive evaluation Economic, social, and subjective indicators. Social
of life satisfaction and domain satisfaction Indicators Research, 40, 189216.
(Diener, Suh, Lucas, & Smith, 1999). Although Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. L.
(1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of
enjoyment and happiness are both affective progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 276302.
responses, enjoyment is specific to emotional Ekman, P., Davidson, R. J., & Friesen, W. V. (1990). The
responses that are tied to a particular experience Duchenne smile: Emotional expression and brain phys-
or activity, while happiness is a broader affective iology: II. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
58, 342353.
experience that includes a variety of positive Frank, M. G., Ekman, P., & Friesen, W. V. (1993). Behav-
emotions, such as contentment and amusement ioral markers and recognizability of the smile of enjoy-
(Lyubomirsky & Kurtz, 2009). Although joy is ment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
one manifestation of enjoyment, people may well 64, 8393.
Goetz, T., Hall, N. C., Frenzel, A. C., & Pekrun, R. (2006).
experience enjoyment without experiencing joy. A hierarchical conceptualization of enjoyment in stu-
For example, a person might well enjoy the dents. Learning and Instruction, 16, 323338.
refreshment of a cool drink of water that satisfies Hagerty, M. R., Cummins, R. A., Ferriss, A. L., Land, K.,
his or her thirst on a hot summer day, but might Michalos, A. C., Peterson, M., et al. (2001). Quality of
life indexes for national policy: Review and agenda for
not experience the emotion of joy per se. research. Social Indicators Research, 55, 196.
Kahle, L. R. (1996). Social values and consumer behavior:
Research from the List of Values. In C. Seligman, J. M.
Cross-References Olson, & M. P. Zanna (Eds.), The psychology of
values: The Ontario symposium (Vol. 8,
pp. 135151). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Basic Needs Lyubomirsky, S., & Kurtz, J. L. (2009). Happiness. In D.
Eudaimonia Sander & K. R. Scherer (Eds.), The Oxford companion
Flow to emotion and the affective sciences. Oxford, UK:
Oxford University Press.
Gratitude Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation.
Happiness Psychological Review, 50, 370396.
Hedonism Mitchell, T., & Thompson, L. (1994). A theory of tempo-
Intrinsic Motivation ral adjustments of the evaluation of events: Rosy
prospection and rosy retrospection. In C. Stubbart, J.
Pleasure Porax, & J. Meindl (Eds.), Advances in managerial
Positive Affect cognition and organizational information-processing
Positive Psychology (Vol. 5, pp. 85114). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
Quality of Life Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character
strengths and virtues: A handbook and classification.
Subjective Well-Being Washington, DC: American Psychological
Association.
Rokeach, M. (1973). The nature of human values. New
York: Free Press.
References Warner, R. (1980). Enjoyment. Philosophical Review, 89,
507526.
Bryant, F. B., Chadwick, E. D., & Kluwe, K. (2011). Waterman, A. S. (1993). Two conceptions of happiness:
Understanding the processes that regulate positive Contrasts of personal expressiveness (eudaimonia) and
emotional experience: Unsolved problems and hedonic enjoyment. Journal of Personality and Social
future directions for theory and research on Psychology, 64, 678691.
savoring. International Journal of Wellbeing, 1,
107126.
Bryant, F. B., & Veroff, J. (2007). Savoring: A new model
of positive experience. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates.
Enjoyment of Life
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of
optimal experience. New York: Harper & Row. Happiness
Entrepreneurship 1903 E
According to the European reference framework
Entrepreneurship for key competences (European Commission,
2007), entrepreneurship includes creativity, innova-
Celeste Amorim Varum1 and Caroline Rizza2,3 tion, and risk-taking, as well as the ability to plan
1
Department of Economics, Management and and manage projects in order to achieve objectives.
Ind. Engineering, University of Aveiro, These capabilities support individuals, not
Aveiro, Portugal only in their everyday lives at home but also at
2
European Commission, Joint Research Centre, their work and as active citizens in society. Entre-
Ispra, Italy preneurship is indispensable for those starting or
3
Telecom ParisTech, Paris, France running a business and also for active citizenship.
E
Entrepreneurship, understood as a competence,
is based on knowledge, skills and attitudes. The
Definition knowledge necessary for entrepreneurship is
wide and diverse, including the ability to identify
Entrepreneurship is the knowledge, ability and opportunities, to assess and take risks, under appro-
willingness of an individual to turn ideas into priate conditions. An entrepreneurial attitude is char-
action, exploring novel opportunities. acterized by initiative, autonomy, and innovation in
personal life, in society and at work, motivation and
determination to meet objectives, ability to work
Description both individually and along with other colleagues.
Given entrepreneurships importance for eco-
Early contributions to the field of entrepreneur- nomic growth and for the well-being of future
ship go back to Adam Smith in the early eigh- generations, the development of entrepreneurial
teenth century, being however largely ignored thinking became a policy goal of many govern-
theoretically until the early decades if the ments. While the importance of entrepreneurship
twentieth century. In the twentieth century, the and of economic and financial literary are recog-
field of entrepreneurship developed considerably nized, for many countries, there are substantial
following the work of the economist Joseph deficiencies in populations knowledge on these
Schumpeter in the 1930s. For Schumpeter, an matters. Hence, actions to enhance population
entrepreneur is a person who is willing and able general knowledge and interest on entrepreneur-
to apply a new idea or invention to satisfy mar- ship and on economics are to be supported.
kets successfully. Entrepreneurship is at the center Entrepreneurship is now understood as a key
of the dynamics of industries and economic competence, that can (and has to) be taught
growth, through a process of creative destruction. (Bosma, Acs, Autio, Coduras, & Levie, 2009;
Interest and attention to entrepreneurship has Global entrepreneurship monitor special report,
heightened in the last 50 years or so, reflected, for 2010; Hytti & OGorman, 2004). Education
example, in the explosion of courses and research and entrepreneurship are not two separate fields,
on the matter (Acs & Audretsch, 2003; European and there growing ties between the two. Training
Commission, 2007; Hytti & OGorman, 2004; may occur at University or school level, or within
Rizza & Varum, 2011). Contributions emerge life-long learning initiatives, contributing to the
from a broad spectrum of fields such as manage- well-being of future generations. According to
ment, economics, education, and psychology. the global entrepreneurship monitor (Bosma
Professionals, educators, or researchers on entre- et al., 2009; Global entrepreneurship monitor
preneurship arise from different backgrounds, special report, 2010; Hytti & OGorman, 2004),
academic and nonacademic areas, and many dif- entrepreneurship education refers to:
ferent academic disciplines, leading to high <<the building of knowledge and skills either
diversity in perspectives, in language and in def- about or for the purpose of entrepreneurship
initions (Acs & Audretsch, 2003). in general, as part of recognized education
E 1904 Environment and Health

programs at primary, secondary or tertiary-level Economic and Financial Literacy


educational institutions>> and the entrepreneur- Economic Efficiency
ship training is <<the building of knowledge and
skills in preparation for starting a business>>. Education
Indicators, Quality of Life
However, it is recognized that entrepreneur- Lifelong Learning
ship education is wider and goes deeper than Public Spending for Education
training on starting a business. It should be more Self-Employment
ambitious than that.
There is a need to understand how countries are
performing on these matters, if (and how) policies References
affect entrepreneurship, if (and how) wider objec-
tives for the society are being achieved. Hence, Acs, Z. J., & Audretsch, D. B. (Eds.). (2003). Handbook of
it is necessary to collect systematized data on entrepreneurship research: An interdisciplinary sur-
vey and introduction. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic.
these matters. Data on entrepreneurship will also Bosma, N. S., Acs, Z. J., Autio, E., Coduras, A., & Levie,
allow for benchmarking and comparisons across J. (2009). Special topic 2008: Entrepreneurship Edu-
countries. The OECD developed The OECD- cation and Training. Global Entrepreneurship Monitor
Eurostat Entrepreneurship Indicators Programme 2008. Executive Report, Chapter 4.GEM.
European Commission. (2007). Key competences for life-
a framework for indicators on entrepreneurship, long learning European reference framework, 2007.
split into determinants, entrepreneurial perfor- Global entrepreneurship monitor special report. (2010).
mance and impact of entrepreneurship. A global perspective on entrepreneurship education
Along this framework, entrepreneurship edu- and training.
Hytti, U., & OGorman, C. (2004). What is enterprise
cation is determinant for countries entrepreneur- education? An analysis of the objectives and methods
ial performance. At this level, there is a clear lack of enterprise education programmes in four European
of indicators, internationally comparable data is countries. Education and Training, 46(1), 1123.
scarce, and when it exists it is not systematic. Rizza, C., & Varum, C. A. (2011). Directions
in entrepreneurship education research in Europe.
The Global entrepreneurship monitor (GEM) In Antonio Caparros Ruiz (ed.) Investigaciones de
studies and others provide insights into business Economa de la Educacion, Asociacion de Economa
training, but more data is necessary to understand de la Educacion, edition 1, 6(6), 1.
the spread/intensity of entrepreneurship education.
Another set of indicators relates to qualitative
aspect of entrepreneurship education. Here, there
is clearly a need for data on where and how entre- Environment and Health
preneurship is taught, which are the broad objec-
tives and teaching methods. A final set of indicators Sophie A. Miller1 and Gavin Turrell1,2
relates to the direct outcomes and impact of entre- 1
School of Public Health and Social Work and the
preneurship education on higher-level goals such Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation,
as economic efficiency, firm creation and job Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane,
creation, well-being and poverty reduction, entre- QLD, Australia
preneurial attitudes, and growth. Information 2
Professor of Public Health and National Health
on these matters will allow the development of and Medical Research Council Senior Research
cost-efficiency indicators, so critical in times of Fellow, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
constraints on the public spending for education.

Cross-References Synonyms

Active Citizenship Determinants of health; Ecology; Ecosystem;


Capabilities Environment and quality of life; Habitat; Milieu;
Cost-Efficiency Indicators Neighborhood and health; Well-being
Environment and Health 1905 E
Definition Determinants of Health Framework
Barton and Grants (2006) determinants of
Environment health framework conceptualize the environ-
One broad definition of the environment includes ment in terms of a global ecosystem, natural
all factors that are external to the individual environment, and built environment. In this
including the social, political, economic, chapter, the first three outer layers from the
built or biophysical spheres (Pearce & Witten, framework will be defined and then described
2010, p. 5). in relation to their impacts on health and quality
of life outcomes (Fig. 1).
Health and Quality of Life
E
The concept of health is being redefined from Defining the Outer Layers of the
the commonly used 1948 WHO definition Determinants of Health Framework
which describes health as a state of complete The Global Ecosystem: An ecosystem has been
physical, mental and social well-being and not defined as an interacting system comprised of
merely the absence of disease or infirmity an animate biological community (i.e., ani-
(World Health Organization [WHO], 2006, mals, plants, and microorganisms) and the
p. 1). The current conceptual focus emphasizes inanimate environment (i.e., water, soil, and
health as the ability to adapt and self manage atmosphere) (Alcamo & Bennett, 2003). Of
in the face of social, physical, and emotional contemporary concern to the global ecosystem
challenges (Huber et al., 2011, p. 1). This are biodiversity and climate change. Biodiver-
definition takes into account ones ability to sity describes the variability between and
age with chronic disease. Further, adaptive within species and the diversity of ecological
coping strategies can help sustain quality of systems (Alcamo & Bennett, 2003). According
life despite age or disability. This new concep- to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
tion of health highlights the varying emotional, Change (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
social, and physical challenges across the life Change [IPCC], 2007), climate change
span and the ability to feel and function with describes any climatic alteration that occurs
fulfillment despite disease or disability (Huber either as a result of human activity or natural
et al., 2011). variability over time.
The WHO (1996, p. 5) defines quality of life The Natural Environment : Ecological dimen-
as individuals perceptions of their position in sions of the environment like soil, rocks, ani-
life in the context of the culture and value mals, and vegetation are also considered a part
systems in which they live and in relation to of the natural environment (Australian Institute
their goals, expectations, standards and con- of Health and Welfare [AIHW], 2011). The term
cerns. Due to the subjective nature of quality ecosystem services can be used to describe the
of life, being based in environmental, cultural, benefits people receive from their natural envi-
and social contexts, the multilevel nature of the ronment (IPCC, 2007). Ecosystem services can
definition becomes apparent. Specifically, be broken into four dimensions: provisioning
quality of life can be categorized into a concep- services (e.g., fiber, water, biochemicals), cul-
tual framework of four domains: physical health tural services (e.g., knowledge system, sense of
(e.g., mobility, energy, and fatigue), psycholog- place, aesthetic values), supporting services
ical (e.g., self-esteem, personal beliefs), social (e.g., nutrient cycling, oxygen production, soil
relationship (e.g., social support and personal formation), and regulating services (e.g., inva-
relationships), and environment (e.g., transport, sion resistance, pollination, climate, pest, and
climate, and leisure activities). Both quality disease regulation) (Millennium Ecosystem
of life and health are influenced positively and Assessment, 2005a).
negatively by the global, natural, built, and The Built Environment and Social Environment:
social environments. The built environment relates to the modifiable
E 1906 Environment and Health

Environment and
BAL ECOSYSTEM
Health, Fig. 1 The GLO
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physical factors (i.e., structural, geographical, and The natural and built components (US Depart-
material) including urban form, land use mix, ment of Health and Human Services, 2010;
and transportation infrastructure (Saelens & Yen & Syme, 1999)
Handy, 2008). Within the literature, the concepts These environmental dimensions are further
of built environment and physical environment are impacted by historical, economic, political, and
used interchangeably (Diez-Roux & Mair, 2010; cultural influences (McNeill et al., 2006).
McCormack et al., 2004; Turrell, 2010).
A myriad of human interaction and activity
is enabled through engagement with the built Description
environment. Thus, the social environment can
be conceptualized as being a subset of the built Why Is the Environment and Health
environment. According to McNeill, Kreuter, Important?
and Subramanians (2006) conceptual review, The World Health Organization (WHO) has
the social environment broadly incorporates recognized that the environment and health
five main areas: un & Corvalan, 2006).
are linked (Pruss-Ust
Social support and networks Modifiable built environmental factors, such as
Socioeconomic status and income disparity sanitation and land use practices, are responsible
Racial/ethnic discrimination for approximately one-quarter of the burden of
Social cohesion and capital un & Corvalan, 2006).
disease globally (Pruss-Ust
Neighborhood environment The impact of the built environment on health is
All environments develop and evolve as a result extremely important, given that in 2007 over half
of complex interactions between the following: the worlds population lived in urban areas, and it
The built and social elements is predicted that six out of ten people will reside
The social dynamics that occur between group in cities by 2030 (WHO, 2010). Aligned with
and individual behaviors a built environment and health initiative,
Environment and Health 1907 E
the WHO selected the theme Urbanization and through the environmental health sector. The
Health for World Health Day held in April strategy recognizes that activities and policies
2010. This year-long theme aimed to recognize are typically established by non-health agencies
the effect urbanization may have on collective and aims to highlight key health determinants in
and individual health outcomes in relation to these processes. Some important environmental
safety, water supply, disease outbreaks, and health concerns include climate change, disas-
climate change (among others). In conjunction ters and emergencies, and urban development
with the World Health Day initiative, the 1000 (Commonwealth of Australia, 2007). While
cities, 1000 lives campaign encouraged cities these initiatives have been undertaken in devel-
to make public spaces available for one day oped countries, they are nonetheless examples
E
health-focused events. that highlight the global need to develop sustain-
able environments and infrastructure to ensure
International Initiatives the highest quality of life and health outcomes
Governments worldwide are recognizing the can be attained.
importance of the relationship between health The next section will focus on health and
and the environment. For instance, the Healthy quality of life in relation to physical and mental
People 2020 campaign (an extension from health dimensions within Barton and Grants
Healthy People 2010) was launched in Decem- (2006) determinants of health framework.
ber 2010 by the United States Department of
Health and Human Services with the goal of Global Ecosystem and Physical Health
developing social and physical environments to Arguably climate change is the greatest global
improve and promote health and quality of threat for health (Costello et al., 2009). Climate
life (US Department of Health and Human change has direct and indirect impacts on human
Services, 2010). The Department for Communi- health in areas of biological, physiological, and
ties and Local Government in the United systematic functions (Beggs & Bennett, 2011).
Kingdom completed their 2001 launched Direct impacts include heat waves and temper-
National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal ature changes that may alter the severity and
which addressed area-based disadvantage frequency of diseases and pests, ecological
goals (Department for Communities and Local cycles (Hanna, Bell, King & Woodruff, 2011),
Government, 2010a). This strategy aimed to droughts that may reduce stock capacity, water
improve health and quality of life outcomes in resources and soil moisture needed for agricul-
the most deprived neighborhoods through the ture (Dai, 2010), floods and storms which may
domains of the following: housing and the phys- interfere with crops and stock compromising
ical environment, crime, health, education food security (Friel et al., 2011), and loss of
and skills, work and enterprise, and liveability life on a large scale (Smith & Petley, 2009).
(Department for Communities and Local The environments that are influenced via
Government, 2010b). Currently, the United climate change can produce aeroallergens that
Kingdom has undertaken another strategy called have indirect impacts on population health.
Health is Global, which will run until 2013. The Airborne allergens, such as mold spores and
Health is Global program contains a cross- pollen, are associated with allergic rhinitis,
government strategy to enhance global health bronchitis, and asthma. Further, natural particles
security using environmental factors and climate caused by dust storms, volcanic eruptions, and
change as two mechanisms (HM Government, bushfires are linked with adverse health out-
2008). Meanwhile, Australia has implemented comes (Beggs & Bennett, 2011). Friel and col-
the National Environmental Health Strategy leagues (2011) review highlights the potential
20072012 that aims to protect health through for increases in noncommunicable diseases,
supporting and developing infrastructure such as respiratory disease, cardiovascular
E 1908 Environment and Health

disease, autoimmune diseases, and mental will inevitably impact ecosystem services and
health, as a result of climate change. Biophysi- ultimately influence human health outcomes.
cal system changes to the earth brought about Ecosystem services are largely influenced by
via climate change will profoundly impact pop- species variability as opposed to the quantity
ulation health and quality of life. of species. The variability of species is vital to
the ecosystems ability to process energy and
Global Ecosystem and Mental Health matter. For example, photosynthesis is vital
Extreme weather events resulting from climate for life on earth and the rate of photosynthesis
change are predicted to increase in severity, will differ depending on the plant species.
duration, and frequency (Berry, Bowen & Plant species also differ in their size, leaf
Kjellstrom, 2010). Adverse natural disasters decomposition, wood density, and longevity.
have the potential to deplete available natural Specifically in terrestrial ecosystems, biodiver-
resources through fires, droughts, tsunamis, hur- sity impacts the processes of water and nutrient
ricanes, floods, earthquakes, and heat waves. cycling, soil retention and formation, and biomass
The direct impact of a natural disaster can result production. If biodiversity is compromised
in adverse mental health outcomes. Post- through functional, local, or global extinction,
traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one condition the stability and level of ecosystem services
that can result from a traumatic event (Nerida, may be reduced. In fact, some ecosystem service
Nandi & Galea, 2008). Despite not experiencing changes have forced social groups into poverty
the immediate impact of a disaster, first resulting in subsequent health and quality of
responders, such as police officers and fire life declines (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment,
fighters, can also be affected by PTSD (Nerida 2005a).
et al., 2008). Thus, mental health can be impacted Communities rely on biodiversity in
directly or indirectly through climate change a globalized world. Impacts such as the
(Berry et al., 2010). There may also be indirect 20072008 food and fuel price crisis and the
implications for mental health as populations global financial crisis have had wide ranging
experience increased social inequities though the impacts on food security, energy security, clean
distribution of scarce resources in the aftermath water, poverty, and social relations (Millennium
of an event (Friel et al., 2011). During periods of Ecosystem Assessment, 2005b; Ruel, Garrett,
first response, recovery, and reconstruction after Hawkes & Cohen, 2010). The adverse health
a disaster, research indicates that people with impacts are dependent on adaptability and the
lower socioeconomic status experience greater type of coping strategies employed. For instance,
psychological problems compared to people food security coping mechanisms include reduc-
with higher socioeconomic status. Social exclu- ing food intake, switching to cheap staples, and
sion, disruption of social connections, type of substituting foods. However, these strategies typ-
residence, ability to rebuild or relocate and access ically result in reduced quality (i.e.,
to psychological assistance in a disaster aftermath micronutrients) and quantity (i.e., energy) of
are factors that amplify the onset of mental health food intake which has subsequent ill health
issues preceding a disaster recovery (Berry et al., effects ranging from short-term nutritional
2010; Fothergill & Peek, 2004). deficiencies to long-term developmental effects
for young children and newly born infants
Natural Environment and Physical Health (Ruel et al., 2010).
Biodiversity has an important link in ecosystem
services of provisions, support, regulation, and Natural Environment and Mental Health
culture in the natural environment. Human The ecosystem can also have mental health
health and quality of life rely on ecosystem benefits by providing inspiration, recreational
services. If changes occur in biodiversity, this opportunities, a sense of place, and aesthetic
Environment and Health 1909 E
appreciation. These services are important to help Another review explored the link between diet
increase social well-being and develop social and food stores. Results indicated that easier
capital (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, access to supermarkets compared to conve-
2005b). For instance, natural Green and Blue nience stores resulted in lower obesity levels
Gyms (i.e., conservation and coastal-related and healthier dietary intakes in neighborhood
physical activities, respectively) are being used residents (Larson, Story & Nelson, 2009). It is
for their health benefits. A review investigated clear that the design of the built environment
the health benefits of physical activity conducted influences health behaviors.
in natural environments compared to synthetic The social characteristics of the built envi-
environments. Results indicated that exercising ronment are equally important for health and
E
in natural environments provided superior mental quality of life. A range of health-related behav-
health benefits compared to indoor exercise. Spe- iors, such as smoking, physical activity, and
cifically, natural environments were associated alcohol use, are impacted by social features
with reduced anger, confusion, tension, and (Diez-Roux & Mair, 2010). Kunitzs (2004)
depression alongside increased energy levels review outlined that when community integra-
and a greater sense of revitalization and engage- tion and social support is high, mortality rates
ment (Coon et al., 2011). typically decline. Social support networks can
also have adverse outcomes on health. For
Built Environment and Physical Health example, if social service support is not avail-
The physical characteristics of the built environ- able to family caregivers, a range of ill health
ment can influence health and quality of life outcomes may result compared to those who do
(AIHW, 2011). Physical features which have not provide care (Kunitz, 2004). In terms of
been investigated for their health influences social capital, research finds an association
include housing conditions (e.g., exposure to between communities with high levels of social
mold, lead paint poisoning) (Jacobs, Kelly & capital and better self-reported health (Shortt,
Sobolewski, 2007), accessibility and availability 2004). In a review article, Shortt (2004) outlined
of health services (Iran, Irfan & Spiegel, 2012; three mechanisms through which health may be
Macintyre, Maciver & Sooman, 1993), environ- influenced by social capital: immune system
mental noise, safety from crime and walkability functions, an association between social capital
(Saelens, Sallis & Frank, 2003), and transport and health-related behaviors, and an association
(Commonwealth of Australia, 2010). An impor- between social capital and access to health ser-
tant lifestyle behavior which improves long- vices. These reviews support the idea that place
term health outcomes of chronic diseases and and group networks are important etiological
reduces risk factors for overweight and obesity factors for health.
is physical activity (National Health Priority
Action Council, 2006; Turrell, 2010). Two sys- Built Environment and Mental Health
tematic reviews demonstrated associations The built environment can have an impact on
between environmental characteristics, such as mental health. The common features that have
mixed land use, housing type, population den- been linked to mental health are the aesthetics of
sity, proximity to open space and nonresidential the environment, physical decay, and environ-
destinations, and increased levels of physical mental problems (i.e., services, public
activity, specifically walking behaviors (Durand, transportation, traffic, green space). In a review
Andalib, Dunton, Wolch & Pentz, 2011; Saelens article, Diez-Roux and Mair (2010) found that
& Handy, 2008). These findings highlight the depressive symptoms were associated with per-
need to foster healthy environments, especially ceived disordered neighborhoods, poor housing
as walking behaviors increase ones exposure to quality and neighborhood environments, and
environmental influences (Saelens et al., 2003). environmental problems. Mixed results were
E 1910 Environment and Health

derived from studies investigating the character- environments. These environmental levels reflect
istics of the service environment, while neigh- the upstream social determinants of health
borhoods which encouraged walkability factors which provide the greatest opportunities
indicated reduced rates of depressive symptoms to improve health through informed healthy
in elderly residents. After adjusting for individ- policies and evidence-based practice (Braveman
ual level factors, Truong and Mas (2006) et al., 2011; Turrell, Oldenburg, McGuffog &
research found that 27 out of the 29 studies Dent, 1999). Each environmental level does not
reviewed supported positive associations exist in a vacuum however. Instead, interactions
between mental health and neighborhood between and within these environments occur to
features ranging from subjective to objective shape and influence health and quality of life
measurements of the built environment which through direct and indirect pathways (McNeill
included measures of area poverty, housing et al., 2006; US Department of Health and
structure, violence, living in a deprived Human Services, 2010; Yen & Syme, 1999).
location, crime, and social support. Caution For better or worse, each environmental level
was however given in the interpretation of the has distinct implications for health and quality
results as the measurements and research of life.
designs across the studies varied making the
generalizability of the results challenging.
Social characteristics of the built environ-
ment can also affect mental health. Out of the Cross-References
45 studies reviewed by Mair, Diez-Roux and
Galea (2008), 37 indicated an association Adaptation
between depressive symptoms and neighbor- Built Environment
hood features. Compared to structural neighbor- Caregiver
hood characteristics, social processes (inclusive Crime
of interactions, violence and disorder) were the Food Security
most consistently associated with depressive Green Exercise
symptoms (Mair et al., 2008). Another review Health
conducted by Diez-Roux and Mair (2010) Health Determinants
supported these findings as six of 12 studies Healthy People 2010
linked violence, residential instability, and Land Use
hazardous conditions with depressive symp- Obesity, an Overview
toms. In contrast, social capital, social cohesion, Physical Activity
and reciprocity were the social characteristics Population Density
identified in 11 of 16 studies that provided Quality of Life
protective mechanisms against depression Sense of Place
(Diez-Roux & Mair, 2010). Social Cohesion
Transportation
Discussion Urban Design
Health and quality of life cannot be improved Walkability
through medical care alone (Braveman, Egerter
& Williams, 2011). Instead approaches need to
focus on the environments in which people live.
As illustrated in Barton and Grants (2006) References
determinants of health framework, peoples
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Environment Friendly Index 1913 E
index) that judged on six fields of interest: the
Environment Friendly Index environment, the community involvement, the
good corporate governance, respect for
Dionisis Philippas human rights, business ethics, and labor
European Commission, Joint Research Centre, practices.
Unit of Econometrics and Applied Statistics, In general, the Index of Environmental
Ispra, Italy Friendliness is a proxy that describes the aggre-
gation of direct and indirect environmental,
social, and economic pressure data of partial
Synonyms indices. The approach is applicable to the
E
life-cycle assessments of products and produc-
Eco-friendly Index; Index of environmental tion (Puolamaa et al., 1996). The Index of
friendliness; Nature-friendly index Environmental Friendliness also captures the
overall impact of economic activities associated
with the overall assessment of environmental
Definition activity. Assuming that the environmental issues
need a feasible basis for a comprehensive assess-
The term environmentally friendly is a label ment in life cycle, the scope of the Index of
for goods and services, laws, guidelines, and Environmental Friendliness is to cover the key
policies that do not harm the environment. environmental problems of partial indices such
Sometimes, companies use this term to pro- as the greenhouse effect, ozone depletion,
mote goods and services in order to adjust acidification, eutrophication, eco-toxicological
with environmental marketing policies. The effect, resource depletion, photooxidation,
Index of Environmental Friendliness is an biodiversity, radiation and noise, electricity and
indicator that evaluates the environmental heat consumption, and wastewater treatment. In
friendliness of goods and services in order to order to prevent overlaps in impact
create new and more diversified information assessments of various concerns, the evaluation
on environmental issues, goods, services, and is made according to their primary impact
eco labels. potential.
The Index of Environmental Friendliness
compresses detailed pressure data into a number
Description of new information categories and their potential
individual and/or joint impacts, combining
The environmental policies are quite important the indices with numeric data on the societal
for all countries that contribute to sustainable preferences of environmental concerns. The
development and the establishment of a sustain- Index of Environmental Friendliness provides
able and an integrated economic and the following aspects (see Fig. 1):
environmental system (Hammond et al., 1995). Basic statistics on direct total pressures
In the last decades, the international research Problem indicators (scores and normalized
focused on the development of environmental scores)
indicators as proxies for environmental and eco- Valuation of environmental concerns
nomic decision-making on the ongoing debate. The overall Index of Environmental
The term environmentally friendly has been Friendliness
used as a reference in various fields of research
and practice (finance, marketing, etc.). For
example, the term can describe the awareness Discussion
of the environment or a medium- to long-term The main advantage of the Index of Environmen-
investment interest (e.g., eco-friendly equity tal Friendliness has to do with the comprehensive
E 1914 Environment Friendly Index

Pressures Equivalency Environmental problem Valuation of env.


factors indices concerns

CO2, CO
CH+ GWP
GREENHOUSE
N2O
EFFECT
CFC
Other

CFC ODP OZONE


BFC DEPLETION
Other

SO2 INDEX
AP for env. problems
NOx
ACIDIFICATION
NHa for activities
Other for regions

NOx
P EP
EUTROPHICATION
N
Other

Harmful ECOTOXICOLOGICAL
substances ETP
EFFECT

VOC POCP PHOTO-OXIDATION


NOx

Natural
RESOURCE
resources, RDP
DEPLETION
waste

Land use, other * BIODIVERSITY

Noise NOISE
*
Radioactive
* RADIOACTIVITY
emissions

GWP Climate Warming Potential, ODP Ozone Depletion Potential, AP Acidification Potential, EP
Eutrophication Potential, ETP EcoToxicity Potential, POCP Potential for Photo-oxidant formation,
RDP depletion potential for biotic/abiotic natural resources, * no existing equivalency factors

Environment Friendly Index, Fig. 1 Aspects of environmental friendly index (Source: Puolamaa et al., 1996)

and future-oriented assessment of environmental Thus, aggregation methods of pressure data are
problems in each economic activity. On the other necessary to evaluate the environmental con-
hand, there are several shortcomings due the cerns. That will also require systematic data
structure of the index. Significant problems in improvements (e.g., biodiversity, harmful sub-
evaluation process concern the overlaps in the stances, waste materials, and photooxidant for-
aggregation of pressures to the indices and mation) and structuring data, according to
several weighting issues. Thus, the quality of economic and environmental activities.
the information provided by the Index of
Environmental Friendliness depends on the
quality of the basic pressure data and the aggre- Cross-References
gated methods. The minimization of the overlap
problems on data aggregation and evaluation Environmental Management
is considered to be essential for the quality Environmental Sustainability
of the Index of Environmental Friendliness. Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI)
Environmental Amenities and Disamenities 1915 E
References discusses the importance of high-quality goods
and servicesreferring to them as quality of
Hammond, A., Adriaanse, A., Rodenburg, E., Bryant, D., place. Florida underlines the importance of a
& Woodward, R. (1995). Environmental indicators: A
bundle of amenities, lifestyle options, type of
systematic approach to measuring and reporting on
environmental policy performance in the context of people (. . .) (Florida, 2002, p. 6) as driving
sustainable development. Washington, DC: World forces of the location decisions of the highly
Resources Institute. skilled labor force.
Puolamaa, M., Kaplas, M., & Reinikainen, T. (1996).
In a list of works, the amount of amenities has
Index of environmental friendliness: A methodological
study. Helsinki: Eurostat. been used as proxies of quality of life and subse-
quently as engines of economic growth:
E
Roback (1982) finds that differences in local
amenities (QoL as defined in the study) can
explain to a great extent regional wage
Environmental Amenities differentials.
and Disamenities Gyourko and Tracy (1991) uses as quality of
life indicators natural amenities, such as cli-
Vicente Royuela mate/weather variables and closeness to the
AQR-IREA Research Group, University of Great Lake or to the Gulf of Mexico, and
Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain human-made amenities, such as access
to alternative labor market, non-land cost of
living, and urban size.
Synonyms Florida (2002) proxies his concept of ameni-
ties with the following indicators: coolness
Environmental benefits and costs; Facilities; factor, proportion of population aged 2229,
Services number of bars and nightclubs per capita,
number of art galleries and museums per
capita, and the median house value.
Definition Royuela and Surinach (2003) approach
urban quality of life considering a wide list
Generally speaking an amenity is a useful or of indicators of what they call urban ameni-
enjoyable feature. In urban economics, an ame- ties, such as education and health facilities.
nity is referred to any benefits that increase the Faggian and Royuela (2010) understand that
attractiveness of a place by increasing its com- individual/household circumstances are impor-
fort or convenience. Examples of amenities are tant in defining quality of life and they define
pleasant views, good schools, or even a low aspirational amenities, in the sense that people
crime rate. consider a feature as a valuable good according to
their particular circumstances. One example
would be the different consideration that an
Description amenity would have for individuals over their
life course.
Glaeser, Kolko, and Saiz (2001) define urban
amenity as a desirable package of goods
demanded by the consumers of urban space. Disamenities
In the context of interurban competition, recent
research attempts to explain the internal mecha- There are certain features that individuals
nism through which quality of life plays a role face that may be valued as bads rather than
in economic growth and consequently urban as goods. In such cases people talk about
growth. In this framework, Florida (2002) disamenities rather than amenities. Examples of
E 1916 Environmental Amenities and Disamenities

Disamenities of natural or man-made amenities. This stream


of the literature is due to Tiebout (1956) and
has been analyzed, for instance, in Faggian
Amenities and Royuela (2010, Faggian, Olfert, and Par-
tridge 2011).
Finally, real estate and housing literature has
used the concepts of amenities and disamenities
to analyze different features of the housing
market or similar related issues.
The traditional tool has been the use of the
hedonic model, which has been also used exten-
Urban Size sively in the environmental and urban literatures.
Environmental Amenities and Disamenities,
It allows for the estimation of the implicit prices
Fig. 1 Relationship between amenities and disamenities of housing, neighborhood attributes, and, of
and urban size course, amenities and disamenities.
Some examples are the measures of environ-
mental quality (Cheshire & Sheppard, 1995,
disamenities are lower levels of environmental Din, Hoesli, & Bender, 2001), safety in cities
quality and increasing congestion. (Bishop & Murphy, 2011), value of green areas
Despite one can talk about safety (amenity) (Gunn, 2007), forests (Hand, Thacher, &
rather than criminality (disamenity), it is the case McCollum, 2008), transport improvements (Yiu
that in many situations the social evolution drives & Wong, 2005), and public goods (Gravel,
to a decrease in quality of life. The typical exam- Michelangeli, & Trannoy, 2006).
ple is the growth in cities: as urban size increases,
lower levels of environmental quality, increasing
congestion, etc., may arise. Cross-References
The relationship between amenities and
disamenities and urban size (see Fig. 1) has City Competitiveness and Quality of Life
been investigated in a list of works (Capello & Facilities
Camagni, 2000; Royuela & Surinach, 2005). Hedonic Price Model
According to Royuela and Surinach (2005), Public Good(s)
big municipalities in the province of Barcelona
(Spain) enjoy better public transportation and References
more and better cultural, educational, and health
facilities but higher congestion and pollution and Bishop, K. C., & Murphy, A. D. (2011). Estimating the
few social and old age services. willingness to pay to avoid violent crime: A dynamic
The concept of amenity has also played approach. American Economic Review, 1013, 625629.
Capello, R., & Camagni, R. (2000). Beyond optimal city
a role in the migration literature. Economists
size: An evaluation of alternative urban growth
have long modelled households as maximizing patterns. Urban Studies, 37(9), 14791496.
utility subject to income constraints. Utility is Cheshire, P., & Sheppard, S. (1995). On the price of land
synonymous with well-being, QoL, or happi- and the value of amenity. Econometrica, 62, 247267.
Din, A., Hoesli, M., & Bender, A. (2001). Environmental
ness to economists. Noneconomic aspects values and real estate prices. Urban Studies, 38(100),
include the quality of public services, natural 19892000.
amenities, and access to man-made or urban Faggian, A., & Royuela, V. (2010). Migration flows and
amenities. In making a migration decision and quality-of-life in a metropolitan area: The case of
Barcelona-Spain. Applied Research in Quality of
choosing their preferred location, households
Life, 5(3), 241259.
vote with their feet, revealing their preference Faggian, A., Olfert, M. R., & Partridge, M. D. (2011).
for locations and for a particular combination Inferring regional well-being from individual revealed
Environmental Impact Assessment 1917 E
preferences: The voting with your feet approach.
Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Environmental Benefits and Costs
5(1), 163180.
Florida, R. (2002). The economic geography of talent.
Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Environmental Amenities and Disamenities
92, 743775.
Glaeser, E. L., Kolko, J., & Saiz, A. (2001). Consumer
city. Journal of Economic Geography, 1, 2750.
Gravel, N., Michelangeli, A., & Trannoy, A. (2006). Mea-
suring the social value of local public goods: An
Environmental Design
empirical analysis within Paris metropolitan area.
Applied Economics, 38(16), 19451961. Design, an Overview
Gunn, S. C. (2007). Green belts: A review of the regions E
responses to a changing housing agenda. Journal of
Environmental Planning and Management, 50(5),
595616.
Gyourko, J., & Tracy, J. (1991). The structure of local
Environmental Footprint
public finance and the quality-of-life. Journal of
Political Economy, 99(4), 774806. Ecological Footprint
Hand, M. S., Thacher, J. A., & McCollum, D. W. (2008).
Intra-regional amenities, wages, and home prices: The
role of forests in the southwest. Land Economics,
84(4), 635651.
Roback, J. (1982). Wages, rents, and quality-of-life. Environmental Health Indicators
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quality-of-life in small areas over different periods of
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Tiebout, C. M. (1956). A pure theory of local expendi-
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Yiu, C. Y., & Wong, S. K. (2005). The effects of expected
transport improvements on housing prices. Urban
Environmental Impact Analysis
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Environmental Impact Assessment

Environmental Ascription and Environmental Impact Assessment


Health
Carys Jones
Industrial Toxins Proximity and Childhood School of Environment and Development
Health and Learning (Planning & Environmental Management),
University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

Synonyms
Environmental Assessment
Environmental assessment; Environmental
Environmental Impact Assessment impact analysis; Impact analysis; Impact
Strategic Environmental Assessment assessment
E 1918 Environmental Impact Assessment

Definition exist (e.g., regarding air or water quality), but less


so where judgments have to be made on a more
Environmental impact assessment (EIA) refers to qualitative basis (e.g., landscape impacts). It
the process of evaluating the potential environ- should also be borne in mind that all evaluations
mental impacts of a project undertaken prior to of significance are in some way qualitative as
the granting of approval and implementation of even quantitative standards reflect a political
that project. dimension.
The preliminary stages consist of:
Screening deciding if an EIA is required
Description Scoping deciding what the EIA should cover
Consideration of alternatives both to, and in
Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is rec- design of, the project
ognized worldwide as a formal ex ante process Project design finalizing options
with specific procedural stages that incorporates Screening usually takes place on the basis
consideration of the environment into the design of predetermined lists of project types (often
and development of projects. Most countries now incorporating thresholds and criteria), a case-
have some form of legislation or guidance to set by-case consideration of each project, or some
their framework for implementing EIA, with the combination of the two approaches. Thresholds
process also adopted by a range of institutions and criteria usually relate to project size or
(Hanna, 2005; Lee & George, 2000; Shrivastava, production parameters (e.g., quarrying of
2003; Thomas & Elliott, 2005), for example, the x tons per annum), to proximity to areas of
World Bank. The US National Environmental importance (e.g., national parks, or sensitive
Policy Act of 1969 (CEQ, 2011) is generally receptors, including humans), or to financial
regarded as the first legislation to codify formal costs of the project (as in India, France). The
procedures for EIA, and this proved to be the scope of an EIA primarily focuses on biophys-
basis and inspiration worldwide, for subsequent ical aspects but is increasingly drawing on
initiatives to take a proactive stance on dealing wider social and economic parameters as the
with the environmental consequences of devel- concepts of sustainable development and
opment (Wood, 2003). sustainability increasingly underpin our
The EIA process is made up of several stages interventions in the environment. Scoping can
(Glasson, Therivel, & Chadwick, 2005), and involve a range of techniques such as use of
while these are not necessarily all contained checklists, analogous projects, and consultation
within the legislation and process of any one with experts and locals. One of the key outputs
country or jurisdiction, they are regarded as is often a scoping report or terms of reference
essential good practice elements. The respon- that set the agenda for the subsequent assess-
sibility for the EIA ultimately rests with the pro- ment stages. The alternatives and project
ject proponent, but the assessment is commonly design are important early considerations, as
undertaken by consultants, although this varies the opportunities to deal with potential envi-
by jurisdiction. ronmental consequences later on are often
Figure 1 summarizes the generic EIA process, foreclosed by choices made during early
and while this implies a sequential procedure, it decisions on design. These early stages of
should be, and often is, an iterative process. EIA often proceed simultaneously and draw
The issue of significance underpins much of on similar information concerning the project
the process and plays a role in screening, scoping, and the environment likely to be affected,
and evaluation of the importance of potential reinforcing the iterative nature of the EIA pro-
impacts and, ultimately, in the overall decision cess. The emphasis is to focus the EIA on
on project implementation. This can be relatively major projects that warrant commitment of
straightforward, as where quantitative standards resources due to the nature, extent, and likely
Environmental Impact Assessment 1919 E
Environmental Impact
Assessment, Fig. 1 EIA
process

consequences of their impacts. This is then future changes, but this is rarer in practice. The
reinforced by scoping the assessment to focus use of a range of tools (e.g., various modeling
on issues and impacts likely to be key in the techniques, expert opinion, analogous projects)
decision taken on project approval. then allows the prediction of potential impacts
The assessment stages cover: to be undertaken (Morris & Therivel, 2009).
Establishing the baseline for a range of envi- Once the extent of an impact has been predicted,
ronmental, and often social, parameters there needs to be an evaluation of its significance
Prediction the extent of the physical changes based on current standards or expert opinion. The
to affected parameters importance of an impact is a product of its mag-
Evaluation of significance the importance of nitude and context; an impact of high magnitude
the effects on the environment caused by the will not necessarily also have a great significance,
projects impacts and conversely a low magnitude impact may be
Mitigation measures how the significant of great significance. Mitigation measures then
impacts will be prevented or ameliorated lead directly from this evaluation of the signifi-
In order to predict the changes to the environ- cance of impacts the greater the importance of
ment likely to be caused by the project, it is the impacts on the environment, then the greater
necessary to understand the baseline for any the need for mitigation of their effects. Mitigation
change and therefore establish current conditions measures form a hierarchy (Fig. 2) with those at
in relation to a range of parameters; ideally the the top being the preferable form of dealing with
baseline should also take into account potential the impact; alternatives can be regarded as a form
E 1920 Environmental Impact Assessment

a statutory role (e.g., nature conservation,


public health) for information and their views
on the project and its impacts. EIA also sets
an important benchmark in terms of public
involvement in the process, ranging from basic
provision of information about the project,
through more active consultation, to active
involvement in project formulation and decision-
making (e.g., Canada).
The EIA process is now well established
worldwide, and while its success is clear, ques-
tions are now being raised about its effectiveness
and efficiency with the aim to maximize benefits
and minimize costs (Holder & McGillivray,
2007; Jay, Jones, Slinn, & Wood, 2007). While
Environmental Impact Assessment, Fig. 2 Hierarchy
there is general consensus that benefits do out-
of mitigation types
weigh costs from a broad range of countries, it is
also clear that EIA systems do not perform
of mitigation. The output of the assessment is equally well. In many instances, the process is
a document, known variously as an Environmen- falling short of its potential. Key weaknesses
tal Statement, Environmental Impact Statement, relate to coverage of the relevant project types,
and Environmental Report, which contains the limited consideration of mitigation measures,
methods used to assess the impacts and their quality of assessment reports, integration of
findings, as well as detailing the EIA process assessment findings into decision-making, public
(e.g., scoping, consultation). involvement, post-implementation activity, and
The document then feeds into the decision- broader system monitoring.
making process on the project and is a key ele- Nevertheless, project designs have been
ment in consultation with stakeholders and pro- changed and mitigation considered proactively
vision of information on the likely consequences rather than reactively at a relatively late stage,
of the project should it proceed. This stage may various stakeholders have modified their behav-
also involve some form of review or evaluation of ior to encompass consideration of the environ-
the document produced to establish whether it ment, empowerment of many individuals and
provides sufficient information for decision groups has occurred, and outcome of assessment
makers to judge the consequences of their deci- has been used to further management projects
sion on the environment. once implemented (Jay et al, 2007). Finally, the
The final stages of the EIA process where the acceptance of the approach and its success has led
project is implemented relate to the monitoring to the transposition of the impact assessment
of project impacts and effects on the environment principles to the strategic level and their applica-
(Morrison-Saunders & Arts, 2004). This may also tion to policies, plans, and programs strategic
include monitoring of the project itself and the environmental assessment.
efficacy of mitigation measures set in place aris-
ing from the assessment process.
An overarching stage of the process is con-
sultation and public participation which takes Cross-References
place formally or informally throughout the pro-
cess; particularly at the scoping, assessment, and Strategic Environmental Assessment
decision-making stages. This will involve consul- Sustainability
tation of those individuals and institutions with Sustainable Development
Environmental Protection, Satisfaction with 1921 E
References
Environmental Protection
CEQ. (2011). National Environmental Policy Act, and Sustainability
NEPAnet http://ceq.hss.doe.gov/nepa/nepanet.htm
Glasson, R., Therivel, R., & Chadwick, A. (2005). Intro-
duction to environmental impact assessment (3rd ed.). Life Satisfaction and Sustainable Consumption
London: Routledge.
Hanna, K. S. (2005). Environmental impact assessment:
Practice and participation. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.
Holder, J., & McGillivray, D. (Eds.). (2007). Taking stock Environmental Protection,
of environmental assessment- law, policy and practice. Satisfaction with E
Abingdon: Routledge Cavendish.
Jay, S., Jones, C., Slinn, P., & Wood, C. (2007). Environ-
Jare Struwig
mental impact assessment: Retrospect and prospect.
Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 27(4), Human Sciences Research Council, Pretoria,
287300. doi:10.1016/j.eiar.2006.12.001. South Africa
Lee, N., & George, C. (Eds.). (2000). Environmental
assessment in developing and transitional countries.
Chichester: Wiley.
Morris, P., & Therivel, R. (Eds.). (2009). Methods of Synonyms
environmental impact assessment (3rd ed.). London:
University College of London Press. Green politics; Natural environment protection
Morrison-Saunders, A., & Arts, J. (Eds.). (2004).
Assessing impact- handbook of EIA and SEA follow-
up. London: Earthscan.
Shrivastava, A. K. (2003). Environmental impact assess- Definition
ment. Delhi: APH Publishing Corporation.
Thomas, I. G., & Elliott, M. (2005). Environmental impact
For the purposes of this entry, the environment
assessment: Theory and practice. Annandale: Federa-
tion Press. encompasses all living and nonliving things that
Wood, C. M. (2003). Environmental impact assessment: are found in their natural state on earth, inevitably
A comparative review (2nd ed.). Harlow: Prentice functioning as ecological units, constantly in
Hall.
interaction with each other causing actions and
reactions. These units include finite and infinite
elements such as vegetation, microorganisms,
soil, rock, atmosphere, air, water, energy, and
Environmental Indicators radiation.

Indicators for Assessing Environmental Status


Description

Historically, development and environmental


issues have been treated as mutually exclusive,
Environmental Management with incompatible agendas in society (Todes
et al., 2003). During the latter part of the 1960s,
Natural Resource Management (NRM)
however, scientists, politicians, and policy
makers seriously began to consider the relation-
ship between development and the environment
as having interrelated impacts. The need to
Environmental Planning consider this relationship was highlighted at
the United Nations Conference on the
Land-Use Planning Human Environment in Stockholm in 1972
Planning, Spatial (The Encyclopedia of Earth, 2007). At this
E 1922 Environmental Protection, Satisfaction with

meeting, the causal relationship between poverty, In many newly and rapidly industrializing
the environment, and development was explored. regions of the developing world, the populations
It became clear that unsustainable development are in double jeopardy, facing both this unfinished
decisions which ignored environmental opportu- agenda of traditional environmental health prob-
nities and constraints impacted the lives of peo- lems and emerging problems of industrial pollu-
ple, but more specifically the lives of the poor, tion (Smith et al., 1997). According to the United
leading to increased levels of risk and poverty Nations, 13 of the 15 cities with the worst air
(Leiserowitz et al., 2004). pollution in the world are in Asia (Kristof, 1997)
Today, there is wide acceptance that the with more than two million people dying each
environment impacts on quality of life and year in China alone from the effects of air and
human habitation. Global initiatives such as water pollution (World Bank, 1997).
Agenda 21 (1992) acknowledge that sustainable In the worlds wealthiest regions, such as
development is attached to a broader set of values Europe, North America, and Japan, although
such as peace and freedom (UN Conferences). environmental risks overall tend to be lower,
The Millennium Development Goals also they have by no means disappeared. The degra-
acknowledge the complexity of the impact of dation of the environment, through air pollution,
the environment on human habitation and speak noise, chemicals, poor quality water, and loss of
of goals related to development, environment, natural areas, combined with lifestyle changes,
human rights, the vulnerable, the hungry, and may be contributing to substantial increases
the poor (United Nations General Assembly, in rates of obesity, diabetes, asthma, allergies,
2000). These documents confirm that there exists diseases of the cardiovascular and nervous
a complex relationship between environmental systems, and cancer (WHO, 1997). Reproductive
factors, human existence, and human health and mental health problems are also on the
and that the environment is critical to peoples increase (Martin et al., 2010).
physical, mental, and social well-being. Of all environmental challenges, climate
Environmental threats to human health and changes remain the biggest risk and according
quality of life emanate from various sources and to the Stern review (2006) the greatest and
vary dramatically by region and level of eco- widest ranging market failure ever seen. The
nomic development (Foa, 2009). Significant dif- review argues that climate change will affect the
ferences in the quality of the environment across right to life, the right to food, the right to a decent
the globe are consequences of the varying pres- standard of living, and the right to physical
sures related, for example, to urbanization, pol- and mental health. Alterations in the climate, or
lution, and natural resource use. Exposures and climate change, produce a higher degree of
associated health risks, as well as the benefits of natural disasters which are already responsible
pollution reduction and of a natural environment, for thousands of deaths every year owing to
are not uniformly distributed across populations their direct impact on vulnerable communities
(Martin et al., 2010). (Foa, 2009). Millions of deaths occur every year
In poor developing countries, contaminated a result of indirect effects via damage to health,
water is one of the largest problems. Lack of ade- sanitation, and irrigation infrastructure. Between
quate potable water, sanitation, and hygiene are 1971 and 1995, these caused an average of
responsible for an estimated 1.5 million deaths per 128,000 deaths per year, affected 136 million
year (WHO, 2009). Diarrhea also claims the lives people, and caused a total $439bn of damages;
of some 2.5 million children a year WHO (2007). of those affected by natural hazards between
Overcrowding and smoky indoor airfrom 1971 and 1995, 99 % were individuals living in
burning biomass fuels for cooking or heating the Global South (IFRC, 1997). In 1992, coun-
contribute to acute respiratory infections that kill tries joined an international treaty, the United
four million people a year, again, mostly children Nations Framework Convention on Climate
younger than age 5 (Ezzati & Kammen, 2002). Change, to cooperatively consider what could
Environmental Protection, Satisfaction with 1923 E
be done to limit average global temperature International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
increases. In 1995, negotiations were strengthen- Societies (IFRC). (1997). World disasters report 1997.
Geneva, Switzerland: IFRC.
ing, and in 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was adapted. Kristof, N. (1997). For pacific islanders, global warming
The Kyoto Protocol legally binds developed is no idle threat. New York Times. 2 March 1997.
countries to emission reduction targets. Unfortu- Annual Review of Environmental and Resources,
nately, the World Bank (2010) reported that the 31(1), 413444.
Leiserowitz, R. W., Kates, R. W., & Parris, T. M. (2004).
protocol only had a slight effect in curbing global Sustainability values, attitudes, and behaviors: A
emissions growth and that energy-related emis- review of multi-national and global trends. http://
sions had grown by 24 % since the protocol was sierraactvist.org/ library/990629/islanders.html. Retrieved
signed. Also, the North-South divide had an March 2012.
Martin, J., Henrichs, T., Pirc-Velkavrh, A., Volkery, A., E
impact on the protocol (Najam, 1995). Jarosinska, D., Csagoly, P. et al. (2010). The European
The approach to dealing with environmental environment-state and outlook 2010. www.eea.
challenges has moved from proving the facts to europa.eu/soer/synthesis/synthesis/@@rdf. Retrieved
implementing change. All of the treaties, 6 April 2012.
Najam, A. (1995). An environmental negotiation
protocols, and change agendas accept that devel- strategy for the south international environmental
opment should be based on values of human affairs. International Environmental Affairs, 7(3),
dignity. The challenge is now to implement the 249287.
vision of the good life utilizing the environ- Smith, K. (1997). Development, health and the environ-
mental risk transition. In G. S. Shahi (Ed.), Interna-
ment responsibly (Leiserowitz et al., 2004) and tional perspectives on environment, development
to accelerate collective action. This can only be and health. New York: Springer Publishing
done if there is a common global value, vivid Company.
imagery, and ready institutions and governments Stern, N., Peters, S., Bakhshi, V., Bowen, A., Cameron,
C., Catovsky, S., et al. (2006). Stern review: The
to implement the available options that threaten economics of climate change. London: HM Treasury.
modern existence. The Encyclopedia of Earth. (2007). http://www.eoearth.
org/topics/view/49484/. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
Todes, A., Oelofse, C., Houghton, J., & Sowman, M.
(2003). National framework document: Strengthen-
Cross-References ing environmental sustainability in the integrated
development planning process. South Africa:
Environment and Health Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.
Environment Friendly Index UN Conferences: http://www.un.org/events/conferences.
htm.
Environmental Sustainability United Nations General Assembly (2000). United Nations
Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) millennium declaration-resolutions adopted by
Fostering Pro-environmental Behavior the general assembly. http://www.un.org/millennium/
Guilt and Environmental Behavior declaration/. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
World Bank. (1997). Clear water. Washington, DC: Blue
Skies.
World Bank. (2010). World development report:
References Development and climate change. The International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development. http://go.
Agenda 21 (1992). Adopted United Nations Conference worldbank.org/UVZ0HYFGG0. Retrieved 6 April
on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in 2012.
Rio de Janerio, Brazil, 314 June 1992. World Health Organization. (1997). The world health
Ezzati, M., & Kammen, D. (2002). The health impacts of report. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/
exposure to indoor air pollution from solid fuels in fs330/en/index.html. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
developing countries: Knowledge, gaps, and data World Health Organization. (2007). Diarrhoeal disease.
needs. Environmental Health Perspectives, 110(11), http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs330/en/
10571068. index.html7. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
Foa, R. (2009). Social and governance dimensions of World Health Organization. (2009). Childrens environ-
climate change: Implications for policy. World Bank mental health. Lack of water and sanitation. http://
Policy Research Working Papers no. WPS 4939, www.who.int/ceh/risks/cehwater/en/. Retrieved 2
May 2009 March 2012.
E 1924 Environmental Quality

ethic changes the role of Homo sapiens from con-


Environmental Quality queror of the land-community to plain member and
citizen of it. . . it implies respect for his fellow-
Quality of Place members, and also respect for the community as
such.
Little attention was paid to Leopold in the
popular press, but the publication of Rachael
Environmental Sustainability Carsons (1962) Silent Spring was the seminal
piece of modern literature that brought environ-
Charles Hostovsky mental quality and sustainability to the popular
Catholic University of America, Washington, media and public attention. Silent Spring
DC, USA launched the modern environmental movement.
Carson described how the pesticide DDT
bioaccumulated in the food chain, weakening
Synonyms the eggshells of raptors (e.g., eagles) at the top
of the natures trophic levels, thus endangering
Ecological sustainability avian species. As the first ecofeminist, Carson
advocated environmental impact assessment
regulations in the USA: she played a role in
Definition pushing for the National Environmental Policy
Act of 1969, as well as the US Environmental
Environmental sustainability is derived from the Protection Agency. These impact assessment reg-
term sustainable development, coined by the ulations were soon emulated in Canada, the West,
World Commission on Environment and Devel- and later in most countries in the developing
opment or the Brundtland Commission world. Through monies left in her estate, she
(WCED, 1987). The commission said that sus- funded the first environmental NGO: the Envi-
tainable development is development that meets ronmental Defense Fund. The changes that Car-
the needs of the present without compromising son influenced set precedents copied by many
the ability of future generations to meet their own nations: she recognized that human quality of
needs. Environmental sustainability emphasizes life was ultimately influenced by environmental
retaining and protecting environmental resources quality and sustainability and pushed for legisla-
and the resilience of ecosystems. tion and regulations to protect environmental
health.
Garret Hardins (1968) Tragedy of the
Description Commons also promoted the paradigm of sus-
tainability and responsibility for the environ-
Environmental sustainability has a rich intellectual ment. Hardins parable illustrated how free
history. Although First Nations and native peoples access and uncontrolled demand for a finite
around the world traditionally lived within the resource ultimately leads to overexploitation
ecological capacity of their habitat, western colo- of that resource. The benefits of exploitation
nialists ignored their sustainable wisdom. Aldo accrue to individuals, each of whom is moti-
Leopold (1949) was the first modern thinker to vated to maximize personal use of the resource.
point western culture toward environmental sus- The costs of exploitation such as pollution
tainability when he published his Sand County are distributed among those to whom the
Almanac. Here he conceptualized the land resource is available as well as third parties. In
ethic that land is a community is the basic other words, Hardin pointed to the environ-
concept off ecology, but that land is to be loved and mental externalities associated with con-
respected is an extension of ethics.. . . A land sumption of resources. Today this concern can
Environmental Sustainability 1925 E
be seen in the phenomenon of global warming, Be wary of product eco-labeling and
where the atmosphere is exploited and contam- greenwashing (Hostovsky, 2009) because
inated by all nations through rampant CO2 there are no regulations on the use of the
emissions. terms green and environmentally
To promote environmental sustainability friendly. Help reduce your communitys
within urban and regional planning and engi- ecological footprint.
neering, Ian McHarg (1969) published Design Reuse products rather than buying disposable
with Nature. McHarg said that urban form must goods. For example, buy beverages in deposit-
follow more than just function; it must also return, refillable bottles. Recycle what cannot
respect the natural environment in which devel- be reduced or reused. Compost food and yard
E
opment is placed. He was concerned that the US waste.
Interstate Highway System began to spread over Live in a small, energy efficient home. Prac-
ever-increasing swaths of land, indiscriminately tice water and electricity conservation in that
removing natural habitats in the process. Hence, home. Buy electricity from a green energy
suburban sprawl increased in scope and intensity supplier, if available. Consider solar panels
as development followed new roads. Engineers or alternative energy options.
and planners focused almost exclusively on nar- Live close to work or school and close to
row cost-benefit and efficiency considerations in transit. Walk, bike, and take transit as much
choosing how to implement infrastructure. as possible. Drive less. Carpool and combine
McHarg presented new strategies for protecting trips. Join a car-sharing service. Use a small,
environmental assets and qualities during fuel-efficient, durable vehicle.
development. Telecommute work at home if possible.
Hence, the 1960s in particular saw the birth of Fly less. Take the train for shorter trips (to
a popular environmental movement that found its leave a smaller carbon footprint).
way into regulatory processes across the planet Buy locally or regionally grown food (i.e., the
throughout the 1970s and 1980s, culminating in 100-mile diet). Grow food organically, if you
the formation of the World Commission on Envi- can. Eat less frequently in restaurants. Do not
ronment and Development in 1983. Environmen- eat factory processed food or fast food from
tal sustainability meeting the needs of the present multinational food companies.
without compromising the ability of future gener- Buy locally or regionally produced
ations to meet their own needs within a healthy and manufactured goods whenever possible. Buy
resilient environment is essential to continuing goods manufactured in countries that have
quality of life and opportunity for everyone. strict environmental regulations and do not
But of all of these regulations and polices are exploit child labor. Avoid shopping at big-
at a government level and many individuals feel box retailers. Buy from small to medium
that not enough is being done by their politicians sized local businesses. Be willing to pay
and corporate leaders to mitigate climate change more for products and at businesses that create
and other pressing environmental problems. So less impact.
what can citizens do in their own lives to practice Do not drink bottled water use safe tap water
environmental sustainability, regardless of gov- in western counties. Carry a durable refillable
ernment and corporate inaction? Some simple container made locally.
strategies can enable individuals to make Consider taking vacations near home.
a difference without sacrificing quality of life Donate generously to reputable charities and
and while improving public and environmental relief agencies that help the poor and build
health: capacity at home or in the developing world.
Reduce consumption of unnecessary Protect and conserve habitat areas such as
goods and services. Reject a lifestyle of wetlands and forests. Increase your ecolog-
rampant consumerism and materialism. ical literacy.
E 1926 Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI)

Cross-References These indicators fall into the following five


broad categories: environmental systems, reduc-
Ecological Footprint ing environmental stresses, reducing human
Indicators of Ecosystem Change vulnerability to environmental stresses, societal
Sustainability and institutional capacity to respond to environ-
mental challenges, and global stewardship.

References
Description
Carson, R. (1962). Silent spring. New York: Crest Books.
Hardin, G. (1968). The tragedy of the commons. Science,
The Yale Center for Environmental Law and
162, 12431248.
Hostovsky, C. (2009). Greenwashing. In P. Robbins, Policy (YCELP) and the Center for International
J. R. Mansvelt, J. G. Golson (Eds.). Green society: Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)
Toward a sustainable future green consumerism: at Columbia University have collaborated with
An A-to-Z guide. Sage. http://www.sagepub.com/
the World Economic Forum to produce four
booksProdDesc.nav?prodIdBook233809
Leopold, A. (1949). A Sand County Almanac and sketches releases of the Environmental Sustainability
here and there. New York: Oxford University Press. Index (ESI) since the year 2000 (latest release
McHarg, I. L. (1969). Design with nature. Wiley: in 2005 in collaboration with Joint Research
Hoboken, New Jersy.
Centre of the European Commission).
WCED. (1987). Our common future. Report of the World
Commission on Environment and Development, The 2005 ESI score is calculated as
World Commission on Environment and Develop- a simple arithmetic average of 21 normalized
ment. (Brundtland Report) Published as Annex to indicators (Esty et al., 2005; Saisana, Nardo, &
General Assembly document A/42/427.
Srebotnjak, 2005; Munda, Nardo, Saisana, &
Srebotnjak, 2009). Each indicator builds on
between 2 and 12 variables (total of 76 vari-
Environmental Sustainability ables). The 2005 ESI framework is shown in
Index (ESI) Table 1. Air quality, for example, is a composite
indicator that includes variables tracking the
Michaela Saisana concentration of nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide,
Econometrics and Applied Statistics, Joint and particulates.
Research Centre, European Commission, Ispra, Given the diversity of national priorities and
Italy circumstances, full agreement on a universally
applicable set of weights for the aggregation of
Synonyms the 21 ESI indicators is unlikely to be achieved.
Indeed, in some countries, water issues will be
ESI most pressing; in others, air pollution may be the
priority. Developed countries are likely to put
more emphasis on longer-term challenges such
Definition as climate change, waste treatment and disposal,
clean and sustainable energy supply, and the
The Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) protection of biodiversity. Developing nations
benchmarks the ability of nations to protect will stress more urgent and short-term issues
the environment over the next several decades. such as access to drinking water and sanitation,
The 2005 ESI integrates 76 variables into 21 environmental health problems, and indoor air
indicators of environmental sustainability for pollution.
146 countries (Esty, Levy, Srebotnjak, & de The decision in building the 2005 ESI was to
Sherbinin, 2005). settle on equal weights for the 21 indicators
Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) 1927 E
Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI), Table 1 Environmental Sustainability Index 2005: framework
76 variables 21 indicators 5 components
Nitrogen dioxide concentration Air quality Environmental systems
Sulfur dioxide concentration
Particulate concentration
Indoor air quality
Eco-regions at risk Biodiversity
Threatened birds
Threatened mammals
Threatened amphibians
National Biodiversity Index E
Wilderness area Land
Developed area
Dissolved oxygen Water quality
Electrical conductivity
Suspended solids
Phosphorus concentration
Surface water availability Water quantity
Groundwater availability
Coal consumption Reducing air pollution Reducing environmental
Nitrogen oxide emissions stresses
Sulfur dioxide emissions
VOC emissions
Vehicles in use
Forest cover change Reducing ecosystem stresses
Acidification
Population growth Reducing population growth
Total fertility rate
Ecological footprint Reducing waste and consumption pressures
Waste recycling rates
Hazardous waste generation
Industrial organic effluents Reducing water stress
Fertilizer consumption
Pesticide consumption
Area under water stress
Overfishing Natural resource management
Sustainably managed forests
Market distortions
Salinization due to irrigation
Agricultural subsidies
Deaths from intestinal infectious diseases Environmental health Reducing human
Child mortality rate vulnerability
Child mortality due to respiratory
infections
Malnutrition Basic human sustenance
Safe drinking water supply
Casualties due to environmental disasters Reducing environment-related natural disaster
Environmental Hazard Exposure Index vulnerability
(continued)
E 1928 Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI)

Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI), Table 1 (continued)


76 variables 21 indicators 5 components
Gasoline price Environmental governance Social and institutional
Corruption capacity
Government effectiveness
Protected land area
Environmental governance
Strength of rule of law
Local Agenda 21 initiatives
Civil and political liberties
Sustainable development data gaps
International environmental engagement
Environmental knowledge creation
Democratic institutions
Energy consumption/GDP Eco-efficiency
Renewable energy production
Corporate sustainability (Dow Jones) Private sector responsiveness
Corporate sustainability (Innovest)
ISO 14001-certified companies
ISO 14001-certified companies
Private sector environmental innovation
Participation in Responsible Care
Program
Innovation capacity Science and technology
Digital Access Index
Female primary education
University enrollment
Research scientists
Intergovernmental environmental Participation in International Collaborative Components global
activities Efforts stewardship
Role in international environmental aid
Participation in international
environmental agreements
Greenhouse gas emissions/GDP Greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions/capita
Transboundary sulfur dioxide spillovers Reducing transboundary environmental
Polluting-goods imports pressures

for ease of communication and replicability. Thus, although on an individual country basis,
Moreover, when leading experts from the gov- different prioritizations are likely to exist,
ernmental, business, and nongovernmental sec- on average these differences in weighting are
tors were asked by the ESI developers to rank the less pronounced.
indicators, none stood out as being of substan- The higher a countrys ESI score, the better
tially higher or lower importance than the others. positioned it is to maintain favorable environ-
Similarly, when statistical methods (including mental conditions into the future. The five
principal component analysis) were used to highest-ranking countries in 2005 were Finland,
identify appropriate weights, nearly equal Norway, Uruguay, Sweden, and Iceland all
weights were suggested across all 21 indicators. countries that had substantial natural resource
Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) 1929 E
Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI), Table 2 Environmental Sustainability Index 2005: countries scores and
ranks
ESI ESI OECD Non-OECD ESI ESI OECD Non-OECD
rank Country name score rank rank rank Country name score rank rank
1 Finland 75.1 1 77 Guinea-Bissau 48.6 54
2 Norway 73.4 2 78 Kazakhstan 48.6 55
3 Uruguay 71.8 1 79 Sri Lanka 48.5 56
4 Sweden 71.7 3 80 Kyrgyzstan 48.4 57
5 Iceland 70.8 4 81 Guinea 48.1 58
6 Canada 64.4 5 82 Venezuela 48.1 59
7 Switzerland 63.7 6 83 Oman 47.9 60 E
8 Guyana 62.9 2 84 Jordan 47.8 61
9 Argentina 62.7 3 85 Nepal 47.7 62
10 Austria 62.7 7 86 Benin 47.5 63
11 Brazil 62.2 4 87 Honduras 47.4 64
12 Gabon 61.7 5 88 Cote dIvoire 47.3 65
13 Australia 61 8 89 Serbia and 47.3 66
Monten.
14 New Zealand 60.9 9 90 Fyrom 47.2 67
15 Latvia 60.4 6 91 Turkey 46.6 24
16 Peru 60.4 7 92 Czech Rep. 46.6 25
17 Paraguay 59.7 8 93 South Africa 46.6 68
18 Costa Rica 59.6 9 94 Romania 46.6 69
19 Croatia 59.5 10 95 Mexico 46.6 26
20 Bolivia 59.5 11 96 Algeria 46 70
21 Ireland 59.2 10 97 Burkina Faso 45.7 71
22 Lithuania 58.9 12 98 Nigeria 45.4 72
23 Colombia 58.9 13 99 Azerbaijan 45.4 73
24 Albania 58.8 14 100 Kenya 45.3 74
25 Central Afr. 58.7 15 101 India 45.2 75
Republic
26 Denmark 58.2 11 102 Poland 45 27
27 Estonia 58.2 16 103 Niger 45 76
28 Panama 57.7 17 104 Chad 45 77
29 Slovenia 57.5 18 105 Morocco 44.8 78
30 Japan 57.3 12 106 Rwanda 44.8 79
31 Germany 56.9 13 107 Mozambique 44.8 80
32 Namibia 56.7 19 108 Ukraine 44.7 81
33 Russia 56.1 20 109 Jamaica 44.7 82
34 Botswana 55.9 21 110 United Arab 44.6 83
Em.
35 Guinea P.N. 55.2 22 111 Togo 44.5 84
36 France 54.2 14 112 Belgium 44.4 28
37 Portugal 54 15 113 Dem. Rep. 44.1 85
Congo
38 Malaysia 53.8 23 114 Bangladesh 44.1 86
39 Congo 53.7 24 115 Egypt 44 87
40 Netherlands 53.7 16 116 Guatemala 44 88
41 Mali 53.6 25 117 Syria 43.8 89
42 Chile 53.5 26 118 El Salvador 43.8 90
(continued)
E 1930 Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI)

Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI), Table 2 (continued)


ESI ESI OECD Non-OECD ESI ESI OECD Non-OECD
rank Country name score rank rank rank Country name score rank rank
43 Bhutan 53.2 27 119 Dominican 43.7 91
Rep.
44 Armenia 52.9 28 120 Sierra Leone 43.4 92
45 USA 52.8 17 121 Liberia 43.4 93
46 Myanmar 52.8 29 122 South Korea 43 29
47 Belarus 52.8 30 123 Angola 42.9 94
48 Slovakia 52.8 18 124 Mauritania 42.6 95
49 Ghana 52.8 31 125 Philippines 42.3 96
50 Cameroon 52.5 32 126 Libya 42.3 97
51 Ecuador 52.4 33 127 Vietnam 42.3 98
52 Laos 52.4 34 128 Zimbabwe 41.3 99
53 Cuba 52.3 35 129 Lebanon 40.5 100
54 Hungary 52 19 130 Burundi 40 101
55 Tunisia 51.8 36 131 Pakistan 40 102
56 Georgia 51.5 37 132 Iran 39.9 103
57 Uganda 51.3 38 133 China 39.8 104
58 Moldova 51.2 39 134 Tajikistan 38.6 105
59 Senegal 51.1 40 135 Ethiopia 37.9 106
60 Zambia 51.1 41 136 Saudi Arabia 37.8 107
61 Bosnia and 51 42 137 Yemen 37.3 108
Herzegovina
62 Israel 50.9 43 138 Kuwait 36.6 109
63 Tanzania 50.3 44 139 Trinidad and 36.3 110
Tobago
64 Madagascar 50.2 45 140 Sudan 35.9 111
65 UK 50.2 20 141 Haiti 34.8 112
66 Nicaragua 50.2 46 142 Uzbekistan 34.4 113
67 Greece 50.1 21 143 Iraq 33.6 114
68 Cambodia 50.1 47 144 Turkmenistan 33.1 115
69 Italy 50.1 22 145 Taiwan 32.7 116
70 Bulgaria 50 48 146 North Korea 29.2 117
71 Mongolia 50 49
72 Gambia 50 50
73 Thailand 49.7 51
74 Malawi 49.3 52
75 Indonesia 48.8 53
76 Spain 48.8 23

endowments and low population density. The Discussion


lowest-ranking countries were North Korea, The indicators and variables underlying the ESI
Iraq, Taiwan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan build on the widely used Pressure-State-
(see Table 2). These countries faced numerous Response (PSR) indicator model and especially
issues, both natural and manmade, and had its more recent DPSIR variant that additionally
not managed their policy choices well. breaks out driving forces and impacts.
Environment-Preserving Behavior 1931 E
While the ESI framework does not provide References
a definitive vision of sustainability, the collec-
tion of indicators and variables that form Emerson, J. W., Hsu, A., Levy, M. A., de Sherbinin, A.,
Mara, V., Esty, D. C., et al. (2012). 2012 Environmen-
the 2005 ESI are meant to provide (1) a tool
tal Performance Index and Pilot Trend
for putting environmental decision making on Environmental Performance Index. New Haven, CT:
firmer analytical footing, (2) an alternative to Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy.
GDP and the Human Development Index for Esty, D. C., Levy, M. A., Srebotnjak, T., & de Sherbinin,
A. (2005). 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index:
gauging country progress, and (3) a useful
Benchmarking national environmental stewardship.
mechanism for benchmarking environmental New Haven, CT: Yale Center for Environmental
performance. Law and Policy.
Esty, D. C., Levy, M. A., Srebotnjak, T., de Sherbinin, A.,
E
A number of existing quantitative environ-
Kim, C. H., & Anderson, B. (2006). Pilot 2006
mental metrics, including the 2005 ESI, have
Environmental Performance Index. New Haven, CT:
been criticized for being overly broad and Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy.
not focused enough on current results to be Munda, G., Nardo, M., Saisana, M., & Srebotnjak, T.
useful as a policy guide. The concept of sus- (2009). Measuring uncertainties in composite indica-
tors of sustainability. International Journal of Envi-
tainability itself is partly at fault. Its compre-
ronmental Technology and Management, 11, 726.
hensive and long-term focus requires that Saisana, M., Nardo, M., & Srebotnjak, T. (2005). Robust-
attention be paid to natural resource endow- ness analysis of the 2005 Environmental Sustainability
ments, past environmental performance, and Index. Ispra, Italy: European Commission, Joint
Research Centre. EUR 21807.
the ability to change future pollution and
Saisana, M., & Saltelli, A. (2010). Uncertainty and
resource use trajectories as well as present sensitivity analysis of the 2010 Environmental
environmental results. Performance Index. Ispra, Italy: European Commis-
As a reaction to this criticism, Yale Univer- sion, Joint Research Centre. EUR 56990.
sity and Columbia University have been
releasing the Environmental Performance Index
(EPI) since 2006 on a biannual basis (Esty et al.,
Environmentally Friendly Behavior
2006; Saisana & Saltelli, 2010). The latest
release of the EPI took place in January 2012
Proenvironmental Behavior
at the Annual Meeting of the World Economic
Forum in Davos (Emerson et al., 2012). The EPI
attempts to address the critique above and
focuses on countries current environmental Environmentally Friendly Purchases
performance within the context of sustainability.
It more narrowly tracks actual results for a core Life Satisfaction and Sustainable Consumption
set of environmental issues for which govern-
ments can be held accountable. In gauging
present performance on 22 indicators (EPI,
2012) of environmental health and ecosystem Environmentally Responsible
vitality, it serves as a complement to other Behavior
measures of sustainability.
Proenvironmental Behavior

Cross-References
Environment-Preserving Behavior
Environmental Sustainability
Urban Environmental Indicators Proenvironmental Behavior
E 1932 Environment-Protective Behavior

neuropathy), and/or additional quality of life


Environment-Protective Behavior domains affected by the disease or treatment
(e.g., sexuality, body image, fear of disease
Proenvironmental Behavior recurrence). Modules may be additionally targeted
at quality of life issues affecting particular tumor
types (e.g., primary site, metastatic site), aspects of
care (e.g., information), or patients psychological
EORTC QLQ-30 Modules needs or experiences (e.g., spirituality). Mod-
ules have also been developed for defined patient
Franck Bonnetain1 and Mirjam A. G. Sprangers2 groups (e.g., elderly) and for generic cancer symp-
1
Centre Hospitalier, Universitaire de Besancon, toms or treatment side effects (e.g., fatigue,
Besancon, France neurotoxicity).
2
Department of Medical Psychology, University Modules are developed according to formal
of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands guidelines (Johnson et al., 2011) and translation
procedures (De Wolf et al., 2009) to ensure
uniformly high quality across the modules.
Synonyms Modules adopt the same format (e.g., four-point
response categories) and scoring procedure
European Organisation for Research and Treat- (e.g., transformation to a 0100 scale) as the
ment of Cancer (EORTC) modules EORTC QLQ-C30.
Modules that have been internationally vali-
dated include those for brain cancer, breast
Definition cancer (Sprangers et al., 1996), cervical cancer,
colorectal cancer (Gujral et al., 2007), colorectal
The European Organisation for Research liver metastases, endometrial cancer, gastric can-
and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) modules cer, head and neck cancer (Bjordal et al., 2000),
are designed to supplement the core question- hepatocellular carcinoma, lung cancer (Bergman et
naire, the EORTC QLQ-C30 (Aaronson et al., al., 1994), multiple myeloma, esophageal cancer
1993). The modules assess in more detail topics (Blazeby et al., 2003), esophagogastric cancer,
of relevance to specific cancer patient subgroups. ovarian cancer, and prostate cancer. Additionally,
For example, they assess health-related quality an internationally validated module addressing
of life aspects specific to tumor site, treatment information is also available. Over 25 other mod-
modality, or quality of life dimensions that are ules are currently under development.
not or not sufficiently covered by the QLQ-C30.
The modules, like the core questionnaire, are Discussion
designed for use in cancer clinical trials. The Development of new EORTC modules is
combination of the QLQ-C30 and the modules ongoing. Existing and internationally validated
allows for a sufficient degree of generalizability modules are regularly updated. The modules
(via the core instrument) and specificity (via the have been translated and validated into over
module) (Sprangers et al., 1993, 1998). 50 languages. Translation is also an ongoing
process. All EORTC modules are copyrighted
instruments and free of charge to all academic
Description users. An updated list about the available mod-
ules and their translations as well as about
Modules may include symptoms related to modules under development can be obtained via
a specific tumor site (e.g., urinary symptoms in http://groups.eortc.be/qol/sites/default/files/img/
prostate cancer), side effects associated with slider/modules_in_development_by_language_
a given treatment (e.g., chemotherapy-induced june_2012.pdf.
EORTC QLQ-C30 1933 E
References
EORTC QLQ-C30
Aaronson, N. K., Ahmedzai, S., Bergman, B.,
Bullinger, M., Cull, A., Duez, N. J., et al. (1993). The
Mirjam A. G. Sprangers1 and Franck Bonnetain2
European organisation for research and treatment of 1
cancer QLQ-C30: A quality-of-life instrument for use Department of Medical Psychology, University
in international clinical trials in oncology. Journal of of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
the National Cancer Institute, 85, 365376. 2
Centre Hospitalier, Universitaire de Besancon,
Bergman, B., Aaronson, N. K., Ahmedzai, S., Kaasa, S.,
Besancon, France
& Sullivan, M. (1994). The EORTC QLQ-LC13:
A modular supplement to the EORTC core quality
of life questionnaire (QLQ-C30) for use in lung
cancer clinical trials. EORTC study group on
E
Synonyms
quality of life. European Journal of Cancer, 30(5),
635642.
Bjordal, K., de Graeff, A., Fayers, P. M., Hammerlid, E., European Organization for Research and Treat-
van Pottelsberghe, C., Curran, D., et al. (2000). ment of Cancer core quality of life questionnaire
A 12 country field study of the EORTC QLQ-C30
(version 3.0) and the head and neck cancer specific
module (EORTC QLQ-H&N35) in head & neck
patients. European Journal of Cancer, 36, 17961807. Definition
Blazeby, J. M., Conroy, T., Hammerlid, E., Fayers, P.,
Sezer, O., Koller, M., et al. (2003). Clinical and The European Organization for Research and
psychometric validation of an EORTC questionnaire
Treatment of Cancer core quality of life question-
module, the EORTC QLQ-OES18, to assess quality of
life in patients with oesophageal cancer. European naire, the EORTC QLQ-C30, is a cancer-specific
Journal of Cancer, 39(10), 13841394. quality of life instrument applicable to a broad
De Wolf, L., Koller, M., Velikova, G., Johnson, G., range of cancer patients. The EORTC QLQ-C30
Scott, N., Bottomley, A., et al. (2009). EORTC quality
is designed to assess health-related quality of life
of life group translation procedure (3rd ed.). Brussels:
EORTC. of cancer patients participating in international
Gujral, S., Conroy, T., Fleissner, C., Sezer, O., King, oncology clinical trials. The instrument has
P. M., Avery, K. N., et al. (2007). Assessing quality been developed according to the so-called modular
of life in patients with colorectal cancer: An update of
approach, where a generic or core instrument is
the EORTC quality of life questionnaire. European
Journal of Cancer, 43(10), 15641573. combined with a specific questionnaire, so-called
Johnson, C., Aaronson, N., Blazeby, J. M., Bottomley, A., modules, assessing in more detail topics of rele-
Fayers, P., Koller, M., et al. (2011). EORTC quality of vance to specific cancer patient subgroups. The
life group guidelines for developing questionnaire
combination of a core instrument and a module
modules (4th ed.). Brussels: EORTC.
Sprangers, M. A. G., Cull, A., Bjordal, K., Groenvold, allows for a sufficient degree of generalizability
M., Aaronson, K., & EORTC Study Group on Quality (via the core instrument) and specificity (via the
of Life. (1993). The European organization for module) (Aaronson et al., 1996; Bottomley &
research and treatment of cancer approach to quality
Aaronson, 2007; Velikova et al., 2012).
of life assessment: Guidelines for developing ques-
tionnaire modules. Quality of Life Research, 2,
287295.
Sprangers, M. A. G., Cull, A., Groenvold, M., Bjordal, K., Description
Blazeby, J., Aaronson, N. K., et al. (1998). The
European organization for research and treatment of The EORTC QLQ-C30 assesses health-related
cancer approach to developing questionnaire modules:
quality of life and symptoms and was designed to
An update and overview. Quality of Life Research, 7,
291300. be (1) cancer specific, (2) multidimensional in
Sprangers, M. A. G., Groenvold, M., Arraras, J. I., structure, (3) appropriate for self-administration
Franklin, J., te Velde, A., Muller, M., et al. (1996). (i.e., brief and easy to complete), and (4) applicable
The EORTC breast cancer specific quality of life ques-
across a range of cultural settings (Aaronson et al.,
tionnaire module (QLQ-BR23): First results from
a three-country field study. Journal of Clinical Oncol- 1993). The EORTC QLQ-C30 consists of 30 items
ogy, 14, 27562768. that are combined to form five functional scales
E 1934 EORTC QLQ-C30

(physical, role, cognitive, emotional, and social), (Young et al., 1999) are documented. These docu-
three symptom scales ( fatigue, pain, and nau- ments are regularly updated and can be
sea and vomiting), a global health status/quality of downloaded from http://groups.eortc.be/qol.
life scale, and a number of single items assessing
additional symptoms commonly reported by can-
cer patients (dyspnea, loss of appetite, insomnia, Discussion
constipation, and diarrhea) and perceived financial
impact of the disease. The scales comprise The EORTC QLQ-C30 is one of the most widely
between two and five items each. All items have used instruments designed to assess the quality of
four response categories (not at all, a little, quite life of cancer patients (Garratt, Schmidt,
a bit, and very much), except for the two items of Mackintosh, & Fitzpatrick, 2002). To date,
the global health status/quality of life scale that use the EORTC QLQ-C30 has been translated
a seven-point scale. The raw scores are linearly into and linguistically validated in more than 60 lan-
transformed to scores that range from 0 to 100, guages, with more than 20 additional local adapta-
with a higher score representing a higher (better) tions. The questionnaire is available in all major
level of functioning or a higher (worse) level of Western languages and many African and Asian
symptoms. languages. Further translations are in progress.
Since its general release in 1993, there have The QLQ-C30 can be supplemented by
been four versions of the EORTC QLQ-C30. disease-specific modules. Over 40 modules are
The QLQ-C30 Version 3.0 is the most recent available or underway. The QLQ-C30 is
version and is used for all new studies. a copyrighted instrument and is distributed from
Additionally, the QLQ-C15-PAL is available, the EORTC Quality of Life Department. Aca-
which is an abbreviated 15-item version of demic use of EORTC instruments is free of
the QLQ-C30 developed for use in palliative charge. Further information can be obtained via
care (Groenvold et al., 2006). The QLQ-C15- the website: http://groups.eortc.be/qol/.
PAL includes those elements of the QLQ-C30
that have been found to be most relevant and Cross-References
important for palliative care, i.e., physical and
emotional functioning, pain, fatigue, nausea/ EORTC QLQ-C30 and the Supportive Care
vomiting, appetite, dyspnea, constipation, Needs Survey
sleeping difficulties, and overall quality of life.
To date, a computer-adaptive testing (CAT)
version of QLQ-C30 as well electronic adminis- References
trations of EORTC QLQ-C30 (Computer-based
Aaronson, N. K., Ahmedzai, S., Bergman, B.,
Health Evaluation System (CHES)) are under Bullinger, M., Cull, A., Duez, N. J., et al. (1993). The
development, enabling individual and routine European Organisation for Research and Treatment of
assessment of quality of life. Cancer QLQ-C30: A quality-of-life instrument for use
in international clinical trials in oncology. Journal of
Key documents supporting the application
the National Cancer Institute, 85, 365376.
of the EORTC measurement system in clinical Aaronson, N. K., Cull, A. M., Kaasa, S., &
trials and other studies are available. For Sprangers, M. A. G. (1996). The European Organiza-
example, manuals including the scoring algorithm tion for Research and Treatment of Cancer EORTC
modular approach to quality of life assessment in
(Fayers et al., 2001) and reference values oncology: An update. In B. Spilker (Ed.), Quality of
according to cancer site and stage and other life and pharmacoeconomics in clinical trials (2nd ed.,
clinical parameters (Scott et al., 2008) are pp. 179189). Philadelphia: Lippincott-Raven.
available. Moreover, guidelines for questionnaire Bottomley, A., & Aaronson, N. K. (2007). International
perspective on health-related quality-of-life research
module development (Johnson et al., 2011),
in cancer clinical trials: The European Organisation for
translation (Dewolf et al., 2009), and how to con- Research and Treatment of Cancer Experience.
duct clinical trial-based HRQOL investigations Journal of Clinical Oncology, 25, 50825086.
EORTC QLQ-C30 and the Supportive Care Needs Survey 1935 E
Dewolf, L., Koller, M., Velikova, G., Johnson, C., Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) is a general cancer
Scott, N., Bottomley, A., et al. (2009). EORTC quality questionnaire that serves as the core measure of the
of life group translation procedure (3rd ed.). Brussels:
European Organisation for Research and Treatment of EORTCs modular approach to the assessment of
Cancer. health-related quality of life in cancer patients
Fayers, P. M., Aaronson, N. K., Bjordal, K., (Aaronson et al., 1993). It assesses five function
Groenvold, M., Curran, D., Bottomley, A., et al. domains (physical, role, emotional, social, and
(2001). The EORTC QLQ-C30 scoring manual
(3rd ed.). Brussels: European Organisation for cognitive), eight symptoms (nausea/vomiting,
Research and Treatment of Cancer. appetite loss, insomnia, dyspnea, fatigue, pain,
Garratt, A., Schmidt, L., Mackintosh, A., & Fitzpatrick, R. constipation, diarrhea), plus financial impact and
(2002). Quality of life measurement: Bibliographic global health/quality of life. For most items, the
study of patient assessed health outcome measures. E
British Medical Journal, 324(7351), 14171419. recall period is the past week, and patients report
Groenvold, M., Petersen, M. A., Aaronson, N. K., Arraras, using a 4-point scale: not at all, a little, quite a bit,
J. I., Blazeby, J. M., Bottomley, A., et al. (2006). The and very much. All domains are transformed to
development of the EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL: A short- a 0100 scale, with higher scores indicating more
ened questionnaire for cancer patients in palliative care.
European Journal of Cancer, 42(1), 5564. of what is being measured (i.e., higher scores are
Johnson, C., Aaronson, N., Blazeby, J. M., Bottomley, A., better for function domains but worse for symptom
Fayers, P., Koller, M., et al. (2011). Guidelines for domains). The QLQ-C30 questionnaire can be
developing questionnaire modules (4th ed.). Brussels: used in conjunction with disease- or condition-
European Organisation for Research and Treatment of
Cancer. specific modules that include content relevant to
Scott, N. W., Fayers, P. M., Aaronson, N. K., particular subsets of cancer patients.
Bottomley, A., de Graeff, A., Groenvold, M., The Supportive Care Needs Survey (SCNS) is
Gundy, C., Koller, M., Petersen, M., & also a general cancer measure, but it focuses on
Sprangers, M. A. G., EORTC Quality of Life Group.
(2008). Reference values manual (pp. 419). European the level of unmet need patients have with issues
Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer. of functioning and well-being related to cancer
Brussels (ISBN 2-930064-11-0). (Bonevski et al., 2000; Sanson-Fisher et al.,
Velikova, G., Coens, C., Efficace, F., Greimel, E., 2000). It assesses needs related to physical and
Groenvold, M., Johnson, C., et al. (2012).
Health-related quality of life in EORTC clinical trials daily living, psychological, sexual, patient care
30 years of progress from methodological develop- and support, and health system and information
ments to making a real impact on oncology practice. over the past month. The response options are
European Journal of Cancer, 10(1), 141149. five categories: not applicable, satisfied, low
Young, T., de Haes, H., Curran, D., Fayers, P.,
Brandberg, Y., Vanvoorden, V., et al. (1999). Guide- need, moderate need, and high need, with the
lines for assessing quality of life in EORTC clinical latter three categories indicating some level of
trials. Brussels: European Organisation for Research unmet need. The short-form version of the ques-
and Treatment of Cancer. tionnaire is 34 items.

EORTC QLQ-C30 and the Supportive Description


Care Needs Survey
Background
Claire Snyder The EORTC QLQ-C30 and Supportive Care
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Needs Survey (SCNS) are both patient-reported
MD, USA outcome (PRO) measures, and although they
assess similar domains, they do so in different
ways. Whereas the EORTC QLQ-C30 assesses
Definition the level of patient functioning and well-being, it
does not assess whether respondents have unmet
The European Organization for Research and needs regarding their functioning and well-being.
Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire In contrast, the Supportive Care Needs Survey
E 1936 EORTC QLQ-C30 and the Supportive Care Needs Survey

assesses the level of unmet need respondents improve our understanding of how symptoms,
have with issues, rather than their level of perfor- supportive care needs, and function are related
mance on the domains. (Snyder et al., 2008).
Given the complementary perspectives on Analytic approach: This study used multivar-
respondents functioning and well-being provided iate item regression, which involves simultaneous
by these two questionnaires, Snyder and col- regression across multiple outcomes per person
leagues undertook a series of analyses that focused and is particularly appropriate when the multiple
on the relationship between the function and symp- outcomes are correlated (Johnson & Wichern,
tom domains from the EORTC QLQ-C30 and the 1999). The analysis was conducted first with the
unmet needs assessed by the Supportive Care function domains as the outcomes and symptom
Needs Survey short form (Snyder et al., 2008, and need domains as the explanatory variables
2009, 2010). Specifically, the following research and then again with the need domains as the out-
questions were addressed: (1) How are symptoms, comes and the function and symptom domains as
supportive care needs, and function related on the explanatory variables. A series of models was
a conceptual level? (2) How are symptoms, sup- tested to determine which explanatory variables
portive care needs, and function related at the were most closely associated and added signifi-
patient level? and (3) Can needs assessments help cant information to describing the multivariate
identify scores on quality of life questionnaires outcomes.
associated with patient perceptions of unmet need? Key findings: In the models with the function
domains as the outcomes and symptoms and
Subjects and Methods needs as the explanatory variables, the findings
These analyses used data from cancer patients at suggest that both symptoms and needs contribute
the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Cen- significant information to describing function,
ter at Johns Hopkins who completed both the but symptoms add more information to needs
EORTC QLQ-C30 and the Supportive Care than needs add to symptoms. Greater fatigue,
Needs Survey at a single timepoint during cancer pain, and appetite loss were consistently associ-
treatment. Eligibility criteria included diagnosis ated with worse function outcomes. Among the
of breast, lung, or prostate cancer at any stage, at needs, there was a differentiation among the out-
least 18 years of age and able and willing to comes, with greater unmet physical and daily
complete the study questionnaire. This study living needs associated with worse physical,
used paper questionnaires, with the Supportive role, and cognitive function and greater unmet
Care Needs Survey first and the EORTC QLQ- psychological needs associated with worse emo-
C30 second. Respondents also provided tional and cognitive function. Symptoms tended
sociodemographic information, and their oncolo- to add more explanatory information when added
gists provided basic clinical data. The final sam- to needs than needs added to symptoms in
ple included 117 patients: 50 had breast cancer, describing function.
49 prostate cancer, and 18 lung cancer. The aver- In the models with the need domains as the
age age was 61 years, approximately half of the outcomes, and function and symptom domains as
sample was female, and 77 % were White. the explanatory variables, the findings suggest
that both symptom and function domains contrib-
How Are Symptoms, Supportive Care Needs, ute significant information, but function adds
and Function Related on a Conceptual Level? more information to symptoms than symptoms
Rationale: Because the function and symptom add to function. The symptom domain most con-
domains from the EORTC QLQ-C30 and the sistently associated with unmet need was insom-
unmet needs assessed by the Supportive Care nia, with worse insomnia associated with greater
Needs Survey provide complementary perspec- unmet needs. Again, there was a differentiation
tives, this analysis explored the strength of the among the need domain outcomes and the func-
associations among the different domains to tion domain explanatory variables, with better
EORTC QLQ-C30 and the Supportive Care Needs Survey 1937 E
physical function consistently associated with domains, the latent class analysis categorized
fewer physical and daily living unmet needs and patients as high vs. low function, high vs. low
better emotional function associated with fewer symptom, and high vs. low need. Only models
psychological, patient care and support, and with two potential classes (high vs. low) were fit
health system and information unmet needs. due to sample size constraints. The concordance
Adding symptoms to the function equations did of patients classifications across function, symp-
not affect the associations between function and toms, and needs was then examined.
needs, suggesting that symptoms do not add Key findings: The majority of patients (66/
information to function in describing needs. 117; 56 %) have similar classifications of their
Implications: These results suggest that symp- function, symptoms, and needs, but the majority
E
toms affect function, which then affects unmet of these (49/66; 74 %) did not have problems in
needs. If these results are confirmed in future any of the three areas (i.e., high function/low
longitudinal studies, it would have several impli- symptom/low need). Among patients who had
cations for clinical practice. For example, based deficits in at least one area (n 68), agreement
on these preliminary findings, a clinician seeking in classifications was much lower, with 51/68
to address patients functional deficits should (75 %) of patients having some discordance in
focus more on symptom burden than supportive their classifications. The most common discor-
care needs, with pain, fatigue, and appetite loss dant categorization was low function/high symp-
being the symptoms most closely associated with tom/low need (n 15; 13 %), indicating that
function. In turn, improved function is more patients with poor health do not necessarily expe-
likely to address unmet needs. rience unmet supportive care needs.
Implications: These findings suggest that con-
How Are Symptoms, Supportive Care Needs, cordance in function, symptom, and needs is high
and Function Related at the Patient Level? when patients are not experiencing problems in
Rationale: While the previous analysis examined any of the three areas. However, when patients
the associations among function, symptoms, and have problems in at least one area, discordance is
supportive care needs in groups of patients, ana- common. Thus, for patients with deficits in at
lyses that elucidate how these outcomes occur in least one of the three areas, it is not appropriate
individual patients are also of interest (Snyder to assume that they are experiencing deficits in all
et al., 2009). For example, do patients with the areas. Separate assessment of each of the out-
greatest symptom burden also have the greatest comes is required to understand the issues the
unmet needs? Can clinicians assume that if patient is experiencing.
a patient is high functioning that s/he has low
symptoms and few unmet needs? Can Needs Assessments Help Identify Scores
Analytic approach: This study used latent on Quality of Life Questionnaires Associated
class analysis, which uses information about the with Patient Perceptions of Unmet Need?
patterns in the data to assign individuals to classes Rationale: A third analysis of the data explored
and allows domains to have differing influence on whether SCNS scores could help identify QLQ-
class assignment (Formann, 1996). This distin- C30 scores representing a problem that requires
guishes latent class analysis from simple sums the clinicians attention. In particular, it can be
of, for example, symptoms, where each symptom challenging for clinicians using PROs in clinical
would have the same influence on the classifica- practice to interpret score reports and understand
tion. To conduct the analysis, individual domains which scores are concerning. In this analysis, the
from the EORTC QLQ-C30 were dichotomized SCNS data were used to identify scores on the
using mean scores from reference samples as the QLQ-C30 representing an unmet need (Snyder
cutoff. Presence vs. absence of an unmet need et al., 2010).
was used to dichotomize the SCNS domains. Analytic approach: For each SCNS item and
Using the patterns among the dichotomized domain score, patients were categorized as
E 1938 EORTC QLQ-C30 and the Supportive Care Needs Survey

having no unmet need vs. some unmet need. Conclusion


Then, receiver operating characteristic (ROC)
analysis was used to evaluate the discriminative The Supportive Care Needs Survey and QLQ-C30
ability of QLQ-C30 scores to differentiate provide complementary information about patient
between patients with and without unmet needs. outcomes. The analyses summarized here capital-
The strength of the relationship was quantified by ize on the collection of these two questionnaires in
the area under the ROC curve (AUC). The a sample of cancer patients to improve understand-
hypothesis was that QLQ-C30 scores would be ing of PROs at various levels. First, it uses group
effective at identifying patients with vs. without level data to describe how function, symptoms,
an unmet need when the content of the SCNS and supportive care needs relate conceptually.
item/domain was closely matched to the QLQ- Second, the results illustrate patterns of function,
C30 domain. For example, both the SCNS and symptoms, and needs within individual patients.
QLQ-C30 have items/domains that ask about Finally, it demonstrates how scores on the SCNS
pain, and the scores on those two domains were can be used to identify cutoff scores on the QLQ-
expected to be closely related. In contrast, the C30 representing patient unmet needs and, there-
QLQ-C30 has a domain for constipation, but the fore, improve interpretability of QLQ-C30 scores.
SCNS has no similar domain or item, so a general Given the value of the knowledge that can be
SCNS item (e.g., feeling unwell a lot of the gained by comparing results on needs assessments
time) was tested with the hypothesis of a weak and health-related quality of life questionnaires,
relationship. For QLQ-C30 domains that had further research should continue to collect these
a strong relationship with SCNS items/domains data simultaneously.
(i.e., AUC  .70), test characteristics were calcu-
lated, including sensitivity and specificity.
Key findings: Six QLQ-C30 domains, five of Cross-References
which were hypothesized a priori, had a strong
relationship with an SCNS item/domain (i.e., EORTC QLQ-30 Modules
AUC  .70). These six domains and the SCNS
item with the greatest AUC were as follows:
physical function-work around the home; role
References
function-work around the home; emotional func-
tion-feelings of sadness; global health/QOL- Aaronson, N. K., Ahmedzai, S., Bergman, B., et al. (1993).
feeling unwell a lot of the time; pain-pain; The European Organization for Research and Treat-
fatigue-lack of energy/tiredness. All six domains ment of Cancer QLQ-C30: A quality-of-life instru-
ment for use in international clinical trials in
had sensitivity .85 and specificity .50 when
oncology. Journal of the National Cancer Institute,
identifying patients with unmet needs. 85, 365376.
Implications: These data suggest that SCNS Bonevski, B., Sanson-Fisher, R. W., Girgis, A., et al.
scores can be used to identify scores on the QLQ- (2000). Evaluation of an instrument to assess the
needs of patients with cancer. Cancer, 88, 217225.
C30 indicative of a patient unmet need, particu-
Formann, A. K. (1996). Latent class analysis in medical
larly for domains where the content of the two research. Statistical Methods in Medical Research, 5,
questionnaires is similar. The cutoff scores on the 179211.
QLQ-C30 identified through this analysis are Johnson, R. A., & Wichern, D. W. (1999). Chapter 7:
Multivariate linear regression models. In R. A. Johnson
being validated in a different dataset with
& D. W. Wichern (Eds.), Applied multivariate statisti-
a larger sample. Further work is needed to iden- cal analysis. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
tify cutoff scores for the QLQ-C30 domains that Sanson-Fisher, R., Girgis, A., Boyes, A., et al. (2000). The
did not have a close match in the SCNS. This unmet supportive care needs of patients with cancer.
Cancer, 88, 226237.
analytic approach could be useful in developing
Snyder, C. F., Blackford, A. L., Brahmer, J. R., et al.
score interpretation guidelines for clinicians (2010). Needs assessments can identify scores on
interested in using PROs in clinical practice. HRQOL questionnaires that represent problems for
EPI Neuroticism Scale 1939 E
patients: An illustration with the Supportive Care personality traits but tended to regard them as
Needs Survey and the QLQ-C30. Quality of Life more superficial manifestations of the three fun-
Research, 19, 837845.
Snyder, C. F., Garrett-Mayer, E., Blackford, A. L., et al. damental traits. For example, he regarded opti-
(2009). Concordance of cancer patients function, mism as a manifestation of extroversion and
symptoms, and supportive care needs. Quality of Life irritability as a manifestation of neuroticism.
Research, 18, 991998. Most other classifications of personality include
Snyder, C. F., Garrett-Mayer, E., Brahmer, J. R., et al.
(2008). Symptoms, supportive care needs, and func- extroversion and neuroticism but then add addi-
tion in cancer patients: How are they related? Quality tional traits. For example, the widely used NEO-
of Life Research, 17, 665677. AC (the Big Five personality domains) adds
openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness
E
to Eysencks list (Costa & McCrae, 1991).
Eysencks approach, like the work of other
EPI Neuroticism Scale personality theorists, has been criticized by psy-
chologists who deny the existence of stable per-
Bruce Headey sonality traits and regard all behavior as
Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and situational (i.e., determined by the rewards and
Social Research, The University of Melbourne, sanctions which apply in specific situations).
Melbourne, VIC, Australia However, reversing an earlier trend, it did appear
that by the 1990s, there was a growing consensus
among psychologists that personality traits are
Synonyms substantially hereditary (Bouchard & McGue,
2003) and that interpersonal differences are fairly
Emotional instability stable in adulthood (Costa & McCrae, 1991),
although there is some evidence of maturation
effects (e.g., neuroticism diminishes with age).
Definition The main traits can help to explain a wide range
of behaviors, including job performance (Barrick
Neuroticism means emotional instability. It is con- & Mount, 1991), and also help to account for
sidered by many psychologists to be one of the clinical disorders (Saulsman & Page, 2004).
most fundamental and stable personality traits. The EPI and the Big Five have been quite
widely used in research on happiness and subjec-
tive well-being (SWB). Neuroticism is strongly
Description negatively correlated with measures of SWB,
while extroversion is just moderately positively
Hans Eysenck, the British-based psychologist, correlated. The set-point theory of happiness
devoted much of his working life to the measure- the claim that adult happiness is stable is partly
ment of personality traits. He developed the based on the known interpersonal stability of
Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI) which mea- these personality traits. It has been shown that
sured extroversion (sociability), neuroticism extroverts respond more positively to favorable
(emotional instability), and psychoticism (physi- life events than introverts and that relatively neu-
ologically based personality disorder), the three rotic individuals react more negatively to adverse
traits which he considered fundamental to human events than emotionally stable people (Larsen &
personality (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1964). The EPI Ketelaar, 1991; Lucas & Baird, 2004). On this
also contained a lie scale to pick out subjects who basis, some researchers have suggested that
appeared to respond in a mendacious way or extroverts have better prospects than others of
whose answers exhibited a high degree of social becoming happier over time, while neurotics are
desirability bias (acquiescence bias). Eysenck at greater risk of becoming less happy (Scollon &
did not necessarily reject the existence of other Diener, 2006).
E 1940 EPIC

Cross-References island of Samos, the son of Athenian citizens,


and moved to Athens around 306 BCE when he
Set-Point Theory was 18. If the dates of his birth and death are
Social Desirability Bias accurate, he was born about 7 years after Platos
death and 19 years before Aristotles death.
The same source reported that his bodily health
References was pitiful (Diogenes Laertius, p. 525) and pro-
vided a quotation from Epicurus letter to
Barrick, M. R., & Mount, M. K. (1991). The big 5 person- Idomeneus saying that he had continual suffer-
ality dimensions and job performance: A meta-analy-
ings from strangury and dysentery (Diogenes
sis. Personnel Psychology, 44, 126.
Bouchard, T. J., & McGue, M. (2003). Genetic and envi- Laertius, p. 549).
ronmental influences on human psychological differ- DeWitt (1967, p. 3) described him as
ences. Journal of Neurobiology, 54, 445.
Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1991). The NEO-AC The ...the most revered and the most reviled of
NEO PI-R. Odessa, FL: PAR. all founders of thought in the Graeco-Roman
Eysenck, H. J., & Eysenck, S. B. G. (1964). Manual of the world...The man himself was revered as an ethical
Eysenck personality inventory. London: London Uni- father, a savior, and a god. Men wore his image on
versity Press. finger-rings; they displayed painted portraits of
Larsen, R. J., & Ketelaar, T. (1991). Personality and suscep- him in their living rooms; the more affluent hon-
tibility to positive and negative emotional states. Journal ored him with likenesses in marble. His handbooks
of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 132140. of doctrine were carried about like breviaries; his
Lucas, R. E., & Baird, B. M. (2004). Extraversion and sayings were esteemed as if oracles and committed
emotional reactivity. Journal of Personality and to memory as if Articles of Faith. His published
Social Psychology, 86, 473485. letters were cherished as if epistles of an apostle...
Saulsman, L. M., & Page, A. C. (2004). The five-factor On the twentieth day of every month his followers
model and personality disorder empirical literature: assembled to perform solemn rites in honor of his
A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, memory, a sort of sacrament.
23, 10551085.
He and his ideas were the special targets of
Scollon, C. N., & Diener, E. (2006). Love, work and changes
in extraversion and neuroticism over time. Journal of abuse by Platonists, Stoics, Christians, and Jews
Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 11521165. (DeWitt, 1967, p. 3). Critics claimed that Epicu-
rus was a sophist since he aided his itinerant
schoolteacher father for a fee, that he plagiarized
EPIC his atomic theory from Democritus (c.460
c.370 BCE), that he was an adulterer who also
Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite had frequent relations with many courtesans,
(EPIC) vomited twice a day from overindulgence, was
a preacher of effeminacy, a sycophant, atheist,
name-caller, drug dealer, and critic of other peo-
Epicurus ples work without having any original ideas of
his own (Diogenes Laertius, 2000, pp. 531537).
Alex C. Michalos Still, at the end of his summary of the views of
University of Northern British Columbia, Prince Epicuruss critics, Diogenes Laertius said that all
George, BC, Canada these people are stark mad (p. 537).
(residence) Brandon, MB, Canada As evidence against Epicurus critics,
Diogenes Laertius (2000, pp. 537541) provided
plenty of direct quotations from the philosopher
Birth, Education, Work History, and contradicting charges of his critics and claimed
Main Contributions that the
philosopher has abundance of witnesses to attest
According to Diogenes Laertius (2000, p. 529), his unsurpassed goodwill to all men - his native
Epicurus (c.341271 BCE) was born on the land, which honoured him with statues in bronze;
Epicurus 1941 E
his friends,...his gratitude to his parents, his gener- Epicurus believed that the chief end or aim
osity to his brothers, his gentleness to his servants... of human beings was peace of mind or tran-
and in general, his benevolence to all mankind...
Friends...came to him from all parts and lived with quility (ATARAXIA) and a healthy body
him in his garden...a very simple and frugal life...In (APONIA). Metaphorically speaking, he com-
his correspondence he himself mentions that he pared the turmoils of the soul with storms
was content with plain bread and water...and and squalls at sea (DeWitt, 1967, p. 226). For
a little pot of cheese, that, when I like, I may fare
sumptuously. present purposes, what has to be emphasized is
that he regarded scientific knowledge and
DeWitt (1967, p. 6) reported that the total methods as the essential vehicles for the journey
extant body of Epicuruss works consists of a to peace of mind and a healthy body. Near the end
E
booklet of 69 pages, although Diogenes Laertius of his Letter to Herodotus, he wrote Further,
(2000, p. 555) claimed that the philosopher we must hold that to arrive at accurate knowledge
eclipsed all before him in the number of his of the cause of things of most moment is the
writings...[which amounted] to about 300 rolls, business of natural science, and that happiness
and contain not a single citation from other depends on this... (Diogenes Laertius, 2000,
authors. While none of his writings is complete, p. 607). In this sentence and many others,
Book X of Diogenes Laertiuss text contains sub- happiness is used to translate MAKARIOS,
stantial parts of four of them. Of these four, three which sometimes is closer to blessed in
are written to his disciples. The Letter to Herod- English, but is often interchangeable in Greek
otus is a summary of Epicuruss physics and/or with eudaimonia (Aristotle, 1999, p. 318).
metaphysics, the Letter to Pythocles deals with At the beginning of his Letter to Menoeceus,
astronomy and meteorology, and the Letter to he wrote So we must exercise ourselves in the
Menoeceus deals with ethics. The fourth treatise things which bring happiness [EUDAIMONIA],
contains his 40 Principal or Authorized Doc- since, if that be present, we have everything, and,
trines, of which almost all are contradictions of if that be absent, all our actions are directed
Plato (DeWitt, 1967, p. 48). These four works toward attaining it (Diogenes Laertius, 2000,
are conveniently collected in a single volume p. 649).
edited by Inwood, Gerson, and Hutchinson At the beginning of his Letter to Pythocles,
(1994), which also includes some of the so- he wrote,
called Vatican Sayings...[which] is a mixture
In your letter to me,...you try, not without success,
of sayings from Epicurus and other Epicureans to recall the considerations which make for a happy
discovered in the Vatican Library, and life...you will do well to take and learn...the short
Testimonia of other scholars, some of which epitome in my letter to Herodotus...remember that,
were hostile to his philosophy, like Cicero like everything else, knowledge of celestial phe-
nomena...has no other end in view than peace of
(10643 BCE) and Plutarch (46120 CE). mind and firm conviction. We do not seek to wrest
Epicuruss school in Athens was called the by force what is impossible, nor to understand all
Garden and was not very different from Platos matters equally well, nor make our treatment
Academy and Aristotles Lyceum. They always as clear as when we discuss human life or
explain the principles of physics in general...: our
contained the residences of the founders and dis- one need is untroubled existence. (Diogenes
ciples, a library, and some lecture rooms. The Laertius, 2000, pp. 613615)
emphasis of the curricula at the three schools
was different. The island of Samos was politi- Concerning the use of the science of celestial
cally and culturally very much an Ionian commu- phenomena, Epicurus was convinced that inat-
nity, making it scientifically and technologically tention to facts and diverse possible naturalistic
progressive. Besides Epicurus, among the explanations combined with attention to mythol-
famous names associated with Ionia were Anax- ogy and religion were jointly responsible for
imander, Thales, Anaxagoras, Pythagoras, troubled minds. The following passages are rep-
Heraclitus, Hippocrates, and Asclepius. resentative of many more as he worked his way
E 1942 Epicurus

through possible naturalistic explanations of such indefinitely in their shapes, are indivisible and
celestial phenomena as the sun, moon, turnings unchangeable, and necessarily so...[and]...the
of the sun and moon, regularity of orbits, varia- sum of things is unlimited both by reason of
tions in the lengths of days and nights, stars, the multitude of the atoms and the extent of the
clouds, rain, thunderbolts, winds, hail, and so on: void. As in Democritus, both human bodies and
souls are composites of different sorts of atoms
All things go on uninterruptedly, if all be explained
by the method of plurality of causes in conformity and when people die, their atoms are totally
with the facts,...But when we pick and choose dispersed.
among them [explanations], rejecting one equally Some atoms are in continual motion through
consistent with the phenomena, we clearly fall all eternity moving linearly upwards ad
away from the study of nature altogether and
tumble into myth...Those who adopt only one infinitum or downwards, some moving in
explanation are in conflict with the facts and are a vibratory fashion in composites or compounds,
utterly mistaken as to the way in which man can some swerving a bit inexplicably and others
attain knowledge...always keep in mind the method swerving as a result of human beings free choices
of plural explanation and the several consistent
assumptions and causes...[For example,] Clouds (Diogenes Laertius, 2000, pp. 569593). While
may form and gather either because the air is con- randomly swerving atoms might account for colli-
densed under the pressure of winds, or because sions and aggregations or combinations, it is
atoms which hold together and are suitable to unclear why or how they would account for free
produce this result become mutually entangled, or
because currents collect from the earth and choice. In any event, freely chosen activities cre-
the waters; and there are several other ways in ating swerving atoms were posited as necessary for
which it is not impossible for the aggregations of people to be accountable and held responsible for
such bodies into clouds may be brought about. their own actions. There was nothing comparable
(Diogenes Laertius, 2000, pp. 615627)
to swerves in Democritus physics or metaphysics,
The upside of his adherence to the method of which made his world thoroughly deterministic
plurality of causes was that it freed him and and incapable of supporting an institution of
those who followed him from troublesome morality such that some actions would be morally
beliefs such as that natural phenomena like sol- praiseworthy and others morally blameworthy.
stices, eclipses, risings and settings, and the like Regardless of all his condemnations of mythology
were the result of the ministration or command, and the gods worshipped by the multitude, in the
either now or in the future, of any being who at interests of ensuring that people are the free agents
the same time enjoys perfect bliss along with of their own future, he was even more critical of
immortality (Diogenes Laertius, 2000, p. 607). a thoroughly deterministic physics. Thus, in his
Although he believed that God is a living being Letter to Menoeceus, he wrote,
immortal and blessed and that verily there are Destiny, which some introduce as sovereign over all
gods (p. 649), he did not appeal to such beings to things, he [who follows Epicurus teaching] laughs
account for natural phenomena. The downside, of to scorn, affirming rather that some things happen of
course, was that many contemporary and later necessity, others by chance, others through our own
agency. For he sees that necessity destroys respon-
theists regarded such views as heresy. sibility and that chance or fortune is inconstant;
While he did not need an invisible God or gods whereas our own actions are free, and it is to them
to create and maintain the regularities perceived that praise and blame naturally attach. It were better,
everywhere, like Democritus before him, he did indeed, to accept the legends of the gods than to bow
beneath that yoke of destiny which the natural phi-
need invisible atoms and the void. Early in his losophers have imposed...the misfortune of the wise
Letter to Herodotus, he affirms the standard is better than the prosperity of the fool. It is better,
assumption that nothing comes into being out in short, that what is well judged in action should
of what is non-existent. Since there are clearly not owe its successful issue to the aid of chance.
(Diogenes Laertius, 2000, p. 659)
bodies that move, there must be space for them to
move in. Some bodies are composite, made So, the rabbit of free human agency was pulled
up of elements that have weight, vary out of the apparently thoroughly deterministic hat
Epicurus 1943 E
of his own physics and metaphysics. He may wise man overcomes by reason...He will be more
have been the first to perform this trick, but he susceptible of emotion than other men; that will be
no hindrance to his wisdom...Even on the rack the
was certainly not the last. To be clear, atomic wise man is happy...[he will not] punish his ser-
swerves were probably not the uncaused causes vants... fall in love... trouble himself about funeral
of free choice as Cicero claimed (Inwood et al., rites... make fine speeches...[engage in] sexual
1994, pp. 4751). Rather, at least some swerves indulgence...marry and rear a family... drivel,
when drunken... take part in politics... make him-
were the effects of free choice (free human voli- self a tyrant...[or commit suicide] when he has lost
tion) on atoms. his sight...[He will] take a suit into court...leave
The peace of mind or tranquility that Epicurus written words behind him...have regard to his prop-
insisted was the final aim for humans was in some erty and to the future...never give up a friend...
pay just so much regard to his reputation as not to E
ways similar to and in others different from all be looked down upon... be able to converse cor-
those who came before him. In his introductory rectly about music and poetry, without however
material preceding the three letters, Diogenes actually writing poems himself...will make
Laertius (2000, p. 543) said that in his corre- money, but only by his wisdom...be grateful to
anyone when he is corrected...found a school...
spondence, Epicurus replaces the usual greet- give readings in public, but only by request...
ing, I wish you joy, by wishes for welfare and on occasion die for a friend. (Diogenes Laertius,
right living, May you do well and Live well. 2000, pp. 643647)
This is practically the same language that Aris-
Supposing that the wise man is better than
totle used, i.e., for the many and the cultivated...
average at living well and doing well, it appears
suppose that living well and doing well are the
that such a person would find the quality of life
same as being happy (Aristotle, 1999, p. 3).
good if it were free of mental and physical
Aristotles emphasis on internal goods...of
pain, full of friendship satisfaction, and
mind and body and external goods like
intellectually stimulating. In fact, this is the sort
wealth and honor is similar to views expressed
of life Epicurus and his disciples probably would
by Epicurus. For example, to Menoeceus, he
have had in the privacy of his residence and
wrote,
school, the Garden. Contrary to Aristotles rec-
We must also reflect that of desires some are natu- ommendation to actively engage life and the
ral, others are groundless; and that of the natural world in all its diversity in the pursuit of excel-
some are necessary as well as natural, and some
natural only. And of the necessary desires some are lence, Epicurus recommended a relatively pas-
necessary if we are to be happy [EUDAIMONIA], sive and contemplative life in pursuit of
some if the body is to be rid of uneasiness, some a healthy body and peace of mind.
if we are even to live. He who has a clear and What, then, is the nature and role of pleasure(s)
certain understanding of these things will direct
every preference and aversion toward securing in the good life, theories of envisioned by Epicu-
health of body and tranquility of mind, seeing that rus? When Epicurus describes the nature of plea-
this is the sum and end of a blessed life. (Diogenes sure, it seems to be inextricably joined to virtue
Laertius, 2000, p. 653) ethics. To Menoeceus, he wrote,
Between Epicurus letters to Pythocles and
When we say, then, that pleasure is the end and
Menoeceus, Diogenes Laertius inserted a list of aim, we do not mean the pleasures of the prodigal
characteristics of the wise man, providing his or the pleasures of sensuality, as we are understood
readers with an aid to the conduct of life, what to do by some through ignorance, prejudice, or
we ought to avoid and what to choose (p. 643). willful misrepresentation. By pleasure we mean
the absence of pain in the body and of trouble in
While some would be affirmed by the many and the soul...it is sober reasoning, searching out the
the cultivated Greeks of his day (and by many grounds of every choice and avoidance, and
people today), some would be challenged and banishing those beliefs through which the greatest
rejected: tumults take possession of the soul. Of all this the
beginning and the greatest good is prudence
There are three motives to injurious acts among [PHRONESIS]...from it spring all the other virtues,
men - hatred, envy, and contempt; and these the for it teaches that we cannot lead a life of pleasure
E 1944 Epicurus

which is not also a life of prudence, honour, and This is certainly ethics without tears. If caring
justice; nor lead a life of prudence, honour, and for others gave most people as much pleasure as
justice, which is not also a life of pleasure. For the
virtues have grown into one with a pleasant life, caring for oneself, the average price of moral
and a pleasant life is inseparable from them. virtue for most people would probably be reduced
(Diogenes Laertius, 2000, p. 657) considerably and make morally good behavior
much easier to sell to most people. One may
Taking these passages literally, the analogy of
appreciate the motivation for the position,
medicine and health is inaccurate. It would be
without being convinced by the expansion.
more accurate to say that the relation between
Expansion of ordinary concepts in extraordinary
pleasure and the virtues is analogous to that
ways often creates more problems than it solves.
between health and a good life. Health is
The expansion of the idea of good health vs a
clearly instrumentally valuable for a good life,
good life to the idea of complete physical, men-
but also intrinsically valuable and, hence, consti-
tal, and social well-being confounds health with
tutive of a good life, as Aristotle recognized. Sen
the broader idea of quality of life and makes
(1999, pp. 3637) makes a similar point about
otherwise reasonable questions about the impact
freedom.
of health on the quality of life redundant
Annas noticed that the connection Epicurus
(Michalos, 2004).
made between pleasure and virtues was also
Besides the problem of expanding the mean-
made by John Stuart Mill in Utilitarianism over
ing of pleasure to include concern for others as
2000 years later:
well as oneself, a problem arises because Epicu-
Mill...fully realizes that in claiming that pleasure is rus distinguished at least two kinds of pleasure
the agents summum bonum he runs into the prob-
lem of completeness. He regards it as compara- static and kinetic. Peace of mind or tranquility
tively simple to show that happiness (by which he (ATARAXIA) and the absence of physical pain
explicitly means pleasure and the absence of pain) (APONIA) are static pleasures in the sense that
is desirable as an end; but he has to show something they represent ends in themselves, final ends.
far harder, namely that happiness thus conceived is
the only thing desirable as an end. In particular, he Kinetic pleasure is the pleasure of getting to
recognizes that he has to square this with the rec- this latter state, static pleasure, the pleasure of
ognition that we seek the virtues for their own sake. being in it (Annas, 1993, p. 336). For example,
His solution is to expand the notion of happiness in a thirsty person finds kinetic pleasure in drinking
such a way that seeking the virtues for their own
sake counts as seeking happiness, since doing the and static pleasure when thirst is thoroughly
former counts as part of being happy. (Annas, quenched; a person with physical pain finds
1993, p. 339) kinetic pleasure as the pain is reduced and static
pleasure when it is entirely gone.
At another point, Annas clearly indicates the
The clear implication of Epicurus remark
importance of these expansions for the moral
that By pleasure we mean the absence pain in
theories of the hedonisim position:
the body and of trouble in the soul is that,
So if, as Epicurus holds, pleasure is our complete contrary to the views of Socrates and Plato,
final end, and we also need real friendships, then...
We need, in our lives, real friendships, which may there is no neutral point between pleasure and
sometimes involve caring about others as much as pain. So far as the latter exists, the former does
about ourselves. What gives this its point in our not, and vice versa. Since people are not
lives is ultimately pleasure. But this does not lead always in pain, they must sometimes experi-
to selfishness, or to viewing friendship instrumen-
tally; for pleasure as our final end has been ence pleasure. Whats more, one of Epicurus
expanded to include the pleasure from genuine Authorized Doctrines says that The magnitude
other-concern. The argument is, as the Epicureans of pleasure reaches its limit in the removal of
saw, exactly the same as with the virtues; the plea- all pain (Diogenes Laertius, 2000, p. 665). For
sure we seek is expanded so that we achieve it
precisely by having non-instrumental concern for example, once ones hunger or thirst is satisfied
virtuous action and the interests of others. (Annas, with food or drink, the pain of wanting both
1993, p. 240) is removed, leaving one in a state of pleasure.
Epicurus 1945 E
If the pain of wanting anything at all, mentally over and over in many contexts that the pleasur-
or physically, is removed, then ones life would able end we seek is peace of mind and a healthy
be complete and perfect. Armed with these body, it is more than paradoxical to say that he
premises, Epicurus was led to one of the most does not, after all, regard the state of his bodily
famous and intriguing philosophic arguments health as important. If what really matters is
ever written. To Menoeceus, he wrote, attitude measurement, we would have to say
Accustom thyself to believe that death is nothing to that he did not believe that the good life required
us, for good and evil imply sentience, and death is objectively good circumstances plus an appro-
the privation of sentience; therefore a right under- priate attitude toward them. Only attitude
standing that death is nothing to us makes the mattered to him. All the talk about the impor-
mortality of life enjoyable, not by adding to E
life an illimitable time, but by taking away the tance of scientific knowledge to a good life
yearning after immortality...Whatsoever causes would have been pointless. One might have
no annoyance when it is present, causes only reached a proper attitude with the right drugs
a groundless pain in the expectation. Death, there- or the power of positive thinking. Hence, he
fore, the most awful of evils, is nothing to us,
seeing that, when we are, death is not could not logically distinguish a quality of life,
come, and, when death is come, we are not. It is two variable theory from real paradise. His most
nothing, then, either to the living or to the dead, for considered philosophical view about the good
with the living it is not and the dead exist no longer. life would have been inconsistent with his most
(Diogenes Laertius, 2000, p. 651)
frequently used description of it. It is possible,
This argument probably engages contempo- but seems very unlikely. It seems more likely
rary philosophers nearly as much as it has that in those passages about his own suffering
engaged all philosophers since Epicurus, and wise men on the rack, he only means to say
e.g., see Gordon and Suits (2003). The bottom that regardless of the suffering, he knows that on
line is that once one experiences freedom from the whole (not every part) a wise man and he
physical and mental pain, that is as good as it himself have had a good life. It is certainly
gets. Just as one has no interest in eating more logically possible and there is now plenty of
or drinking more when ones hunger and thirst evidence that objectively catastrophic events in
are satisfied, one should have no interest peoples lives (e.g., serious physical injury,
in living more because extending the length death of loved ones) are consistent with peo-
of time one is in the state of being free of ples judgments that on the whole, their lives
physical and mental pain will not make it are good (Michalos 2003, 2005, 2010). It also
more pleasurable. It can only bring more of often happens that objectively measured mala-
the same. If nothing else, this is a very hardy dies are found that have been destroying the
view of death. quality of peoples lives, although they have
This is not the place to examine this notorious been unaware of it. Such people typically rec-
argument, but it is worth quoting for readers who ognize that they have been living in a fools
have never seen it. For present purposes, the paradise.
problem arising from the static versus kinetic
distinction that merits more attention is that
some people believe that Epicurus completely
psychologized pleasure and, more generally, the Cross-References
good life by insisting that the final end was the
static pleasure described as peace of mind and Aristotle
a healthy body. We have already seen that he Democritus
claimed that Even on the rack the wise man is Hedonism
happy. Multiple Discrepancies Theory
To suppose that Epicurus psychologized the Plato
good life is unfair to Epicurus. After telling us Quality of Life, Two-Variable Theory
E 1946 Epidemiologic Measurements

References populations. Therefore, epidemiological measure-


ment is the process of collecting data relevant to
Annas, J. (1993). The morality of happiness. Oxford: events of interest and the application of epidemi-
Oxford University Press.
ology-specific tools to the collected data.
Aristotle. (1999). Nicomachean ethics (2nd ed., T. Irwin,
Trans.). Indianapolis, Indiana: Hackett Publishing.
DeWitt, N. W. (1967). Epicurus and his philosophy.
Cleveland, OH: World Publishing. Description
Diogenes Laertius. (2000). Lives of eminent philosophers.
(Vol. 2, R. D. Hicks, Trans.). Cambridge: Loeb Clas-
sical Library/Harvard University Press. History
Gordon, D. R., & Suits, D. B. (Eds.). (2003). Epicurus: His Hippocrates is commonly cited as the first person
continuing influence and contemporary relevance. to contribute to the field of epidemiology,
Rochester, NY: RIT Cary Graphic Arts Press.
through his work On Airs, Waters, and Places,
Inwood, B., Gerson, L. P., & Hutchinson, D. S. (Eds.).
(1994). The Epicurus reader: Selected writings and which espoused the dependence of health
testimonia. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing. on environmental factors and not on magical
Michalos, A. C. (2003). Essays on the quality of life. influences. However, it was not until 1662 that
Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
John Graunt began to publish statistical data on
Michalos, A. C. (2004). Social indicators research and
health-related quality of life research. Social Indica- mortality (Friis, 2010). Practical applications of
tors Research, 65(1), 2772. epidemiology came later, with one of the earliest
Michalos, A. C. (Ed.). (2005). Citation classics from epidemiological interventions occurring in 1796,
social indicators research. Dordrecht: Springer
when Edward Jenner performed the first vaccina-
Publishers.
Michalos, A. C. (2010). Stability and sensitivity in per- tion, by inoculating a child with cowpox material
ceived quality of life measures: Some panel results. in order to protect against the much more deadly
Social Indicators Research, 98(3), 403434. smallpox. Another notable intervention took
Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom. New York:
place in 1847 when Ignaz Semmelweis suspected
Random House.
disease-causing particles were being transmitted
from cadavers to women in an obstetrical clinic,
when medical students and physicians failed to
Epidemiologic Measurements wash their hands. Based on his theory,
Semmelweis implemented a hand-washing
Geoffrey Johnson policy and subsequently, mortality rates dropped
University of British Columbia, Faculty of from 12.2 % to 2.4 % (Gordis, 2009).
Medicine, Prince George, BC, Canada Modern epidemiology traces its roots back to
University of Northern British Columbia, School John Snow and his application of epidemiologi-
of Health Sciences, Prince George, BC, Canada cal methods during the cholera outbreaks in nine-
teenth-century England. Through the use of
mapping and forming data tables to describe
Synonyms cholera outbreaks, Snow was able to disprove
the miasmatic theory of disease, which purported
Population health measurement; Public health that disease was transmitted through miasms
measurements; Study design (clouds that clung low on the surface of the
earth). These early techniques were revolutionary
and laid the foundation for the current field
Definition of epidemiology, which has five objectives
(Gordis, 2009):
Epidemiology is the study of the determinants, 1. Identification of the risk factors for developing
distribution, and frequency of health-related a disease
events and processes (i.e., disease, injuries, 2. Description of the burden of disease within
disability, and mortality) within defined a population
Epidemiologic Measurements 1947 E
3. Elucidation of the natural history and progno- occurrence of health events, commonly known
sis of a disease as outcomes of interest (OOI). The participants
4. Evaluation of preventive/therapeutic are then classified by whether they were exposed
interventions or not exposed to the putative risk factor and
5. Provision of evidence on which to base public whether or not they developed the OOI. One of
policy for disease prevention and health the most famous cohort studies is the Framing-
promotion ham Heart Study that began in 1948, and it is
a major contributor to the current understanding
Epidemiological Study Models of cardiovascular disease. Casecontrol studies
The process of epidemiological measurement differ from cohort studies in that rather than
E
is generally observational (and sometimes starting with healthy individuals, researchers
experimental) and can be either descriptive or select cases with the OOI and compare them to
analytic. Descriptive studies are concerned with a control group, made up of people who do not
measuring the frequency and distribution of have the OOI. Once the sample is gathered, past
disease within a population, and they are often exposure to the putative risk factor is assessed.
for forming hypotheses about the nature of the Finally, cross-sectional studies assess OOIs and
disease. Analytical studies are used to elucidate exposures at a single point in time. Since there is
the causal relationship between risk factors no way to assess temporality within a
and disease. cross-sectional study, there is no way to deter-
Study designs can be further broken down into mine whether the risk factor actually led to the
the categories of observational and experimental. OOI. Cross-sectional designs are useful for
Experimental studies are often equated with determining the prevalence of an OOI within
randomized control trials (RCT), where a population.
the investigator has control over whether With any study model, the quality of
a participant receives an experimental interven- data collected is of the utmost importance.
tion (Last, 2001). Within an observational study, Reliability and validity of measurement tools
the investigator does not apply an intervention, needs to be tested to ensure that the tools are in
but rather, the person is either naturally fact measuring what they are meant to measure.
exposed or not exposed to a putative risk Bias can enter into a study when there is system-
factor. In a RCT, the participant is randomly atic error in the design or in the way in which the
assigned to either get the experimental interven- data is collected. Flawed collection of data will
tion or act as a control, receiving no intervention lead to results that tend to be erroneous; it is this
(or the current standard intervention). tendency that is considered to be bias. Another
Within observational analytical studies, threat to the integrity of a study is confounding,
people are observed at either the population which occurs when a noncausal association
level or the individual level. Studies utilizing between an exposure and an outcome results
people at the population level are called ecologic from the influence of a third variable. The
studies, where entire populations are analyzed as confounder has a causal relationship with the
a whole against aggregate data. Ecologic studies outcome and is also associated (either causally
are useful in identifying new potential relation- or noncausally) with the exposure, but is not an
ships to explore; however, they are also subject to intermediate between the exposure and the
the potential for ecologic fallacy (Szklo & Nieto, outcome.
2007).
Studies observing people at the individual Epidemiological Tools
level are broken into three groups: cohort, The measures used in epidemiology can be
casecontrol, and cross-sectional. Cohort studies divided into three classes: frequency, association,
involve following a group of healthy people for and potential impact. The measures of heath
a specified period of time and monitoring the event frequency can be divided into incidence
E 1948 Epidemiologic Measurements

and prevalence. Incidence measures the number Point prevalence is measured simply by taking
of new events or OOIs arising during a set the number of people within the population who
period of time. Common OOIs are morbidity have the OOI, divided by the number of people
and mortality. Prevalence measures the num- within the population at a specific time. Period
ber of existing OOIs, either at a point in time prevalence is simply the proportion of people
(point prevalence) or over a specified period within a population who had the OOI during the
(period prevalence). period of interest.

# of cases within a population at a specific time


Point Prevalence per 1,000  1; 000
# of persons within a population at that time

measurement. When researchers have access


Incidence is calculated using a simple 2  2 to individual data, they can calculate incidence
table in which people are categorized according density, which is equal to the number of OOIs
to whether they were exposed to a risk factor divided by the total person-time. Total person-
and whether they have the outcome of interest. time is obtained by summing the time for
Incidence in those exposed is equal to the number which each participant was observed. For
of people exposed and having the OOI, divided example, if a person was monitored in a study
by the total number of people exposed. Alterna- for 3 months before dying, they will have con-
tively, incidence among those not exposed is tributed 3 person-months, or 0.25 person-years.
equal to the number of people not exposed who Attack rate is simply incidence in those people
have the OOI, divided by the total number of exposed to the risk and is not actually a rate but
people who were not exposed. a proportion.
Measures of association can be divided into
Exposure measures of absolute difference and measures of
relative difference. Two types of absolute differ-
Outcome of Interest ence measures are attributable risk and number
Yes No needed to treat.
Yes a b ab
To calculate attributable risk (AR), simply
No c d cd
take the incidence in the exposed and subtract
ac bd
the incidence in the unexposed. From the previ-
ous formula we can see that
a
Incidence in exposed Ie
ab a c
AR Ie  Io 
ab cd
c
Incidence in unexposed Io
cd Number needed to treat (NNT) refers to the
number of people that would need to be treated
Depending on the data available, incidence with an intervention to prevent one OOI. It is
can also be presented as incidence rate, inci- most commonly used to expresses the results of
dence density, and attack rate. Incidence rate is a randomized trial which tests the efficacy of an
calculated when the researcher has access to intervention at reducing the risk of a negative
aggregate data. Incidence rate is equal to the outcome.
number of OOIs divided by the average popu-
lation, where average population is the popula- 1
NNT
tion at the halfway point of the period of rate inuntreated group  rate in treated group
Epidemiologic Measurements 1949 E
Relative difference measures are broken up Measures of potential impact assess the effects
into relative risk, odds ratio, and prevalence of removing exposure to a risk factor at two
ratio. Relative risk (RR), also known as risk levels: the individual exposed and the population
ratio, is simply a ratio of risk in those exposed of interest. Attributable risk, also an absolute
to risk in those not exposed. It can only be difference measure, and attributable risk
calculated with incidence data coming from percent (AR%) are both useful for illustrating
a longitudinal study, which is either prospective the reduction of burden when an exposure is
or retrospective. removed from an exposed group. AR% is calcu-
lated by dividing AR by the incidence in exposed
a and multiplying the result by 100 %.
Ie ab E
RR c
Io cd
Ie  Io
AR%  100%
Ie
Relative risk is interpreted in three different
ways:
RR 1, risk in exposed is equal to risk in Intervention Evaluation
unexposed. Once data have been gathered and analyzed,
RR > 1, risk in exposed is greater than risk in conclusions need to be made and interventions
unexposed. developed. Measurement continues after the
RR < 1, risk in exposed is less than risk in implementation of the interventions to determine
exposed (potentially a protective factor the usefulness of the intervention. These
against the OOI). measurements tell the researcher whether the inter-
Odds ratio (OR) is used as an approximation vention has efficacy, effectiveness, and efficiency.
of RR when incidence data is unavailable, as in Efficacy is the measure of whether the intervention
a casecontrol study. In order to use OR to works under ideal conditions, often in a laboratory
approximate RR, three criteria must be satisfied: setting. Effectiveness is a measure of whether the
With regard to exposure history, the cases intervention works within the context of the real
need to be representative of all people with world. Efficiency is a measure of cost-benefit, used
the OOI in the population under study. to determine whether the intervention provides
With regard to exposure history, the controls benefits that outweigh the economic, social, and
need to be representative of all people without personal costs. Together these measures determine
the OOI in the population under study. whether an intervention is useful and policy
The OOI must not occur frequently within the decisions are based on the findings.
population of study.

Cross-References
Odds of developing OOI a=c
OR Ecological Fallacy
Odds of not developing OOI b=d
Mortality
Prevalence ratio (PR), also known as point Odds Ratio
prevalence rate ratio, is the ratio of prevalence Prevalence
in exposed to prevalence in unexposed. PR is Reliability
used as an approximation of RR in cross- Retrospective Reports
sectional studies where incidence cannot be
calculated. References
Pe
PR Friis, R. H. (2010). Epidemiology 101. Sudbury,
Po MA: Jones and Bartlett.
E 1950 Epworth Sleepiness Scale

Gordis, L. (2009). Epidemiology (4th ed.). Philadelphia, in contrast to just feeling tired. Respondents
PA: Saunders Elsevier. indicate how likely they are to fall asleep from
Last, J. M. (2001). A dictionary of epidemiology (4th ed.).
New York: Oxford University Press. 0 never to 3 high chance in eight different
Szklo, M., & Nieto, F. J. (2007). Epidemiology (2nd ed.). common situations that vary in their soporific
Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett. potential (Johns, 2002). The situations are:
Sitting and reading
Watching TV
Epworth Sleepiness Scale Sitting, inactive in a public place (e.g., theater,
meeting)
Helen Wright and Leon Lack Passenger in a car for an hour without a break
School of Psychology, Flinders University, Lying down to rest in the afternoon when circum-
Adelaide, SA, Australia stances permit
Sitting and talking to someone
Sitting quietly after lunch without alcohol
Synonyms In a car, while stopped for a few minutes in the
traffic
Perceived daytime sleepiness Scores range from 0 to 24. An interpretation
guide indicates that an overall score less than 8 is
normal, 810 signifies mild daytime sleepiness,
Definition 1115 moderate, 1620 severe, and over 21 exces-
sive daytime sleepiness; however, as yet no studies
Excessive daytime sleepiness is a significant have been carried out to support the division of
problem that contributes to reduced quality of these labelled categories (Avidan & Chervin, 2002).
life and vehicle and work-related accidents. Day-
time sleepiness is associated with various sleep Reliability
disorders such as sleep-disordered breathing, When developing the questionnaire, Johns (1992)
obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), periodic limb found test-retest data from 87 healthy adults
movements in sleep, narcolepsy, and idiopathic showed a high correlation of r 0.82 and high
hypersomnia. However, it should be noted that internal consistency as measured by Cronbachs
the most common causes of excessive daytime alpha (r 0.88).
sleepiness are insufficient sleep and depression. A stable relationship of r 0.76 was found
The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) is when the ESS was administered 1 year apart to
a self-administered 8-item questionnaire that is 600 middle-aged participants in the CARDIA
summed to give an overall score of daytime study (Knutson, Rathouzm, Yanm, Lium, &
sleepiness or more specifically the propensity to Lauderdalem, 2006), as well as for 142 untreated
fall asleep in certain situations. It has been patients an average 10-week interval (r 0.72)
described as assessing a behavioral component (Nguyen et al., 2006).
of sleepiness rather than the subjective feelings
of sleepiness (Pilcher, Pury, & Muth, 2003). Validity
The ESS is widely used in sleep research and The evidence for the validity of the ESS is equiv-
clinical practice and has been translated into 52 ocal. It has been compared to the gold standard
languages (Buyssee et al., 2008). objective measure of sleepiness: the Multiple
Sleep Latency Test (MSLT). The MSLT
measures the time taken to fall asleep during
Description 45 nap opportunities across the day, with the
shorter the time to fall asleep indicative of
The ESS was developed (Johns, 1991) to assess daytime sleepiness. Correlations have ranged
the likelihood of falling asleep during the day, from 0.42 (Johns, 1994) to no significant
Epworth Sleepiness Scale 1951 E
relationship (see Fong (Fong, Ho, & Wing, 2005) References
for a review). However, it is argued that the ESS
and the MSLT measure different dimensions of Avidan, A. Y., & Chervin, R. D. (2002). ESS dot com.
Sleep Medicine, 3, 405410.
sleepiness. The MSLT measures time taken to
Bausmer, U., Gouveris, H., Selivavanova, O., Goepel, B.,
fall asleep when attempting sleep at time of test- & Mann, W. (2010). Correlations of the Epworth
ing. On the other hand, the ESS asks respondents Sleepiness Scale with respiratory sleep parameters in
to indicate the likelihood of falling asleep in the patients with sleep-related breathing disorders and
upper airway pathology. European Archives Otorhi-
recent past in a variety of daily activities some of
nolaryngology, 267, 16451648.
which the respondent would presumably be try- Buyssee, D. J., Hall, M. L., Strollo, P. J., Kamarck, T. W.,
ing to resist falling asleep (Olson, Cole, & Owens, J., Lee, L., et al. (2008). Relationships between
the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI),
E
Ambrogetti, 1998). The ESS does relate to impor-
Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and clinical/
tant environmental outcomes such as road traffic
polysomnographic measures in a community sample.
accidents purported to be related to sleepiness Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 4, 563571.
(Miletin & Hanly, 2003). Dolan, D. C., et al. (2009). The time of day sleepiness
Some studies have found a relationship scale to assess differential levels of sleepiness across
the day. Journal of Psychosomatic Research,
between ESS scores and severity of OSA
67, 127133.
symptoms, yet others have found no correlation Fong, S. Y. Y., Ho, C. K. W., & Wing, Y. K. (2005).
(Fong et al., 2005). Comparing MSLT and ESS in the measurement of
The ESS has been shown to significantly excessive daytime sleepiness in obstructive sleep
apnoea syndrome. Journal of Psychosomatic
decrease as predicted, after continuous positive
Research, 58, 5560.
airway pressure (CPAP) treatment for obstructive Johns, M. W. (1991). A new method for measuring
sleep apnea (Dolan et al., 2009). daytime sleepiness: The Epworth Sleepiness Scale.
Sleep, 14, 540545.
Johns, M. W. (1992). Reliability and factor analysis of the
Discussion
Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Sleep, 15, 376381.
The ESS is an easily administered tool for Johns, M. W. (1994). Sleepiness in different situations
evaluating subjective daytime sleepiness and is measured by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Sleep,
widely used in the sleep community. However, it 17, 703710.
Johns, M. W. (2002). Sleep propensity varies with
is not, by itself, a diagnostic tool for the presence
behaviour and the situation in which it is measured:
of OSA (Bausmer, Gouveris, Selivavanova, The concept of somnificity. Journal of Sleep Research,
Goepel, & Mann, 2010; Miletin & Hanly, 2003). 11, 6167.
It provides information that can be combined with Knutson, K. L., Rathouzm, P. J., Yanm, L. L., Lium, K.,
& Lauderdalem, D. S. (2006). Stability of the Pitts-
clinical findings to select patients who should be
burgh Sleep Quality Index and the Epworth Sleepi-
further investigated with overnight sleep studies. ness Questionnaires over 1 year in early middle-
The ESS appears to be moderately reliable aged adults: The CARDIA study. Sleep, 29,
although attempts to confirm its validity in 15031506.
Miletin, M. S., & Hanly, P. (2003). Measurement proper-
comparison with objective time taken to fall
ties of the Epworth sleepiness scale. Sleep Medicine,
asleep in laboratory settings have had only 4, 195199.
limited success. The most appropriate test of Nguyen, A. T., Baltzan, M. A., Small, D., Wolkove, N.,
validity would involve objective observations of Giullon, S., & Palavew, M. (2006). Clinical reproduc-
ibility of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Journal of
falling asleep over the prior month to which the
Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2, 170174.
ESS refers. However, such a demanding validity Olson, L. G., Cole, M. F., & Ambrogetti, A. (1998).
test has not been conducted. Correlations among Epworth Sleepiness Scale
scores, multiple sleep latency tests and psychol-
ogical symptoms. Journal of Sleep Research, 7,
Cross-References 248253.
Pilcher, J. J., Pury, C. L. S., & Muth, E. R. (2003).
Assessing subjective daytime sleepiness: An internal
Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index state versus behavior approach. Behavioral Medicine,
Sleep and Well-being 29, 6067.
E 1952 EQ-5D in Malaysia

EQ-5D in Malaysia Equity

EuroQoL 5-Dimension Measures in Malaysia Lina Fortes-Ferreira


School of Business Administration, Polytechnic
Institute of Setubal, Setubal, Portugal

Equal Interval Scales


Synonyms
Interval Scale
Fairness

Equal Pay for Equal Value


Definition
Comparable Worth
Equity refers to the perception of fairness in
distribution of resources within social and
workplace situations, taking into account the per-
Equality ceived abilities or contributions of the individuals
involved. That is to say, an individual perceives
Critical Disability Theory equity according to normative expectations
Equity Theory if he/she perceives the ratio of his/her inputs to
Human Rights his/her outcomes to be equal to his/her social
referents (Adams, 1963, 1965).

Equality of Variances Description


F-Ratio In accordance with social exchange theory and
reciprocity norms (Gouldner, 1960), we can posit
that in their social exchanges, people appreciate
fair treatment and develop norms about what is
Equality Rights
deemed as fair or unfair treatment (Pinder, 2008).
The workplace is a major setting where people
Human Rights
enjoy and suffer the fairness and unfairness in the
exchange of their contributions, talents, and
efforts for various kinds of rewards.
Equilibriam, Spatial Equity is an important topic in social
psychology and is especially relevant in
Urban Isobenefit Lines organizational psychology research and prac-
tice. Equity has been the most researched
organizational justice-related topic, and the
work of John Stacy Adams seems to be the
Equitable Prosperity in Mexico and most influential in this field (Pinder, 2008).
Chile According to Adams (1963, 1965), employees
seek to preserve equity between the inputs
Democracy and Development in Mexico and they bring and the outcomes they receive
Chile within an employee-employer exchange.
Equity 1953 E
The equity theory, which is founded justice, this concept has not been without criti-
upon Festingers (1957) theory of cognitive cism. Deutsch (1983), for example, pointed out
dissonance, specifies the situations under the fact that little attention has been given to the
which inequity will occur and the means by possibility that perceptions of equity are social
which it may be reduced. When the constructs. According to the author, the social
normative expectations of the person making context in which the individual works was
social comparisons are violated when he neglected, making the approach of equity too
finds his inputs and outcomes are not in balance psychological. The same author also criticized
in relation to those of others feelings of ineq- the theory of equity for placing too much
uity result (Adams, 1963, p. 424). Then, emphasis on proportionality (Deutsch,
E
according to the dissonance theory, this per- 1983). Therefore, he considered that proportion-
ceived inequity creates tension, which in turn ality is not the sole basis of fairness, highlight-
drives the person to restore equity or at least to ing the importance of other standards (equality
reduce inequity. and need) in addition to equity. In fact, from
Adams (1965) proposed several mechanisms the distribution rules, equity is merely one
in this process: (1) adjusting inputs, (2) modify- of the potential forms of assigning rewards
ing outcomes, (3) cognitively distorting inputs or and punishments in organizations (Pinder,
outcomes, (4) leaving the field, (5) taking actions 2008, p. 327).
aimed to the modification of the inputs and Nonetheless, more recently, Colquitt,
outputs of the comparison other, and (6) altering Greenberg, and Zapata-Phelan (2005) pointed
the comparison other. out that despite waning in research on equity
The way the employees act in this situation of theory, several studies in organizations demon-
inequity is one of the key criticisms of the equity strated that it could predict different forms of
theory. As Cropanzano and Folger (1996) stated, behavior such as performance after receiving
some employees tend to get angry, to put less more prestigious job titles, higher status assign-
effort into their work, missing more days or ment of coworkers, theft after paycuts, and the
even leaving the job altogether, while others performance of professional athletes entering
will commit themselves to work even more free agency.
hoping that eventually theyll achieve their Regarding the study of the role of equity
aspirations. In this vein, the authors suggested on quality of life, it is important to note that
that procedural justice is a key factor to resolve in recent years some studies were devoted to
this problem. studying the relationship between inequity
On the other hand, Mowday (1996), in one of and burnout (e.g., Bakker et al., 2000; Smets,
the most comprehensive reviews of the equity Visser, Oort, Schaufeli, & De Haes, 2004; Taris,
theory, asserted that prior research was generally Peeters, Le Blanc, Schreus, & Schaufeli, 2001;
in laboratory settings and usually studying Van Dierendonck, Schaufeli, & Buunk, 1996,
employees reaction to inequitable payment. 2001).
Despite general support for the equity theory Van Dierendonck et al. (2001) found curvilin-
predictions, some writers criticized such research ear effects of inequity on burnout (i.e., emotional
since there may be other alternative explanations exhaustion) in a longitudinal study among human
for the disparities noted on subjects perfor- service professionals. Those results are in line
mance, especially in what concerns the with the previous results found by those authors
overpayment condition. Furthermore, the author in a cross-sectional design (Van Dierendonck
stresses the fact that overpayment in the organi- et al., 1996). In fact, according to the equity
zational context may not be a source of inequity theory, both professionals who felt deprived and
perception (Mowday, 1996, p. 61). professionals who felt advantaged experienced
However and notwithstanding the impor- more emotional exhaustion. However, some
tance of the equity approach in organizational surprising results occurred, because feeling
E 1954 Equity

advantaged resulted in more emotional exhaus- theory that individuals yearn, in a deeply
tion than deprivation feelings. Van Dierendonck evolutionary tendency manner, for reciprocity in
et al. (1996, 2001) explain this result with the interpersonal relationships and the perception
asymmetrical nature of professional-recipient of those relationships as unreciprocated will
relationships and found supportive results for strongly distress them.
a curvilinear relationship, unlike more recent Despite the widespread acceptance and
research among medical specialists (cf. Smets application of the equity theory, there are two
et al., 2004). lines of investigation that stress the importance
Despite the need of future research to shed of taking into account other variables when
more light on this issue, the empirical research explaining the relationship between perceptions
has shown that perceived inequity is a predictor of equity/inequity in the work context and
of burnout, which meets the idea that relation- organizational outcomes. Huseman, Hatfield,
ships with inequity lead to an increase in experi- and Miles (1987) introduced the concept of
enced stress, resulting, then, in increased levels of equity sensitivity and proposed three groups to
burnout. However, the study of Taris et al. (2001) categorize the individuals based on their equity
was the first attempt to specifically take into preferences: (a) Benevolents, those who prefer
account the psychological process supporting their outcome/input ratios to be less than the
these results. Comparing the two samples of outcome/input ratios of the comparison other;
Dutch teachers, the authors concluded, the effect (b) Equity Sensitives, those who, conforming to
of inequity on burnout () can partly be the traditional norm of equity, prefer their
accounted for in terms of elevated levels of outcome/input ratios to equal those of compar-
stress (Taris et al., 2001, p. 318). ison others; and (c) Entitleds, those who prefer
Yet, as Smets et al. (2004) claim, although their outcome/input ratios to exceed the
most burnout research has studied intrapersonal comparison others (p. 222). As originally
inequity, the assessment of perceived interper- conceptualized, (a) Benevolents are satisfied
sonal inequity is paramount in understanding when under-rewarded but feel guilty from both
this phenomenon, as it is also a result of a social equitable or over-rewarding, (b) Equity Sensi-
comparison. Then, Smets et al. in a sample of tives feel distressed from under-rewarding and
2,400 medical specialists addressed this issue, in guilty from over-rewarding, and c) Entitleds are
the diverse nature of their relationships at work satisfied when over-rewarded and feel dis-
(with patients, colleagues, and the organization) tressed from being both equitable or under-
and found that variance in burnout is better rewarded.
explained by intrapersonal inequity than by However, findings have been mixed with
interpersonal inequity. The nature of work by respect to these predicted patterns (Blakely,
those specialists, which is mainly individual Andrews, & Moorman, 2005, p. 263). Equity
work, is considered as a potential explanation sensitivity has been a research topic in organiza-
for this result but, clearly, more investigation is tional behavior in recent years, and has been
warranted. associated with organizational citizenship behav-
On the other hand, Bakker et al. (2000) studied iors (Blakely et al., 2005; Kickul & Lester, 2001);
not only burnout but also depression in a sample employee attitudes like job satisfaction (Kickul
of 154 Dutch teachers. The study indicates that & Lester, 2001; Shore, 2004; Shore, Sy, &
both burnout and depression are related to similar Strauss, 2006), affective commitment (Restubog,
social exchange processes; however, they occur Bordia, & Bordia, 2009), and turnover intention
in different plans: burnout is linked to lack of (Shore, 2004), to name just a few. Other research
reciprocity in the occupational domain, but (e.g., Roehling, Roehling, & Boswell, 2010)
depression is linked to lack of reciprocity in addressed the need for investigating the anteced-
intimate personal nonwork relationships. This is ents of equity sensitivity (organizational context,
consonant with the assumption of the equity personal characteristics, etc).
Equity 1955 E
Another line of investigation highlights the the need to include those important discoveries
importance of introducing cultural factors from equity theory and research, which were,
when examining equity. Kilbourne and in her opinion, mostly neglected in the
OLeary-Kelly (1994) argue that equity theory other perspectives.
is a good candidate for a cultural analysis
because it has been suggested that equity the-
ory is culture bound, reflecting Western values
(p. 178) and offer an interesting paper about Cross-References
questions that consider the influence of culture
on equity theory propositions. However, rela- Critical Disability Theory
Distributive Justice E
tively few studies have examined the cross-
cultural applicability of the theory. Gelfand, Equality
Erez, and Aycan (2007) review the research Motivation
on culture and organizational justice, showing Perceived Fairness
that individualistic cultures favored equity and
collectivistic cultures favored equality, and,
similarly, cultures high on power distance and
References
hierarchy favored equity, while equality was
favored by cultures low on power distance Adams, J. S. (1963). Toward an understanding of inequity.
and with egalitarian values. More recently, Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67(5),
Bolino and Turnley (2008) presented a concep- 422436.
Adams, J. S. (1965). Inequity in social exchange. In
tual paper, where identification of the ways
L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social
the cultural context may influence the concep- psychology (Vol.2, pp. 267299). New York:
tualization of inputs and outcomes by Academic Press.
employees as well as their selection of referent Bakker, A. B., Schaufeli, W. B., Demerouti, E., Janssen, P.
P. M., Hulst, R. V. D., & Brouwer, J. (2000). Using
others, their equity preferences, and their
equity theory to examine the difference between
reactions to inequity is made through a value- burnout and depression. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping,
orientation model of culture. 13, 247268.
So, finally, it seems interesting to contrive Blakely, G. L., Andrews, M. C., & Moorman, R. H.
(2005). The moderating effects of equity sensitivity
equity within the perspective of justice research
on the relationship between organizational justice
as propounded by Skitka (2009). The author and organizational citizenship behaviors. Journal of
includes equity in what she refers to the homo Business and Psychology, 20(2), 259273.
economicus perspective of justice research. Colquitt, J. A., Greenberg, J., & Zapata-Phelan, C. P.
(2005). What is organizational justice? A historical
She outlines that this perspective led to some
overview. In J. Greenberg, and J. A. Colquitt (Eds.),
critical findings: (a) people make a mental tally Handbook of organizational justice (pp. 356).
of their social relationships, (b) peoples interpre- Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
tation of what is fair relies considerably on social Cropanzano, R., & Folger, R. (1996). Procedural justice
and worker motivation. In R. M. Steers, L. W. Porter,
comparisons, that is, on whom they choose to
& G. A. Bigley (Eds.), Motivation and leadership at
compare themselves to, (c) people recognize the work (6th ed., pp. 7283). New York: McGraw-Hill.
distinction between outcome favorability and Deutsch, M. (1983). Current social psychological
outcome fairness, and (d) the perceived concept perspectives on justice. European Journal of Social
Psychology, 13, 305319.
of deservingness is key in determining where an
Festinger, L. A. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance.
outcome or treatment is perceived or not as Evanston, IL: Row, Peterson.
fair. In fact, although the homo economicus Gouldner, A. W. (1960). The norm of reciprocity.
perspective is only one of the three approaches American Sociological Review, 25(2), 161178.
Huseman, R. C., Hatfield, J. D., & Miles, E. W. (1987).
of justice considered (home economicus, homo
A new perspective on equity theory: The equity
socialis, and homo moralis), Skitka proposes sensitivity construct. Academy of Management
a contingency model of justice, which highlights Review, 12(2), 222234.
E 1956 Equity Capital

Jost, J. T., & Kay, A. C. (2010). Social justice. In


S. T. Fiske, D. T. Gilbert, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), Equity Index
Handbook of social psychology (5th ed., Vol. 2,
pp. 11221165). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Kickul, J., & Lester, S. W. (2001). Broken promises: Benedicto Lukanima
Equity sensitivity as a moderator between Business School, Universidad del Norte,
psychological contract breach and employee attitudes Barranquilla, Colombia
and behavior. Journal of Business and Psychology,
16(2), 191217. Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla, Colombia
Mowday, R. T. (1996). Equity theory predictions of
behavior in organizations. In R.M. Steers, L. W.
Porter e G. A. Bigley (Eds.), Motivation and Definition
leadership at work (6th ed., pp. 5371). New York:
McGraw-Hill.
Pinder, C. C. (2008). Work motivation in organizational Equity index is a statistical indicator of changes
behavior (2nd ed.). Hove: Psychology Press. in the market value of a certain group of shares
Restubog, S. L. D., Bordia, P., & Bordia, S. (2009). The or stocks. Sometimes it is referred to as stock
interactive effects of procedural justice and equity
sensitivity in predicting responses to psychological index (singular) and stock indices or indexes
contract breach: An interactionist perspective. Journal (plural).
of Business and Psychology, 24, 165178.
Roehling, M. V., Roehling, P. V., & Boswell, W. R.
(2010). The potential role of organizational setting
in creating entitled employees: An investigation of Description
the antecedents of equity sensitivity. Employee
Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 22, 133145. There are several types of equity indices,
Shore, T. H. (2004). Equity sensitivity theory: Do we all depending on their measurement criteria such as
want more than we deserve? Journal of Managerial
Psychology, 19(7), 722728. the coverage base, the averaging method used to
Shore, T. H., Sy, Thomas, & Strauss, J. (2006). Leader establish the index, and the way the averaging
responsiveness, equity sensitivity, and employee methods assign index weights. Therefore, in
attitudes and behavior. Journal of Business and essence, stock indices are not the same, and they
Psychology, 21(2), 227241.
Skitka, L. J. (2009). Exploring the lost and found of may exhibit disparate behavior (Roll, 1992).
justice theory and research. Social Justice Research,
22, 98116. Broad-Based or Narrow-Based Index
Smets, E. M. A., Visser, M. R. M., Oort, F. J., This categorizes indices according to stock rep-
Schaufeli, W. B., & De Haes, H. J. C. J. M. (2004).
Perceived inequity: Does it explain burnout among resentation and coverage. Representation may
medical specialists? Journal of Applied Social be a specific group of companies with certain
Psychology, 34(9), 19001918. features, whereas coverage may be global,
Taris, T. W., Peeters, M. C. W., Le Blanc, P. M., Schreus, P. national, or even industrial. We can use the
J. G., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2001). From inequity to
burnout: The role of job stress. Journal of Occupational Dow Jones Indices as an example. For a global
Health Psychology, 6(4), 303323. measure, the Dow Jones Total Stock Market
Van Dierendonck, D., Schaufeli, W. B., & Buunk, B. P. Index is a broad-based index, considered as a
(1996). Inequity among human service professionals: comprehensive mirror to the global equity mar-
Measurement and relation to burnout. Basic and
Applied Social Psychology, 18(4), 429451. ket including more than 12,000 securities from
Van Dierendonck, D., Schaufeli, W. B., & Buunk, B. P. 76 countries, covering both developed and
(2001). Burnout and inequity among human service emerging markets. For a national measure, the
professionals: A longitudinal study. Journal of Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Indices are
Occupational Health Psychology, 6(1), 4352.
designed to provide comprehensive coverage of
the US equity market. For a sectoral measure, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average is price-weighted
Equity Capital measure of 30 US blue-chip companies,
narrowed to cover all industries except transpor-
Financial Capital tation and utilities.
Equity Index 1957 E
The Averaging Method Used to Establish the Equity Index, Table 1 Variables for calculating equity
Index indices
Averaging methods may take different forms like Variable Denotation
simple weighted average, geometric average, Time the index is computed t
moving average, or exponential average. A company i
A simple weighted average is simply an arith- Number of companies in the index n
metic averaging from the addition of the share Stock price of company (i) at time (t) pit
prices of the component stocks and then divided Number of shares of company (i) at time (t) sit
by the number of stocks used. A major drawback Weighting factor of company (i) at time (t) wit
Free float factor of company (i) at time (t) ffit
in this method is that it does not take into account
Weighting cap factor of company (i) at cfit E
the differences in stock price levels. That is, time (t)
stocks with higher prices will affect this average Exchange rate from local currency into index xit
more than price fluctuations in lower-priced currency for company (i) at time (t) where
stocks. The other methods are relatively more applicable
complex. For example, geometric averaging Divisor of the index at time (t) Dt
involves multiplying together the share prices of
the component stocks and then raising to the
power of 1/n, where n is the number of stocks
X
n
pit :sit :ffit :cfit :xit
used in the index. Indext (2)
i1
Dt
Index Weighting Methods
Index weighting constitutes mainly two catego- A major difference between these two methods
ries, namely, price weighting and market value is that the price weighted does not consider com-
weighting. Depending on the method, Table 1 pany size, rather than stock price. The market
denotes the variables that are usually taken into capitalization method takes into account company
account in calculating equity indices. size by incorporating number of shares outstand-
Price-Weighted Indices: Here, the indices ing for each stock. The weighted cap factor of
originate from stock market prices. Thus, the a company (or adjustment factor) is used to limit
indices are weighted based on the components the influence of big companies on the value of the
stock prices and weighting factors, as indicated overall index. In absence of this limit, a small
in Eq. 1. Some of indices under this category change in price for a big company will have
include the NIKKEI 225 and the Dow Jones a greater impact on the value of the index.
Industrial Average (DJIA). Actually, the The free float factor of a company represents
DJIA is very simplified in that it is simply the value of shares of a specific company avail-
a sum of stock values in the index (for the able in public for buying and selling. Usually, the
30 corporations), divided by the official Dow greatest weight is assigned to stocks with
Jones divisor: the largest float. Moreover, in these methods,
the divisor replaces the number of stocks used
X
n
pit :wfit :cfit :xit in simple averaging methods. The aim here is to
Indext (1)
i1
Dt take into account other corporate events that are
likely to affect the number of stocks outstanding
Market-Weighted Indices: Here, the indices (such as stock splits and spin-offs).
originate from market capitalization. Hence,
they are calculated with the Laspeyres formula, Equity Index Information
which measures price changes against a fixed Due to their significance, today, there are num-
base quantity weight, as indicated in Eq. 2. bers of equity indices all over the world with
Some examples in this category include intra- and intercountry linkages, whose informa-
NASDAQ 100 and S&P 500. tion is updated from time to time as the values of
E 1958 Equity Index

streaming quotes: ON

Major World Indices

Americas Asia/Pacific Europe Africa/Middle East

Symbol Name Last Trade Change Related Info

^MERV 2,211.49
MerVal 1.08 (0.05%) Components, Chart, More
1:02PM EDT

^BVSP 53,462.74
Bovespa 1:22PM EDT 45.99 (0.09%) Components, Chart, More

^GSPTSE 11,480.92
S&P TSX Composite 1:07PM EDT 145.15 (1.28%) Chart, More

^MXX 37,047.31
IPC 12.47 (0.03%) Components, Chart, More
1:02PM EDT

^GSPC 1,281.14
500 Index 2.96 (0.23%) Chart, More
1:23PM EDT

Headlines

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Equity Index, Fig. 1 An example of equity index quotes

stocks change. Free online information about (Beck & Levine, 2004; Beltratti & Morana, 2006;
major equity indices is available from several Fama, 1981; Hamilton & Lin, 1996; Sarantis,
financial news sites, like Bloomberg, Yahoo! 2001). Therefore, as pointed out by Harvey
Finance, and Reuters. This information can be (1989), stock indices can play a significant role in
either real time or historical. forecasting economic performance. A fall or a rise
Figure 1 below was extracted from Yahoo! in stock indices may indicate a dampened or
Finance to show an example of how information a sound economic atmosphere, respectively.
on stock indices is displayed on a specific trading Apart from the cyclical behavioral change on
day. It shows the names of an index (e.g., individual stock indices, there is also evidence on
Bovespa), the last trade (i.e., index market value the integration and correlation of global stock indi-
and time), and change (i.e., increase in market ces. The linkage between indices has been exam-
value upward arrow, and decrease in market ined categorically in relation to such issues like the
value downward arrow). contagion phenomenon (Caporale, Cipollini, &
Spagnolo, 2005; King & Wadhwani, 1990), time
Discussion variation in the covariance between stock markets
Equity indices play a significant role in day-to-day and the extent of market integration (Longin &
investment decision as they reflect the perfor- Solnik, 1995), and volatility transmission between
mance of markets and the underlying companies. markets both within countries Frank, Gonzales-
Therefore, using historical stock indices, investors Hermosillo, and Hesse (2008) and across global
set their trading strategies guided by forecasts of markets (Bartram & Wang, 2005; Ng, 2000).
the future direction of stock performance (Chen,
Leung, & Daouk, 2003) as well as taking appro-
priate hedging strategies against risk (Figlewski, Cross-References
1985). In additional, equity indices carry important
information that can be related to economic per- Economic and Financial Literacy
formance nationally and globally. Indeed, empiri- Economic and Social Indicators
cal studies suggest a strong relationship between Economic Efficiency
stock market volatility and other economic factors Economic Growth
Equity Theory 1959 E
References Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/finance/markets/indices
S&P 500: http://www.standardandpoors.com/indices/sp-
Bartram, S. M., & Wang, Y.-H. (2005). Another look at 500/en/us/?indexIdspusa-500-usdufp-us-l
the relationship between cross-market correlation and S&P. (2012). S&P Indices Methodology, S&P
volatility. Finance Research Letters, 2(2), 7588. US. Accessed June 2012, from http://www.
Beck, T. & Levine, R. (2004). Stock markets, banks, and standardandpoors.com/indices/sp-500/en/us/?indexId
growth: Panel evidence. Journal of Banking and spusa-500-usdufp-us-l
Finance, 28(3), 423442. Yahoo finance: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/hp?s%
Beltratti, A., & Morana, C. (2006). Breaks and persis- 5EGSPC+Historical+Prices
tency: Macroeconomic causes of stock market volatil-
ity. Journal of Econometrics, 131, 151177.
Caporale, G. M., Cipollini, A., & Spagnolo, N. (2005).
E
Testing for contagion: A conditional correlation anal- Equity Planning
ysis. Journal of Empirical Finance, 12(3), 476489.
Chen, A., Leung, M. T., & Daouk, H. (2003). Application
of neural networks to an emerging financial market: Community-Based Planning
Forecasting and trading the Taiwan stock index. Com-
puters and Operations Research, 30, 901923.
Fama, E. F. (1981). Stock returns, real activity, inflation
and money. American Economic Review, 71(4),
545565. Equity Theory
Figlewski, S. (1985). Hedging with stock index futures:
Theory and application in a new market. Journal of Denis Meuret
Futures Markets, 5(2), 183199.
Department of Educational Science, University
Frank, N., Gonzales-Hermosillo, B., & Hesse, H. (2008).
Transmission of liquidity shocks: Evidence from the of Burgundy Institut Universitaire de France,
2007 subprime crisis (IMF Working Paper No. WP/08/ Dijon, France
200). Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund.
Hamilton, J. D., & Lin, G. (1996). Stock market volatility
and the business cycle. Journal of Applied Economet-
rics, 11(5), 573593. Synonyms
Harvey, C. R. (1989). Forecasts of economic growth from
the bond and stock markets. Financial Analyst Jour- Equality; Justice
nal, 45(5), 3845.
King, M. A., & Wadhwani, S. (1990). Transmission of
volatility between stock markets. The Review of
Financial Studies, 3(1), 533. Definition
Longin, F. M., & Solnik, B. (1995). Is the correlation in
international equity returns constant: 19601990.
Equity theories tell us which inequalities are
Journal of International Money and Finance, 14(1),
326. unfair. They rest on the assumption that social
Ng, A. (2000). Volatility spillover effects from Japan and inequalities which will be considered as unfair
the US to the Pacific-Basin. Journal of International will be less likely to survive. They allow for
Money and Finance, 19(2), 207233.
a better discussion in the public domain on
Roll, R. (1992). Industrial structure and the comparative
behavior of International Stock Market Indices. Jour- which inequalities should be compensated for
nal of Finance, 47(1), 341. achieving a (more) just society. There are several
Sarantis, N. (2001). Nonlinearities, cyclical behavior and equity theories, proposed either by political phi-
predictability in stock markets: International evidence.
International Journal of Forecasting, 17(3), 459482.
losophers (e.g., Rawls, 1971, 2001) or by econo-
mists (e.g., Sen, 1992). They all rest on the
assumption that individuals are free and equal.
Web Links
Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/stocks/ Most of them rest also on the priority of the just
world-indexes/americas/ on the good. In this case the principles of justice
Dow Jones: http://www.djindexes.com/totalstockmarket/ which specify the rights of every person do not
NASDAQ: http://www.nasdaq.com/markets/indices/
nasdaq-100.aspx
depend from any specific conception of the good
NIKKEI 225: http://www.wikinvest.com/index/ life. They differ as to the relevant object of jus-
Nikkei_225_Index_(N225) tice, as to the principles of justice, and therefore
E 1960 Equity Theory

as to inequalities that should be compensated in not the same if a given increase of well-being
order to reach a just distribution of objects and was caused by an increased satisfaction of
wealth. needs or by an increased satisfaction of tastes
(Yaari & Bar Hillel, 1984). The same criteria
of justice used by people are not the same for
Description the distribution of wealth and of income
(Schokkaert & Devoght, 2003, quoted in
It is convenient to organize that the description Trannoy, 2009).
of the main theories of equity distinguishing That the subjective character of well-being is
between the objects they consider should be a problem. There are two main problems with
justly distributed and the principles of a just dis- this subjectivity. The first one is the problem
tribution of these objects, even if these are not of expensive tastes, that is, people which
independent topics. need more than others to reach a given level
of well-being. The second one signaled by
Objects of Equity economists (Conseil dAnalyse Economique
The classical object of equity theories is well- et Conseil Allemand des Experts en
being as economists conceive it, that is, the sum Economie [CAE], 2010; Fleurbaey &
of the subjective utilities preferred by an individ- Maniquet, 2009) is that well-being compari-
ual. For this reason, these theories are labeled son (and therefore aggregation) is difficult
welfarists. The most powerful among them is because of the diversity of preferences and
utilitarianism. In the utilitarian theory, at least because the well-being of one person may be
in its classical version, the associated principle of affected by the well-being of another (nega-
justice is the Pareto optimum, following which, tively, in the case of envy and, positively, in
although its interpretation is subject to discussion the case of empathy). Rawls (2001) empha-
(see Fleurbaey, 1996), there is an improvement of sizes the objective character of his own object
welfare from a given social state to another one if (the social primary goods). He insists, for
and only if at least one person prefers the second instance, that not self-respect but the more
one and no one else is opposed. The initial form objective notion of social basis of self-
of this approach was Benthams calculus of plea- respect is one of the primary goods of his
sure and pains. For the traditional utilitarian theory of justice.
approach, societys overall welfare is the sum of Quality of life, a notion close to well-being, is
the utility of each individual. This approach is not, to my knowledge, a relevant object in any
insensitive to the distribution of utilities among theory of equity. For instance, in CAE (CAE/
individuals, which is not the case of all welfarists CAEEE, 2010), income inequalities are consid-
approaches, including some more recent versions ered to be detrimental to the material well-
of utilitarianism (Harsanyi, 1976). What distin- being. However, inequalities do not enter in
guishes welfarists approach is aversion to risk, the definition of what the report calls quality of
which may be null (utilitarianism) or infinite life or immaterial well-being, which is defined
(egalitarianism) (Fleurbaey, 1996). In the first only by indicators at the population level (e.g.,
case, the objective is to maximize the well- the proportion of students among 1624-year-old
being of the whole population; in the second, it people, but not any kind of inequalities in that
is to equalize it among the individuals of the proportion).
population. In replacement of well-being, postwelfarist
Proponents of objects other than well-being authors propose several objects, which may be
argue: divided in three main categories: resources
That well-being is not the only relevant infor- (Dworkin, 1981; Rawls, 1971), opportunities
mation for distributive justice. Experimental (Arneson, 1989; Cohen, 1989), and basic reali-
studies have shown that criteria of justice were zations (Fleurbaey, 1995).
Equity Theory 1961 E
Dworkin distinguishes between internal equalized. As Sen (1992) puts it, the question is
resources (talents) and external resources and equality of what? However, in some cases,
imagines a kind of pseudo-insurance market, equality of something (e.g., opportunities) is
where individuals may gain additional external there to assure that the distribution of something
resources to protect themselves from some inter- else obeys to the Aristotelian definition of equity,
nal handicaps. that is, the proportionality between contribution
The relevant object for Rawls is a list of social and retribution. This is the case when what is
primary goods: rights and liberties, powers and searched is retribution proportionate to effort
opportunities, and income and wealth (1971, p. and not to other variables which are out of control
62) to which he later adds the social basis of self- of individuals (Arneson, 1989; Cohen, 1989) or
E
respect. These goods are resources that any ratio- which make his/her identity (e.g., ambitions and
nal man is presumed to want. Rawls is concerned tastes) (Dworkin, 1981; Scanlon, 1986). This is
with the equity of the structural basis of society; the case also when Roemer (1993) argues that one
his object is the reasonable expectations that has only to be responsible for the gap between his
individuals may form regarding the primary behavior and the mean behavior of his social
goods they will get during their entire life and group.
not the distribution of goods at a given point in Some add a regard to effectiveness. For
time (2001). instance, Sen (1992) recognizes that handicap
Arneson and Cohen, in order to equalize should be compensated only if the compensation
opportunities, argue that an equitable society process has a minimal effectiveness.
should compensate for the variables which are Michael Walzers (1983) principle of justice
out of the control of each single individual, but may be called separation, since his main point is
not for the variables he/she may control, of which that inequalities are allowed provided that the
he/she has to take responsibility. rank in a given sphere (e.g., education) is inde-
Sen notes that every conception of equity pendent from the place on another one (e.g.,
searches equality in some space but that the wealth). This may be understood as a kind of
spaces differ. He writes that even a libertarian equality of opportunity.
like Nozick asks for equality of libertarian rights The ultimate goal of Rawlss theory of justice
and that utilitarians ask for equal treatments of is the democratic ideal of an equitable coopera-
human beings in the space of gain and losses of tion between free citizens. Citizens are supposed
utilities (1992, p. 13). Sen himself wants to to be able to cooperate, that is, he does not
equalize capabilities, that is, the opportunity address the specific problem posed by handicaps.
(the freedom) to achieve certain functionings, The social primary goods are distributed
consisting in a series of doings and beings, according to the principles which individuals of
a broader, therefore better to him, approach than a given society would chose if placed behind
the approach through resources. a veil of ignorance which make them unaware
Given the difficulties to disentangle what is of their own characteristics. In such a situation,
and is not under the control of individuals, they would wisely seek to maximize their advan-
Fleurbaey (1995) proposes another distinction, tages in the case they discover themselves among
between two kinds of goods: those for which the disadvantaged (maximin).
society is responsible (e.g., education and health) Rawls gave several (close) versions of these
and those for which individuals are responsible. principles, one of them is:
For a society to be just, only the first ones have to 1. Each person is to have an equal right to the
be distributed according to a principle of justice. most extensive total system of equal basic
liberties compatible with a similar system of
Principles of Equity liberty for all (1971, p. 250).
For most authors, the principle of justice is 2. Social and economic inequalities are to be
equality, the question being what has to be arranged so that they are both (a) to the
E 1962 Equity Theory

greatest benefit of the least advantaged Sen (1992) criticizes Rawls for penalizing those
(principle of difference) and (b) attached to who derive less than others from the same amount
offices and positions open to all under con- of primary goods. Rawlss answer is that the
ditions of fair equality of opportunity (prin- question of the treatment of handicaps is distinct
ciple of fair equality of opportunities) (1971, from the one he is concerned with, that is, the
p. 302). organization of the basic structure of society.
The principle of difference means that Philosophers known as communitarians, such
inequalities, either in social or natural endow- as Charles Taylor, Alastair McIntyre, and
ments, have to be used for the improvement of Michael Sandel, address Rawls some criticisms
the expectations of the least advantaged. It is which may roughly be described as the fact that
important to note that these principles are ranked his theory ignores the values of the community in
in lexical order: The first principle has priority on which the individual is embedded. Rawlss (indi-
the second, which means that liberty can be rect) answer may perhaps be found in his Polit-
restricted only for the sake of liberty. The prin- ical Liberalism (1993) when he explains how
ciple of equality of opportunity has priority on the communities with distinct values may however
principle of difference, which means that even agree on certain principles to organize their
the improvement of the situation of the least coexistence.
advantaged does not allow some people, includ- The quasi-absence of any mention of quality
ing the least advantaged of course, to be of life in the theories of equity is likely to
debarred from experiencing the realization of be explained by the undetermined character of
self which comes from a skilful and devoted the notion. However, understood as the quality
exercise of social duties (. . .) one of the main of the services which help most individuals
form of human good (1971, p. 84). to live, quality of life, linked to well-being
Utilitarianism is the main critical target of but without its subjective aspects, could be
Rawlss theory, which differs from it mainly in a good candidate to be an object in an equity
three ways (van Parijs, 1991): Utilitarianism is theory.
concerned by the fate of the average individual,
while Rawls is concerned by the least
advantaged; social primary goods rather than Cross-References
well-being are used to evaluate the fate of indi-
viduals; the principle of liberty has priority on Fairness
the one who organizes the just distribution of Justice
goods. Well-Being
Rawlss theory attracted a great number of
comments and criticisms, which lead him to
some refinements of its initial form (Rawls,
2001). Among these criticisms, three deserve
References
special attention. Nozick (1974) disagrees on
Arneson, R. J. (1989). Equality and equal opportunity for
the question of the fate of the talented ones. He welfare. Philosophical Studies, 56, 7793.
does not deny that we do not deserve our talents Cohen, G. A. (1989). On the currency of egalitarian jus-
or the circumstances of our birth, but he argues tice. Ethics, 90, 906944.
Conseil dAnalyse Economique et Conseil Allemand des
that this arbitrariness does not forbid us for being Experts en Economie, (2010). Evaluer la performance
lawful proprietors of these talents. He considers economique, le bien-etre et la soutenabilite, Rapport
therefore that the principle of differences violates pour le Conseil des ministres franco-allemand,
the principle of equality of basic liberties. Rawls decembre, Paris: CAE.
Dworkin, R. (1981). What is equality? Philosophy and
answered mainly by the argument that property Public Affairs, 10(4), 283345.
rights, instead of being natural rights, proceed Fleurbaey, M. (1995). Equal opportunity or equal social
from a (just) framework of social cooperation. outcomes? Economics and Philosophy, 11, 2555.
Error Variance 1963 E
Fleurbaey, M. (1996). Theories economiques de la justice.
Paris: Economica. Erotic Enrichment Effect of
Fleurbaey, M., & Maniquet, F. (2009). A theory of fairness
and social welfare. Cambridge: Cambridge University Pornography
Press.
Harsanyi, J. C. (1976). Essays on ethics, social behavior, Pornography, Sexual Socialization, and
and scientific explanation. Dordrecht: Reidel. Satisfaction
Nozick, R. (1974). Anarchy, state and utopia. Oxford:
Blackwell.
Rawls, J. (1971). A theory of justice. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.
Rawls, J. (1993). Political liberalism. New York: Colum- Eroticism
bia University Press. E
Rawls, J. (2001). Justice as fairness, a restatement. Cam-
bridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Components of Optimal Sexual Experiences
Roemer, J. (1993). A pragmatic theory of responsibility Lessons About Optimal Sexual Experiences
for the egalitarian planner. Philosophy and Public from Remarkable Lovers
Affairs, 22(2), 146166.
Scanlon, T. M. (1986). Equality of resources and equality Personal Contributions to Optimal Sexual
of welfare, a forced marriage. Ethics, 97(1). Experiences
Schokkaert, E. & Devooght, K. (2003). Responsibility- Relational Contributions to Optimal Sexual
sensitive fair compensation in different cultures. Experiences
Social Choice and Welfare, 21(2), 207242.
Sen, A. (1992). Inequality re-examined. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Trannoy, A. (2009). Les normes de justice a lepreuve de
leconomie experimentale. In M. Duru-Bellat & Error Models of Self-Confidence
D. Meuret (Eds.), Les sentiments de justice a et sur
lecole. Bruxelles-Paris: de Boeck.
Van Parijs, P. (1991). Quest ce quune societe juste? Self-Confidence
Paris: Le Seuil.
Walzer, M. (1983). Spheres of justice, a defense of plural-
ism and equality. New York: Basic Books.
Yaari, M. E., & Bar Hillel, M. (1984). On dividing justly.
Social Choice and Welfare, 1(1), 124. Error of Measurement

Measurement Error

Erectile Dysfunction (ED)

Sexual Arousal Disorder


Error of Observation

Measurement Error

Erectile Function
Error Terms
Sexual Functioning
Disturbance Terms

Erikson-Goldthorpe-Portocarero
Classification (EGP) Error Variance

Social Inequalities Mean Square Error of Survey Estimates


E 1964 Errors of the First Kind

Errors of the First Kind Estimator

Type I Errors Oscar Olvera


Department of ECPS, University of British
Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Errors of the Second Kind


Synonyms
Type II Errors
Estimate; Population estimates; Probability
distribution; Random variable; Sample;
Escala de Religiosidade da Sampling distribution
Universidade de Duke

Duke Religious Index in Portuguese Definition

An estimator is a mathematical function or rule


that relates observed data alongside with other
Escape from Illness with Gods Help numerical information with the purpose of gen-
erating an estimate that approximates the value of
Health-Related Quality of Life and Reliance a parameter in the probability distribution of
on Gods Help a population.

Description
ESI
As even a cursory glance of the research literature
Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) shows, estimators are widely used in quality life
research in the psychosocial, behavioral, and
health sciences. An estimator is a mathematical
function or rule that relates observed data (some-
ESPAD times along with constant values) used to gener-
ate an estimate, which is a specific realization of
European Survey Project on Alcohol and an estimator or a type of best informed guess as
Drugs (ESPAD) to what the parameter of a population is equal to,
based on the information available. The estimator
is itself a random variable to which certain prop-
Estimate erties are either known or assumed (such as
whether it follows or not a particular probability
Estimator distribution) in order to aid in its calculation
(Casella & Berger, 2002). The sample mean is,
for instance, probably the most popular estimator
used in applied research.
Estimated Convergence and Jerzy Neyman (1937) characterized estimators
Discriminant Validity as belonging to one of two groups: point-estima-
tors and interval-estimators. The aim of a point-
Multitrait-Multimethod Analysis estimator is to yield a single number (referred
Eta Squared 1965 E
also as a statistic) as to what the parameter of the Cross-References
population may be. Interval-estimators provide
a range of plausible values where the estimate Bivariate Analysis
may be located (instead of only one possible Mean Square Error of Survey Estimates
guess) and, depending the properties of the esti- Multivariate Statistical Analysis
mator, interval-estimators are sometimes the Ordinary Least-Squares (OLS) Model
only possible solution that can be calculated Regression Coefficients
(this is particularly true of estimators where the Univariate Analysis
mathematical theory is exceedingly complex or if
no computational algorithms are available).
E
There exist several criteria that aid in judging References
how good a particular estimator is when
compared to another. Although several ideal Casella, G., & Berger, R. (2002). Statistical inference
(2nd ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Thomson Learning.
properties have been put forward (c.f.
Neyman, J. (1937). Outline of a theory of statistical
Ramachandran & Tsokos, 2009, for a more elab- estimation based on the classical theory of probability.
orated description of the issue), there are at least Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of
three which are fundamental in the evaluation of London A, 236, 333380.
Ramachandran, K. M., & Tsokos, C. P. (2009). Mathe-
the appropriateness of any estimator:
matical statistics with applications. Boston, MA:
Consistency: An estimator is said to be Elsevier/Academic Press.
consistent if a sequence of them converges in
probability to the parameter it attempts to esti-
mate. By convergence in probability, it is
meant that as the sample size grows (usually
infinitely large), the probability distribution of Eta Squared
the estimator tends to center around the true
value of the parameter being estimated, so that Marc A. Adams1 and Terry L. Conway2
1
the probability of obtaining the parameter Exercise and Wellness, School of Nutrition and
tends toward certainty. Health Promotion, Arizona State University,
Unbiasedness: An estimator is said to be Phoenix, AZ, USA
2
unbiased if the expected value or the average Department of Family and Preventive Medicine,
over a large sequence of estimators matches the University of California, San Diego, San Diego,
value of the parameter it attempts to estimate. CA, USA
Efficiency: An estimator is said to be efficient
if it requires less or smaller samples than any
other potential estimators to accurately Synonyms
approximate the parameter in question.
Although this use is somewhat conceptual, Correlation ratio or R2; Effect size; Proportion of
the efficiency of an estimator is usually variance accounted for
expressed in terms of variance, where,
among a set of possible candidates for estima-
tors, the one that offers minimum variance Definition
tends to be selected as the most desirable one.
Estimators that offer all these properties Eta squared (Z2) is a squared measure of asso-
simultaneously are not always available. Some- ciation defined as the ratio of variance in
times the most efficient estimators are biased or an outcome variable explained by a predictor
vice versa, in which case it is important to eval- variable, after controlling for other predictors.
uate its potential use and which property is the More intuitively, it is the amount of variation
most important one based on its intended use. explained by the predictor variable (X) in the
E 1966 Ethical Theory

total variation for the outcome variable (Y). The life scores between cancer patients classified
equation below describes eta squared: into one of three groups: good, medium, and
poor prognoses. They observed that prognosis
group status was associated with the
Z2 s2 effect = s2 total
personal functioning subscale of the European
Organization for Research and Treatment of
where the effect variance is the sum of squares of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC
the predictor and the total variance is sum of QLQ-C30) (p < .001). Tukeys HSD post hoc test
squares of the predictor variable (or set of vari- revealed the greatest difference in personal
ables) and error. functioning scores occurred between the poor
and good prognosis groups ( p < .05). Prognosis
group status explained 19 % of the variation in
Description personal functioning.
Cohen and Cohen (1983) provided estimates
Eta squared is a measure of effect size for anal- of the magnitude of an effect size for social sci-
ysis of variance (ANOVA) models. It is ences. For eta squared, threshold values are
a standardized estimate of an effect size, meaning interpreted as small (.01), medium (.06), and
that it is comparable across outcome variables large effects (.14). However, they admonished
measured using different units. Eta squared is these thresholds as just rules of thumb and
a commonly reported measure of association for advised that researchers should become familiar
group comparison studies when all effects are with observed effect sizes usually observed in
considered fixed. their research domain.
Because eta squared is derived from a sample,
it overestimates variance explained for a popula-
tion (therefore is considered a positively biased Cross-References
estimator), but it is an unbiased estimator of the
sample. Bias is reduced as the sample size Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA)
increases. A biased-adjusted estimator of a Analysis of Variance
population variance explained is omega squared, Effect Size
which usually explains less variation than eta EORTC QLQ-30 Modules
squared (Kline, 2004). EORTC QLQ-C30
Partial eta squared is an alternative measure
of association for a sample that describes the
proportion of total variation explained by References
a predictor variable, after excluding (partialling
out) variance from other predictor variables from Cohen, J., & Cohen, P. (1983). Applied multiple regression/
correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences
the total non-error variance in the denominator.
(2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
This measure may be preferable if one wants to Kline, R. (2004). Beyond significance testing: Reforming
compare a specific predictor across models with data analysis methods in behavioral research.
different types or numbers of predictor variables, Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Ringdal, G. I., Ringdal, K., Kvinnsland, S., & Gotestam, K. G.
when the inclusion of other predictors increases
(1994). Quality of life of cancer patients with different
the total variation. Partial eta squared values are prognoses. Quality of Life Research, 3, 143154.
typically higher than eta squared values because
variance from other predictors is removed from
the denominator.
A study by Ringdal, Ringdal, Kvinnsland, and Ethical Theory
Gotestam (1994) provides a useful example.
Ringdal et al. examined differences in quality of Ethics
Ethics 1967 E
value and inquires about the status of value, along
Ethics with other questions about how we talk, think,
and know about values.
Daniel Haybron Normative ethics has two main parts. One
Department of Philosophy, Saint Louis part, axiology, tells us what is good: for instance,
University, St. Louis, MO, USA well-being, aesthetic value, perfection, and
ecosystem integrity. Since most theorists agree
that at least well-being has intrinsic value,
Synonyms theories of well-being get the most attention.
The second part of normative ethics is sometimes
E
Ethical theory; Moral philosophy called the theory of the right, or moral theory.
The standard classification of moral theories
in normative ethics sorts them into three major
Definition types: consequentialism, deontology, and virtue
ethics. Consequentialists typically focus on right
Ethics is one of the main branches of philosophy, action, arguing that right actions are somehow to
alongside such fields as metaphysics, epistemol- be understood as based in the promotion of good
ogy, and logic. Philosophers sometimes use the consequences. The best-known form of this
term ethics quite broadly, to encompass all of approach, utilitarianism, enjoins people to
value theory, including political philosophy. On maximize aggregate well-being. But consequen-
a second usage, ethics takes a narrower mean- tialists need not maximize, aggregate, or take
ing, denoting just moral philosophy, for instance well-being to be the only consequence that
the study of moral notions like right, duty, and matters.
virtue. Less narrowly, ethics, or ethical the- Deontologists, such as Kantians and
ory, is taken to be that part of value theory that contractualists, deny that right action is solely
bears on questions of how individuals ought to about promoting good consequences. For
live. The present entry discusses ethics in this instance, morality might also, or instead, be
sense. about treating individuals with respect taking
seriously the demands we make of each other,
say, or limiting what we may do to each other. So
Description even if killing a certain individual would serve
the greater good, it may yet be wrong: it might
Ethics is standardly divided into three subfields: violate the persons rights, failing to treat her with
metaethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics. respect.
Applied ethics is just the study of ethics as applied Virtue ethics takes morality fundamentally
to particular sorts of problems, with better-known to be about character: what sorts of people should
examples including medical ethics, business we aspire to be? Questions of right action are then
ethics, and environmental ethics. Accordingly, taken to be secondary: the right action, for
metaethics and normative ethics are taken to be instance, is the one a virtuous person would
the more fundamental areas in ethical theory. perform.
The distinction between metaethics and nor- Social scientists and other nonspecialists
mative ethics is itself a matter of dispute, but sometimes take it to be obvious that some form
normative ethics is typically thought to concern of consequentialism must be correct. Yet a recent
general, theoretical questions about which are the survey of professional philosophers finds conse-
correct values or moral principles: which things quentialism to command the support of only
have intrinsic value, for example, or which about a quarter of ethicists, with the other
actions are morally right or wrong. Metaethics approaches likewise having minority status.
takes a step back from substantive questions of (Of 139 faculty respondents, 35 % favored
E 1968 Ethics

deontology, 23 % consequentialism, and 12 % of properties are we talking about? How could we


virtue ethics, with 30 % choosing other.) tell whether things really have those properties?
Since consequentialism does not even have the And when people disagree about values, what if
support of a majority of the experts, still less anything makes it the case that certain opinions are
a consensus, nonspecialists would be well better than others? Are those who defend slavery
advised not simply to assume its truth: most of mistaken in their values?
the experts deem the view false. Moreover, moral The root problem is that values dont seem at
theorists of all three kinds tend in practice to all like familiar material objects and properties,
agree that we should at least treat people as if the sort that science can straightforwardly tell us
they have certain rights a nation that recognizes about. For one thing, they are pushy: value claims
no rights, for instance, is likely to be neither seem not just to describe things; they appear to
happy nor virtuous and also usually agree that prescribe ways of thinking and acting. For
such rights can sometimes be overridden when another, it seems we could have all the material
the stakes are high enough. That threshold will facts in and still not know whether something is
typically be lower for consequentialists, since good or bad. Knowing that slavery causes
they take rights to matter solely as vehicles for immense suffering and so forth, it is still possible
promoting good outcomes. But in practice, all for a person coherently to deny that theres
major moral theories tend to follow common- anything wrong with it. In short, no amount of
sense morality in recommending deontological information about nonnormative facts seems able
principles, along with a concern for conse- to settle whether a normative claim is true.
quences, in dealing with many everyday moral The worry arises in one form through Humes
problems. Even if morality is ultimately about dictum that you cant derive an ought from an
consequences, aiming solely and directly to pro- is, and in another through Moores posit of
mote the best consequences is probably not the a naturalistic fallacy.
correct decision procedure for many situations in Very crudely, there are three common
personal or political morality for instance, judi- approaches to the problem of fitting values into
cial decisions. the world: Platonic, Humean, and Kantian. (Note
In metaethics, the deepest questions and the that there is no noncontroversial way of framing
questions of greatest interest to quality of life the debate, and some philosophers will refuse to
researchers concern the metaphysical status of accept any of these labels for their views. For
value: what is value, and how does it fit into the convenience, we are focusing here on certain
world? What, if anything, makes it the case that moral values: rightness and wrongness.)
certain things are good or bad, right or wrong? The The Platonic approach takes the appearances
question isnt about peoples values, in the sense of more or less at face value: there are objective,
what they care about; theres no deep mystery mind-independent facts about what is right and
about how people can care about things. The real wrong, they do not depend on us, and they are
mystery concerns the appearance that theres a fact not simply natural facts. Slavery is objectively
of the matter about goodness and rightness: its not wrong: this is a fact about slavery, and wrongness
just that we dont like slavery, but that slavery is a nonnatural property that slavery has. Even if no
seems to be genuinely wrong, immoral, evil. Peo- one ever objected to slavery, or could be brought to
ple ought not to do such things. object to it, slavery would still be wrong. One need
These are normative claims: claims about what not believe in Platonic Forms to be a moral realist
people have reason to do, or ought to do, or what of this sort, and most contemporary realists do not.
has value or disvalue. They are value claims. And But views in this vicinity tend to face a similar set
it is very hard to understand what could possibly of worries: how there could be such facts, and how
make them true. Put another way: it appears that we could know about them.
slavery has a certain property, of being immoral, The Humean approach is decidedly naturalis-
and famine has a property, of being bad. What sort tic: values are somehow ultimately a product of
Ethics 1969 E
the human mind, and depend on the contingent equilibrium between ones theory and ones intu-
features of human psychology. If human nature itions about particular cases. While there is con-
were different, different things would be right siderable disagreement among philosophers
and wrong. Humean theories take many forms: about the reliability of such intuitions and what
expressivists, for instance, deny the existence of exactly it takes to establish a value proposition,
moral properties and facts, and take moral asser- there tends to be agreement on at least this much:
tions to, say, express our acceptance of certain many values are unjustified, at least for most
norms. They do not attempt to state facts, and human populations, if only because they cannot
cannot strictly be true or false. Another kind of sustain even a moderate dose of reflection.
Humean might trade in moral facts, but argue that Hence, arguably, the global spread of ideals of
E
such facts are like color facts: at least partly human equality and human rights in recent
dependent on the human mind. Value is some- centuries and the growing rejection of doctrines
thing we project onto the world. Slavery is indeed of racial superiority, slavery, and other values
wrong, on this sort of view, but only because that most readers today find repugnant. Even if
(say) thats how people come to regard it when morality is relative, or dependent on human
sufficiently reflective and informed. attitudes, it is not just an anything goes
The Kantian approach, or rationalism, asserts affair. Some values are better than others.
that moral truths are truths of reason. In short,
norms of rationality ground moral norms: immo-
rality is irrational, in much the same way that Cross-References
self-contradiction is irrational. And just as the
irrationality of self-contradiction is a generic Morality and Well-Being
feature of all rational beings, so too is the irratio-
nality of immorality something that applies to all
rational beings, as such: it does not depend on the
References
contingent features of human psychology. The
Kantian approach seems to promise a more Blackburn, S. (1999). Ruling passions: A theory of prac-
secure foundation for morality than Humeanism, tical reasoning. New York: Oxford University Press.
while avoiding appeal to nonnatural properties. Darwall, S. L. (2006). The second-person standpoint:
Morality, respect, and accountability. Cambridge,
A familiar worry is whether rationality alone can
MA: Harvard University Press.
suffice to ground all of morality: it is not clear that Foot, P. (2001). Natural goodness. New York: Oxford
all forms of immorality implicate us in University Press.
a contradiction, or any other obvious rational Gibbard, A. (1990). Wise choices, apt feelings.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
failure.
Griffin, J. (1986). Well-being: Its meaning, measurement,
In practice, ethical theorists of widely varying and moral importance. Oxford: Clarendon.
metaethical commitments tend to converge on Hume, D. (1751). An Enquiry Concerning Human
some sort of reflection test for many value claims: Understanding
Hume, D. (2000). A Treatise of Human Nature. In
can a given value or norm sustain reflection?
D. F. Norton & M. J. Norton (Eds.), New York:
Very often we find, as we start thinking through Oxford.
the implications of our values, that they cease to Kant, I. (1788). Critique of Practical Reason.
seem plausible to us, or even prove incoherent. Kant, I. (1997). Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals
(M. Gregor, Trans.). New York: Cambridge.
Whatever one thinks about the ultimate sources Korsgaard, C. M. (1996). The sources of normativity.
and status of values, one is not likely to think New York: Cambridge University Press.
peoples values justified if not even they would MacIntyre, A. (1981). After virtue. Notre Dame, IN:
maintain them if they gave the matter a little University of Notre Dame Press.
Nagel, T. (1986). The view from nowhere. New York:
thought. In one popular variant of this methodol-
Oxford University Press.
ogy, the aim of ethical theorizing, at least in Parfit, D. (2011). On what matters. New York: Oxford
practice, is to try to achieve a reflective University Press.
E 1970 Ethnic Endogamy/Exogamy in Yugoslavia

Railton, P. (2003). Facts, values, and norms: Essays Definition


toward a morality of consequence. New York:
Cambridge University Press.
Rawls, J. (1971). A theory of justice. Cambridge, MA: Intermarriage can be defined as the marriage
Harvard University Press. between partners who differ with respect to one
Scanlon, T. (1999). What we owe to each other. or more socially relevant characteristic, like their
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ethnicity (including religion and language), race,
Williams, B. (1985). Ethics and the limits of philosophy.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press. educational level, occupation, socioeconomic
family background, geographic origin, and age.
Ethnic intermarriage is more narrowly defined as
the marriage between partners from groups that
Ethnic Endogamy/Exogamy see themselves or are seen by their environ-
in Yugoslavia ment as distinct from others in the same society,
because of (real or assumed) common ancestry,
Ethnic Intermarriage and Social Cohesion in religion, race, region of origin, or language (or
Yugoslavia another nonhierarchical criterion people may
identify with). In the literature also the terms
homogamy/heterogamy and endogamy/exogamy
are used for marriages in which the partners are
Ethnic Homogamy/Heterogamy similar/different with regard to specific
in Yugoslavia characteristics.

Ethnic Intermarriage and Social Cohesion in


Yugoslavia Description

Introduction
Intermarriage is a major indicator of the quality
Ethnic Intermarriage and Social of the relationships or social distances among
Cohesion in Yugoslavia groups in a society, as well as of the social
cohesion of societies. At the same time, it is an
Jeroen Smits instrument or agent that may produce better rela-
Nijmegen Center for Economics, Institute for tionships among social groups and a more cohe-
Management Research, Radboud University sive society. This double-sided character of
Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands intermarriage, being both an indicator and an
agent, together with the wide availability of inter-
marriage data, has made it one of the most impor-
Synonyms tant variables in the study of intergroup
relationships (Blau & Schwartz, 1984; Merton,
Albanian/Serbian intermarriage; Croatian/Serbian 1941; Monden & Smits, 2005; Pagnini &
intermarriage; Ethnic endogamy/exogamy in Morgan, 1990).
Yugoslavia; Ethnic homogamy/heterogamy in Research on ethnic intermarriage dates back to
Yugoslavia; Intermarriage and cultural segrega- the 1920s, when Drachsler (1921) studied the
tion; Intermarriage and group size; Intermarriage integration of immigrants in American society
and sex ratios; Intermarriage and spatial segrega- using data on the ethnic groups of husbands and
tion; Intermarriage in Yugoslavia; Macedonian/ wives for over 100,000 marriages registered in
Serbian intermarriage; Marriage preferences in New York City. Intermarriage was 10 % among
Yugoslavia; Montenegrin/Serbian intermarriage; the first-generation immigrants and 32 % among
Muslim/Serbian intermarriage; Slovenian/Serbian the second-generation immigrants, thus showing
intermarriage a substantial increase over generations. Another
Ethnic Intermarriage and Social Cohesion in Yugoslavia 1971 E
classic study of the integration of immigrants Yugoslavia. Findings from the literature and
in the USA was conducted by Kennedy (1944), new empirical outcomes are presented and
who, using marriage data for New Haven, discussed in light of the civil wars that took
concluded that ethnic ties based on national ori- place in the country in the 1990s.
gin were becoming less important and that group
formation was taking place more and more on the Social Distance
basis of religion. Since the time of Kennedy, an Marriage can be defined as a socially recognized
increasing number of intermarriage studies have contract to form a family. Across the globe,
appeared both in and outside the USA. These marriage is seen as one of the key events of life
studies generally reveal high but decreasing and marriage relationships are often strongly
E
levels of homogamy with regard to national regulated and protected by social control mecha-
origin (Alba & Golden, 1986; Kalbach, 2002; nisms, family laws, and/or religious rules. Who is
Meng & Gregory, 2005; Van Tubergen & Maas, going to marry whom is thus not merely a process
2006; Qian & Lichter, 2007; Safi, 2008; Muttarak of random meeting or spontaneous falling in
& Heath, 2010; Lanzieri, 2012), religion love but also, and in many societies foremost,
(Johnson, 1980; Kalmijn, 1991; Rosenfeld, a rationally and carefully guided transaction in
2008) and race (Kalmijn, 1993; Qian, 1997; which economic and social considerations
Model & Fisher, 2002). play a role and many more persons than the
A special category of ethnic intermarriage partners and their close relatives are involved
studies focuses on the former communist states (Gunduz-Hosgor & Smits, 2002).
of Eastern Europe and Central Asia, like Czech- Given the important social role of marriage in
oslovakia (Boguszak & Bozon, 1989), Yugosla- many societies, marriage data are considered to
via (Botev, 1994; Smits, 2010; Nixon, Sevinc & be a major source of information on the quality of
Dorothy, 2010), Russia (Botev), Latvia (Monden the relations, or social distances, among groups in
& Smits, 2005), and Estonia (Van Ham & Tiit, a society. Sociologists like De Tocqueville
2011). In these states, ethnicity emerged as (1835, 1967) and Weber (1921, 1972) already
a major dividing factor after the collapse of the mentioned the tendency to marry within ones
Soviet Union around 1990. Deep-rooted ethnic own group as an important characteristic of status
cleavages came to the surface, some dating back groups, and throughout the twentieth century
to reshufflings of nation states centuries ago, marriage patterns have been used to study the
some to the redrawing of borders after World openness of the stratification structure of
War I, and some to internal replacement policies societies (e.g., Benini, 1901; Lipset & Bendix,
within the Soviet empire. Two decades of grave 1959; Blau & Duncan, 1967; Smits, Ultee &
ethnic tensions followed, in which bloody civil Lammers, 1998). The notion that intermarriage
wars raged over the Balkan and Caucasus and says something about the social distances
over 20 new nation states were born. Some between groups in a society also can be traced
conflicts have calmed down now but others still back to the first part of this century, when
smolder, and it may take quiet some years before Drachsler (1921) used the number of mixed mar-
all these new geographic entities have become riages to indicate the integration of immigrant
peaceful stable societies. groups in American society and Bogardus
The ethnic antagonisms that came to the (1933) took up intermarriage as strongest item
surface after the collapse of the Soviet empire in his social distance scale.
can teach us much about the role and meaning The central assumption behind the use of
of ethnicity in the multiethnic regions of our intermarriage for studying social distance is that
world. To demonstrate the possibilities offered the existence of marital ties between groups
by intermarriage data for analyzing ethnic implies that there are also other social contacts
conflicts, this entry focuses on intermarriage like friendships and work relationships between
among the major ethnic groups in the former them. The children of the groups must have the
E 1972 Ethnic Intermarriage and Social Cohesion in Yugoslavia

opportunity to meet each other at school, in the The idea that intermarriage is important for
neighborhood, or during leisure activities. And, social cohesion in societies that consist of smaller
very importantly, if there are many marriages units like ethnic, religious, racial groups, or clans
between the members of different groups, this is widespread in the anthropological and socio-
means that those members trust each other logical literature (e.g., Gordon, 1964;
and accept each other as social equals (Kalmijn, Levi-Strauss, 1969; Van den Berghe, 1979; Blau
1998; G unduz-Hosgor & Smits, 2002). Of & Schwartz, 1984; Gunduz-Hosgor & Smits,
course, no social control system is perfect and 2002). Blau and Schwartz (1984, 1213), for
there are always socially less accepted marriages example, argue that for the integration of the
due to unplanned meetings. However, only if different segments of a larger population, value
a combination of positive interactions, evalua- consensus or functional dependencies are not
tions, and associations is present, a steady stream enough, but social interactions and personal
of intermarriages between two groups can be relationships preferable marital ties are
expected. It is this close connection between required.
intermarriage and positive exchanges in a broad This does not necessarily mean that seg-
range of domains which makes it such a powerful mented societies without connecting ties will
indicator of social distance. easily fall apart. Social cohesion theory only
says that segmented societies with high level of
Social Cohesion intermarriage between groups are better
The social cohesion aspect of intermarriage has protected against ethnic conflict and dissolution.
two dimensions: a cohesion signaling dimension This theory therefore would predict that under
and a cohesion increasing dimension. The signal- circumstances of increased conflict risk like
ing dimension is closely related to the social situations of scarcity, inequality, external threat,
distance aspect. If positive contacts, exchanges, or political instability (compare Horowitz, 2008;
and trust are requirements for intermarriage, the stby, 2008; Kaplan, 2009; Kronenberg &
presence of a large number of mixed marriages Wimmer, 2012) the risk of ethnic conflict out-
between two groups implies the existence of break in multiethnic societies is higher if there are
strong positive connections, which make violent few marital ties than in if there are many marital
conflict highly unlikely. The cohesion increasing ties between the major groups.
dimension is related to the role of intermarriage The events that took place in Eastern Europe,
as a connecting element in societies. Mixed the Caucasus, and Central Asia after the break-
marriages not only link together two individuals down of the Soviet empire offer a unique oppor-
but also the larger groups to which these individ- tunity to test this prediction. Although its
uals belong. Such marriages form a bridge formulation is not very precise, we would in any
between the groups over which family members case expect less mixed marriages between ethnic
and friends of the partners may get in touch with groups that engaged in violent conflicts than
each other, mutual understanding and trust may between groups that solved their differences in
be promoted, and new group boundary a more peaceful way.
transcending personal contacts and collabora-
tions may come into existence (compare Merton, Measuring Intermarriage
1941; Blau & Schwartz, 1984; Kalmijn, 1998; The method used for studying (ethnic) intermar-
Gunduz-Hosgor & Smits, 2002; Monden & riage depends on the goal of the research.
Smits, 2005; Smits, 2010). If such marriages If intermarriage is used for gaining insight into
are successful, the children born from them the quality of the relationships, or social
belong to both as well as to neither of the distances, between groups, the primary interest
groups, which may lead to a weakening of the is in the preferences of group members for close
boundaries and strengthening of the connections contact with members of the other group(s). To
at the same time. gain insight into the strength of these preferences,
Ethnic Intermarriage and Social Cohesion in Yugoslavia 1973 E
the effects of other factors that influence inter- existence (because of preferences or forced by
marriage should be controlled for. Parents gener- structural factors). Both kinds of marriages, the
ally try to arrange the opportunity structure in preferred and forced ones, bridge the boundaries
such a way that their children meet mainly part- between the groups and create binding ties, which
ners of the preferred social group(s). However, over time may lead to mutual understanding and
the degree to which they are able to do this is trust. What counts from a social cohesion
restricted by structural characteristics of the local perspective is the actual number of marital
marriage market. In this respect the following connections at a given point in time, independent
factors are important: of how those connections came into existence.
1. Group size: The probability of a coincidental Nevertheless, also here the group size is an
E
meeting with somebody of a large group is important restricting factor, as the maximum
higher than with somebody of a small group. number of connections is reached when all mem-
The number of mixed marriages cannot be bers of the smallest group are married with some-
higher than the number of persons in the body from the larger group. When using
smallest group. intermarriage as an indicator of integration or
2. Sex ratio: If there are more males than females cohesion, it is therefore important to look not
in a group, as is often the case with immi- only of percentages of mixed marriages, but
grants, part of them are forced to marry also at odds ratios, or to use log-linear modelling.
a partner from another group or remain single
(or let a partner come over from their Ethnic Intermarriage in Yugoslavia
homeland). In 1989, when the Berlin wall fell and the Iron
3. Spatial segregation: If groups live in different Curtain opened, few people in the West were
regions of a country, their children have few aware of the deep-rooted ethnic cleavages that
meeting opportunities and intermarriage will were hidden underneath the surface in the former
be low. Yugoslav republics. Yet, only two years later, the
4. Cultural segregation: Even if groups live close country completely disintegrated and a period of
together, they can draw back in their own bloody ethnic wars begun, in which over 100,000
cultural circles and live in separate worlds, people were killed and some two million became
speaking their own languages, having segre- internally displaced or refugee.
gated schools, and in this way restrict their These events were unexpected in light of the
social contacts to members of their own group. literature on ethnic relations from the Communist
To gain insight into the strength of the prefer- period, which gave the impression that intermar-
ences for a marriage with somebody from another riage was a common phenomenon (Bromlei &
group, we have to remove the influence of these Kashuba, 1982; Petrovic, 1986). This impression
structural factors which overshadow the pure was however challenged by Botev (1994). Botev
preference effect. Removing the influence of showed that only about 12 % of the marriages
group size and sex ratio can be done effectively which were concluded in Yugoslavia between
by applying log-linear models or using odds 1961 and 1989 were mixed with regard to the
ratios to study the intermarriage patterns ethnic backgrounds of the partners and that the
(compare Agresti, 1990; Kalmijn, 1998). The preference for a marriage outside ones own eth-
geographic distance effect can be addressed by nic group was generally low. Botevs findings
including an indicator for the distance in the were confirmed by Smits (1996, 2010), who com-
model or by performing separate analyses for pared the intermarriage tendencies of ethnic
different regions. groups which, after the breakdown of Yugosla-
If we want to use intermarriage as an indicator via, did and those which did not fight against each
of the integration of groups in a society, or other.
to indicate the social cohesion of a society, it Figure 1 presents data from the Census of
matters less how the marriages came into 1981 (derived from Smits, 2010). In that year,
E 1974 Ethnic Intermarriage and Social Cohesion in Yugoslavia

100 96.5 98.2


93.7 93.5 93.9
91.4
90
82.4
80 77.7
Percentage of marriages

70

60

50

40

30

20
15.0
9.9
10 7.3 7.6 6.1
4.1 4.5 3.9 2.4 5.0
1.1 2.4 0.4 1.4 1.5
0
Croatians Muslims Albanians Macedonians Slovenes Montenegrins Hungarians Serbians
(2,178,733) (863,236) (629,669) (697,158) (821,698) (246,767) (241,548) (4,331,327)
Etnic group (number of married persons)

Within own group With Serbian With other

Ethnic Intermarriage and Social Cohesion in ethnic groups, and number of married persons, for selected
Yugoslavia, Fig. 1 Percentage of marriages within the ethnic groups in Yugoslavia in 1981 (Source: Smits, 2010)
own ethnic group, with Serbians, with members of other

there were about four million married persons 15 % had a Serbian partner, followed by the
with the Serbian nationality and over two million Hungarians, of with 8 % had a Serbian partner.
with the Croatian nationality. The other ethnic Census data show how many mixed marriages
groups were much smaller. Intermarriage per- there are in a given year. However, as these
centages were generally very low. Of the married marriages were concluded in an earlier time
Croatians, 91 % was married within ones own period, they reflect past marriage preferences.
group and about 4 % had a Serbian partner. It is therefore also important to look at the
Those marriages with a Serbian partner are marriages concluded in a given year. Table 1 pre-
most of interest, because of the central role sents for the major ethnic groups the percentages
played by the Serbians in most conflicts. Of the of marriages concluded in 1989 with a partner
Muslims, 97 % was married within the own from ones own group and the intermarriage
group, and 1.1 % had a Serbian partner. Of the percentages and odds ratios for a marriage with
Albanians, more than 98 % was married within a Serbian partner. The figures are computed on
the own group and only 0.4 % with a Serbian the basis of data from the former Yugoslav pop-
partner. Hence, in 1981 no more than one in 90 ulation administration (Savezni Zavod Statistiki,
married Muslims and one in 250 married Alba- 1990). The figures in column 3 were presented
nians had a partner with the Serbian nationality. before by Smits (2010, Fig. 3).
Also the Slovenes had few intermarriages with The intermarriage percentages are somewhat
Serbians. The Macedonians took in an interme- higher than in the census data for 1981. This
diate position, as the Croatians did. The might mean that social distances have decreased
ethnic groups that were most closely connected over time but may also be the result of a higher
to the Serbians were the Montenegrins, of which divorce rate among mixed marriages (compare
Ethnic Intermarriage and Social Cohesion in Yugoslavia 1975 E
Ethnic Intermarriage and Social Cohesion in Subnational Data
Yugoslavia, Table 1 Percentages of marriages within The figures available in the literature and those
the own group and with a Serbian partner concluded in
Yugoslavia in 1989, odds ratios of intermarriage with presented above are for Yugoslavia as a whole
a Serbian partner, and relative size of ethnic group (as and therefore rather crude. As people tend to
percentage of all marrying persons) marry partners that live in their close environ-
Within With Odds % of all ment, it is better to study intermarriage patterns
Ethnic group own group Serbiana ratio marriages on the basis of regional data. Table 2 presents
Croatian 86.9 6.3 373 20.6 such regional figures for the most relevant
Muslim 92.6 2.7 3.249 12.9 combinations of ethnic groups. They are for
Albanian 97.2 0.4 177.020 10.8 marriages concluded in 1989 in the Yugoslav
Slovene 92.9 1.4 26.416 6.0
E
republics and autonomous regions. Their source
Macedonian 91.3 5.5 1.494 7.2 is again the former Yugoslav population admin-
Montenegrin 73.2 17.5 320 2.9 istration (Savezni Zavod Statistiki, 1990).
Hungarian 72.7 13.9 702 2.2
The regional figures to a large extent, but not
a
Figures in this column were already presented by Smits completely, confirm the national findings. In
(2010, Fig. 3)
Bosnia-Herzegovina 3.3 % of Croatians and
3.5 % of Serbians who married in 1989 did so
with a Muslim partner. Also the odds ratios of
Kalmijn, De Graaf, & Janssen, 2005; Bratter & 2,043 and 1,101 for intermarriage between these
King, 2008). Overall, the percentages confirm the groups are very high, indicating large social dis-
picture emerging from Fig. 1: strong tendencies tance and low intermarriage preference. The per-
to marry within ones own group; few intermar- centage of Croatians marrying a Serbian partner
riages of Muslims, Albanians, and Slovenes with in this region was with 9.4 % substantially higher,
Serbians; and relatively many intermarriages of and their odds ratio was with 142 lower than any
Montenegrins and Hungarians with Serbians. of the national figures (but still relatively high).
The odds ratios in Table 1 show the strength of The lowest level of intermarriage in 1989 was
the tendency towards intermarriage with a Ser- found in Kosovo, where only 2.2 % of marrying
bian partner. A higher value of the odds ratio Serbians did so with an Albanian partner. At the
indicates a lower tendency to intermarry. The same time, the odds ratio for Serbian-Albanian
odds ratios range from extremely high (Alba- intermarriage was extremely high. Hence at the
nians, Slovenes, and Muslims) to rather high eve of the breakdown of Yugoslavia, there were
(Croatians, Montenegrins, and Hungarians). The neither in Bosnia-Herzegovina nor in Kosovo
overall preference for marrying a Serbian partner much positive connections that could have
was thus low in former Yugoslavia. Social dis- prevented violent conflict between the major
tance was smallest between Serbian and ethnic groups. At the same time, the social
Montenegrins, but their odds ratio of 320 still distances were large. Hence for these regions,
means that the odds of marrying within the own the intermarriage data are in line with the pre-
group was 320 times higher than the odds of dictions of social cohesion theory.
intermarrying in the other group. Hence the social For Croatia, findings are however different.
distances between Montenegrins and Serbians Rather surprisingly given the highly violent char-
and even more so between Hungarians and Ser- acter of the war in Croatia, the number of mixed
bians turn out to be larger than their intermar- marriages between Serbians and Croatians in this
riage percentages in Table 1 suggest. The republic was relatively high. As much as 29 % of
explanation can be found in the fact that the Serbians marrying in that region in 1989 married
Montenegrins and Hungarians are relatively a Croatian partner. The odds ratio of Serbian-
small ethnic groups, so that the number of Croatian intermarriage in Croatia was with
forced marriages due to structural factors was a value of 56 also relatively low, indicating
relatively high. a moderate level of social distance between the
E 1976 Ethnic Intermarriage and Social Cohesion in Yugoslavia

Ethnic Intermarriage and Social Cohesion in Yugoslavia, Table 2 Intermarriage percentages, odds ratios, and size
of smallest group (percentage of married persons) within Yugoslav republics and Autonomous Regions in 1989
Size smallest group (% of
Ethnic group combination and region % intermarriage of all marriages of both
(largest group mentioned first) smallest group Odds ratio groups)
Muslim Croatian in Bosnia-Herzegovina 3.3 2.043 27.2
Muslim Serbian in Bosnia-Herzegovina 3.5 1.101 37.9
Serbian Croatian in Bosnia- Herzegovina 9.4 142 37.9
Albanian Serbian in Kosovo 2.2 14.363 11.2
Croatian Serbian in Croatia 28.9 56 12.9
Slovene Serbian in Slovenia 30.5 179 3.0
Macedonian Serbian in Macedonia 72.6 11 3.3
Montenegrin Serbian in Montenegro 51.9 34 7.2
Serbian Hungarian in Vojvodina 13.9 99 25.6

local communities. In contrast to the findings for looks again different. Whereas most other ethnic
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo, the results for groups formed a large majority in their
Croatia do not confirm predictions of social cohe- own regions, only 26 % of the marrying persons
sion theory. In spite of a relatively high number of in Vojvodina in 1989 was Hungarian. Seceding
mixed marriages, a bloody war has been fought from Yugoslavia, as the other groups did, was
between the Serbians and Croatians in this for them therefore not a realistic option. Table 2
republic. shows that intermarriage between Hungarians
Table 2 also presents figures for Slovenia, and Serbians in the region was with 14 %
Macedonia, Monte Negro, and Vojvodina. Of at an intermediate level. The odds ratio of
these regions, only Slovenia has experienced 99 indicates that this relatively high number of
a violent conflict directly after secession in mixed marriages was at least in part due to the
1991. However, this war lasted only 10 days small size of the group and less because of small
and there were few casualties. Table 1 shows social distance.
that in 1989 there were not many Serbians
marrying in Slovenia (they were involved in
only 3 % of marriages of the two groups). Conclusions
However, almost one- third of them married
a Slovenian partner. In Monte Negro and Mace- The figures presented above on ethnic intermar-
donia, the number of marrying Serbians was also riage in Yugoslavia as a whole and in the repub-
low, but the intermarriage percentages of them lics and autonomous regions broaden our
with natives were with 52 and 73 % even higher knowledge regarding the relationship between
than in Slovenia. This might mean that ethnic intermarriage and social cohesion in this
a substantial part of the Serbians living in these country. Whereas for Bosnia-Herzegovina and
republics went there for a marriage with a native- Kosovo the findings of Botev (1994) and Smits
born person. The odds ratios still indicate (2010) of few mixed marriages and large social
a relatively large social distance between the distances were reconfirmed, for Croatia the
Serbians and Slovenes in Slovenia but much regional figures point in another direction. Of
smaller social distances between Serbians and the Croatian Serbians who married in 1989,
Montenegrins in Monte Negro and Serbians and 29 % did so with a Croatian partner. This is
Macedonians in Macedonia. a substantial number. Although the odds ratio of
In the autonomous area of Vojvodina 56 indicates that there still was a moderately
homestead of the ethnic Hungarians the picture strong preference for a marriage within the own
Ethnic Intermarriage and Social Cohesion in Yugoslavia 1977 E
group and hence the mixed marriages may in Heterogeneous Socializing Network Index
part have been forced by structural circum- Index of Inegalitarianism
stances the intermarriage percentage is so high Personal Fair Treatment Index
that there must have been a large number of
connecting ties between the local ethnic commu-
nities. Thus, as far as this region is concerned,
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sciences, Louis Wirths (1945) classical defini- Usually, though not necessarily, they are concen-
tion is often taken as a starting point for the study trated in a specific area or region. Examples are
of ethnic minorities. He sees a minority as Basques and Catalans in Spain, Welsh in the
a group of people who, because of their physical United Kingdom, or Saami in the Nordic coun-
or cultural characteristics, are singled out from tries. Finally, immigrant minorities are also eth-
the others in the society in which they live for nically different from the mainstream population
differential and unequal treatment and who in the country where they live. However, they are
therefore regard themselves as objects of not usually concentrated in one particular region,
discrimination. In this definition the physical their ethnic identity is strongly determined by
and cultural characteristics point at the fact that their country of origin, but it is also likely to
E
minority and majority are of different ethnicities. change rather rapidly under the influence of the
Later, Schermerhorn (1970) constructed mainstream culture that surrounds them.
a typology in which he differentiated between Differences between these three types of
two characteristics of a minority position: the ethnic minorities are not always as clear-cut as
minoritys numerical strength and its social they may seem. The boundary between national
power. Usually, ethnic minority groups have little and regional minorities is permeable; the time
power because of their small size. Situations factor may play a role here (Brubaker, 2004). In
exist, however, where ethnic groups may numer- the long run, immigrant minorities may even
ically be a minority and yet have more power than disappear because of return migration or
the numerical majority. This was the case, for because of assimilation into the majority but
example, in colonial societies or in South Africa they may also develop into regional minorities.
under apartheid. Here, it is the numerical major- The African American minority in the USA, for
ity that may suffer from unequal treatment and example, owes its presence to forced immigra-
discrimination, which are typical characteristics tion, but this took place so long ago that most
of a minority situation. Americans will not conceive them as an immi-
The concept of ethnic minority is often linked grant minority. The same applies to Roma and
to the modern nation-state (Kymlicka, 1995a). Sinti, significant minorities in many Central and
Any community that because of its ethnic back- East European countries, which have century-old
ground diverges from the mainstream national roots in India.
identity may then be considered an ethnic Outside the Western world, the pattern often is
minority. Heckmann (1992) distinguishes three even more complex. Kymlicka (1995b) states
types of ethnic minorities: national, regional, and that the worlds (then) 184 independent states
immigrant minorities. National minorities result contain over 600 living language groups and
from the fact that state borders do not always 5,000 ethnic groups. Countries with vast terri-
coincide with boundaries between nations, often tories, such as Russia, India, China, Indonesia,
for historical reasons. In Europe, the Balkans and Nigeria accommodate numerous ethnic
provides many examples of this, for example, groups and, in fact, are sometimes built up of
several millions of Hungarians live across the ethnic minorities only though often with one
border in Romania, while Bulgaria has being dominant. Great empires in history, such as
a significant Turkish minority. In Africa, it was the Roman Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the
a deliberate policy of the nineteenth-century Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, and the USSR,
colonial powers to let geographical borders cut were true multiethnic entities. Immigrant socie-
right across territories of one and the same tribe. ties, like the USA, Canada, or Australia, also
Consequently, most African states of today have house many different ethnic minorities, ranging
ethnically mixed populations. Regional minori- from indigenous peoples to recently arrived
ties are communities that are part of a nation- immigrants from almost any place in the world.
state, but that are ethnically different from the In fact, only few states in the world are ethni-
mainstream population of that nation-state. cally homogeneous (Iceland and Korea are
E 1980 Ethnic Minorities

commonly cited as examples, even though these This is the classical image of a plural or
countries are now also experiencing immigra- pillarized society in which each community
tion). This means that almost all countries are has the right to set up its own institutions, such
multiethnic and thus face the challenge of how as hospitals, schools, and sports clubs, if needed
to deal with claims of recognition put forward by with public moral, legal, and financial support.
their ethnic minorities. Most experts agree that Several Northwest European countries, including
some form of recognition is needed in order for the Netherlands, have been using this system to
minorities to survive in the long run. States vary accommodate religious pluriformity. It is also
significantly in the degree to which they acknowl- quite common in multilingual countries like
edge such claims and in their ways of dealing Belgium or Canada.
with ethnic diversity (Kymlicka & Norman, The three options mentioned so far have in
2000). Nondemocratic states tend to suppress common that the law applies in the same way to
ethnic minority claims for the sake of national everyone, even though there may be separate
unity, even though limited forms of recognition institutional arrangements for certain communi-
may occur. Liberal democracies generally are ties. This is not the case under the fourth option,
more sensitive to minority rights, but here too which implies legal pluralism. There are not
major differences can be found, especially in many examples of this in modern liberal democ-
modes and degrees of acceptance of ethnic and racies, precisely because equality before the law
cultural diversity (Kenny, 2004; Parekh, 2000). is one of their fundamental principles. Non-
Recently, several European countries have Western countries, however, such as India,
manifested a public backlash against their earlier Malaysia, or Nigeria, do practice certain forms
tolerance towards multiculturalism (Vertovec & of ethnically based legal pluralism, particularly in
Wessendorf, 2010). family law and penal law. Occasionally, the issue
Five basic options may be distinguished in the arises in Western countries as well, for example,
handling of ethnic and cultural pluralism by lib- when certain minorities claim that legal standards
eral democracies (Entzinger, 2005). This is not to should be applied differently when behavior is
say that no intermediate positions exist; in fact, supposed to be religiously inspired, for example,
these options are only points on a continuum that in cases of honor killings. Recently, a vigorous
ranges from no to full recognition. The first debate took place in Germany on the acceptabil-
option is the idea of the neutral state, which treats ity of circumcision of little boys on religious
all its citizens in exactly the same way and which grounds. The fifth and final option is the granting
sees culture and ethnicity as private affairs. The of some form of legal and political autonomy or
Jacobin tradition in France is one of the purest self-determination to an ethnic minority. Gener-
examples here: the idea of publicly recognizing ally, this requires a territory where the minority
ethnic minorities is alien to this philosophy. In constitutes a majority, and that will then become
practice, however, this may force minorities to its jurisdiction. Nearly always, however, new
assimilate to mainstream culture, and it may pro- minorities will also be living in that territory,
voke discrimination as well as protest. The sec- and arrangements for their recognition will still
ond option is a mild form of public recognition be needed. The splitting up of former Yugoslavia
and support of ethnic minorities, particularly in into no less than seven different states each with
fields directly related to the manifestation of their their own minorities constitutes a good recent
ethnic identity (e.g., through media or associa- example. In todays Europe, ethnically based
tions) and the transfer of language and cultural movements for territorial autonomy are quite
elements to the next generation (e.g., through significant in Scotland, Flanders, and Catalonia.
facilities for mother tongue teaching). The third Since the Second World War, concerted
option goes one step further and aims at facilitat- efforts have been made at a supranational level
ing the development of parallel institutions, each to safeguard the rights of ethnic and other
based on different cultural or ethnic traditions. (national, regional, religious, linguistic)
Ethnic Tibetans: Application of the Personal Well-being Index (PWI) 1981 E
minorities. Key actors here are the United Kymlicka, W. (1995a). Multicultural citizenship. Oxford:
Nations with the 1948 Universal Declaration of Oxford University Press.
Kymlicka, W. (1995b). The rights of minority cultures.
human Rights and the 1966 UN Covenant on Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Civil and Political Rights (Thio, 2005). At the Kymlicka, W., & Norman, W. (2000). Citizenship in
European level, the Council of Europe has its diverse societies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
1995 Framework Convention on the Protection Parekh, B. (2000). Rethinking multiculturalism. Cultural
diversity and political theory. Houndmills: Macmillan.
of National Minorities (Henrard & Dunbar, Schermerhorn, R. A. (1970). Comparative ethnic
2008). The latter convention, for example, relations. New York: Random House.
stresses the importance for governments of taking Thio, L.-A. (2005). Managing Babel: The international
measures that enable national minorities to legal protection of minorities in the twentieth century.
Leiden: Nijhoff. E
maintain and develop their culture and to pre- Vertovec, S., & Wessendorf, S. (Eds.). (2010). The multi-
serve the essential elements of their identity. culturalism backlash. European discourses, policies
Forced assimilation is prohibited. The UN and practices. Abingdon: Routledge.
Human Rights Convention pleads for the ability Wirth, L. (1945). The problem of minority groups.
In R. Linton (Ed.), The science of man in the world
of a minority group to maintain its culture, lan- crisis (pp. 347372). New York: Columbia University
guage or religion. A problem here is that it is not Press.
always clear to which minorities these conven-
tions should be applied, particularly not in the
case of immigrant minorities. An even larger
problem is that governments, also in liberal
Ethnic Preferences
democracies, differ widely in their interpretation
of the principles laid down in the different
Xenophobia
conventions.

Cross-References
Ethnic Tibetans Personal
Deprivation Well-Being (PWI)
Immigrants, an Overview
Migration, an Overview Ethnic Tibetans: Application of the Personal
Negative Stereotypes Well-being Index (PWI)
Social Inclusion
Social Integration
Xenophobia
Ethnic Tibetans: Application of the
Personal Well-being Index (PWI)
References
Dave Webb
Brubaker, R. (2004). Ethnicity without groups.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA,
Entzinger, H. (2005). Multiculturalism revisited. Australia
In Y. Ben-Rafael & Y. Sternberg (Eds.), Comparing
modernities (pp. 191204). Leiden: Brill.
Heckmann, F. (1992). Ethnische Minderheiten, Volk und
Nation. Enke: Stuttgart. Synonyms
Henrard, K., & Dunbar, R. (Eds.). (2008). Synergies in
minority protection. European and international law Contentment and well-being in Tibet; Ethnic
perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
Tibetans personal well-being (PWI); International
Kenny, M. (2004). The politics of identity. Cambridge: well-being group; Satisfaction in Tibet; Tibet;
Polity. Well-being, subjective
E 1982 Ethnic Tibetans: Application of the Personal Well-being Index (PWI)

Definition in Webb & Stuart 2009). Predominantly, the


study was directed by the following objectives:
Background 1. To conduct the first implementation of the
Mention the Tibetan plateau and the image PWI survey on Tibetan respondents
conjured is that of a desolate cold barren place 2. To assess the validity and reliability of the
located at the roof of the world. To many, it is the PWI with the resulting sample
kind of place often seen in color photography 3. To report on levels of PWI across a range
books or in the movies, but seldom experienced of Tibetan respondents investigating at the
in person. same time differences in respondent demo-
Life can arguably be described as unusually graphic characteristics of age, gender, and
harsh in this high-altitude region with extreme education
winters lasting as long as 9 months of the year. 4. To identify the main antecedents to overall life
Indeed, temperatures as low as minus 40 C satisfaction
would not be unusual. Beyond the location and
climate, the lifestyle of people living on the
Tibetan plateau is determined by the topography Description
with many living a nomadic or seminomadic
existence. These predominantly nomadic people Method
are reliant on arable agriculture and the herding Consistent with established protocol for the PWI
of domestic animals such as yak, goat, sheep, measure, personal well-being is operationalized
horses, and cattle for most of their basic needs with both a single overall life satisfaction item
which occur either through direct consumption or and seven life domain satisfaction items (stan-
exchange trade. dard of living, health, achievement in life, per-
Between 1996 and 2001, the ethnic Tibetan sonal relationships, safe you feel, part of
prefecture of Yushu, located in the province of community, future security). A 010, 11-point
Qinghai, was affected by prolonged and extraor- measurement scale with the anchors completely
dinarily severe cold weather conditions resulting dissatisfied and completely satisfied was
in the loss of up to 8090 % of the livestock employed (see Appendix 1 for full item wording
(Webb & Stuart, 2009). A low annual per capita in English) [1].
income of about approximately US $50 was In addition to the PWI measures, a range of
insufficient to replace lost livestock rendering demographic variables were also included to
much of the local population in need of aid. enable exploration of demographic differences
Little aid was forthcoming, at least of a magni- in the data. These included age, gender, and
tude that could satisfactorily address the scale of education.
the issue. Consistent with recommendations (Douglas &
Beyond this, the region is prone to earth- Craig, 1983), the developed survey was both for-
quakes, and indeed, the most recent one in April ward translated into Tibetan and backward trans-
2010 left about 85 % of the town of Jyekundo, the lated into English by two qualified Tibetan native
government seat of Yushu prefecture, raised to speakers whose knowledge of written and spoken
the ground with 2,698 reported fatalities, thou- Tibetan and English was fluent. Discussion
sands injured, and many thousands homeless between the translators enabled any ambiguities
(People Daily, 2010). to be reconciled. The survey was implemented by
the author together with the assistance of one of
Purpose the translators while the author was traveling in
A study to explore the life satisfaction of ethnic the region during the Tibetan winter of 2005/
Tibetans living in the nomadic township area of 2006.
Kharnang in the prefecture of Yushu was Taking in to consideration that much of the
conducted (See also see study originally reported townships population was nomadic, making
Ethnic Tibetans: Application of the Personal Well-being Index (PWI) 1983 E
access to a large sample somewhat problematic, Ethnic Tibetans: Application of the Personal Well-
a convenience sample (n 102) of respondents being Index (PWI), Table 1 Exploratory factor analy-
sis: varimax rotation
was recruited.
Component matrixa Component 1
Results Standard of living 0.722
Validity and Reliability Health 0.725
Achieving in life 0.806
To establish the validity of the PWI scale, explor-
Personal relationships 0.519
atory factor analysis with varimax rotation was
Safe you feel 0.678
employed. A single-factor structure explaining
Part of community 0.742
50.70 % of the variance resulted. All items
Future security 0.758 E
revealed factor coefficients greater than 0.50, Extraction method: principal component analysis
and all were thus included in the scales structure a
1 Component extracted
(Table 1). To assess the reliability of the scale,
Cronbachs alpha was calculated revealing an
acceptable alpha coefficient of 0.834 (Nunnally, Demographic Differences
1978). To explore the relationships between gender, age,
education, and overall life satisfaction (OLS),
Descriptives a correlation matrix accounting for differing
Consistent with recommendations (Cummins, scale structures was produced (Table 4). For fur-
Eckersley, Pallant, Van Vugt, & Misajon, ther insight, this was reviewed in conjunction
2003), the overall life satisfaction and individual with the descriptive data for each included vari-
satisfaction with life domain items were stan- able (Table 2).
dardized into units representing a Percentage of
Scale Maximum (%SM) on a 0100 distribution Gender and Personal Well-Being
using the formula (score/x) * 100. Descriptive Table 4 reveals a significant negative correlation
statistics for all items included in the survey is coefficient (0.188, P <0.05) between gender
presented in Table 2. Taking all domain items and OLS. With males coded as 1 and
into consideration, an aggregate PWI for the females as 0, the negative direction of the
total sample of 70.58 resulted (Table 2). correlation indicates that females (Table 2) report
higher levels of OLS which can be attested to by
Determinants of Life Satisfaction the revealed mean score for males of 58.96 and
To assess the contribution of each of the included for females of 76.46 (Table 2). It is also noted
life domains to overall life satisfaction, (Table 4) that the same pattern of negative corre-
a multiple regression analysis using the lations is revealed across all life domain areas
stepwise method was performed. A final offering further suggestion of higher within life
significant model with an adjusted R2 of 0.25 domain satisfaction for females over males.
resulted. It is worth noting that this is lower than
that reported elsewhere using the same measures Age and Personal Well-Being
(i.e., AdjR2 0.52 Cummins et al. 2003; Table 4 reveals a significant positive correlation
AdjR2 0.43 Lau, Cummins, & McPherson, coefficient (0.391, P <0.05) between age and
2005; AdjR2 0.57 Tiliouine, Cummins, & OLS. It is also noted for the most part that the
Davern, 2006). same pattern of positive correlations is revealed
In this study, of the included variables, two across life domain areas suggesting that OLS
significant predictors of overall life satisfaction increases with age. However, closer scrutiny of
were identified (Table 3). These included satis- Table 2 for the age group 4554 reveals the
faction with standard of living (beta 0.35, continuity of OLS and PWB (as indicated by
p 0.003) and satisfaction with future security PWI) increasing with age to be thwarted. Unfor-
(beta 0.24, p 0.012). tunately, this anomaly should be reviewed with
E 1984 Ethnic Tibetans: Application of the Personal Well-being Index (PWI)

Ethnic Tibetans: Application of the Personal Well-being Index (PWI), Table 2 Descriptive statistics (gender,
education and age). Scores reflect converted means
Gender Education Age Mean / St. dev.
Male Female No education Education 1824 2534 3544 4554 55 plus Total sample
Overall life 58.96 76.46 74.40 58.22 54.83 64.88 85.38 68.33 84.50 67.33
satisfaction 30.47 17.07 24.80 25.20 26.53 25.58 17.61 33.12 13.70 26.00
Standard of 59.58 73.96 72.50 59.78 60.83 64.42 76.92 50.00 85.00 66.83
Living 26.17 22.76 26.02 22.10 21.65 23.73 24.63 28.28 27.80 25.06
Health 67.71 73.96 71.43 68.22 62.92 72.09 76.15 51.67 86.67 70.00
26.11 24.03 24.60 27.74 24.22 24.74 27.55 29.94 11.55 25.96
Achieving in 62.29 68.13 71.25 56.00 59.17 60.93 73.08 50.00 90.00 64.46
life 24.52 25.49 23.51 25.17 23.02 24.48 20.57 29.66 12.79 25.32
Personal 77.92 80.00 84.82 68.00 72.92 77.21 93.08 75.00 81.67 77.33
relationships 22.12 22.88 16.84 28.89 21.16 22.61 8.55 28.81 26.91 24.37
Safe you feel 68.54 77.29 78.21 66.44 69.17 68.37 88.46 51.67 94.17 72.97
23.52 21.31 21.83 22.17 18.16 22.78 15.19 31.25 7.93 22.65
Part of 69.17 73.13 77.14 62.67 64.17 66.05 87.69 61.67 88.33 70.69
community 20.40 21.45 19.04 19.82 22.63 19.54 10.13 21.37 7.18 20.60
Future 69.79 74.38 81.96 59.11 68.33 64.65 82.31 76.67 89.17 71.78
security 23.56 21.53 19.86 19.05 23.90 21.08 20.48 22.51 14.43 22.51
N 49.00 48.00 56.00 46.00 24.00 44.00 13.00 6.00 12.00 102.00
Percentage % 50.50 49.50 54.90 45.10 24.20 44.40 13.10 6.10 12.10 100.00
PWI mean 67.86 74.40 76.76 62.89 65.36 67.67 82.53 59.52 87.86 70.58
PWI St. Dev 23.77 22.78 21.67 23.56 22.11 22.71 18.16 27.40 15.51 23.78

Ethnic Tibetans: Application of the Personal Well-being Index (PWI), Table 3 Stepwise regression: life domains
on overall life satisfaction
Dependent variable Overall life satisfaction
Number of obs. 101
Multiple R 0.5143
R square 0.2645
Adjusted R square 0.2495
F(2, 98) 17.6192
Prob > F 0.0000
Std. error of est. 2.2521
Durbin-Watson stat. 1.7628
Regression coefficients
Variable B Ordinary Std. error Heteroscedastic Std. error Beta t p
Intercept 2.314 0.802 0.920 2.515 0.014
Standard of living 0.364 0.104 0.121 0.351 3.003 0.003
Future security 0.277 0.115 0.108 0.240 2.554 0.012

caution due to the very low n 6 sample size for Education and Personal Well-Being
this age group. That the sample size is low, not Table 4 reveals a significant negative correlation
only here but for the study overall, is flagged here coefficient (0.408, P <0.05) between educa-
as a limitation to this study. tion and OLS. Given that respondents with
Ethnic Tibetans: Application of the Personal Well-being Index (PWI), Table 4 Correlation matrix
Overall life Standard of Achieving in Personal Safe you Part of Future
satisfaction living Health life relationships feel community security Age Gender Education
Overall life 1
satisfaction
Standard of living 0.459 1
Health 0.131 0.387 1
Achieving in life 0.331 0.529 0.574 1
Personal 0.315 0.305 0.232 0.306 1
relationships
Safe you feel 0.329 0.495 0.448 0.459 0.393 1
Ethnic Tibetans: Application of the Personal Well-being Index (PWI)

Part of community 0.381 0.511 0.391 0.484 0.267 0.46 1


Future security 0.492 0.493 0.415 0.607 0.312 0.436 0.503 1
Age 0.391 0.33 0.297 0.383 0.271 0.33 0.401 0.383 1
Gender 0.188 0.367 0.143 0.167 0.133 0.258 0.147 0.095 0.232 1
Education 0.408 0.363 0.069 0.385 0.424 0.386 0.434 0.643 0.546 0.1 1
Italics Correlation are not significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). Correlations between categorical variables are polychoric
1985
E

E
E 1986 Ethnic Tibetans: Application of the Personal Well-being Index (PWI)

education were coded as 1 and those with no Chinese neighbors. Furthermore, differences may
education as 0, the negative direction of the also be due to situational variation. In any case,
correlation confirms that respondents with no a full address of this issue goes beyond the scope of
education (Table 2) report higher levels of OLS this entry, but a further exploration would certainly
(avg. 58.22) than do those with an education make a useful contribution to knowledge.
(avg. 74.40). It is also noted (Table 4) that the In regard to the validity of the PWI instrument,
same pattern of negative correlations is revealed not only does it meet established psychometric
across all life domain areas indicating higher life guidelines as discussed above, but it also proved
domain satisfaction for respondents without an to be a useful template from which to discuss key
education. aspects of life on the Tibetan plateau. In this
regard, one important domain revealed to be
Interaction Effects missing from the original survey was that of
Though previous studies have highlighted the religion/spirituality, core to Tibetans. Tibetans
possibility of interaction effects with respect to interpret their life through a Buddhist lens
age, gender, education, and life satisfaction which is central to understanding and perhaps
(Glenn & Weaver, 1981; Tiliouine et al., 2006), even accounting for a higher than expected
once main effects were accounted for in this PWI. The implication of this finding is that it
study, none were identified. This finding is highlights the need to include an item in the
interpreted with caution, since again it is possible PWI that covers this important life domain and
that this is an artifact of the relatively low sample particularly so for populations rich in spiritual
size for this study. culture. For a fuller discussion on this theme,
see Webb and Stuart (2009) and Webb (2012).
Discussion
PWI Cummins and Lau (2005) highlight that Contribution to Overall Life Satisfaction
the normative range for Western means once Multiple regression analysis revealed just two out
converted is between 70 % and 80 % points. of the seven life domains to be significant pre-
With respect to Asian populations, Lau et al. dictors of overall life satisfaction (Table 3).
(2005) indicate that these values are generally These included satisfaction with standard of liv-
around 10 % points lower than for Western ing and future security.
means which can be accounted for by cultural It is surprising to find standard of living to
response bias. In a recent study using the PWI be the strongest predictor of life satisfaction. The
items, Davey et al. (2007, P2) reveal a PWI of majority of respondents were living under
64.24 for a sample of peasants in rural China. extreme harsh conditions and in many respects
This is within the lower anticipated normative struggling to make ends meet with some having
range for Asians and is only marginally different little to no income at all because either there was
from the PWI of 65.9 revealed by Lau et al. no work for those living in the townships or, in
(2005) in their study with Chinese respondents the case of the nomadic herders, because they had
in Hong Kong. Thus, the revealed PWI of 70.58 suffered the loss of much of their livestock, their
for the ethnic Tibetan sample is more akin to that livelihood, during the extreme winters between
expected of Western populations than it is for 1996 and 2001. In spite of this, they were still
Asian populations. able to express a sense of well-being and hope for
Davey et al. (2007) suggest that the normative the future, demonstrating an acceptance of and
range for Chinese may be lower than that contentment with their circumstances. This is not
evidenced by Western populations because Chi- to suggest that they would not like things to be
nese culture places a high value on modesty. If this better, but perhaps in relative terms, they con-
is true, perhaps ethnic Tibetans place a lesser value sider the improvements that they have experi-
on modesty, or perhaps it is just a case of them enced in recent years to outweigh some of the
being more content with their lives than their Han downsides of their circumstances.
Ethnic Tibetans: Application of the Personal Well-being Index (PWI) 1987 E
Improvements seen in the region include the equation models. Also, the moderately strong
building of a school, provision of health clinics, multiple regression model statistics presented
extensive road infrastructure development, pro- here suggest, at least for this population, that
vision of solar power, the building of water wells, satisfaction encompasses more than the domains
water sanitation, and the availability of electricity covered by this study. This author suggests that
and telephony services. All of these are tanta- an additional and meaningful domain to include
mount to a modernization of living conditions in subsequent studies would be the domain of
which in the case of the nomadic herder reduces religion/spirituality. Indeed, research carried
their sense of isolation and enhances their con- out recently with the same series of PWI items
nection to the rest of the region for which many offers further testimony to this (Wills, 2009). Its
E
expressed a desire. In particular, and contributing inclusion, and also that of other yet to be deter-
to their sense of future security, the building of mined domains, warrants further research
a school was seen as among the greatest of con- attention.
tributions because it provided for a sense of secu- In summary, this study makes several valuable
rity for the future of the next generation who contributions to knowledge. First, it offers further
undoubtedly would experience many more psychometric validation of the PWI instrument.
changes in the region. Second, being the first empirical study to be
published exploring the life satisfaction of ethnic
Summary and Conclusions Tibetans, it offers insights into what contributes to
The study reported on here was the first empirical the happiness of this remote nomadic population.
study to have explored the life satisfaction of Third, beyond psychometric validation, when
ethnic Tibetans. It did so using seven of the PWI combined with the opportunity for participant dis-
survey items together with a measure of overall cussion, it serves as a useful framework for explor-
life satisfaction. The PWI was found to be ing the existence of other life domains. Fourth, the
a meaningful instrument from which to measure application of the PWI on this remote and spiritu-
not only the life satisfaction of Tibetans but also to ally rich population opens the possibility of apply-
uncover aspects of the Tibetans life not covered ing the PWI to other such remote populations. In
by the instrument at the time of its implementation. this regard, it suggests that an opportunity exists to
The PWI data presents the Tibetan people as develop the measurement of the instrument such
generally satisfied with life in spite of the extreme that it can be extended to accommodate the situa-
harshness of their circumstances. The strength of tion of specific populations, i.e., those living in less
their faith in Buddhism provides one explanation accessible regions of the world, and enhanced to
for the basis of their contentment. This author include further life domain areas such as that of
witnessed the Tibetan people as a deeply spiritual religion/spirituality. Fifth, it highlights the need
people. That spirituality is potentially an impor- for further well-being studies to be carried out on
tant dimension of life and that it contributes to an other diverse populations.
overall picture of life satisfaction were clear and That the data reported on here was the first
thus suggest the importance of including an extra such study of its kind highlights, outside of the
item in the survey to cover this important life discipline of anthropology, that the Tibetan peo-
domain. ple have been relatively isolated from social sci-
This study is not without its limitations. With ence research attention. It is hoped that the work
respect to sampling, the convenience nature of presented here inspires others to embark on stud-
the sample together with the small sample size ies of a similar nature with this and other remote
indicates a need for future studies to adopt a more populations. To do so is not only personally
randomized selection of a larger and potentially rewarding, but it offers the potential to extend
more diverse Tibetan population. Definitely, our knowledge which will be contextually limited
a larger sample size would allow for the more unless we venture into such unchartered
rigorous testing of relationships using structural territories.
E 1988 Ethnocentrism

Appendix 1 Scale Items Douglas, S. P., & Craig, C. S. (1983). International mar-
Readers interested in the Tibetan version keting research. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Glenn, N. D., & Weaver, C. N. (1981). Educations effects
are referred to the following on psychological wellbeing. Public Opinion Quar-
document located on the ACQOL website: terly, 45, 2239.
http://www.deakin.edu.au/research/acqol/auwbi/ Lau, A. L. D., Cummins, R. A., & McPherson, W. (2005).
index-translations/pwi-a-tibetan.pdf. An investigation into the cross-cultural equivalence of
the personal wellbeing index. Social Indicators
Part 1: Life satisfaction overall Research, 72, 403430.
Thinking about your own life and personal Nunnally, J. (1978). Psychometric theory (2nd ed.). New
circumstances, how satisfied are you with your York: McGraw Hill.
life as a whole? People Daily (2010). China puts final death toll from
Qinghai quake at 2698 Retrieved March 21, 2012,
Part 2: Domain life satisfaction http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90776/90882
1. How satisfied are you with your standard of /7006506.html
living? Tiliouine, H., Cummins, R. A., & Davern, M. (2006).
2. How satisfied are you with your health? Measuring wellbeing in developing countries: The
case of Algeria. Social Indicators Research, 75, 130.
3. How satisfied are you with what you are Webb, D. A. (2009). Subjective wellbeing on the Tibetan
achieving in life? plateau: An exploratory investigation. Journal of
4. How satisfied are you with your personal Happiness Studies, 10(6), 753768.
relationships? Webb, D. (2012). Happiness on the Tibetan Plateau in
Happiness across cultures: Views of happiness and
5. How satisfied are you with how safe you quality of life in Non-Western cultures. In Helaine
feel? Selin (Ed.) (pp. 2741). Antwerp, The Netherlands:
6. How satisfied are you with feeling part of Springer. ISBN 978-94-007-2699-4.
your community? Webb D. A., & Stuart, K. (2009). Exploring the impact
of providing alternative technology products in
7. How satisfied are you with your future remote Tibetan communities. Journal of Research
security? for Consumers, 12. http://jrconsumers.com/
Academic_Articles/issue_12/
Wills, E. (2009). Spirituality and subjective well-being:
Evidences for a new domain in the personal well-being
Cross-References index. Journal of Happiness Studies, 10, 4969.
doi:10.1007/s10902-007-9061-6. Research paper.
Happiness
Life Satisfaction
Subjective Well-Being
Well-Being Ethnocentrism

Neil Thin
School of Social and Political Science,
References University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

Cummins, R. A., Eckersley, R., Pallant, J., Van Vugt, J., &
Misajon, R. (2003). Developing a national index of
subjective well-being: The Australian unity wellbeing Synonyms
index. Social Indicators Research, 64, 159190.
Cummins, R. A., & Lau, A. (2005). The International Chauvinism; Culturalism; Parochialism;
Wellbeing Group Manual 2005. International
Sociocentrism; Unwarranted universalism
Wellbeing Group (2005). Personal Wellbeing Index.
Melbourne: Australian Centre on Quality of Life,
Deakin University. (http://www.deakin.edu.au/
research/acqol/instruments/wellbeing_index.htm) Definition
Davey, G., Chen, Z., & Lau, A. (2007). Peace in a thatched
hut That is happiness: Subjective wellbeing among
peasants in rural China. Journal of Happiness Studies, Ethnocentrism means that ones concepts,
10, 239252. beliefs, or values are strongly rooted in
Ethnocentrism 1989 E
a particular cultural tradition. Though this can in autonomy, democracy, gender equity or
principle be used in a positive or neutrally kindness to animals, are behaving ethnocen-
descriptive sense, in practice it usually means trically but perhaps quite deliberately and with
being blameworthy of ethnocentric pathology, the best of intentions.
including the following: parochial bias (paying More recently and more neutrally, the concept
inadequate heed or respect to other traditions has been used in business studies to refer to
and perspectives), chauvinism (disrespect for customers preference for goods or services pro-
other communities and their culture), and duced by or associated with their own culture or
unwarranted universalism (inappropriately try- in-group. Specific variants like Afrocentrism and
ing to apply parochial perspectives to all of Indocentrism have sometimes been used
E
humanity). Conversations about ethnocentrism nonpejoratively to refer to revisionist movements
are therefore dialogical, proceeding not just which fight one kind of ethnocentrism with
through recognition of an objective characteris- another, in efforts to revitalize the collective
tic but through accusations made against people self-esteem of internationally denigrated
deemed blameworthy and capable of remedying populations. Similarly sociocentrism (having
the problem. a strong sense of identification with a specific
Ethnocentric bias can be cognitive or affec- community of other people) tends to be seen as
tive, conscious or unconscious. It can refer to better than egocentrism. Ethnocentrism has
ignorance of other cultural perspectives or to sometimes been given legal justification when
deliberate disparagement of them. It can refer to a cultural defense is deployed to excuse or miti-
the feelings, thoughts, or discourses of collectiv- gate culpability for acts which the perpetrators
ities (such as regions, nations, religions, or disci- believe are culturally justified. In such cases,
plines); to personal character traits or attitudes; or cultural pluralism ironically supports ethnocen-
to more specific personal habits or beliefs. Its tric behavior and values. Conversely, judges who
opposites include cultural relativism, cosmopoli- reject cultural defense claims may also be blame-
tanism, ecumenicalism, and xenophilia. worthy of ethnocentrism (Renteln, 2004).
We are all ethnocentric to the extent that we
learn our concepts and values from particular
Description communities, networks, and cultural traditions.
Our social well-being requires both the support
As originally coined by the US anthropologist of others who share these traditions and
Sumner (1906), ethnocentrism points pejora- a willingness to respect or at least engage nonvi-
tively to conservative and/or ignorant adherence olently with those who dont.
to local or regional traditions and to the conse- There are three main ways in which quality
quent harmful restrictions of our ability to empa- of life scholarship can be improved by paying
thize with, understand, or appreciate people in close attention to the varieties of ethnocentrism:
cultures different from our own. Such restrictions Positively, we must learn how to optimize
tend to encourage misplaced faith in the universal sociocentric well-being without undue dispar-
applicability of our own value judgments and agement of alternative worldviews.
concepts. Accusations of ethnocentrism are Defensively, we must ensure that our evaluation
wielded by cosmopolitans against the collective of life quality isnt unduly restricted to the
narcissism of people they deem to be less cross- cultural traditions we happened to grow up
culturally enlightened or respectful than them- with. We may search for universal values
selves, or against specific instances of parochial while recognizing that their application is
or xenophobic bias. Logically, you dont need to always mediated through culture. The same
be ignorant or nasty to be ethnocentric; those who objective goods may be experienced very dif-
try to improve global society by trying to ferently according to different cultural con-
universalize values, such as free love, personal texts and specific cultural beliefs and values.
E 1990 Ethnodevelopment Laws in Ecuador and Peru

Negatively, we must recognize excessive ethno-


centrism as a harmful form of restriction on Ethnomethodology
personal growth and on social intelligence.
Ethnocentrism (our own or other peoples) Allison Carter
can harm our quality of life by spoiling the Department of Sociology and Anthropology,
quality and variety of our social engagements Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, USA
and by putting unhelpful constraints on our
production, distribution, and consumption
systems. Synonyms

Conversational analysis
Cross-References

Cross-Cultural Comparison Definition


Cultural Diversity
Cultural Evaluation Harold Garfinkel understands the ethnometho-
Cultural Values dological interest as focused on the moral order
of society as an everyday technical accomplish-
ment. Given this interest in moral concerns as
References societal members concerns, Garfinkels program
claims indifference to the content of these con-
Renteln, A. D. (2004). The cultural defense. Oxford: cerns and concern only for the process by which
Oxford University Press.
societal membership allows social actors to
Sumner, W. G. (1906). Folkways. New York: Ginn.
accomplish sense making and maintain normality
and familiarity in their customary fields of action.
For Garfinkel this means studying everyday prac-
Ethnodevelopment Laws in Ecuador tices and everyday sense making in any and all
and Peru activities, jury deliberations, counseling sessions,
games of tic-tac-toe, and scientific coding, to
Social Movement Strength in Ecuador and name a few. Whether the ethnomethodologist
Peru studies the practices of divination or of physics,
the contention is that all human activities can be
analyzed in terms of the methods that societal
Ethnodevelopment Policies in members or folk use to constitute their sense
Ecuador and Peru (p. 32). Garfinkel (1967) sees this concern as an
ongoing problematic for social actors, and hence
Social Movement Strength in Ecuador and Peru ethnomethodology is named for its program to
make visible the often-taken-for-granted back-
ground understandings that animate members
folk methodology for making sense.
Ethnography

Anthropology Description

Primarily influenced by Talcott Parsons struc-


Ethnology tural functional analysis of social order and
Alfred Schutzs phenomenological understand-
Anthropology ing of the natural attitude, Harold Garfinkel
Ethnomethodology 1991 E
understands the ethnomethodological interest users argot in particular, its possible heuristic
as focused on the moral order of society as an value to ethnographers investigating communities
similar to the one from which it was derived, and
everyday technical accomplishment. Given all ways of asserting its importance as a finding
this interest in moral concerns as societal are specifically disattended here. The element is
members concerns, Garfinkels program claims attended solely as furnishing the opportunity for
indifference to the content of these concerns and explicating the methods whereby it was located. In
a very real sense, then, the essay is not about argot
concern only for the process by which societal but the procedures involved in the everyday busi-
membership allows social actors to accomplish ness of hearing and understanding talk-whether
sense making and maintain normality and opaque or transparent (p. 173).
familiarity in their customary fields of action.
E
For Garfinkel this means studying everyday Nevertheless, certain directions in the devel-
practices and everyday sense making in any and opment of the ethnomethodological program,
all activities, jury deliberations, counseling ses- especially Conversation analysis and the analytic
sions, games of tic-tac-toe, and scientific coding, or self-reflective sociology of Alan Blum and
to name a few. Whether the ethnomethodologist Peter McHugh, have lent themselves to both cri-
studies the practices of divination or of physics, tique and potential contributions to understand-
the contention is that all human activities can be ing quality of life issues. Further, the implications
analyzed in terms of the methods that societal of ethnomethodological studies - both as criti-
members or folk use to constitute their sense cisms of conventional sociological treatments
(p. 32). Garfinkel sees this concern as an ongoing and in their particular findings - are potentially
problematic for social actors, and hence ethno- instructive.
methodology is named for its program to make For Garfinkel, conventional sociology studies
visible the often-taken-for-granted background familiar settings such as home and work but
understandings that animate members folk ignores the background expectancies that soci-
methodology for making sense. These methods etal members use as interpretive schema to render
are the same as those used by sociologists in events in these settings as recognizable and
recognizing social settings and the sense of social intelligible as the appearances-of-familiar-
action. Much of early ethnomethodological work events (p. 36). To see these taken-for-granted,
focused on how sociological inquiries made background expectancies, one must either be
sense of social life by unconsciously making use a stranger to the social scene or, as an ethnometh-
of the very resources that they should be making odologist, intentionally estrange oneself from the
the subject of their inquiries. social setting in order to take on the sociological
Given this understanding of apparent indiffer- task of noticing and topicalizing what is ordinar-
ence to the particulars of moral order, it could be ily taken for granted and making it the subject of
charged that ethnomethodology is therefore analytical interest. For Garfinkels early studies,
equally indifferent to the concerns for under- this could take the form of finding strangers to
standing quality of life. For example, in Kenneth particular aspects of social life, for example,
Stoddarts ethnomethodological study of the Agnes, a transsexual, whom Garfinkel analyzed
argot or idiomatic usage of heroin users, he for her more conscious experience of learning
warns the reader: how to accomplish a normal appearance of gen-
der display. It could also take the form of
Here. . .and in contrast to traditional studies deal-
Garfinkels famous breaching experiments,
ing focally or tangentially with argot-interest in the
discovered element itself is suspended in favour of where Garfinkel organized the violation of expec-
an interest in the methods by which it was located tations and analyzed both the conduct and expe-
or recognized as an instance of argot in the first rience of the subjects, as well as the discomfort of
place. Such a suspension entails a deliberate indif-
those doing the experiments. The discomfort that
ference to any and all substantive matters relating
to the element: its potential as an addition to the is provoked by breaching experiments points to
existing corpus of argot in general and heroin what is for Garfinkel, the primary focus: he
E 1992 Ethnomethodology

topicalizes what is, from the members point of activity and inhibit social conflict based on dif-
view the morally necessary character of the fering self-interests (p. 16). John Heritage
background expectancies that they bring to describes the Parsonian solution as
a social setting to make it intelligible (p. 37) or, problematized by actors rationality, intersubjec-
put alternatively, how every social setting tivity, and reflexivity. According to Heritage,
[should] be viewed as self-organizing with these issues are theorized in the influential work
respect to the intelligible character of its own of Schutz where he addresses the problem of
appearances as either representations of or as intersubjectivity, self, and other and how we
evidences-of-a-social-order (p. 33). What is understand the subjective meaning of the others
breached in the breaching experiment is the rep- actions. For Schutz, the natural attitude (which
resentation or evidence of normal social order. corresponds to the place of the commonsense
Besides discomfort, what subjects displayed were attitude in Garfinkels thinking) is constituted
their attempts to normalize the situations and by the assumption that others actions are moti-
make them make sense. For Garfinkel, it is not vated by goals and intentions; the practical prob-
the sacredness of a particular norm but the lem is to specify their particulars in any empirical
sacredness of social order and its usual intelligi- situation. To do this, the social actor makes use of
bility that is violated and causes the moral typifications, a contextual database of typical
disruption. motives, goals, and intentions, with which to
Here we can see the ethnomethodological make sense of the others activity. These typifi-
interest in intelligibility, that is, in how societal cations are found in the natural language that
members make sense of the social scenes they actors use and which furnish a way to anticipate
participate in and how their practical actions are and make familiar the intersubjective situations
guided in these settings by background under- they find themselves in. Social actors in the nat-
standings that make their own actions rational ural attitude operate under the influence of two
and intelligible to themselves. Garfinkel is contradictory assumptions: that while each per-
concerned with rescuing the social actor from son has a different perspective, they also share
any understanding that ignores or glosses over a common world (p. 56). The actors task is to
members active accomplishment of the social infer through the use of typifications what the
setting and how they make active sense of it as other means or intends by their behavior. Inter-
well as of their own participation. Garfinkels subjective knowledge is the result of actors sus-
criticism of conventional sociology, such as that taining their sense of commonality in the face of
influenced by Parsons, is that it subordinates the their recognition of perspectivality. Unlike the
understanding of members reflexive accom- Parsonian approach to social order, there is no
plishment to external conceptualizations by soci- external common culture to plug into; order and
ologists who analyze what is really going on with commonality are the actors ongoing accomplish-
social participants, who, unbeknown to them- ment whereby they construct a shared world. For
selves, are mindlessly acting out the determina- Schutz, the general thesis of reciprocal perspec-
tions of social structures and norms (p. 33). These tives names two related idealizations: that our
concerns lead to the centrality in ethnometho- differing perspectives mean that if we changed
dological of concepts such as accounts, places we would see as the other sees and that the
indexicality, the et cetera principle, and the doc- differences that we bring to experience, by virtue
umentary method, which Garfinkel developed out of our different life histories, are not important
of the phenomenological approach of Alfred enough to eliminate our common experience of
Schutz. the shared situation. While it is impossible for
For Parsons, the key to the problem of order social actors to have identical experience, this is
lay in the notion of the internalization of norms, irrelevant as social actors assume that their expe-
whereby social actors would adopt a common riences are similar enough and act as if they are
value system that would limit their range of identical for all practical purposes (p. 54).
Ethnomethodology 1993 E
For Garfinkel, the commonsense attitude of point to the sense that Garfinkel gives that there
societal members is geared to calling on its is a moral order underlying the background
resources, its stock of situational and biographi- expectancies of familial interaction. It is not
cal knowledge, to make sense of social scenes, as a Goffmanesque backstage where anything goes
well as ones choice of practical action. Just as and one can act however one wishes but a social
Schutz enumerated some of the assumptions that setting constituted by the enacted expectancies of
underlie social interaction and allow participants its members. When this does not occur, the famil-
to assume they have the capability to understand iar order is not produced and expectancies are
each other, Garfinkel sees the ethnometho- disrupted; the result is emotional and moral dis-
dological task as articulating the background order and attempts to reinstate the expected
E
understandings and expectancies that allow orderly scene. It is in this sense that Garfinkel
societal members to conduct practical activities sees himself as an heir to Durkheimian analysis,
and be able to account for their own actions in any even as he denies the external source of moral
specific context. According to Garfinkel, social order.
actors are aware that they may have to account for As family members attempt to make sense of
their actions, and for many social settings such their offsprings strange behavior, they bring to
as jury deliberations or forensic decisions, bear other background understandings about
accountability is an ongoing feature of participa- what could motivate such behavior, from making
tion in the setting. For Garfinkel, this attention a joke, being sick or angry, to accusations of
to ones account is a central feature of social rudeness. Here they base their attempt at inter-
action. However, given the indexical quality pretation and restoring sense on their understand-
of speech and the incomplete evidence that ing of what persons in general might mean by this
is available, accountability in social situations behavior. Or they can base their sense making on
is accomplished for all practical purposes. attempts at reconciling behavior with previous
Perhaps the most famous of Garfinkels behavior by the person in question, invoking
breaching experiments is the one commonly aspects of biographical information such as that
known as the boarder experiment, in which they are overworked which would explain this
Garfinkel sent his students home instructing strange behavior. These attempts illustrate what
them to behave as strangers, as boarders, in the Garfinkel refers to as indexicality and the docu-
family setting, This experiment provoked mentary method, which are primary means by
accounts of astonishment, bewilderment, which societal members make sense of each
shock, anxiety, embarrassment, and anger, on other. The documentary method refers to the
the part of family members subjected to the treat- practice of making sense of what we are
ment, as well as charges that the student was presented with in speech and conduct by seeing
mean, inconsiderate, selfish, nasty, or impolite it as evidence of an underlying pattern. The action
and demands for explanation (p. 47). As family or speech utterance is interpreted through our
members struggled to make sense of the students invocation of background expectancies for this
behavior - whether they are sick, fired, mad, out person and context, while those expectancies are
of their mind or just stupid, they treated the reinterpreted through the activity of the interac-
strange behavior as possibly explicable by pre- tional experience itself in a continual loop of
vious understandable motives (p. 48). For reinterpretation. This methodical filling in what
Garfinkel, the main point is that family members we experience of the other is necessary because
were unaware that their children were behaving of the essential indexicality of speech; speech is
according to rule that instructed them to disregard essentially incomplete and never says everything
the normal mutually recognized texture of that is meant. We need to make use of our under-
events of family life and act according to an standings of social situations and common biog-
artificial rule of behaving like a boarder raphy in order to adequately interpret each other.
(p. 46). Their frustration, anger, and anxiety One must take into account the context of
E 1994 Ethnomethodology

interaction and who is speaking, as well as our the centrality of accounts and interpretation
trust that meaning will emerge through continued lent itself to the development of the branch
interaction. That we make sense despite the overt of ethnomethodology known as Conversation
lack of complete information is an outcome of analysis. Developed by Harvey Sacks and others,
our interpretive processes and willingness to Conversation analysis takes a micro-look
allow meaning to emerge in the sequence of talk at conversation and its mechanics such as turn-
or interaction. Garfinkel includes an example of taking to get at how conversation and meaning
indexicality where a couple discuss the husbands are accomplished by virtue of members
errand running with their young son. Garfinkel background understanding of what is expected
contrasts the actual utterances with the indexical, in response to particular kinds of utterances. For
contextual, and biographical meanings that example, Sacks studied rules of conversational
emerge: sequence as they influenced the ability of workers
in a psychiatric hospital to get what they consid-
Husband: Dana succeeded in putting a penny in
a parking meter today without being picked up.
ered important information from telephone
What is actually understood: callers who inquire about services. Rather than
This afternoon as I was bringing Dana, our asking directly for a name, Sacks notes that gam-
four-year-old son, home from nursery school, he, bits such as This is Mr. Smith, may I help you?
succeeded in reaching high enough, put a penny in
a parking meter when we parked in a parking meter
provide a slot for persons to respond with their
zone, whereas before he has always had to be name in the slot wherein they would properly
picked up to reach that high. answer Yes, this is Mr. Brown. This kind of
Wife: Did you take him to the record store? Conversation analysis lends itself to exploring
What is actually understood:
Since he put a penny in a meter that means that
how the mechanics of conversation can facilitate
he stopped while he was with you. I know that you or inhibit interactional efficacy and can thereby
stopped at the record store either on the way to get influence quality of life in the many institutional
him or on the way back. Was it on the way back, so settings which provide data for conversation
that he was with you or did you stop there on the
way to get him and somewhere else on the way
analysis.
back? (pp. 38-39) Sociologists have also used Conversation
analysis to explore power as a practical accom-
Garfinkel explicates indexicality in this example plishment in interaction. Pamela Fishman looked
by pointing to the feature of conversation that inter- at interactional strategies used by men and
actants are able to understand matters that they did women in relationships which showed that
not mention and on the basis not only of what was women had to work harder to get men to respond
actually said but what was left unspoken. . .Many to their introduction of topics and were less suc-
matters were understood as a process of attending cessful. For example, women tried to create
to the temporal series of utterances as documentary responsiveness in their partners by asking ques-
evidences of a developing conversation. . . (p. 39). tions and using attention beginnings, such as
Each participant could make sense of the others You wont believe this. Susan Chase analyzed
speech as documentary evidence pointing to pauses and disruptions in the speech patterns of
an underlying pattern that they were trying to women school superintendents to show how they
communicate, but the documentary evidences were more comfortable in the settled discourse
in their turn were interpreted on the basis of what of individual professionalism and less comfort-
was known and anticipatorily knowable about able when they attempted to articulate their expe-
the underlying patterns. Each was used to elaborate riences of discrimination using the unsettled
the other (p. 39). discourse of inequality based on their group
Communication of meaning is not based membership. These discourses and the disjunc-
merely on understanding words but on complex tion between the individualism of the profes-
interpretations which are essentially incomplete sional discourse and the group identification of
and need to be elaborated. Garfinkels interest in the inequality discourse served as the background
Ethnomethodology 1995 E
expectancies and underlying patterns that Where certain notions of language might rec-
informed the superintendents narratives and ommend that we are taken fundamentally away
their difficulty or ease in articulating their expe- from the experiential body and that we might be
rience. Using the unsettled discourse of inequal- deadened by the incomplete nature of our speech
ity was informed by the background expectancy to articulate our experience, for Blum it is only
that other people hold different opinions about language that can redeem experience and allow
the politics of inequality, and thus one could not us to rediscover and explore its vitality (p. 208).
have the expectancy that ones audience would
be in agreement. One could have the opposite
References
expectation about the professional discourse; no
E
one would question its legitimacy. Chase notes Atkinson, P. (1988). Ethnomethodology: A critical
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MA: University of Massachusetts Press.
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methodology: A proposed synthesis. American Socio-
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Garfinkel, H. (1967). Studies in ethnomethodology. Mal-
elaborate the ambiguity that always accompanies
den, MA: Polity Press.
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Blums inquiries are framed, however, in the Ethnomethodologys program: Working out
midst of a concern for developing notions of Durkheims aphorism. In A. W. Rawls (Ed.). Lanham,
MD: Rowman and Littlefield, Inc.
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Heritage, J. (1984). Garfinkel and ethnomethodology.
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E 1996 Eudaemonia

(a) deliberation requires an ultimate end we


Eudaemonia pursue only for its own sake and for the sake of
which we pursue everything else and (b) that
Good Life, Theories of ultimate end is eudaimonia (see Aristotle,
Nicomachean Ethics I). Our ends are things
we want to achieve, and we deliberate so as to
decide what actions to take for the sake of our
Eudaimonia ends. For instance, someone with the end of
becoming a doctor needs to deliberate first
Daniel Russell about how to get into medical school. Further-
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA more, ends can be for the sake of other ends in
different ways: getting into medical school
serves the end of becoming a doctor as a
Synonyms means, but becoming a doctor is not so much
a means to the end of having a rewarding career
Flourishing; Good life; Happiness; Welfare; as the very realization of that end. We can think
Well-being of deliberation as putting together chains of
ends linked by for the sake of relations. Now,
these chains cannot go on forever, and they
Definition cannot loop back on themselves; otherwise,
there would be no point to the chain in the
Eudaimonia is human well-being or happiness, first place, and deliberation could never halt.
understood as a human life that is fulfilling and These chains need ultimate ends, then.
rich. But more than that, it seems the chains all
must share a single ultimate end for a couple
of reasons. For one thing, every end has
Description opportunity costs becoming a doctor may
leave no time for pursuing ones end of
Eudaimonia is the classical Greek term for mastering classical guitar, for instance and
happiness, understood as a good life for the one this means that ends can come into conflict
living it. It is the central concept in eudaimonism, with each other. If there were multiple
which is (1) an account of practical reasoning on ultimate ends, such conflicts would occur
which eudaimonia is the final end for delibera- between them too, and practical reason could
tion, (2) where eudaimonia is both a rich, fulfill- do nothing to settle such conflicts. For another,
ing human life and (3) a starting-point for it seems that there is one ultimate end and one
thinking about the nature of human fulfillment, that we all share: the end of giving oneself
or virtue. Eudaimonism dates back to ancient a good life. Human rationality is practical not
Greek and Roman philosophers and it continues only in working out how to reach the ends one
to be a major approach to understanding happi- has but also in telling one to have ends in the
ness among modern philosophers (see, e.g., first place and more than that, ends that one
Annas, 1993; LeBar, 2013; McDowell, 1980, can live for, that give one a reason to go on
1995; Russell, 2012). Perhaps what is most living, and that we can make our lives about.
distinctive of this approach is that it seeks to This does not mean that everyone should live
understand what happiness is by asking what it the same way, only that everyone needs to find
would have to be in order to play the role in our a good life. In other words, there is an ultimate
practical economies that it actually does play. end, and that ultimate end is eudaimonia.
1. Practical Reasoning. Eudaimonism makes 2. Happiness. At this point, eudaimonia is
two main claims about practical reasoning: something of a placeholder: it stands for
Eudaimonia 1997 E
a whole life that is the greatest good for the Plato believes that our nature is to transcend
one who has it, but it allows for disagreement our earthly being and become like God. At
over what more precisely that good might be. the other extreme, Epicurus believes that our
We can think of eudaimonia as happiness, but capacity for pleasure is where our greatest ful-
we must be clear about what this means. We fillment lies. Most eudaimonists, however,
often use the word happiness to talk about understand our shared humanity in terms of
a certain emotion, feeling, or mood, but none our capacity for practical reasoning. So under-
of these things is a whole life or likely to be the stood, human fulfillment involves both wisdom
ultimate end. In saying that eudaimonia is in the choices we make as we share our lives
happiness, we mean happiness more in together and an emotional life that is in
E
the sense in which we wish newlyweds or harmony with wisdom. Aristotle describes
newborns every happiness (Kraut, 1979). a life of such fulfillment as our distinctive
We wish them not a kind of feeling but mode of life or what he calls our function.
a future that can count as a good life. More recently, Martha Nussbaum has argued
Part of that life is being fulfilled as the that our practical rationality interpenetrates
unique individual one is. Happiness can the rest of our nature and makes it distinctively
be thought of as a gift a gift of a good human (Nussbaum, 1990). Likewise, Rosalind
life that one gives oneself, so it should Hursthouse argues that for humans, the
be a life that fits one as an individual and is characteristic way of living is a rational
experienced as rich and meaningful. It is also way, which is not some rigidly specific way
important that that life actually be rich and of life but any way that we can rightly see
meaningful. For instance, a life that one has as good, as something we have reason to do
been brainwashed or manipulated to find ful- (Hursthouse, 1999).
filling would not be a good life. Likewise, 3. Virtue. We might identify certain attributes of
happiness involves emotional fulfillment, but character that are important for happiness and
the fulfillment of a mentally childish adult, for in particular for human fulfillment; doing
instance, or one incapable of love would not so would give us a way to discover what
be the sort of good that human happiness is. attributes each of us has a reason to develop
So a good life involves individual fulfillment, (Anscombe, 1981; Foot, 2001; Hursthouse,
but it must also involve human fulfillment. In 1999). Ancient eudaimonists called these
fact, individual fulfillment is itself a form of attributes aretai, and today we call them
human fulfillment: the kind of individuality excellences or especially virtues. It is
and self-expression that our happiness important to see that eudaimonists do not
requires is in virtue of our humanity. begin with an already fixed idea of
So understood, happiness is an end that we which attributes are virtues and then try to
pursue for its own sake and for the sake of show that these somehow must be important
nothing beyond it. It is also an end for the sake for happiness. Rather, the goal is to discover
of which we can pursue all of our other ends. which attributes are virtues by determining
At the same time, though, happiness is not which ones actually are important for
a separate, further end beyond our other happiness. Which attributes are virtues,
ends. Rather, to pursue happiness is to pursue then, depends crucially on what human
ones other ends in a way that amounts to fulfillment is (see Nussbaum, 1995). For
a good life as a whole, fulfilling for one both instance, Plato thought the virtues were
as a human and as an individual. those mental attributes by possessing
What more precisely that fulfillment entails which one becomes more godlike; Epicurus
will depend on ones view of our shared thought they were those habits of choice that
humanity, and it is here that eudaimonists are instrumental in keeping one free of pain
have differed significantly. For instance, and distress in the long run.
E 1998 Eudaimonia

Most modern eudaimonists share Aristotles need not be self-centered in their content.
view that the virtues are those attributes On the contrary, there is every reason to
by which we lead our daily lives with practical think that living for self-centered ends is a
wisdom and emotional soundness. For instance, non-starter as a way of living a happy life.
since a good human life is social, such a life (a2) Eudaimonism is incompatible with rational
will involve treating others fairly, honestly, and self-sacrifice. If an act is rational in the
generously, as well as traits like civility, eudaimonists sense, then ultimately, it
friendliness, and even wittiness. We also must serve ones happiness, but in that
need to treat ourselves well, which includes case, it is not self-sacrificial (Darwall,
being realistic about our successes and short- 2002). But making rational sacrifices can
comings, and willing to stand by what we have be part of living for the very ends that give
chosen to care about in spite of fear and tempta- ones life meaning; in fact, happiness can
tion to do otherwise. The virtues are those attri- involve adopting ends such as raising chil-
butes by which our lives are fulfilled in all of dren or serving in the military that enrich
these ways. ones life precisely because they give one
There are importantly different ways in which something to lose.
the virtues might be important for happiness. (a3) Eudaimonism can make sense of wanting to
There is disagreement as to whether virtue is act, but not of being obligated to act. Central
only instrumentally valuable for happiness, to our fulfillment as humans, though, is our
as Epicurus thought, or whether acting in fulfillment as social creatures, and a
accordance with the virtues is itself eudaimonist might insist that human
a constituent of happiness. Orthogonal to this happiness requires relating to others in
issue is the question whether virtue is either such a way that there are things we must
necessary or sufficient for happiness (or both) do for their sake (LeBar, 2009).
(Annas, 1993; Russell, 2012). All ancient (a4) Kant argued that there is no moral worth in
eudaimonists agreed that virtue is necessary for acting for the sake of ones happiness. If he
happiness, and most held that it is also sufficient, was right, then no acts can have moral worth
the Stoics being the most notable example (and on the eudaimonist picture. It is important to
Aristotle being the most notable exception). note, however, that eudaimonists do not
By contrast, the great majority of modern mean by happiness what Kant meant and
eudaimonists deny that virtue is sufficient they argue that acting for the sake of
for happiness, and some deny even that it is eudaimonia can have moral worth.
necessary. Even so, they still maintain that the Other objections, however, address eudaimo-
virtues benefit their possessor, much as nism as an account of what happiness is:
a wholesome diet is beneficial even if it is strictly (b1) People are the final authority on whether
neither necessary nor sufficient for long life their lives are happy, but the same cannot be
(Hursthouse, 1999). said of eudaimonia (Sumner, 1996). But
Challenges for Eudaimonism. In general, perhaps this cannot even be said of happi-
resistance to eudaimonism takes two ness: autonomy, for instance, is important
main forms: (a) happiness is not the final end for happiness whether one thinks so or not
for practical reasoning and (b) happiness is not (LeBar, 2004).
eudaimonia. (See Russell, 2012, for discussion.) (b2) Eudaimonia is the sort of good that involves
Objections of the first sort, as well as some pos- being an excellent human specimen, but
sible replies, include the following: happiness is not (Haybron, 2008). However,
(a1) Eudaimonism makes the final end ones own while our humanity is important for under-
good life, so it is a very self-centered standing what can count as real eudaimonia
approach to practical reasoning. However, for us, eudaimonia is no more about being
even ends adopted for the sake of a good life a good specimen than happiness is.
Eudaimonic and Hedonic Happiness 1999 E
(b3) Eudaimonia must be understood in terms McDowell, J. (1995). Eudaimonism and realism in
of human nature, but happiness is best Aristotles ethics. In R. Heinaman (Ed.), Aristotle
and moral realism (pp. 201218). London: University
understood in terms of individual nature College.
alone (Haybron, 2008). Yet even our fulfill- Nussbaum, M. (1990). Aristotelian social democracy. In
ment as unique individuals is important for R. B. Douglass, G. M. Mara, & H. S. Richardson
our happiness precisely because on account (Eds.), Liberalism and the good (pp. 203252).
New York: Routledge Press.
of our being human. That is, because of Nussbaum, M. (1995). Aristotle on human nature and the
our human nature that individuality is foundations of ethics. In J. E. J. Altham & R. Harrison
so important for our happiness in the (Eds.), World, mind, and ethics: Essays on the ethical
first place. philosophy of Bernard Williams (pp. 86131).
New York: Cambridge University Press. E
Russell, D. (2012). Happiness for humans. Oxford Uni-
versity Press.
Cross-References Sumner, L. W. (1996). Welfare, happiness, and ethics.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Aristotle
Epicurus
Ethics
Eudaimonic Well-Being Eudaimonia and Capabilities
Good Life, Theories of
Happiness Capability, Functioning, and Resources
Morality and Well-Being
Plato
Virtue Ethics
Well-Being, Philosophical Theories of Eudaimonia and Personal Growth

Personal Growth
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NJ: Princeton University Press.
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Foot, P. (2001). Natural goodness. New York: Oxford
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Haybron, D. M. (2008). The pursuit of unhappiness. New
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Hursthouse, R. (1999). On virtue ethics. New York:
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Synonyms
Kraut, R. (1979). Two conceptions of happiness.
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LeBar, M. (2004). Good for you. Pacific Philosophical emotions; Psychological well-being; Self-
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Aristotles ethics (pp. 359376). Berkeley, CA: Researchers interested in well-being and hap-
University of California Press. piness face the substantial problem of defining
E 2000 Eudaimonic and Hedonic Happiness

these two terms and their constitutive compo- the greatest number of citizens. Today, the
nents. Definitions can in fact differ according to hedonic approach to happiness is prominently
the disciplinary and theoretical assumptions represented by the work of Haybron (2008) and
adopted by the researchers. Moreover, the con- Sumner (1996) in philosophy. In psychology it is
ceptual broadness of these two terms led scholars centered on the concept of subjective well-being
to distinguish in them a variety of components or that includes positive emotions and satisfaction
dimensions. At the psychological level, Kahne- with life (SWB; Kahneman, Diener, & Schwarz,
man and Riis (2005) proposed to distinguish two 1999).
dimensions of happiness: the experiential one and The eudaimonic view stems from Aristotles
the evaluative one. The former comprises tran- concept of eudaimonia (also spelled
sient states, such as positive emotions; the latter eudaemonia), described in the Nicomachean
comprises global cognitive judgments on ones Ethics as the fulfillment of ones true nature,
own life. Other researchers moved instead from that includes both self-actualization and com-
the assumption that happiness entails a paradox, mitment to socially shared goals. The term is
since it cannot be directly pursued or achieved, composed by eu- (good) and daimon (indwelling
rather representing a by-product of cultivating spirit, genius). According to Aristotles concep-
activities that individuals perceive as important tualization, within a community every person is
and meaningful (Martin, 2008). From this per- called to actively collaborate in the development
spective, happiness is better described as of a shared project (Nussbaum, 1993). Well-
a process of growth and development, connected being derives from the cultivation of personal
with structural psychological dimensions such as resources and strengths through commitment to
personality, general representation of reality, and valuable activities and through the pursuit of
value system. This process is based on meaning- both individual and collective goals. In the twen-
making, actualization of potentials, and engage- tieth century, this approach was prominently
ment and commitment to the pursuit of subjec- endorsed by philosophers such as Norton
tively relevant goals. Ryan and Deci (2001) (1976), Nussbaum (1993), and Kraut (2007).
provided a systematic overview of the current Within the domain of humanistic psychology, it
perspectives in the study of well-being within was developed by scholars such as Maslow
the domain of psychology, distinguishing (1970), who emphasized self-actualization as
between two main frameworks: hedonism and the highest human need, and Rogers (1967),
eudaimonism, both rooted in a historical tradition who described the fully functioning person
stemming from two ancient Greek philosophical referring to qualities such as self-acceptance
systems. and self-awareness, experience of life as
The hedonic view of happiness derives from a process, perception of purpose and meaning,
the conceptualization proposed by Aristippus of authenticity, openness to change, trust in rela-
Cyrene (fourth century B.C.), who equated hap- tionships, and cooperation. According to the
piness with pleasure, stating that only what is most recent interpretations, eudaimonia is nei-
pleasant or has pleasant consequences is intrinsi- ther a subjective feeling nor an objective,
cally good. In the eighteenth century, Hobbes socially valuable activity per se: it rather stems
identified happiness with the successful pursuit from the interaction between the individual and
of human appetites. One century later Bentham, the environment, as the global individual func-
the founder of utilitarianism, maintained that tioning in daily life or the quality of life of
a good society is built on individuals attempts to a person as a whole (Keyes & Annas, 2009). The
maximize pleasure and self-interest. In his Intro- prominent conceptualizations of eudaimonia in
duction to the Principles of Moral and Legisla- psychology presently comprise psychological
tion, he argued that rulers and governments well-being (PWB, Ryff & Singer, 2008),
should pursue the highest level of happiness for social well-being (Keyes, 1998), eudaimonic
Eudaimonic and Hedonic Happiness 2001 E
well-being (EWB, Waterman et al., 2010), self- meaning, self-actualization, and personal growth,
determination in goal pursuit (Ryan, Huta, & at both the individual and social levels. Within
Deci, 2008), meaning-making (Steger, Frazier, this approach, Ryffs model of psychological
Oishi, & Kaler, 2006), and the values in action well-being (Ryff & Singer, 2008) encompasses
(VIA) classification of character strengths the six dimensions of autonomy, personal
(Peterson & Seligman, 2004). growth, environmental mastery, purpose in life,
positive relations, and self-acceptance. Keyes
(1998) integrated this model with five dimensions
Description related to social well-being: social acceptance,
social actualization, social contribution, social
E
The Hedonic Approach coherence, and social integration.
This approach moves from the core assumption Waterman (Waterman et al., 2010) defined
that maximizing subjective well-being is the eudaimonic well-being (EWB) as the feeling
highest human goal (Kahneman et al., 1999). of personal expressiveness, arising when a person
In line with Kahneman and Riis (2005) defini- perceives to use her best potentials in the pursuit
tion of happiness, subjective well-being of goals that are consistent with ones true self
includes an experiential component and an and life purposes. Research on self-
evaluative one. The experiential component determination theory (SDT, Ryan, & Deci,
consists in the presence of positive emotions 2000) showed that individuals preferentially pur-
and in the absence of negative emotions. sue self-determined goals based on the three basic
The cognitive evaluative component is the indi- psychological needs for autonomy, competence,
vidual judgment on the level of satisfaction and relatedness. The fulfillment of these needs
with ones life. Moving from these premises, through the performance of daily activities and
the hedonic conceptualization of happiness through long-term planning strategies fosters
focuses on the study of life satisfaction well-being and individual development, both in
(Diener, 2009, 2000) and positive emotions favorable conditions and under stressful
(Fredrickson, 2001). circumstances.
SWB and its benefits for individual and social The role of meaning in promoting personal
development were extensively studied in rela- growth was first explored by Frankl (1963/
tion to demographic factors, income, genetic and 1985), who conceptualized the search for mean-
cultural factors, personality, coping, and goal ing and purpose in life as a crucial human
pursuit (Kim-Prieto, Diener, Tamir, Scollon, & resource. Antonovsky (1987) included meaning
Diener, 2005; Veenhoven, 2009). As for positive in his conceptualization of salutogenesis.
emotions, Fredrickson (2001) developed the More recent approaches have addressed the
broaden-and-build theory, on the basis of labo- issue within the domain of positive psychol-
ratory experiments and self-report assessments. ogy and well-being studies (Schnell, 2009;
Her findings highlighted the pivotal role of pos- Steger et al., 2006; Wong, 2010). Overall, find-
itive emotions in mobilizing personal resources ings suggest the importance of searching and
and in pursuing goals, through the broadening of finding meaning for well-being promotion, in
the cognitive repertoire and the subsequent relation to other eudaimonic and hedonic dimen-
building of a stable set of resources and sions, as well as to individual and collective
competences. values (Delle Fave, Brdar, Freire, Vella-
Brodrick, & Wissing, 2011; Linley, Maltby,
The Eudaimonic Approach Wood, Osborne, & Hurling, 2009; Steger,
Consistently with the definition of happiness as Oishi, & Kesebir, 2011).
a process, this perspective identifies well-being Peterson and Seligman (2004) focused on
with engagement and commitment, goal pursuit, values and virtues, defining the good life
E 2002 Eudaimonic and Hedonic Happiness

as comprising six core virtues: wisdom, cour- a fourth orientation, namely, balance. Their anal-
age, humanity, justice, temperance, and tran- ysis specifically focuses on the contribution of
scendence. Based on these virtues, they balance to life satisfaction, but its influence on
developed the values in action (VIA) classifica- other aspects of well-being can be easily
tion of character strengths. Character hypothesized.
strengths are 24 personality traits (four strengths Keyes (2007) defined complete mental health
were identified in relation to each virtue) as flourishing, a syndrome including hedonic
representing individual psychological processes and eudaimonic well-being dimensions such as
or mechanisms that define the virtues and allow positive emotions, satisfaction with life, psycho-
for their manifestation through attitudes and logical well-being, and social well-being. He
behaviors. identified a continuum from flourishing to
languishing, defined as absence of mental
Towards an Integrated Perspective health. Within this model, research on individ-
A lively debate recently arose around the distinc- uals who reported moderate mental health (dif-
tion between hedonic and eudaimonic ferent combinations of well-being levels, such as
approaches to the study of well-being. Kashdan, high hedonia but low eudaimonia or low hedonia
Biswas-Diener and King (2008) complained and high eudaimonia) highlighted that the
about the costs deriving from this distinction, in two constructs are not redundant and have dif-
terms of theoretical confusion and plethoric con- ferential psychosocial consequences (Keyes &
structs, proposing to incorporate eudaimonic Annas, 2009).
research into the hedonic view and to consider The complex multiple nature of happiness also
happiness as synonymous with subjective well- emerged in the analysis of peoples lay concep-
being. Several scholars expressed their disagree- tions. The investigation of the content and con-
ment, claiming for the necessity to gain deeper texts of happiness through quantitative and
insight into such a complex issue rather than to qualitative techniques (Delle Fave et al., 2011)
adopt a simplified perspective. Subsequent highlighted that individuals prominently define
empirical studies highlighted that eudaimonic happiness in eudaimonic terms, as psychological
happiness and hedonic happiness are two corre- balance and harmony. Moreover, findings
lated but separate constructs (Delle Fave et al., showed that perceiving meaning and experienc-
2011; Gallagher, Lopez, & Preacher, 2009; Huta ing positive emotions do not refer to the same life
& Ryan, 2010; Linley et al., 2009). domains. Exemplary is the case of work, quoted
In fact, several researchers had previously pro- as predominantly meaningful but rarely
posed to combine the hedonic and eudaimonic considered as a source of positive emotions.
views into broader integrated theories of happi-
ness. For example, Seligman (2002) developed Future Directions
the orientations to happiness model, identifying There is widespread evidence of cultural differ-
three different pathways to happiness: pleasure, ences in the definition and evaluation of well-
engagement, and meaning. Empirical evidence being (Diener, 2009; Kitayama & Cohen, 2007).
suggested that the full life (being high in both This is not surprising, since cultures shape indi-
eudaimonia and hedonia) leads to greater life viduals behavior and the conception of good
satisfaction than pursuit of eudaimonia or life, providing individuals with specific value
hedonia alone or than the empty life (being low systems and opportunities for personal growth
in both eudaimonia and hedonia). Findings fur- and self-expression. Until now, however, well-
ther showed that engagement and meaning are being research has been prominently grounded in
the most significant contributors to happiness the Western individualistic tradition. The terms
relative to pleasure (Peterson, Park, & Seligman, hedonia and eudaimonia themselves stem from
2005). More recently, Sirgy and Wu (2009) have ancient Greek philosophies (Delle Fave &
proposed to expand this model, by adding to it Bassi, 2009). Nevertheless, conceptualizations
Eudaimonic and Hedonic Happiness 2003 E
of well-being, as well as social interventions to Kahneman, D., & e Riis, J. (2005). Living, and thinking
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N. Baylis, & B. Keverne (Eds.), The science of well-
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bound interpretation frame could promote Kashdan, T. B., Biswas-Diener, R., & King, L. A. (2008).
a better understanding of the cross-cultural Reconsidering happiness: The costs of distinguishing
variations in definition, operationalization, and between hedonics and eudaimonia. The Journal of
Positive Psychology, 3, 219233.
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number of people around the world. health as flourishing: A complementary strategy for
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Schnell, T. (2009). The sources of meaning and meaning
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graphics and well-being. The Journal of Positive Psy- personal expressiveness, and vitality.
chology, 4(6), 483499.
Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Authentic happiness. New
York: Free Press.
Sirgy, M. J., & Wu, J. (2009). The pleasant life, the Description
engaged life, and the meaningful life: What about the
balanced life? Journal of Happiness Studies, 10, Well-being is a complex, multifaceted con-
183196. struct that can be defined as optimal human expe-
Steger, M. F., Frazier, P., Oishi, S., & Kaler, M. (2006).
The meaning of life questionnaire: Assessing the pres- rience and psychological functioning (cf. Ryan &
ence of and search for meaning in life. Journal of Deci, 2001) and involves subjective experiences
Counseling Psychology, 53, 8093. and objective conditions indicative of physical,
Steger, M. F., Oishi, S., & Kesebir, S. (2011). Is a life psychological, and social wellness. From the
without meaning satisfying? The moderating role of
the search for meaning in satisfaction with life judg- dawn of intellectual history, philosophers have
ments. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 6(3), debated what constitutes the good life and
173180. how such a life may be achieved, and this debate
Sumner, L. (1996). Welfare, happiness and ethics. has recently permeated psychological theory and
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Veenhoven, R. (2009). Trend average happiness in nations research (Kashdan, Biswas-Diener, & King,
19462008: How much people like the life they live. 2008; Ryan & Huta, 2009; Ryff & Singer, 2008;
World Data Base of Happiness. Trend Report 20091. Waterman, 2008).
http://www.worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl/hap_nat/ One philosophical approach to the good life
findingreports/list_of_reports.htm.
Waterman, A. S., Schwartz, S. J., Zamboanga, B. L., is eudaimonism. Often placed in juxtaposition to
Ravert, R. D., Williams, M. K., Bede Agocha, V., hedonism, the eudaimonic approach to living
et al. (2010). The questionnaire for eudaimonic well- well is rooted in Aristotles Nicomachean Ethics
being: Psychometric properties, demographic compar- (fourth century BCE/2002) and underscores the
isons, and evidence of validity. The Journal of Positive
Psychology, 5, 4161. importance of living a life of contemplation and
Wong, P. T. P. (2010). Meaning therapy: An integrative virtue in pursuit of human excellence and actual-
and positive existential psychotherapy. Journal of ization of potentials. As an ethical philosophy,
Contemporary Psychotherapy, 40, 8593. eudaimonism stresses the importance of mean-
ing in life, self-realization, and personal growth.
Indeed, in emphasizing the importance of excel-
lence and virtue, the eudaimonic perspective posits
Eudaimonic Well-Being that not all actions will confer well-being
benefits even when successfully accomplished but
Christopher P. Niemiec rather that true happiness is derived from living in
Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in accord with ones daimon (or true self) and in
Psychology, University of Rochester, Rochester, doing what is inherently worthwhile.
NY, USA Eudaimonic well-being refers to the subjec-
tive experiences associated with eudaimonia
(Waterman, 2008), in which actions are fully
Synonyms engaged, reflectively endorsed, and aligned with
deeply held values and beliefs. Such an approach
Eudaimonia; Full functioning to living may be described as fully functioning,
Eudaimonic Well-Being 2005 E
in that the person is non-defensive, lives each Motivation
moment fully, and experiences a sense of choice Personal Growth
(Rogers, 1961). Psychologists use a broad range of Self-Actualization
constructs to assess eudaimonic well-being (cf. Self-Determination Theory
Kashdan et al., 2008), including self-actualiza- Virtues
tion (Maslow, 1968), personal expressiveness Well-Being, Philosophical Theories of
(Waterman, 1993), vitality (Ryan & Frederick, Wellness
1997), psychological well-being (Ryff & Keyes,
1995), and others. It is interesting to note that
References
because wellness is defined as full functioning,
E
both emotional awareness (versus compartmental- Aristotle. (2002). Nicomachean ethics. (S. Broadie &
ization) and healthy emotion regulation (versus C. Rowe, Trans.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University
suppression and dysregulation) are more indica- Press. (Original work published 4th Century BCE).
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The what and why
tive of eudaimonic well-being than is emotional
of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-
positivity per se, the latter being part of the defini- determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11,
tion of hedonic well-being. 227268.
Self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Kashdan, T. B., Biswas-Diener, R., & King, L. A. (2008).
Reconsidering happiness: The costs of distinguishing
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eudaimonic well-being in the conceptualization Maslow, A. H. (1968). Toward a psychology of being.
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Rogers, C. R. (1961). On becoming a person. New York:
are conducive to its experience (Ryan, Huta, &
Houghton Mifflin.
Deci, 2008). SDT posits that only those actions Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2001). On happiness and
that facilitate satisfaction of the basic psycholog- human potentials: A review of research on hedonic
ical needs for autonomy, competence, and and eudaimonic well-being. In S. T. Fiske,
D. L. Schacter, & C. Zahn-Waxler (Eds.), Annual
relatedness will contribute to full functioning.
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that is regulated with an experience of volition, ality, and health: Subjective vitality as a dynamic
reflection of well-being. Journal of Personality, 65,
including intrinsic motivation and well-
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Mindfulness Psychology, 3, 234252.
E 2006 Eurobarometer

complemented by the Central and Eastern


Eurobarometer Eurobarometer (19901997) and the Candi-
date Countries Eurobarometer (20002004).
Meinhard Moschner The ad hoc Flash Eurobarometer was
Data Archive for the Social Sciences (DAS), established to deal with hot topics or to focus
GESIS Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, on special target groups. A Eurobarometer
Cologne, Germany qualitative study series was started in 2001,
with recent research reports on well-being.
Starting with 2004, the standard survey program
Synonyms intermittently also includes the current accession
and candidate countries. EFTA countries are
Applicant countries eurobarometer; Candidate surveyed occasionally if thematically required.
countries eurobarometer (CCEB); Central
and eastern eurobarometer (CEEB);
Eurobarometer, special; European communities Description
study; Flash eurobarometer; Standard
eurobarometer Historical and Institutional Background
The Eurobarometer was launched and initially
managed by Jacques-Rene Rabier, head of the
Definition European Commissions Press and Information
Directorate and afterwards special advisor to the
The Eurobarometer is a cross-temporal and Commission of the European Communities.
cross-national comparative program of regularly Rabier could count on political support from the
repeated cross-sectional (i.e., non-panel) surveys. European Parliament which had claimed the need
They are conducted on behalf of the European for an information policy capable to promote
Commission in all European Union (formerly public acceptance of European integration
European Communities) member countries. (Schuijt, 1972). Today the surveys are conducted
Since the early 1970s, the surveys are monitoring on behalf of the European Commission under
the evolution of public opinion on European the responsibility of the Directorate General
unification, its institutions, and its policies, Communication and on occasion requested by
plus Europeans general sociocultural and socio- another Directorate General or by the European
political orientations. Quality of life (QOL) is Parliament.
addressed in the Eurobarometer in two ways: The scientific approached of the EB was sub-
(1) as time series indicators regarding the stantiated by Rabiers close cooperation with the
general judgment of living conditions and political scientist Ronald Inglehart (1977) whose
(2), intermittently, the Eurobarometer includes materialist/post-materialist item battery for mea-
special topical modules on QOL, particular life suring value change in modern societies became
domains, and related policies. an integral part of the Standard Eurobarometer
The biannual Standard Eurobarometer started questionnaire. The EB data were soon intensely
in spring 1974, subsequent to the European used by a number of scholars, thus contributing
Communities Studies (1970, 1971, 1973), to a growing knowledge in cross-national com-
and with an early forerunner in 1962, the five- parative research (Brechon & Cautres, 1998;
countries survey Attitudes towards Europe. Reif & Inglehart, 1991), particularly in political
In the 1990s, the program expanded considerably science (Niedermayer & Sinnott, 1995; Scheuer,
in terms of topics and geographical coverage. 2005) but also from a methodological perspective
The large-scale Standard and Special (Saris & Kaase, 1997). The Eurobarometer
Eurobarometer, now with additional special inspired other, purely academic cross-national
topic surveys in each main wave, were survey projects, in particular the European
Eurobarometer 2007 E
Values Study (EVS) and the European The following Eurobarometer can be consid-
Social Survey (ESS) (GESIS, 2011). These ered as particularly rich data sources on quality of
survey programs complement each other in pro- life and the social situation in general: EB 50.1,
viding comparative data on a wide range of 52.1, and 56.1; CCEB 2002.1; and EB 62.2
topics, including how people experience their (social capital) and 66.3, with emphasis on
quality of life in the enlarging European Union poverty and social exclusion the surveys 67.1,
(Alber, Fahey, & Saraceno, 2008). 72.1, and 74.1. The impact of the financial and
economic crisis on the perception of living
Trends and Special Topics Related to QOL conditions is monitored in detail from 2009
The Standard Eurobarometer is unique in onwards in EB 71.2, 73.4, 73.5, 75.4 and 77.4.
E
the number of measurement points for many While the variety of special topics in the
social indicators, including general indicators Eurobarometer is remarkably broad, concepts
for subjective well-being and QOL, such as gen- and indicators are largely defined against the
eral life satisfaction; some 80 regular measures background of the political objectives pursued
since 1973 are available. Some Eurobarometer by the respective EC Directorate General.
surveys include more detailed items on satisfac- This political steering often conflicts with
tion and expectations regarding specific life the methodological goal of having clear-cut and
domains such as employment, natural environ- theoretically guided operationalizations which
ment, social welfare, or health. Other regular are comparable across EB waves. For example,
trend indicators are concerned with the perfor- the social indicators research community has
mance of political institutions as perceived by EU criticized the EB for its lack of a consistent foun-
citizens, such as satisfaction with democracy and dation in well-established QOL theory (Hagerty
trust in political and societal institutions. Further et al., 2001). Often, the appropriateness of indi-
measures of social capital range from political cators has to be verified ex post in secondary
participation to knowledge of foreign languages. research. The Eurobarometer gained additional
The appreciation of living conditions is measured comparative analysis power as a complement to
in terms of the respondents evaluation of his the European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS).
personal financial situation and his countrys eco- Selected Eurobarometer results are also used in
nomic performance. The European dimension is the European System of Social Indicators
substantiated in regularly repeated measures of (EUSI) and in the World Database of
regional, national, and European identity. Happiness.
Intermittently, a number of issues related to
quality of life are investigated in more depth by Survey Methodology
the help of special modules. Issues covered The Standard and Special Eurobarometer are
include working conditions, consumer satisfac- designed to be representative for the population
tion, family planning, public health, or access to aged 15 and over, being either citizens of the
the information society. Further, awareness respective country or (since 1994) with
of and attitudes towards poverty and social a citizenship of any EU member country.
exclusion as important dimensions of social The sampling is based on a multistage random
cohesion is dealt with in the Standard approach, with the primary sampling units (PSU)
Eurobarometer since 1976. The concept of systematically drawn from all administrative
sustainability in the sense of preserving quality regional units, with a probability proportional to
of life for future generations is addressed population size and density. Within the PSU,
as natural capital, the quality of the natural envi- addresses are selected randomly by standard
ronment, climate change, and the use of energy random route procedures. Within each house-
resources. In 2003, Eurobarometer investigated hold, a respondent is selected by a random
time use across EU member and candidate coun- procedure, such as the next birthday method.
tries (EB 60.3, CCEB 2003.5). Until Eurobarometer 31 (1989), sampling
E 2008 Eurobarometer

methods varied between countries (e.g., some Cross-References


countries used quota sampling until 1989). The
interviews are administered face to face in Active Citizenship
respondents homes and in the adequate national Beliefs about Poverty
language. Back translation procedures are used Cigarette smoking and Drinking
starting from a bilingual (English/French) master Civic Engagement
questionnaire. Flash Eurobarometer is predomi- Confidence in Institutions
nantly conducted as telephone interviews (CATI) Cross-National Comparison(s)
and with reduced sample sizes. Customer Satisfaction
The Standard Eurobarometer sample size Democracy, Satisfaction with
is about 1,000 respondents and 500 respondents Domain Satisfaction
for small countries (Luxembourg, Malta, Cyprus). European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS)
Separate samples are drawn for East Germany European Social Survey and Marriage
after German reunification (West Germany 1,000 European System of Social Indicators
respondents, East Germany 500 / initially 1000) Family Planning
and for Northern Ireland (300). Given these sam- Food Security
ple sizes, the Eurobarometer mainly reflects the Gender Equality
opinion of larger social groups and does not allow Happiness
for detailed analysis of subgroups such as immi- Health Care
grants or unemployed. The relatively small cell Lifelong Learning
size also limits the potential for regional break- Measuring National Identity
downs, e.g., by EUROSTAT NUTS 2 regions. Political Efficacy
For descriptive analysis, weighting factors are Political Participation
provided for post-stratification adjustment of the Political Trust
samples to universe characteristics regarding sex, Post-Materialism
age, region, and size of locality. In addition, Public Opinion
population size weighting factors allow for Public Understanding of Science
descriptive analysis of groups of samples, such Quality of Life (QOL)
as the European Union in its different historic Sample Size
compositions. Sample Survey
Satisfaction with Life as a Whole
Access to Data and Documentation Social Cohesion
Long-term availability of Eurobarometer primary Social Exclusion
data and related documentation for research and Voting Behavior
training is provided by the social science data Well-Being of Nations
archives, in particular the Inter-university
Consortium for Political and Social Research
(www.icpsr.umich.edu/) and the data archive
department of GESIS Leibniz Institute for the References
Social Sciences (www.gesis.org/eurobarometer,
http://zacat.gesis.org). In addition local support Alber, J., Fahey, T., & Saraceno, C. (Eds.). (2008). Hand-
book of quality of life in the enlarged European Union.
is offered by most member archives of the Coun-
London: Routledge.
cil of European Social Science Data Archives Brechon, P., & Cautres, B. (Eds.), (1998). Les enquetes
(www.cessda.org/). Key results from the Eurobarometres. Analyse comparee des donnees
Eurobarometer are published in official report socio-politiques. Paris. (congress papers).
GESIS Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences. (2011).
series, available on the European Commissions
Cross-national survey programmes based on popula-
public opinion website (ec.europa.eu/ tion samples. Retrieved from http://www.gesis.org/
public_opinion/). ComparativeSurveyOverview.
Europe, Quality of Life 2009 E
Hagerty, M. R., Cummins, R. A., Ferriss, A. L., Land, K., eastern bloc dissolved and most states of the
Michalos, A. C., Peterson, M., et al. (2001). Quality of former Warsaw Pact oriented towards Western
life indexes for national policy: Review and agenda for
research. Social Indicators Research, 55, 196. Europe and the European Union. In 2004 and
doi:10.1023/A:1010811312332. 2007, many Eastern European countries joined
Inglehart, R. (1977). The silent revolution. Changing the European Union, which grew to now 27
values and political styles among western publics. states. This was an important step in European
Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Niedermayer, O., & Sinnott, R. (Eds.). (1995). Beliefs integration, a process which had begun in 1957
in government volume two: Public opinion and with the founding of the European Economic
internationalized governance. Oxford: Oxford Community. The most populous country in the
University Press (multinational research project). European Union is Germany with a resident
Reif, K., & Inglehart, R. (Eds.). (1991). Eurobarometer: E
The dynamics of European public opinion. Essays in population of more than 82 million. The
honour of Jacques-Rene rabier. London: Macmillan. European Union has set objectives on employ-
Saris, W. E., & Kaase, M. (Eds.). (1997): Eurobarometer ment, innovation, education, social inclusion, and
measurement instruments for opinions in Europe. climate/energy which its member states are
ZUMA Nachrichten Spezial. Band 2. Mannheim.
Retrieved from http://www.gesis.org/publikationen/ to reach by 2020. The achievement of these
archiv/zuma-und-za-publikationen/zuma-nachrichten- objectives can be observed by social indicators
spezial/#c3807 provided by the statistical office (Savova, 2012).
Scheuer, A. (2005). How europeans see Europe. Structure
and dynamics of European legitimacy beliefs.
Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. Ph.D.
thesis. Description
Schuijt, W. (1972). Rapport fait au nom de la commission
politique sur la politique dinformation des Although as an industrially developed region
Communautes Europeennes. Parlament Europeen.
Documents de seance 19711972. Document 246/71. Europe can be regarded as relatively prosperous,
Luxembourg. living conditions in Europe and even within the
European Union differ due to remarkable differ-
ences in economic wealth. Luxembourg, one of
the smallest countries of the EU with only
Eurobarometer, Special 480,000 inhabitants, had the highest GDP per
capita in Europe in 2010 (79,500), followed by
Eurobarometer the two non-EU countries Norway (64,500) and
Switzerland (51,200). The lowest values in 2010
were found in Bulgaria (4,800) and Romania
(5,800), which had joined the EU in 2007, and
Europe, Quality of Life in Macedonia (3,300) in 2009, which is currently
an accession country of the EU (Savova, 2012).
Stefan Weick With the latest enlargement of the European
Gesis - Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, Union, the average GDP per capita has declined.
Mannheim, Germany In addition, the deep economic recession at the
end of the first decade of the new millennium not
only resulted in a decrease of the GDP but had
Definition consequences for the labor market. The season-
ally adjusted unemployment rate of the EU rose
Europe is by convention regarded as a continent, from 7.1 in 2008 to 9.7 in 2010 (Savova, 2012).
occupying the western fifth of Eurasia. It The rate of gainfully employed persons proved to
accounts for about 11 % of the world population be more stable at 64.1 % in the EU-27 countries
in approximately 50 states. After World War II, in 2010. On top are the non-EU countries
Europe was divided into a western and an eastern Switzerland (78.6), Iceland (78.2), and Norway
bloc. With the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, the (75.3), and at the bottom are the EU candidate
E 2010 Europe, Quality of Life

30

20
%

10

0
LV
RO
BG

LT
EE

R
ES

IT
PT

K
PL

EU 2
7
Y
5
E
T
IE
LU
BE

FI
SE

K
FR

U
AT

O
SI

L
SK

Z
-1
-2

-1

N
M

C
U

D
G

N
EU

EU

Europe, Quality of Life, Fig. 1 Relative Poverty Rate II 2009 (Source: European System of Social Indicators)

states Macedonia (43.5), Turkey (46.3), and the Czech Republic (8.6 %), Slovakia (11 %), and
Croatia (54.0) (Savova, 2012). The younger the Netherlands (11.1 %). A decline can be
population under 25 years is particularly affected observed over the last years, particularly in
by unemployment in some EU countries with those countries with very high levels of poverty.
the highest rate in Spain in 2010 (41.6) (Savova, A decline in fertility is an ongoing process
2012). resulting in an aging population in most European
Considerable differences in the peculiarities countries. The proportion of the population aged
of the welfare state within the European 6579 does not match the high level in Japan
countries likewise influence the distribution of (16.5 %), but for the 27 European Union states
income and wealth of the different countries. it was substantially higher (12.7 %) in 2010 than
The Gini index of disposable household income in the United States (9.3 %). Especially in
in the EU-27 countries is .30 (2010). The highest Germany, the respective percentage (15.6) came
country-specific inequality can be found in the quite close to the Japanese value (Fig. 2).
postcommunist countries Latvia (.36) and Lithu- Composite indices indicate good or even very
ania (.37) as well as in southern European Portu- good living conditions in Europe. In the ranking
gal and Spain (.34). On the other hand, the lowest of the current human development index
Gini index (.24) can be found in Hungary and (2011), the European countries are classed among
Slovenia of the former Eastern bloc and in the the country group with very high human develop-
Scandinavian countries Norway and Sweden ment. Even Bulgaria and Romania, with the lowest
( European System of Social Indicators). GDPs in the European Union, are in the country
A central aim of the Europe 2020 strategy group of high human development (United
is the reduction of poverty. To monitor this devel- Nations Development Programme, 2012).
opment, the at-risk-of-poverty rate is observed on Six European countries are to be found among
the basis of national poverty thresholds (less than the top ten of the worldwide HDI ranking, with
60 % of the median disposable household Norway on top. A more comprehensive view,
income), Fig. 1. According to this specification, based on the composite index of social progress
16.3 % of the population in the 27 European (WISP), an aggregation of 41 indicators of social
Union countries fell below the poverty line in development, reveals that the whole of Europe
2009. The highest percentages were in Latvia actually ranks just behind Australia/New Zealand
(25.7 %) and Romania (22.4 %), the lowest in and as distinctly different to North America.
Europe, Quality of Life 2011 E
DK
CH
FI
NO
SE
NL
BE
IRL
DE-WE ST
ES
DE
GB E
PL
SI
DE-EA ST
EE
CZ
FR
PT
HU
RU
BG
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Europe, Quality of Life, Fig. 2 General Life Satisfaction European countries 2010 (Source: European Social
Survey, 2010, own calculations)

In particular the regional disaggregation of the According to their GDP, these countries could
continents shows that Western and Northern be expected to have an even higher level of
Europe have the highest scores in the worldwide life satisfaction (Deaton, 2008). After
comparison, and even the poorer regions of Eastern the enlargement of the EU by the new Eastern
and Southern Europe are on the fourth and fifth European members, the former northsouth
rank below Australia/New Zealand and above divide in subjective well-being was eclipsed
North America. by a west-east split (Noll & Weick, 2010;
Although most measures indicate good Weick, 2012).
objective living conditions from a worldwide The high level of satisfaction in the Scandina-
perspective, subjective well-being in Europe vian countries can be at least partly explained
is characterized by considerable inequality by the relatively low satisfaction gap of the
between countries (Fig. 3). On one hand, there economically poorer parts of the population
are the well-off Scandinavian countries with an (Biswas-Diener et al., 2008). As a result of
elaborate welfare state, low-income inequality, the safeguarding of their welfare programs,
and very high subjective well-being. In particular adverse living conditions have no far-reaching
the Danish people express a very high level of life repercussions in the Scandinavian welfare states
satisfaction, and the country consistently ranks (Watson, Pichler, & Wallace, 2010). On the other
among the three happiest nations in worldwide hand, the low subjective well-being in many
international comparisons (Biswas-Diener, Eastern European countries is exacerbated
Vitterso, & Diener, 2008; Veenhoven, 2012). by the extremely low life-satisfaction scores of
On the other hand, people in many post-socialist economically deprived persons. As a result and in
Eastern European countries show extremely low contrast to the Scandinavian countries, a high
satisfaction levels, although they are not catego- degree of heterogeneity of the satisfaction evalu-
rized among the poorest countries globally. ations can be observed in the Eastern European
E 2012 Europe, Quality of Life

25

20

15
%

10

0
JP

E
IT
R
BG
LV
PT
EE
AT
SE

EU 25
7
U
SI
FI
LT
BE

K
H
ES
RO

K
Z
T
FR

L
LU
O
PL

Y
SK

S
IE
-2

N
C
M
D

U
G

N
-
EU

Europe, Quality of Life, Fig. 3 Population Aged 6579 Years 2010 (Source: European System of Social Indicators)

countries (Clark, Etile, Postel-Vinay, Senik, & of institutions contribute to the trust and
Van-Der-Straeten, 2004; Delhey, 2004). In well-being of the population (Watson et al.,
particular economically deprived persons in 2010). Trust in the welfare state and its demo-
these poorer regions have aspirations that are cratic institutions is an especially relevant
oriented towards the economically rich countries, requirement for a significant improvement
which are to some degree a worldwide phenom- of subjective well-being of a population, particu-
enon (Diener, 2000). As a result, there seems to larly the high subjective well-being in Denmark
be a wide gap between aspirations and reality that (Biswas-Diener et al., 2008; Helliwell, 2002).
impacts deficits in life satisfaction. On the basis The opposite can be found in the Eastern
of other subjective well-being measures that European countries with low trust and low life
enhance the affective component of subjective satisfaction. Among the post socialist states, the
well-being such as happiness or emotional former German Democratic Republic is a special
well-being, the differences between countries case of political and social transformation after
appear to be smaller, and the order of ranking the dissolution of the Eastern European
might shift (Watson et al., 2010). The latter bloc. Despite obvious improvements in living
measures react more sensitively to personal conditions in East Germany that have accompa-
things such as health or family and less so to nied huge economic transfers from West to East
differences in the social position of the since the German reunification, there is still
individual. a satisfaction gap compared to the western part
Another aspect that tallies with country differ- of the country. That is not only due to high mate-
ences in the subjective well-being of Europeans is rial aspirations aligned to the richer old federal
the role of social capital. A shift of priorities states. The satisfaction gap of East Germans can
towards an increasing importance of social be partly explained by low levels of trust in
contacts as a source of subjective well-being democratic institutions (Delhey & Bohnke,
seems apparent, particularly among the affluent 1999; Noll & Weick, 2010; Weick, 2012).
societies in Europe (Watson et al., 2010; Weick, In many post socialist European countries,
2012). Institutional and political contexts have very low trust in the democratic state and its
a significant impact on subjective well-being, institutions is a characteristic that distinctly
too. Openness, transparency, and predictability reduces subjective well-being.
European Communities Study 2013 E
Conclusions Deaton, A. (2008). Income, health, and well-being
Europe is a territory with about 50 states around the world: Evidence from the Gallup World
Poll. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 22(2), 5372.
with remarkable differences in objective living doi:10.1257/jep. 22.2.53.
conditions and considerable dispersion in subjec- Delhey, J. (2004). Life satisfaction in an enlarged Europe.
tive well-being at the country level, even European foundation for the improvement of living
more than might be expected with regard to the and working conditions. Luxembourg: Office for
Official Publications of the European Communities.
economic differences. The enlargement of
Delhey, J., & Bohnke, D. (1999). Uber die materielle zur
the European Union in the last decade has inneren Einheit? Wohlstandslagen und subjektives
changed its regional characteristics: the former Wohlbefinden in Ost- und Westdeutschland, WZB,
northsouth decline in wealth and subjective Abteilung Sozialstruktur und Sozialberichterstattung
im Forschungsschwerpunkt III, FS III 99-412, Berlin. E
well-being has been replaced by a west-east Diener, E. (2000). Subjective well-being: The science of
decline. From a worldwide perspective, Europe happiness and a proposal for a national index.
can nevertheless be regarded as a region with American Psychologist, 55(1), 3443.
a high quality of life. European Social Survey. (2010). ESS Round 5. Retrieved
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round5/
European System of Social Indicators/SIMon (Social Indi-
Cross-References cators Monitor). Retrieved 18 December, 2012, from
http://gesis-simon.de
Helliwell, J. F. (2002). Hows life? Combining individual
Annual Reports of European Industrial and national variables to explain subjective well-
Relations Observatory (EIRO) being. NBER Working Paper No. 9065.
Annual Reports of European Working Noll, H.-H., & Weick, S. (2010). Subjective well-being in
Conditions Observatory (EWCO) Germany: Evolutions, determinants and policy impli-
cations. In B. Greve (Ed.), Happiness and social policy
European System of Social Indicators in Europe (pp. 7088). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Eurostat Database: New Cronos Savova, I. (2012). Europe 2020 Strategy towards a
Eurostat Social Indicators for the European smarter, greener and more inclusive EU economy?.
Community Eurostat, Statistics in Focus 39/2012. Retrieved
17 December, 2012, from http://epp.eurostat.ec.
Human Development Index europa.ec/statistics_explained/index.php/Europe_2020_
Index of Social Progress (ISP) headline_indicators
Life Satisfaction United Nations Development Programme. (2012).
Living Conditions, EU-SILC Community Retrieved April 17, 2012, from http://hdr.undp.org/
en/statistics/
Statistics on Income and Living Conditions Veenhoven, R. (2012). Average happiness in 149 nations
Living Conditions: European Foundation for 20002009. World database of happiness. Rank
the Improvement of Living and Working report average happiness. Retrieved April 17, 2012,
Conditions from worlddatabaseofhappiness.eur.nl/hap_nat/
findingreports/RankReport_AverageHappiness.php
Subjective Well-Being Watson, D., Pichler, F., & Wallace, C. (2010). Second
Welfare State(s) European quality of life survey. Subjective well-being
in Europe. Dublin: European Foundation for the
Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.
Weick, S. (2012). Personliches und soziales
Wohlbefinden. In Silke I. Keil und Jan W. van Deth
References (Hrsg.), Deutschlands Metamorphosen: Ein zweiter
Blick auf Deutschland in Europa (pp. 391425).
Biswas-Diener, R., Vitterso, J., & Diener, E. (2008). The Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlag.
Danish effect: Beginning to explain the high happiness
of Denmark. Published version, Social Indicators
Research (Springer). Retrieved April 17, 2012, from
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11205-009-9499-5
Clark, A., Etile, F., Postel-Vinay, F., Senik, C., &
Van-Der-Straeten, K. (2004). Heterogeneity in
European Communities Study
reported well-being: Evidence from twelve European
countries. Working Papers HAL-00242916. Eurobarometer
E 2014 European Opinion on Services of General Interest

countries of residence. The survey uses objec-


European Opinion on Services of tive and subjective indicators.
General Interest

Europeans Opinions on Services Description

The description is presented under the headings:


Theoretical background
European Organisation for Research Questionnaire contents
and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Methodology
Modules Survey results
Data accessibility
EORTC QLQ-30 Modules
Theoretical Background
The EQLS has been developed by Eurofound
to provide policy-makers with timely and
relevant information about the quality of life in
European Organization for Research the countries of the European Union. Departing
and Treatment of Cancer Core from Swedish (Erikson, 1993), German (Glatzer
Quality of Life Questionnaire & Zapf, 1984), New Zealand (Ministry of
Social Development, 2010), and other European
EORTC QLQ-C30 (Noll, 2002) approaches to social reporting, Tony
Fahey, Brian Nolan, and Christopher T. Whelan
have developed the conceptual background of the
EQLS. As defined in their report Monitoring
European Quality of Life quality of life in Europe (Fahey, Nolan, &
Survey (EQLS) Whelan, 2003), quality of life refers to the oppor-
tunities people have to achieve their own per-
Ulrich Kohler sonal goals. More specifically, the concept of
Department of Economic and Social Sciences, quality of life as used by the EQLS is associated
University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany with the following major characteristics (Alber
et al., 2004, pp. 1):
1. Quality of life refers to individuals life
Definition situations rather than economic and social
situations of societies.
The European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) is 2. Quality of life is a multidimensional concept.
an ongoing survey project on quality of life in It encompasses both peoples own resources
the European Union launched by the Euro- and the broader circumstances of peoples
pean Foundation for the Improvement of Living everyday lives.
and Working Conditions (Eurofound). The sur- 3. Quality of life is measured by objective as well
vey project started in 2003, and fieldwork is as subjective indicators.
taking place every 4 years. The target population These prepositions have been further worked
of the sample is the resident population age 18 or out to a set of core domains for the measurement
above in the European Union member countries of quality of life, namely:
and the candidate countries. The core part of the Work-life balance
questionnaire asks the selected respondents Economic resources and living standard
about various domains of quality of life in their Family life
European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) 2015 E
Health and health care Housing and local environment: Home
Quality of society ownership, living space, housing conditions,
Housing and local environment and satisfaction with accommodation
Subjective well-being Subjective well-being: General life
These core domains form the backbone of the satisfaction, happiness, sense of fulfillment
EQLS questionnaire. in life, and optimism
Moreover, the survey contains demographic
Questionnaire Contents and socio-structural variables such as gender,
The questionnaire of the EQLS has age, occupation, education, and income. The
been developed by Eurofound in close collabora- indicators for these variables largely follow the
E
tion with a consortium of experts led tradition of the Eurobarometer surveys.
by the Social Science Research Center in Overall, the questionnaires of the first
Berlin (Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin fur two rounds of the EQLS contained 65 and 71
Sozialforschung; www.wzb.eu). The question- questions, respectively. The questionnaires are
naire development team selected key indicators online available on the web site of the Economic
for each of the eight life domains, using both and Social Data Service; see http://www.esds.ac.
objective indicators and indicators of subjective uk/findingData/eqlsTitles.asp.
satisfaction with life circumstances (including
satisfaction with life as a whole). The large Methodology
majority of items have been previously used The target population of the EQLS is all persons
in other international comparative surveys. of age 18 and above, who live in a private house-
The following list provides a short overview of hold in a member country or candidate country of
the indicators used for measuring the various life the European Union and who are able to speak the
domains: national language(s) well enough to respond to
Work-life balance: Amount of housework, the questionnaire. The first round of the survey in
amount of caring, difficulties in balancing 2003 included the 15 EU member countries of
work and family, and activities in daily life that time, the 10 countries that became EU
Economic resources and living standard: members in May 2004, and Bulgaria, Romania,
Household income, material deprivation, and Turkey. The second round in 2007 addition-
subjective economic strain, coping with ally included the new candidate countries Croatia
economic strain, and satisfaction with living and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
standard as well as Norway.
Family life: Household size, household The sample design used by the EQLS is best
composition, relationship with family and described as a multistage cluster sample. Primary
friends, family responsibilities, sources of sampling units (PSU) were drawn randomly from
support, satisfaction with family, and contact lists of geographic areas. Within the PSU,
with friends addresses were randomly selected by using
Health and health care: Self-rated health, random walks. At each address, the target respon-
long-standing illness, mental health, dent was selected following the next/last
satisfaction with health, access to medical birthday rule. Exemptions from this standard
care, and satisfaction with public health sampling design include the use of population
services registers as sample frame (Belgium, Malta in
Quality of society: Perceived quality of state 2007) and pre-recruitment phases by telephone
pensions, public transport and education (Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden in 2007).
system, trust in people, trust in political A more detailed description of the sample design
institutions, and perceived conflicts between can be found in the fieldwork reports (Ahrend
groups 2003; Eurofound, 2007) available on the
E 2016 European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS)

web site of the Economic and Social Data Data users from outside the UK must
Service; see http://www.esds.ac.uk/finding register with the UK data archive at http://www.
Data/eqlsTitles.asp. data-archive.ac.uk/sign-up/credentials-application
The target number of interviews varies with before downloading the data.
the population sizes of the countries; it was Key figures from the EQLS have been
between 600 and 1,000 in the first round and included in EurLIFE, an interactive database on
between 1,000 and 2,000 in the second round. living conditions and quality of life in Europe.
These target numbers have been reached in all EurLIFE provides access to country averages
countries. Response rates have been reported to of many variables used in the EQLS round 1;
be around 58 % on average in the first two rounds see http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/areas/quality
of the survey; however, some doubts could be oflife/eurlife/index.php.
raised about the validity of some of those The results of the second round of the EQLS
reported response rates. Despite the high can be accessed via Eurofunds survey mapping
response rates, the first round of the EQLS devi- tool. This tool performs simple data analyses on
ates strongly from external and internal criteria EQLS data online. Specifically, the user can
of representativeness (Kohler, 2007, 2008). request means or percentages of many survey
The data set of the EQLS provides a weighting variables, broken down by age, gender, or
variable that partly corrects the problem at the income. The results are shown graphically as a
cost of increased standard errors. map, as bar chart, or as a table. The requested
Respondents are interviewed face to face in statistics can be downloaded as text file in CSV
all EQLS countries. In some countries, the inter- format for further analysis; see http://www.
views are conducted with the help of computer eurofound.europa.eu/areas/qualityoflife/eqls/eqls
aided personal interviews (CAPI). 2007/results.htm.

Survey Results
Eurofound issues a series of reports on the results Cross-References
of the EQLS. These reports encompass general
overviews (Alber et al., 2004; Anderson et al., Deprivation
2009) as well as more specific reports on Household Income and Wealth
each of the core domains of the survey; see Life Satisfaction
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/areas/quality Living Conditions: European Foundation for
oflife/eqls/index.htm. the Improvement of Living and Working
In addition, various publications for an Conditions
academic audience have appeared based on Poverty
EQLS data. Eurofound lists some of them on the Quality of Life (QOL)
web page cited above, but for the time being, Subjective Well-Being (SWB)
there is no complete database of publications Trust
using EQLS data. However, a valuable collection Work-Life Balance
of scientific articles using the EQLS is the Hand-
book of quality of life in the enlarged European
Union, edited by Jens Alber, Tony Fahey, and
References
Chiara Saraceno (2008).
Ahrend, D. (2003). The quality of life survey. On behalf of
Data Accessibility the European Foundation for the improvement of liv-
The EQLS data sets can be downloaded for ing and working conditions. Hilversum: Intomart GfK
(Fieldwork Technical Report).
scientific research from the web site of the
Alber, J., Anderson, R., Delhey, J., Domanski, H., Fahey,
Economic and Social Data Service; see T., Keck, W., et al. (2004). Quality of life in Europe.
http://www.esds.ac.uk/findingData/eqlsTitles.asp. First results of a new pan-European survey.
European Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD) 2017 E
Luxembourg, Europe: Office for Official Publications
of the European Communities. European Survey Project on Alcohol
Alber, J., Fahey, T., & Saraceno, C. (Eds.). (2008). Hand-
book of quality of life in the enlarged European Union. and Drugs (ESPAD)
London: Routledge.
Anderson, R., Mikulic, B., Vermeylen, G., Bjorn Hibbel
Lyly-Yrjanainen, M., & Zigante, V. (2009). Second Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and
European quality of life survey. Overview. Luxem-
bourg, Europe: Office for Official Publications of the Other Drugs (CAN), Stockholm, Sweden
European Communities.
Erikson, R. (1993). Descriptions of inequality. The
Swedish approach to welfare research. In Synonyms
M. C. Nussbaum & A. Sen (Eds.), The quality of life E
(pp. 6787). Oxford, UK: Clarendon.
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and ESPAD
Working Conditions and TNS opinion (2007). Second
European quality of life survey. Fieldwork report.
Dublin: European Foundation for the Improvement of
Living and Working Conditions. Definition
Fahey, T., Nolan, B., & Whelan, C. T. (2003). Monitoring
quality of life in Europe. Luxembourg, Europe: Office The European School Survey Project on Alcohol
for Official Publications of the European and Other Drugs (ESPAD) is a school survey
Communities.
Glatzer, W., & Zapf, W. (Eds.). (1984). Lebensqualit at in about substance use among European students
der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Objektive Lebensbe- that will become 16 years old during the year of
dingungen und subjektives Wohlbefinden. Frankfurt a. the data collection.
M./New York: Campus.
Kohler, U. (2007). Surveys from inside: An assessment of
unit nonresponse bias with internal criteria. Survey
Research Methods, 1, 5567. Description
Kohler, U. (2008). Quality assessment of European
surveys. Towards an open method of coordination for Substance Use and Health
survey data. In J. Alber, T. Fahey, & C. Saraceno
(Eds.), Handbook of quality of life in the enlarged The use and abuse of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit
European Union. London: Routledge. drugs causes a large variety of health problems
Ministry of Social Development. (2010). The social report not only to the consumer but also to people
2010. Wellington: Ministry of Social Development around him, like family members, friends, and
(www.socialreport.msd.govt.nz)
Noll, H. H. (2002). Towards a European system of social work mates. The use and abuse also create a lot
indicators: Theoretical framework and system of problems in a larger public health perspective
architecture. Social Indicators Research, 58, 4784. in a country, and at a global perspective, they are
important risk factors for deaths and the global
burden of disease (Hanson, Venturelli, &
Fleckenstein, 2012, Rehm et al., 2009). Alcohol-
European Social Survey and ism and smoking are the most frequent causes of
Marriage addiction (Lesch et al., 2011). Even though
tobacco and alcohol are used much more than
Marriage, Cohabitation, and Well-Being in illicit drugs, about 230 million people in the
30 Countries world have been calculated to have tried an illicit
drug at least once and 27 million have been
characterized as problem drug users (United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC),
European Socioeconomic 2012). Cannabis is the most widely used illicit
Classification (ESEC) drug and among European adults (1564 years
old), 78 million have been calculated to have
Social Inequalities tried cannabis at least once and about 12 million
E 2018 European Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD)

during the past 30 days (European Monitoring The Pompidou Group at the Council of Europe
Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction supported the first meeting and has supported
[EMCDDA], 2011). ESPAD since then. Another important collabo-
All societies are concerned about substance rating body since it was established in the
use and try to limit the consumption and its mid-1990s is the European Monitoring Centre
consequences via different kinds of policy for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).
measures (Anderson, Mller, & Galea, 2012,
Babor et al., 2010). Special concerns and mea- A Standardized Methodology
sures are targeted to young people and for To obtain comparable data, it is important to
a serious policy discussion about efficient standardize the data-collection process as much
preventive measures, it is important to have an as possible. This means that those collecting the
up-to-date picture about consumption trends and data must follow the methodology presented in
patterns. In this context, it is a great advantage not the ESPAD Handbook.
only to know what happens in a country, but also It is important to compare students of the
to be able to put the national situation in a broader same age since experience of substance use
context by making comparisons with other changes considerably with age among adoles-
countries. The European School Survey Project cents. The target population is students turning
on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) provides 16 during the year of the survey. Since
such a possibility when it comes to the use of data collection normally takes place during
tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs among youth in MarchApril, on average, the students are
Europe (Hibell et al., 2012) (www.espad.org). about 15.8 years old.
Even though some exceptions have been made
What is ESPAD? over the years, it is recommended and expected
Background that participating countries draw random samples
In the spring of 1995, the first large-scale that are representative of the whole country and
European school survey of students substance not only of regions, cities, or the like.
use, known as ESPAD, was conducted in 26 Data collection takes place in a classroom
countries. The main reason for initiating during an academic hour with anonymous
the ESPAD Project was the need for comparable group-administered questionnaires. Most
data on substance use among young questions in the questionnaire are identical
people throughout Europe. in subsequent data-collection waves. The
At the beginning of the 1990s, only a few questionnaire includes a core part, which should
European countries regularly carried out national be used in all countries. In addition to this, there
school surveys on substance use. However, too are optional questions and modules to choose
many factors influenced the results and made from. At the end of the questionnaire, it is
comparisons difficult or impossible. allowed to add country-specific questions.
Annual school surveys have been conducted
among Swedish grade 9 students (1516 years Purpose and Data Collections
old) since the early 1970s and from the The main aim of ESPAD is to collect comparable
mid-1980s, the Swedish Council for Information data on substance use among students of the same
on Alcohol and Other Drugs (CAN) is responsi- age group in as many European countries as
ble for the surveys. It was then noted that it was possible. The most important objectives in the
hard to find comparable data from other coun- long run are to monitor trends in substance use
tries. In the light of these experiences, Bjorn among students in European countries and to
Hibell and Barbro Andersson at CAN initiated compare trends between countries and between
a collaborative project in the early 1990s groups of countries. In order to do so, the surveys
by contacting researchers in a number of are repeated every 4 years, with 1995 as the
European countries. starting point. Since then, the subsequent
European Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD) 2019 E
Countries in the ESPAD project

www.espad.org

European Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD), Fig. 1 Countries in ESPAD

survey waves took place in 1999, 2003, 2007 Each researcher is responsible for the project as
(with an extra data collection in 2008), and a whole as well as for the national part of ESPAD.
2011 in an increasing number of countries. In The data collection as well as other costs for
1995, 26 countries collected data while 39 took traveling, etc. for the responsible ESPAD
part in the 2011 survey (Fig. 1). researcher should be covered by national
Results from all data-collection waves have resources. So far, the coordination of ESPAD
been published in international reports, which to has been financed through a grant from the Swed-
a large extent are descriptive and primarily focus ish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs.
on trends in the prevalence of substance use. In
addition to these reports, a lot of articles have Databank
been published in scientific journals. Since 2007, it is mandatory for all participating
countries to deliver their national datasets cen-
Governance trally, so that they can be merged into joint
ESPAD is an independent research project owned ESPAD databases. This process was started on
by its researchers. In each ESPAD member a voluntary basis after the 2003 data collection
country, a Principal Investigator (PI) or an and most countries delivered data for the first
ESPAD Contact Person is appointed by ESPAD ESPAD database. However, the 2007 and 2011
to ensure that the country meets its obligations. databases cover all participating countries.
E 2020 European Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD)

The databases are used to generate results to and past-30-days prevalences are about the
be included in the international report. Once same for boys and girls, but when differences
such a report has been published, ESPAD occur, the prevalence is nearly always higher
researchers may apply for access to the among boys.
database in order to conduct further research. Of the students who reported the amounts of
With a time lag, the databases are also open for various beverages that they consumed during the
external researchers. Interested researches have most recent day on which they drank alcohol, the
to fill in a simple application form. More infor- estimated average consumption differed between
mation about the databank and the application the sexes, with boys drinking one-third more than
procedure is available at the ESPAD webpage girls (5.8 vs. 4.3 cL of 100 % alcohol). There are
(www.espad.org). huge differences between countries. On their
most recent drinking day, Danish students, on
Some Results from the 2011 Survey average, drunk more than three times as much
Smoking as students in Albania, Moldova, Montenegro,
In the 2011 survey, on average, 54 % of the and Romania. Large quantities are mainly found
students in participating countries reported that among students in the Nordic and British Isles
they had smoked cigarettes at least once and 28 % countries, while countries with smaller quantities
that they had used cigarettes during the past 30 often are located in southeastern Europe (Fig. 4).
days (Fig. 2). Two percent of all students had A way of measuring drunkenness is to ask how
smoked at least a packet of cigarettes per day often the students had consumed five drinks or
during the past 30 days. more on the same occasion during the past 30
Between the two most recent surveys, the days. This measure of heavy episodic drinking
proportion of students who had been smoking has undergone one of the most striking changes
during the past 30 days increased significantly among girls across the ESPAD waves, with the
in seven countries and fell in five. Some of the aggregate-level average increasing from 29 % in
increases were fairly striking, with 13 % points in 1995 to 41 % in 2007 (Fig. 5). In the 2011 survey,
Monaco and 10 in Portugal. Compared with however, this figure had dropped to 38 %. Among
1995, the countries with the largest decreases boys, the figure is also slightly lower in 2011
(20 % points or more from) are Iceland, Ireland, (43 %) than it was in 2007 (45 %) and thus also
and Norway. No country shows a continuous relatively close to the 1995 figure (41 %). Like for
increase across the five waves. all other variables, there are huge differences
between students from different countries,
Alcohol varying from 56 % in Denmark and Malta to
In all ESPAD countries but Iceland, at least 70 % 13 % in Iceland (Fig. 6).
of the students have drunk alcohol at least once The most pronounced increases from 1995 to
during their lifetime, with an average of 87 % in 2011 in heavy episodic drinking, in terms of
the 2011 survey. The corresponding average percentage points, are found in Croatia, Hungary,
figures for use in the past 12 months and the Slovak Republic, and Slovenia (2130 % points).
past 30 days are 79 % and 57 %, respectively. A reduction between 1995 and 2011 in heavy
For all three time frames, there were small episodic drinking in the past 30 days is mainly
decreases from 2003 to 2007 to 2011. Of course, found in Iceland (23 % points), but also in
these averages are based on highly divergent Finland (until 2007) and Ukraine (16 % points
country figures (Fig. 3). For example, alcohol each).
use during the past 30 days was reported by
more than 75 % of the students in the Czech Illicit Drugs
Republic and Denmark, but only by 17 % An observed upward trend between 1995 and
in Iceland and 32 % in Albania. The national 2003 in lifetime use of cannabis came to a halt
average figures for lifetime, past-12-months, in 2007, when the country average was about 2 %
European Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD) 2021 E
European Survey Project
on Alcohol and Drugs Cigarette use during the last 30 days by gender. 19952001.
(ESPAD), Fig. 2 Cigarette
Percentages. Averages for 19 countries.
use past 30 days, trends
%
37 35
40 34
30
28
30 34 33
30 29
29
20

E
10

0
1995 1999 2003 2007 2011
Boys Girls

www.espad.org

Alcohol use during the past 30 days. 2011. Percent.

70%
6069%
5059%
4049%
39%

Data uncertain
or not available

Non-participating
country

www.espad.org

European Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD), Fig. 3 Alcohol use past 30 days, map
E 2022 European Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD)

Estimated average consumption during the last drinking day.


2011. Centilitres 100% alcohol.

7.0 cl
6.06.9 cl
5.05.9 cl
4.04.9 cl
3.9 cl

Data uncertain
or not available

Non-participating
country

www.espad.org

European Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD), Fig. 4 Average alcohol consumption, map

Proportion reporting having had five or more drinks a) on one


occasion during the last 30 days, by gender. 19952011. b)
Percentages. Averages for 14 countries.
a) A drink is a
% glass/bottle/can of
46 beer (ca 50 cl), a
50 45 45 43 glass/bottle/can of
41 cider (ca 50 cl), 2
glasses/bottles of
alcopops (ca 50cl), a
41 glass of wine (ca 15
38 cl), a glass of spirit
35
(ca 5 cl) or a mixed
25 34
29 drink).

b) The question
referred to five or
more drinks in a row
19952003 and nor
0 cider or alcopops
were included among
1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 the examples.
However, a
questionnaire test in
Boys 19 Girls eight countries 2006
found no significant
differences between
the two versions.

www.espad.org

European Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD), Fig. 5 Heavy episodic drinking, trends
European Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD) 2023 E
Having had five or more drinks on one occasion
during the past 30 days. All students. 2011. Percentages.

50%
4049%
3039%
2029%
29%

E
Data uncertain
or not available

Non-participating
country

www.espad.org

European Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD), Fig. 6 Heavy episodic drinking, map

points below the one in 2003, and has stayed at Europe, including many Balkan countries,
the same level in 2011 (Fig. 7). In 1995, 11 % and among the Nordic countries.
of the students reported lifetime use of cannabis. The biggest increases since 1995 for lifetime
The corresponding figure in 2011 was 17 %. cannabis use are found in the Czech Republic
Between the two most recent survey waves, (with the main increase until 2003), Estonia
a significant increase was found in 11 countries (mainly until 2003), and Slovak Republic (even
and a significant drop in six; there is no geograph- though its 2011 figure is significantly lower than
ical pattern in either case, and both increases and the 2007 one) (1720 % points). With some
decreases can be seen in high-prevalence as well exceptions, these countries are located in the
as low-prevalence countries. eastern part of Europe.
Reported use of cannabis varies considerably Since 1995, lifetime use of cannabis has fallen
across the countries (Fig. 8). In the Czech by 19 % points in Ireland and by 12 in the United
Republic, almost half (42 %) of the students Kingdom (until 2007). These two are also
admitted to such use, and relatively many the only countries with important decreases
students (about 38 %) did so in France and for lifetime use of any illicit drug other than
Monaco (Fig. 9). By contrast, only 4 % reported cannabis, with a drop of 13 % points in the United
cannabis use in Bosnia and Herzegovina Kingdom (from 1995 to 2007) and 10 in Ireland.
(Republic of Srpska) and Albania. Lower Cannabis is by far the most frequently
prevalence rates are often found in southeastern used illicit drug. Lifetime experience was
E 2024 European Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD)

European Survey Project


on Alcohol and Drugs Lifetime use of marijuana or hashish by gender. 19952011.
(ESPAD), Fig. 7 Life time
Percentages. Averages for 19 countries.
cannabis use, trends
%
30
22
19 20 20
20
13

10 16 14 14
12
8
0
1995 1999 2003 2007 2011
Boys Girls

www.espad.org

Lifetime use of marijuana or hashish. All students. 2011.


Percentages.
30%
2029%
1519%
614%
5%

Data uncertain
or not available

Non-participating
country

www.espad.org

European Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD), Fig. 8 Life time cannabis use, map
European Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD) 2025 E
Lifetime use of marijuana or hashish by gender.
2011. Percentages.
Boys Girls
47 Czech Republic (42) 37
39 France (39) 39
35 Monaco (37) 38
38 USA2 (35) 31
31 Slovak Republic (27) 23
26 Spain2 (26) 25
28 United Kingdom2 (25) 23
28 Belgium (Flanders)1 (24) 21
25 Bulgaria (24) 22
29 Estonia (24) 19
29 Latvia (24) 19
28
26
Poland (23)
Slovenia (23)
18
21
E
24 Italy (21) 18
25 Liechtenstein (21) 16
25 Lithuania (20) 14
24 Germany (5 Bundesl.)1 (19) 15
21 Hungary (19) 18
21 Croatia (18) 14
22 Denmark (18) 14
22 Ireland (18) 15
19 Average (17) 14
21 Portugal (16) 13
14 Russian Fed. (Moscow)1(15) 15
12 Finland (11) 10
15 Ukraine (11) 7
13 Iceland (10) 8
12 Malta (10) 8
11 Sweden (9) 5
12 Greece (8) 5
10 Cyprus1 (7) 4
7 Romania (7) 7
9 Serbia (7) 4
7 Faroe Islands (5) 3 1) Belgium, Cyprus and
6 Moidova, Rep.of (5) 3
Germany: Limited
8 Montenegro (5) 3
geographical coverage.
6 Norway (5) 4
9 Albania (4) 1
6 Bosnia and Herz. (RS)1 (4) 3 2) UK, Spain and USA:
Limited comparability.
% 50 40 30 20 10 0 0 10 20 30 40 50 %

www.espad.org

European Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD), Fig. 9 Life time cannabis use, rank order

Lifetime use of any illicit drug other than marijuana or hashish a) by


gender. 19952011. Percentages. Averages for 19 countries.

%
10

7 7 7
6

5 4
6
a) Any illicit drug
5 5 5 but cannabis
includes
ecstasy, amphetam
ines, LSD or other
hallucinogens,
2 crack, cocaine and
0 heroin.
1995 1999 2003 2007 2011
European Survey Project
on Alcohol and Drugs Boys Girls
(ESPAD), Fig. 10 Life
time use of other drugs than www.espad.org

cannabis, trends
E 2026 European Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD)

Lifetime use of illicit drugs other than marijuana or hashish a). All
students. 2001. Percentages.

12%

911%
68%

45%
3%

Data uncertain
or not available

Non-participating
country

a) Any illicit drug but cannabis includes ecstasy, amphetamines, LSD or other hallucinogens, crack, cocaine and heroin.

www.espad.org

European Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD), Fig. 11 Life time use of other drugs than cannabis, map

reported by more boys than girls on average, with Babor, T. F., et al. (2010). Alcohol: No ordinary
19 % versus 14 % in 2011, and the figures were commodity. Research and public policy (2nd ed.).
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
significantly higher for boys in 27 countries. Far EMCDDA. (2011). The state of the drug problem in
behind comes ecstasy and amphetamines that, on Europe. Annual report 2011. Lisbon: Author.
average, were answered by 3 % of the students. Hanson, G., Venturelli, P., & Fleckenstein, A. (2012).
The proportion of students reporting use of Drugs and society (11th ed.). Boston: Jones & Bartlett
Learning.
any illicit drug but cannabis increased between Hibell, B., et al. (2012). The 2011 ESPAD
the first two surveys, but has after that been rela- report Substance use among students in 36 European
tively stable with about 7 % among boys and 5 % countries. Stockholm: CAN.
among girls (Fig. 10). Also for this variable, there Lesch, O. M., et al. (2011). Alcohol and tobacco. Medical
and sociological aspects of use abuse and addiction.
are clear differences between countries (Fig. 11). Vienna: Springer.
Rehm, J., et al. (2009). Global burden of disease
and injury and economic cost attributable to alcohol
References use and alcohol use disorders. Lancet, 373,
22232233.
Anderson, P., Mller, L., & Galea, G. (Eds.). (2012). United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Alcohol in the European Union: Consumption, harm (2012). World drug report 2012. New York: United
and policy approaches. Copenhagen: WHO Europe. Nations.
European System of Social Indicators 2027 E
A science-based, concept-driven approach of
European Synthetic Welfare selecting measurement dimensions and
Indicator indicators
The comprehensive coverage of relevant
Synthetic Indicators of the Quality of Life in domains and dimensions of well-being as
Europe well as selected dimensions of general social
change
The explicit coverage of the European
dimension, for example, by means of
European System of Social Indicators measures of European identity or in terms of
E
cohesion and conflict between member
Heinz-Herbert Noll countries of the European Union
Social Indicators Research Centre, GESIS - The search for and usage of valid and reliable
Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences, indicators
Mannheim, Germany The exploitation of the best data sources
available and efforts to ensure the best
possible level of international and
Definition intercultural comparability of indicators.
The research committed to these objectives
The European System of Social Indicators is followed several steps of development. As
a systematically selected set of indicators to be a result of this work, the European System of
used to continuously monitor and assess the Social Indicators is characterized by the
individual and societal well-being of European following conceptual and structural features:
citizens in terms of quality of life, social Conceptual Framework: Science-based
cohesion, and sustainability as well as changes indicator systems such as the European System
in the social structure of European societies. of Social Indicators are supposed to be based on
an explicit and clearly defined conceptual
framework, which allows to systematically
Description guide and justify the choice and selection of
measurement dimensions and indicators.
The European System of Social Indicators is the Departing from the major aim of monitoring
result of research carried out by the Social individual and societal well-being in Europe,
Indicators Research Centre (www.gesis.org/ three basic concepts quality of life,
social-indicators) of GESIS (formerly ZUMA), social cohesion, and sustainability have
the Leibniz Institute for Social Research. In its been chosen, around which the framework has
initial stage, this research was funded by been developed. The choice of these
the European Commission as part of the 4th concepts was based on theoretical considerations
European Research Framework Program. The of different notions and conceptualizations
research of constructing and implementing of individual and societal well-being as well
the European System of Social Indicators was as on an analysis of goals of societal development
aimed at developing a theoretically as well in European societies (see Berger-Schmitt &
as methodologically well-grounded set of Noll, 2000; Noll, 2002). While the concept of
measurement dimensions and indicators to be quality of life is supposed to cover dimensions
used for a continuous monitoring of individual of individual well-being, the notions of social
and societal well-being across European cohesion as well as sustainability are used to
societies. To achieve these objectives, this conceptualize major characteristics and dimen-
indicator system is supposed to meet certain sions of societal or collective well-being (see
requirements, such as: Fig. 1).
E 2028 European System of Social Indicators

European System of Individual Well-being Quality of Life


Social Indicators,
Fig. 1 European System Living Conditions
of Social Indicators: Subjective Well-being
concepts and basic Societal / Collective Well-being Social Cohesion
dimensions of well-being Inequalities, Disparities, Exclusion
Social Relations, Ties, Inclusion (Social
Capital)
Sustainability
Natural Capital
Human Capital

From each of the three basic concepts, two Population, households, and families
major (goal) dimensions have been extracted. Income, standard of living, and consumption
Quality of life is supposed to cover objective patterns
living conditions and subjective well-being as Labor market and working conditions
the two principal dimensions of individual Education and vocational training
well-being. The two basic dimensions of social Health
cohesion addressed by the European System of Housing
Social Indicators are forces threatening cohesion, Social security
such as inequalities, disparities, and mechanisms Public safety and crime
of social exclusion at the one side and binding Social and political participation and
mechanisms, such as relations, ties, and integration
inclusion, or what is usually called the social Mobility and transportation
capital, at the other (Berger-Schmitt, 2002; Leisure, media, and culture
Collicelli & Noll, 2010). Referring to the Environment
so-called capital approach, the concept of Total life situation.
sustainability is supposed to cover natural capital Applying the dimensions of individual and
and human capital as its two major dimensions. societal well-being as well as general social
Since the European System of Social Indica- change to each of the domains allows to identify
tors is also aiming at monitoring general social measurement dimensions and eventually
change, it moreover addresses the dimensions of subdimensions, which are operationalized by
value orientations and attitudes as well selecting one or several indicators for each of
as selected elements of the social structure them (see Fig. 2).
of societies.
As far as the system architecture of the Additional Elements of the Systems
European System of Social Indicators is Architecture
concerned, a life domain approach is most Indicators: As social indicators in general, most
characteristic. The indicator system covers of the indicators used for the European System
altogether 12 life domains and includes in of Social Indicators are considered as outcome
addition a module on the total life situation with measures. The system makes use of objective as
a view to address also more general dimensions well as subjective indicators. While the objective
of well-being, which are not limited to specific indicators used are for the most part supposed to
life domains, such as overall subjective measure the outcomes of societal processes, for
well-being, trust in persons and certain example, in terms of living conditions and
institutions, or the level of living in general. individual resources, some input-related
The domains covered by the European System indicators are included too. The latter are
of Social Indicators are the following: required primarily when it comes to evaluate the
European System of Social Indicators 2029 E
European System of
Social Indicators,
Life Domains
Fig. 2 Dimensional
structure of the European Dimensions of Well-Being and General Social Change
System of Social Indicators

Measurment Dimensions

Subdimensions
E

Indicators

efficiency of societal institutions and policy of indicators are being provided at the NUTS-1 or
measures. Subjective indicators are by similar level as far as meaningful and data
nature outcome measures and include first of all availability allows.
indicators of subjective well-being, but also other Data Sources: The European System of Social
perceptional and evaluational measures as, for Indicators is based on data sources ensuring
example, preferences and concerns, political and the best possible level of comparability
social attitudes, or hopes and fears. acrosscountries and time. As far as possible,
Various key indicators, which have been priority is given to data from harmonized sources.
identified for each of the life domains covered, The data sources used include international
address dimensions of well-being and social aggregate official statistics, as they are, for
change which are highlighted as particularly example, provided by EUROSTAT or the
important. OECD, as well as microdata from various official
Country Coverage: The European System of as well as science-based cross-national surveys,
Social Indicators currently covers all member such as the European Union Statistics on
states of the European Union as well as Norway Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC),
and Switzerland as two countries not belonging to Eurobarometer Surveys, the World Value
the EU. Moreover, also two important Surveys, or the European Social Survey, to
non-European reference societies the United name just a few examples.
States and Japan are being covered as far as Given the conceptual framework as well as the
appropriate and data availability allows. Country systems architecture, the construction of
coverage may however vary across indicators the European System of Social Indicators
depending on data availability and sources used. apparently has anticipated several of the
Periodicity of Observations: Time series start desiderata on the measurement of well-being as
at the beginning of the 1980s at the earliest. they have been pointed out more recently in
As far as data availability allows, empirical the so-called Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi Report
observations are presented year by year. (Stiglitz, Sen, & Fitoussi, 2010; Noll, 2011), as,
Disaggregations: Most of the indicator time for example, the life domain approach, the joint
series are broken down by selected consideration of quality of life and sustainability,
sociodemographic variables, such as gender, age and the use of objective and subjective indicators.
groups, employment status, or type of area, The European System of Social Indicators has
as far as meaningful and depending on the spe- been implemented gradually in recent years and
cific indicator as well as the availability of is continuously being updated by the Social
respective information. Regional disaggregations Indicators Research Centre of GESIS. At this
E 2030 European Union Indicators

stage, time series data are available for 9 out of Centre for Survey Research and Methodology
the projected 13 life domains. Additional (ZUMA), Social Indicators Department, Mannheim.
Collicelli, C., & Noll, H.-H. (2010). Indicatori oggettivi
domains are currently under construction. e soggettivi di coesione sociale. Italia e Germania
Comfortable access to the data from the nello scenario europeo. In La Rivista delle Politiche
European System of Social Indicators is provided Sociali, 4/2010, 105135.
through the online information system Noll, H.-H. (2002). Towards a European system of social
indicators: Theoretical framework and system
Social Indicators Monitor - SIMon at www. architecture. Social Indicators Research, 58, 4784.
gesis.org/SIMon. Noll, H.-H. (2011). The Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi-report: Old
The Social Indicators Monitor SIMon: wine in new skins? Views from a social indicators
Allows to browse and select indicators perspective. Social Indicators Research,
102, 111116.
according to users needs (hierarchical and Stiglitz, J. E., Sen, A., & Fitoussi, J.-P. (2010).
geographical data selection modes) Mismeasuring our lives: Why GDP Doesnt add up.
Allows to visualize and display data as charts New York: The New Press.
(e.g., line chart, bar chart, scatterplot,
boxplot), maps, and tables
Provides tools for table manipulation and European Union Indicators
basic data analysis
Allows to print and export data and charts in Ruud Muffels
different formats (PDF, Excel-Tables, JPG, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences,
HTML) to be used in other applications. Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands
The European System of Social Indicators
may be used for all kinds of comparative research
on quality of life, social cohesion, sustainability, Synonyms
social structures, and value orientations
within and across the more than 30 countries Flexicurity indicators; Laeken indicators;
covered. As a tool to monitor progress in terms Social indicators
of individual and societal well-being as well as
general social change across European societies,
it is also considered to be most relevant for policy Definition
making purposes.
The European Union aims to monitor progress in
the attainment of policy targets set in the frame-
Cross-References work of EU social policy making, in particular
employment policies and policies to prevent and
Social Cohesion combat social exclusion, through the open
Social Indicators method of coordination by defining commonly
Societal Progress agreed objective social indicators. To date, the
Stiglitz Report EU has no subjective indicators on personal or
Sustainability social well-being defined even though the
Eurobarometer survey already since its inception
contains a question on life satisfaction.
References

Berger-Schmitt, R. (2002). Considering social cohesion in Description


quality of life assessments: Concept and measurement.
Social Indicators Research, 58, 403428.
Berger-Schmitt, R., & Noll, H.-H. (2000). Conceptual
The Laeken Council and Social Indicators
framework and structure of a European System of In December 2001, the European Council met in
Social Indicators. EuReporting Working Paper No. 9, the Belgium village Laeken near Brussels and
European Union Indicators 2031 E
agreed on a set of indicators on social inclusion economic growth with more and better jobs and
policies. These indicators should measure pro- greater social cohesion. The Lisbon agenda
gress toward the objectives of European social implied a closer tuning of the economic (the
policy as set at the Nice Council in 2000. These internal market) and the employment and social
objectives are (1) facilitating participation in agenda which was complicated by the enlarge-
employment and access by all to resources, ment of the EU with many Eastern European
rights, and services; (2) preventing the risks of countries showing a widely diverse but generally
social exclusion; (3) helping the most vulnerable; poorer economic and social record. After the
and (4) mobilizing all relevant bodies. The objec- midterm review of the EES in 2005, the employ-
tives and their specific content were endorsed by ment agenda became very much engaged with the
E
the 2002 Council of Ministers for Employment elaboration of the flexicurity strategy
and Social Affairs with a few amendments among according to which a better balance was aimed
which the emphasizing of concrete target setting for between the economic (flexibility) and social
(see for a detailed account Atkinson, Marlier, & (security) goals of the Lisbon agenda. Other
Nolan, 2004). The authority of EU policy making topics in this period in the employment domain
in the social domain is limited, since under the were the creation of jobs to reduce (long-term)
subsidiarity principle, the Member States are pri- unemployment, the ageing of the workforce and
mary responsible for the implementation of social intergenerational relationships, the opportunities
inclusion policies. The EU is not a federation for youth (school leavers) to begin a career on the
far from it, still and therefore lacks legitimacy labor market (increasing concern for youth in
let alone formal competence in social policy (see NEET, not in employment, education, or train-
for a discussion Muffels, Tsakloglou, & Mayes, ing), and the human capital and innovation
2002). Part of the Nice Agreement was to ask agenda concerning lifelong learning and new
member states to develop National Action Plans jobs for new skills (see also Eichhorst et al.,
for promoting social inclusion (NAPincs). The 2010). Even though the OMC as a form of
model for these was clearly the European soft law appears more successful than initially
Employment Strategy (EES), which similarly thought, it has been supplemented at the Euro-
requires member states to present and implement pean level with some hard law through the
a National Action Plan (NAPempls). The establishment of EU directives on fixed-term
approach underlying both policy areas has come and part-time work (which were based on Euro-
to be known as the open method of coordination pean social partner agreements) and, very
(OMC). It represents a new form of policy coor- recently and after a very lengthy negotiation pro-
dination in which the role of the European bodies cess, agency work (see Muffels & Wilthagen,
is to set the framework and the objectives (con- 2012).
crete targets) and to orchestrate the monitoring
and review of the Action Plans while leaving The Set of EU Social Indicators
member states free to decide on detailed policies The set of Laeken indicators to monitor progress
and their implementation. The progress the EU on social inclusion contains first of all poverty
made in the domain of social policy in the past indicators for assessing the number of people in
decennium is very much determined by the suc- the EU at risk of poverty or persistent (longer-
cess or lack of it of the OMC process during the term) poverty before and after social transfers and
past decennium. indicators on the income gap of the poor.
The employment and social agenda of the The corresponding poverty line was defined as
EU during this period are very much catered the income level that corresponds to the 60 % of
to the overarching objectives and policy the median net equivalent household income
needs of the Lisbon agenda to create the most level in each country. For the calculation of
competitive and dynamic knowledge-based equivalent household income, the incomes are
economy in the world capable of sustainable corrected for a so-called equivalence scale factor.
E 2032 European Union Indicators

The equivalence scale factor that is used to com- calculated on the 4-year rotating panel of EU-
pare the welfare of households of different size SILC to monitor the rising labor market and job
and composition is the so-called modified OECD mobility patterns and their impact on income and
scale. It assumes that a household with an in- employment security. The transition mobility
living partner needs 50 % more income than indicators deal with the various forms of labor
a single person household and that a household market and job mobility, as well as contractual
with a child needs 30 % more income than a child- mobility (from one type of contract into the other;
less household independent of the number and Muffels et al. 2011). The transition security indi-
age of the children. The poverty indicators cators deal with income (moving in and out of
require information on income which is poverty) and employment security (moving in
contained in the European Statistics on Income and out of secure employment). These indicators
and Living Conditions (SILC). The definition and can be used to map the countries on the flexibil-
use of a persistent poverty indicator require the ity-security dimension and to show which coun-
use of the panel information as contained in SILC tries are able to maintain simultaneously high or
(4-year rotating panel). However, the list of indi- low levels of labor market and job mobility and
cators is extended in the course of time and income and employment security and which
includes also other domains of social policy countries show trade-offs between the two
such as education, labor market, housing, and dimensions. We then obtain a matrix with four
health. The list became gradually extended and cells as in Fig. 1. The location of countries in the
includes indicators on income inequality, mate- quadrant is an empirical question. Empirical
rial deprivation (indicated by economic strains, research either based on static (EU-LFS) or tran-
lack of possession of durables, housing and envi- sition indicators (SILC data) shows very similar
ronmental deprivation), access to the labor mar- results and indicates that most of the Scandina-
ket (in-work poverty, long-term unemployment vian countries are located in the flexicurity cell
rate, gender pay gap, workless households), edu- and most of the continental countries in the
cation (early school leavers, low-educated poor, inflexibility-security cell, whereas the Southern
low reading literacy, computer and internet countries and a significant part of the Eastern
skills), and housing (housing deprivation and transition countries are located in the inflexibil-
housing costs burden). ity-insecurity cell (Muffels, 2008; Muffels &
Wilthagen, 2012).
Flexicurity Indicators
In the domain of employment, the Commission Indicators on Subjective Well-Being
worked on the definition of indicators for moni- The set of indicators does not contain yet subjec-
toring progress in the domain of flexicurity and its tive indicators on well-being. There is ample
underlying dimensions: flexible and reliable con- debate in the literature of using subjective well-
tractual relations, active labor market policy, being measures as a proxy for social and eco-
lifelong learning, and modern social security nomic welfare which can supplement the infor-
systems (EMCO, 2009; Wilthagen & Tros, mation contained in the standard measure of
2004). Most of the work was oriented at defining economic welfare as GDP per capita. A report
static institutional and outcome indicators and by some Nobel laureates in 2009 held a strong
was based on the cross-sectional information as plea for using measures of subjective well-being
contained in the European Labor Force Survey. (Stiglitz, Sen, & Fitoussi, 2009). The rich litera-
The data permit to measure static indicators only. ture on subjective well-being and happiness
Against the backdrop of the increasing volatility has shown the added value for academic and
and dynamics on the labor market, the challenge policy purposes of these types of subjective
is to define dynamic indicators. In a report for the questions holding a promise for the inclusion in
Commission, Muffels et al. (2011) proposed the near future in European-wide socioeconomic
the definition and use of transition indicators surveys.
Europeans Opinion on Public Services 2033 E
European Union High Flexibility/Mobilty
Indicators, Fig. 1 The
location of countries in the
flexicurity quadrant II = Flexbility-Insecurity I = Flexicurity
(Source: Muffels & Luijkx, (weakregulation, low activation, Anglo-Saxon (weak regulation, high activation,
2008; Muffels & ungenerous benefits) (UK, IE) generous benefits)
Wilthagen, 2012)

Nordic
(SE, FI, DK, NL)
Eastern-Transition
Low Security High Security
Countries
(HU, PL, EE, CZ, SK)
E
Continental
(DE, FR, BE, AT)
Southern
(IT, ES, PT, EL)

III = Inflexbility-Insecurity IV = Inflexbility-Security


(tightly regulated, high activation, generous
(tightly regulated, low activation,
benefits)
ungeneous benefits)

Low Flexibility/Mobilty

Cross-References Muffels, R., & Luijkx, R. (2008). The relationship


between labour market mobility and
employment security for male employees: Trade-
Deprivation off or flexicurity? Work. Employment and Society,
Flexicurity 22(2), 221242.
Indicators, Quality of Life Muffels, R., Tsakloglou, P., & Mayes, D. (Eds.). (2002).
Lifelong Learning Social exclusion in European welfare states (p. 366).
Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
Net Economic Welfare Muffels, R., & Wilthagen, T. (2012, forthcoming).
Poverty and Nonconsumption Indicators Flexicurity: A new paradigm for the analysis of labor
Social Inclusion markets and policies challenging the trade-off between
Social Indicators flexibility and security. Sociology Compass, 111,
10.1111/soc4.12014.
Social Policy Stiglitz, J., Sen, A., & Fitoussi, J.-P. (2009). Report by the
commission on the measurement of economic perfor-
mance and social progress. Brussels: European Union.
Wilthagen, T., & Tros, F. (2004). The concept
of flexicurity: A new approach to regulating
References employment in the labour market. TRANSFER
European Review of Labour and Research, 10(2),
Atkinson, A. B., Marlier, E., & Nolan, B. (2004). Indica- 166186.
tors and targets for social inclusion in the European
union. JCMS, 42(1), 4775.
Eichhorst, W. et al. (2010). Analysis of the social agendas.
Bonn: IZA. (Research Report No. 24).
EMCO. (2009). Monitoring and analysis of flexicurity
policies. Brussels: European Commission.
(Report endorsed by EMCO, EMCO Reports, Issue Europeans Opinion on Public
2, pp. 41).
Muffels, R. (Ed.). (2008). Flexibility and employment
Services
security in Europe. Labour Markets in Transition.
Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. Europeans Opinions on Services
E 2034 Europeans Opinions on Services

family, education, type of occupation, etc.) and


Europeans Opinions on Services social environmental conditions. Therefore,
micro and macro components generally affect
Pier Alda Ferrari and Giancarlo Manzi the level of satisfaction and should be tightly
Department of Economics, Management and kept under consideration.
Quantitative Methods, Universita degli Studi di
Milano, Milan, Italy
Description

Synonyms The General Framework


The European Union (EU) member countries
European opinion on services of general interest; convergence toward a high-level quality of public
Europeans opinion on public services; Opinion services and the standardization of their provision
of European citizens on public services; Public have become an important policy issue in the EU,
services, quality of especially after its enlargements of the last years.
One of the most important things to keep in
mind with regard to EU political and economic
Definition aspects is the specificity of the EU as an entity
with national and supranational legislation.
European opinion on services relates to how the From the national side, this often generates con-
provision of services of general interest partic- straints in the development of a real common free
ularly public network services is perceived by market or shared policies which can be useful,
European citizens in their home countries. Opin- especially when prompt actions have to be
ions on public services are often regarded in implemented in response to economic events
terms of personal satisfaction especially in rela- (e.g., during the 20082012 crisis), or from the
tion to the basic citizens needs. They are partic- supranational side, this creates a bureaucratic and
ularly important when the provision of sometimes useless filter which can slow down the
fundamental services could be at risk for some process of economic and political reforms.
reason (e.g., in a period of economic recession or Despite this, the regulatory reform process on
in a regulatory reform context) and because they privatization and liberalization started in the
form an important source of information about 1990s has steadily progressed and has often
the efficiency of public services. This deeply been viewed by EU policy makers as the only
differentiates this concept from that of the stan- way to improve citizens well-being. As the
dard customer satisfaction in marketing. European Commission (EC) has often pointed
The analysis of Europeans opinion on ser- out (see, e.g., European Commission, 2004), the
vices might be rather cumbersome due to differ- desired process to reach better results in terms of
ent reasons, especially in quantitative research public welfare should follow the flow presented
when a measure of satisfaction is sought. Firstly, in Fig. 1 (Clifton et al., 2012).
the citizens contentment is a complex concept, Nevertheless, some features of these regula-
since it is clearly an abstract phenomenon that tory reforms have not always worked as
can be measured only indirectly by means of a set expected. Therefore, the need to evaluate Euro-
of many related variables, with different rele- peans perceptions and decisions as consumers of
vance and different weight. In addition, observed services of general interest (SGI) becomes a key
variables are retrieved from opinion surveys and factor, and an immediate feedback on how their
often have an ordinal measurement scale which provision is perceived is important. Therefore, in
should be properly treated. Secondly, the level of the last years, the EC has considered public opin-
contentment is strictly related to both individual ions on satisfaction as a strategic ingredient to
features of respondents (gender, age, type of reach a really balanced competition.
Europeans Opinions on Services 2035 E
Privatization

Liberalization & Increased Greater Higher


Better welfare
deregulation competition consumer choice satisfaction

E
Opinion
evaluation

Europeans Opinions on Services, Fig. 1 The process to increase consumers satisfaction for services of general
interest

Ways to Collect Information on Europeans section intended to discover how European con-
Opinion on Services sumers perceive SGI during a period in which big
It is therefore of a vital importance to correctly changes concerning the ownership, the vertical
collect information about the opinion for public integration, the access to market, and the struc-
services. The EC has promoted some tools for ture of companies dictated both by national and
evaluating consumers satisfaction, mainly the EU policies. Questions for the evaluation of ser-
Eurobarometer (EB) surveys, which are the vices are provided on the basis of the following
main source to evaluate the overall Europeans criteria: access to services, prices of the services,
opinion on services. Since 1973 EB surveys have quality of the services, clearness of information
comprehended each EU country of the time provided to consumers about services, fairness of
(EB58, 2002; European Commission, 2002, terms and conditions of the contracts applicable
2003). In the last years, special issues of the EB to the services, complaints about the services and
surveys have been released in order to include their handling, and level of customer service.
candidate countries during EU enlargements and Allowed responses are on a two-, three-, or five-
on special focuses. These special parts of stan- level Likert scale ordered from positive to nega-
dard EB are devoted each time to some particular tive opinion. Dont know and Not applicable
aspects, for example, on expectations for the responses are also allowed. Occasionally, stan-
future, crime levels, and the employment situa- dard EB surveys (EB49.0, EB57.2, EB67.3,
tion. In EB47.0, EB53.0, EB58.0, EB62.1, EB72.2) present a few questions on general sat-
EB63.1, and EB65.3 carried out in 1997, 2000, isfaction about education, law and order, and
2002, 2004, 2005, and 2006, respectively, plus health-care service in respondents home
two flash surveys (Flash 150 in 2003 and Flash country.
243 in 2008 [Flash EB surveys are conducted via Another important source of information to
telephone interviews, whereas standard and spe- evaluate the opinion on public services in the
cial EB surveys are conducted through face-to- EU is the European Quality of Life
face interviews.]), a special section was included Survey (EQLS). This survey is designed for
in order to monitor consumers opinion about a more general evaluation of quality of life as
SGI, especially utilities. Services considered perceived by Europeans and is based on eight
were the following: mobile telephone, fixed tele- core life domains for the measurement of quality
phone, electricity supply, gas supply, water sup- of life. Two of these domains can be directly
ply, postal service, transport within towns/cities, linked with satisfaction for public services,
and rail between towns and cities. This survey namely:
E 2036 Europeans Opinions on Services

The health care domain a complex concept related to multiple latent


The quality of society domain aspects. In particular, the quantification of satis-
The first domain addresses the problem of the faction could indeed be a hard task for the fol-
evaluation of satisfaction for public health ser- lowing reasons:
vices, whereas the second domain contains tools The users contentment is an abstract phenom-
to collect the citizens opinion about the public enon that can be measured only indirectly by
transportation and the education system. means of a set of many related variables, with
In 20012002, the EC launched a series of different relevance and different weight.
public consultations and discussions (in the Stated preferences are collected on an ordinal
Your voice in Europe portal) to make the measurement scale which should be properly
voice of EU citizens heard in Europe. These treated.
consultations and discussions are have your The level of contentment is strictly related to
say online tools like blogs, social networks, or both individual features of respondents (gen-
surveys on many topics regarding the implemen- der, age, type of family, level of instruction,
tation of EU policies with particular reference to type of occupation, etc.) and social environ-
public services and in accordance to the attempts mental conditions; therefore, macro and micro
to improve the EU governance (Sarikakis, 2011). components could affect the level of satisfac-
Other important surveys on monitoring Euro- tion and should be kept under proper consid-
peans opinion for SGI are conducted by the eration (Fiorio, Florio, Salini, & Ferrari,
International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) 2007).
(ISSP is a continuing cross-national collaboration Many surveys concern subjective questions
to perform surveys on topics related to social like Would you say that access to the service
science research [www.issp.org]). is difficult for you? or Would you say the
Finally, many ad hoc EU projects have been price you pay for the service is fair for you?
focused on satisfaction for public services, espe- which may have important implications on the
cially with particular reference to the liberaliza- analysis: by paraphrasing Freeman (Freeman,
tion process. For example, the 3-year 1978), we can state that in these cases data
Privatisation of Public Services and the Impact reflect What people say rather than what peo-
on Quality, Employment and Productivity ple think, and therefore, the role and impli-
(PIQUE) project has conducted a series of sur- cations of this subjective data must be
veys to monitor the liberalization process. Phase properly addressed, as pointed out, for exam-
4 of the project was dedicated to assessing qual- ple, by Bertrand and Mullainathan (Bertrand
ity, accessibility, and accountability from the & Mullainathan, 2001).
users perspective in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Moreover, the different level of liberalization
Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom reached in each EU country gives the citizens
(PIQUE, 2009). different possibilities of switching from one pro-
vider to another, causing different effects and
Satisfaction for Services of General Interest: expectations on satisfaction. For example, in the
A Multifaceted Concept public railway transportation sector, there is
EB surveys collect information about Europeans a wide choice for different providers in the UK,
satisfaction for public services on the basis whereas in countries like Italy or Greece, usually
of stated preferences rather than revealed a single provider manages the overall service.
preferences. Stated preferences are individual Thus, citizens react differently since the situation
self-evaluation of satisfaction or subjective hap- of the regulatory reforms in their countries is
piness (Clifton et al., 2012), whereas revealed different. Comparative and relative quantitative
preferences are inferred from consumers behav- analysis to obtain reliable satisfaction indicators
ior (Frey & Stutzer, 2002). However, stated pref- can help in better understanding these differ-
erences are subject to bias, since satisfaction is ences. In these cases, the goal is to evaluate how
Europeans Opinions on Services 2037 E
public opinion changes from country to country domestic product level and population density),
and from service to service, in markets where and the level of privatization and market regula-
public ownership is still strong and, on the other tion (Conway & Nicoletti, 2006). A random-
hand, privatization and liberalization policies are effect probit model is used. A similar analysis
in progress. for telecommunications has been carried out in
Bacchiocchi, Florio, and Gambaro (2011).
Statistical Measures and Composite Wendt, Kohl, Mischke, and Pfeifer (2010) (see
Indicators to Evaluate Europeans also Wendt, Mischke, & Pfeifer, 2011) analyze
Opinion on Services the relationship between health-care provision
Several proposals to quantitatively evaluate the and satisfaction performing an ordinary least
E
overall Europeans opinion on the provision of squares regression with several individual and
public services have been put forward in the country-level explanatory variables (among
recent years. In this section, we limit our investi- which the opinion on doctors spending enough
gation to the most interesting proposals of the last time, the number of general practitioners, and the
5 years regarding the overall residents of EU15 or type of doctor-patient relationship in respon-
EU27 countries. dents country) retrieved from Organization for
The main source of recent EU overall quanti- Economic Co-operation and Development sur-
tative analyses on the evaluation of Europeans veys and an additive satisfaction index as depen-
opinion on services is the EB survey. Analyses dent variable calculated on EB57.2 data.
presented range from model-based evaluation to
the implementation of synthetic measures of sat- Synthetic Measures and Composite Indicators
isfaction, to between-country ranking methods, Ferrari, Annoni, and Manzi (2010) propose
with some of them overlapping from one cate- a synthetic indicator to classify European coun-
gory to another. tries with relation to consumers satisfaction for
SGI based on EB58 data. A nonlinear principal
Model-Based Analyses component analysis (NPCA) solution is adopted
Among recent model-based analyses, Jilke and (Gifi, 1990; Michailidis & De Leeuw, 1998).
Van de Walle (2012) explicitly model the NPCA produces optimal quantifications for var-
responses to questions on complaints about any iable categories and different weights of the
aspect of the provision of utilities against age and variables according to their importance in order
education through a binary logistic regression on to set up a composite indicator of the level of
EB data. Battaglio (2009) uses probit analysis to satisfaction. A country satisfaction indicator is
measure Europeans choice between private and obtained by performing an overall NPCA and
public provision of services. Salini and Kennett then computing conditional means of NPCA
(2009) apply Bayesian network models to the scores, separately for each country, service, or
analysis of EB data. Fiorio and Florio (2011) aspect.
aim at addressing the question are European Ferrari and Salini (2011) use both Rasch Anal-
consumers happy with the price they pay for ysis (RA) and NPCA to obtain composite indica-
electricity supply services after two decades of tors, reconsidering the concepts of subjects
reforms? being interested in the correlation ability and item difficulty in the Rasch model
between satisfaction and regulatory reforms in (Rasch, 1960) as the citizens satisfaction and
the EU. They use an empirical model where the the service quality, respectively. Then, the com-
exact latent level of individual satisfaction for plementary use of RA and NPCA allows to obtain
a given service has to be not only representative a ranking of items, on one hand, based on the
of the responses to satisfaction surveys (namely, perceived quality (via RA) and, on the other
EB58.0 and EB62.1) but also of a set of socio- hand, based on the importance for the user (via
economic variables (i.e., gender and occupation), NPCA). In this way, policy interventions can be
country macroeconomic variables (i.e., gross appropriately redirected toward what is more
E 2038 Europeans Opinions on Services

needed to improve the service for the public, the examples are given in the utility and telecom
actual quality in relation to users need. sector.
Ferrari, Pagani, and Fiorio (2011) present Jilke and Van de Walle (2012) aimed at
a two-step procedure based on NPCA and confirming the hypothesis that the wealthiest,
multilevel models (MLs) which can be catego- best-informed, and most assertive European citi-
rized both among synthetic measures and among zens get the best-quality service. They came out
model-based approach. NPCA is used to evaluate with mixed results only partly supporting the
the level of a latent satisfaction variable expectation that socioeconomic factors have
(first step), and MLs are used for detecting per- a negative impact over time on citizen complaints
sonal and environmental characteristics of this about utility provision. Age has this impact
level (second step). In particular, in this second whereas education does not have such an effect.
step, the output of the first step is modeled using Battaglios (2009) findings suggest that both
a random intercept model with two sets of vari- industry and national contexts are important in
ables at two levels, an individual level and explaining the choice between private or public
a country level. In this way, the contextual vari- provision of services, being individuals also
ation among countries due to environmental con- influenced by utilitarian concerns, party prefer-
ditions detected in the second step through MLs ences, and value orientations. The comparative
explains most of the country variation initially analysis (among other EU countries) between
obtained in the first step. Ireland and Italy presented by Salini and Kennett
(2009) shows that, generally, the opinion on util-
Ranking, Comparative, and Other Analyses ity prices, quality, and access is better in Ireland
Several comparative and ranking analyses than in Italy. Good quality and easy access judg-
have been performed in the last years in order to ments positively influence the opinion about
evaluate the opinion of Europeans on public price, whereas fixed telephone service opinion is
services. For example, Annoni (2007) uses almost completely depending on judgments on
Hasse diagrams and partial order scalogram other services. Fiorio and Florio (2011) show
analysis with coordinates methods to perform that consumers satisfaction for electricity supply
a ranking analysis on the EU15 countries is higher among females and elderly people.
through EB data; Annoni and Bruggemann More educated people tend to be more satisfied,
(2009) show a way to rank EU countries through while there is no significant difference in terms of
partial order theory; Clifton and Daz-Fuentes marital status; managers and students tend to be
(2010) analyze EB survey data by averaging consistently more satisfied than self-employed
responses on satisfaction for country comparison; people, with unemployed being the least satisfied.
Vael et al. (2009) perform a similar analysis on Respondents with moderate political views tend
PIQUE data. to complain less about electricity prices than peo-
ple at both the extremes of the political spectrum.
What Is Ultimately the Opinion of Europeans Macroeconomic variables are in general less sig-
on SGI? nificant to explain satisfaction. Interestingly and
From what has been highlighted above, it is evi- surprisingly, satisfaction results are higher where
dent that the European public opinion on services the reform process is less advanced. More mixed
of general interest varies depending on personal results are found in Bacchiocchi et al. (2011) for
utilitarian needs, regional heterogeneity, and dif- the telecommunication sector: a significant (and
ferences in providing the specific service. In this negative) effect on satisfaction is that of prices
section, we want to summarize the findings of the for local and international calls, whereas public
recent literature in this field. Many methodolog- ownership is negatively correlated with the level
ical proposals have been tested on real data and of satisfaction. A Northsouth dichotomy in
produced interesting results which are worth terms of satisfaction for SGI was found by Ferrari
discussing in more detail. In what follows, some et al. (2010) among the 15 pre-2004 EU
Europeans Opinions on Services 2039 E
Europeans Opinions on
Services, Fig. 2 Spatial
distribution of satisfaction
in EU15 countries first
decade of the 2000s
(Source: Ferrari, Annoni
and Manzi, 2010)

enlargement member states (see Fig. 2). The Bruggemann (2009) find that Denmark, Luxem-
most satisfied group is formed by Ireland, Den- bourg, and Ireland are at the best level of satis-
mark, Luxembourg, and United Kingdom, while faction with respect to the other countries,
an intermediate group of moderately satisfied whereas Clifton and Daz-Fuentes (2010) results
countries is formed by Belgium, Finland, Neth- are interesting especially for the preference with
erlands, Sweden, and Austria. A moderately dis- regard to the specific service: consumers were
satisfied group is composed by France, Germany, most satisfied with postal services in 2002.
Greece, Spain, and Portugal, and eventually, Finally, Vael et al. (2009) find that the UK is the
a clearly dissatisfied group can be identified country were people are most satisfied especially
whose only component is Italy. Ferrari and for postal and electricity supply service.
Salinis (2011) results on utility supply satisfac-
tion across EU15 countries show a deep differ- Concluding Remarks
ence between Mediterranean countries (Italy, The analyses presented above have mostly
Portugal, Spain, and Greece) and Scandinavian focused on SGI, particularly utilities, excluding
countries (Denmark, Sweden, and Finland), other important public services like health care.
being the latter the satisfied group of countries, The reason for this is that there is no huge cover-
whereas the former are the unsatisfied group. In age for retrieving information, for example, on
Ferrari et al. (2011), the ML approach allows for patient satisfaction at a general EU level. Stan-
country-specific variation of satisfaction. After dard EB surveys rarely include questions about
performing ML, Italy remains the only country patient satisfaction, and when included, questions
where people are clearly dissatisfied, whereas are very general, typically about a general satis-
countries like Greece, Spain, or Portugal regress faction for national health services. Some studies
toward the EU15 average level of satisfaction. In handle this issue, like the one by Wendt et al.
agreement with Fiorio and Florios findings, mac- (2010) who emphasize that the number of GPs
roeconomic variables are found not particularly and a high-quality doctor-patient relationship are
significant. Annoni (2007) and Annoni and among the main determinants of satisfaction for
E 2040 Europeans Opinions on Services

health-care services. However, with regard to Ferrari, P. A., Pagani, P., & Fiorio, C. V. (2011). A two-
SGI, most of the analysis presented above step approach to analyze satisfaction data. Social Indi-
cators Research, 104, 545554.
seems to give congruent results. In the first Ferrari, P. A., & Salini, S. (2011). Complementary use of
decade of the 2000s, Europeans opinion on ser- Rasch models and nonlinear principal components
vices varies across countries according to differ- analysis in the assessment of the opinion of Europeans
ent conditions in each country and different about utilities. Journal of Classification, 28, 5369.
Fiorio, C. V., & Florio, M. (2011). Would you say that
individual perception; in any case, on the basis the price you pay for electricity is fair? Consumers
of the available data, residents in the Mediterra- satisfaction and utility reforms in the EU15. Energy
nean countries seem to be less satisfied than res- Economics, 33, 178187.
idents in Northern Europe countries. Fiorio, C. V., Florio, M., Salini, S., & Ferrari, P. (2007).
Consumers attitudes on services of general interest in
the EU: Accessibility, price and quality 20002004. In
M. Marrelli, F. Padovano, & I. Rizzo (Eds.), Servizi
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EuroQoL 5-Dimension Measures in Malaysia 2041 E
or visual analogue valuation of selected hypothet-
EuroQoL 5-Dimension Measures ical health states among general population
in Malaysia (Norman et al., 2009). This valuation property
makes the instrument suitable not only for
Asrul Akmal Shafie measuring health status but also as quality weight
Discipline of Social & Administrative Pharmacy, in a cost-utility analysis.
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti
Sains Malaysia (USM), Minden, Malaysia EQ-5D Validity and Reliability in Malaysia
The validity of an instrument is the extent to
which it measures what it claims to measure.
E
Synonyms There are three common types of validity
content validity is concerned with whether the
EQ-5D in Malaysia items of the instrument are appropriate for the
health dimension being measured; face validity
evaluates whether the items are sensible and
Definition appropriate for the population it is being admin-
istered to; while construct validity concerns
EuroQoL-5D or better known as EQ-5D is about the extent to which a scale measures or
a generic instrument that measures HRQoL. correlates with the construct which it aims to
This tool measures HRQoL using a descriptive measure.
system (EQ-5D descriptive system) and visual In Malaysia, EQ-5D was validated among
analogue score (EQ-VAS) (Rabin & de Charro, general population (Shafie, Hassali, & Liau,
2001). The EQ-5D descriptive system classifies 2011; Varatharajan & Chen, 2011), patient
health states into five dimensions ( anxiety/ receiving dialysis treatment (Faridah, Jamaiyah,
depression, mobility, pain/discomfort, self- Goh, & Soraya, 2010) and patient with dyspepsia
care, and usual activities) that will be rated into (Mahadeva, Wee, Goh, & Thumboo, 2009).
three levels of perceived problems: no problem, All were conveniently sampled from adult
some problem, and extreme problem. EQ-VAS is population.
a self-rated visual analogue scale where the end- Most of the studies assessed the construct
points are labeled best imaginable health state validity of EQ-5D using known group validation,
with the score of 100 and worst imaginable whereby assessment of the relationship is made
health state with the score of 0 (Cheung, between the construct data to confirm or disprove
Oemar, Oppe, & Rabin, 2009). prior expectations and hence determine the valid-
In order to increase reliability and sensitiv- ity of the instrument being tested. In Shafie et al.
ity of the instrument, the developer (EuroQoL (2011), two out of four assessed hypotheses were
Group) has decided to revise the descriptive sys- found to be statistically significant, i.e., higher
tem into five levels of severity, called EQ-5D- level of education would report better health
5 L. The existing EQ-5D was then renamed as the states, and those participants with significant
EQ-5D-3 L. health problems would report poorer health status
than the participants without significant health
problems. Mahadeva et al. (2009) found that
Description twenty of their 26 tested hypotheses were ful-
filled. This include lower value of EQ-5D utility
The results of EQ-5D descriptive system can be and EQ-VAS with dyspepsia severity, relation-
presented as health profile or weighted index, ship between EQ-5D descriptive system with
whereas EQ-VAS as a measure of overall SF-36 subscales, and relationship between
self-rated health status (Cheung et al., 2009). EQ-5D descriptive system with short form
The weightage is derived from time trade-off Nepean Dyspepsia Index (SFNDI) subscales.
E 2042 EuroQoL 5-Dimension Measures in Malaysia

Only two out of the six hypotheses tested by health promotion project funded by Malaysian
Faridah et al. (2010) were found to be significant, government through MySihat.
i.e., worsening mobility in elderly and higher EQ-5D score among general population was
limitation with usual activity among hemodialy- found to be almost at perfect health with
sis patient compared to CAPD. mean EQ-5D utility score of 0.93 (SD 0.13)
Construct validity was also assessed using (Shafie et al., 2011), and mean EQ-VAS score
convergent validation, whereby EQ-5D utility was between 82.22 (SD 14.08) (Shafie et al.,
and EQ-VAS were found to be correlated with 2011) and 85.9 (SD 11.9) (Varatharajan &
MCS-12 (r 0.2) and PCS-12 (r 0.4) (Shafie Chen, 2011). Majority of the general population
et al., 2011). EQ-5D utility was also found to be (73.2 %) reported no problem in all dimension
correlated with PCS-36 (rs 0.45), MCS-36 (Shafie et al., 2011). Most of the problem in
(rs 0.49), and SFNDI (rs 0.47) by Mahadeva this population occurred in anxiety/depression
et al. (2009). and pain dimensions (Shafie et al., 2011;
Both EQ-5D and SF-12 were found to be able Varatharajan & Chen, 2011).
to discriminate those without medical problem Research was conducted in the state of
among general population though EQ-5D Selangor on adult Malaysians with mobility
appeared to be better (Shafie et al., 2011). impairment using EQ-5D (Misajon et al., 2006).
The reliability is the instruments ability to They found that majority (78 %) experienced
come out with reproducible and consistent some mobility problems and a few of them
results. Two-week intraclass correlation coeffi- (15 %) are confined to bed. indicated confinement
cient (ICC) of EQ-5D was found to be to bed. With regard to self-care, 30 % of them
0.010.92 among general population admitted to have some problems in this dimen-
(Varatharajan & Chen, 2011) and 0.66 among sion with more than half (16 %) unable to wash or
dyspepsia patients (Mahadeva et al., 2009). dress themselves. In addition, most (80 %) of
Faridah et al. (2010) found Kappa to be them have pain or discomfort problem and anxi-
0.180.43 between the time interval (though ety or depression (70 %).
interval was not specified in the report). Another study using EQ-5D compared
HRQoL of breast cancer survivors (BCSs) with
EQ-5D Measurement in Malaysia general population in the state of Penang, Malay-
Despite absence of requirement for economic sia (Matalqah et al., 2011). The mean EQ-5D
evaluation in the countrys formal evaluation of utility score for BCSs (0.71) was lower than that
drugs for reimbursement, EQ-5D is one of the of the general population (0.87). Most of them
most popular generic instruments in Malaysia. It have problem with self-care (13.3 % vs. 6.0 %),
was used de novo in a number of studies on both carrying out usual activities (21.3 % vs. 9.3 %),
general (Shafie et al., 2011; Varatharajan & Chen, pain or discomfort (54.0 % vs. 33.3 %), and
2011), disease-specific patient population includ- anxiety or depression (42.0 % vs. 18.7 %). The
ing mobility impaired (Misajon et al., 2006), lower HRQoL experienced by BCSs may be due
dengue (Lum, Suaya, Tan, Sah, & Shepard, to a declined health status from the pain and
2008), dyspepsia (Mahadeva, Wee, Goh, & discomfort they encountered. As such, this study
Thumboo, 2008; Mahadeva et al., 2009), breast suggests that a way to help BCSs cope with the
cancer (Matalqah, Radaideh, Yusoff, & Awaisu, condition is by pain management intervention or
2011), and schizophrenia (Taha, Mohamed occupational therapy.
Ibrahim, Ab Rahman, & Shafie, 2011) and Lum et al. (2008) have characterized the effect
service-specific population including dialysis of dengue on HRQoL during the entire illness
(Faridah et al., 2010), smoking cessation (Awaisu episode using EQ-VAS. They found that
et al., 2012), and community pharmacy (Shafie, EQ-VAS scores declined at the disease onset to
Hassali, & Mohamad Yahaya, 2010). From 2012, the lowest point (<40) between third and seventh
EQ-5D is also now used in routine evaluation of day of illness. Their HRQoL usually recovered
EuroQoL 5-Dimension Measures in Malaysia 2043 E
after 13 days, though ambulatory patients had Faridah, A., Jamaiyah, H., Goh, A., & Soraya, A. (2010).
faster recovery. The validation of the EQ-5D in Malaysian dialysis
patients. The Medical Journal of Malaysia, 65(Suppl
The impact of adding smoking cessation ser- A), 114119.
vice to directly observed tuberculosis treatment Lum, L. C., Suaya, J. A., Tan, L. H., Sah, B. K., &
on HRQoL was assessed by Awaisu et al. (2012) Shepard, D. S. (2008). Quality of life of dengue
using EQ-5D. The study suggested that the com- patients. The American Journal of Tropical Medicine
and Hygiene, 78(6), 862867.
bination of DOTS for TB and SCI (smoking Mahadeva, S., Wee, H. L., Goh, K. L., & Thumboo, J.
cessation intervention) via cognitive behavioral (2008). Quality of life in South East Asian patients
therapy (CBT) and pharmacotherapy has a great who consult for dyspepsia: Validation of the short
potential to yield better treatment outcomes form Nepean Dyspepsia Index. The Medical Journal
of Malaysia, 63(Suppl B), 31. E
among TB patients who smoke. The participants Mahadeva, S., Wee, H. L., Goh, K. L., & Thumboo, J.
had shown improvement in both physical and (2009). The EQ-5D (Euroqol) is a valid generic instru-
mental functioning than those who received ment for measuring quality of life in patients with
the usual TB care. dyspepsia. BMC Gastroenterology, 9(20).
Matalqah, L., Radaideh, K., Yusoff, Z., & Awaisu, A.
(2011). Health-related quality of life using EQ-5D
Weight among breast cancer survivors in comparison
Response to EQ-5D descriptive system could be with age-matched peers from the general population
converted into quality weight for cost-utility anal- in the state of Penang, Malaysia. Journal of Public
Health, 19(5), 475480. doi:10.1007/s10389-011-
ysis using a set of weighting (or sometimes called 0406-6.
social value) from valuation exercise on represen- Md Yusof, F. A., Goh, A., & Azmi, S. (2012). Estimating
tative sample of general population. Absence of an EQ-5D value set for Malaysia using time trade-off
Malaysia weighting is noted and UK value set and visual analogue scale methods. Value in Health, 15
(1, Suppl.), S85S90. doi:10.1016/j.jval.2011.11.024.
(Dolan, 1997) was more commonly used to derive Misajon, R., Manderson, L., Pallant, J., Omar, Z., Bennett,
utility value. A recent study attempted to establish E., & Rahim, R. (2006). Impact, distress and HRQoL
the weighting in Malaysia (Md Yusof, Goh, & among Malaysian men and women with a mobility
Azmi, 2012) using the original MVH protocol impairment. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes,
4(1), 95.
(Dolan, Gudex, Kind, & Williams, 1995). How- Norman, R., Cronin, P., Viney, R., King, M., Street, D., &
ever, the valuations were based on limited sample Ratcliffe, J. (2009). International comparisons in val-
of patient on dialysis, caregivers, and health pro- uing EQ-5D health states: A review and analysis.
fessionals in government hospitals. Value in Health. doi:VHE581 [pii]10.1111/j.1524-
4733.2009.00581.x.
Rabin, R., & de Charro, F. (2001). EQ-5D: A measure of
health status from the EuroQol Group. Annals of Med-
References icine, 33(5), 337343.
Shafie, A., Hassali, M., & Liau, S. (2011). A cross-
Awaisu, A., Haniki Nik Mohamed, M., Noordin, N., sectional validation study of EQ-5D among the Malay-
Muttalif, A., Aziz, N., Syed Sulaiman, S., et al. sian adult population. Quality of Life Research, 20(4),
(2012). Impact of connecting tuberculosis directly 593600. doi:10.1007/s11136-010-9774-6.
observed therapy short-course with smoking cessation Shafie, A. A., Hassali, M. A., & Mohamad Yahaya, A. H.
on health-related quality of life. Tobacco Induced Dis- (2010). Assessment of health related quality of life
eases, 10(1), 2. (HRQoL) among non-prescription medicine cus-
Cheung, K., Oemar, M., Oppe, M., & Rabin, R. (2009). tomers in Malaysia. Value in Health (ISI IF 3.03),
User guide: Basic information on how to use 13(7), A544.
EQ-5D. Retrieved from 22 Mar 2012 www.euroqol. Taha, N. A., Mohamed Ibrahim, M. I., Ab Rahman, A. F.,
org/fileadmin/user_upload/Documenten/PDF/User_ & Shafie, A. A. (2011). PMH52 Relationship between
Guide_v2_March_2009.pdf. psychopathology and self-rated EQ-5D health states
Dolan, P. (1997). Modeling valuations for EuroQol health among patients with schizophrenia. Value in Health
states. Medical Care, 35(11), 10951108. (ISI IF 3.03), 14(7), A296.
Dolan, P., Gudex, C., Kind, P., & Williams, A. (1995). A Varatharajan, S., & Chen, W.-S. (2011). Reliability and
social tariff for EuroQol: Results from a UK general validity of EQ-5D in Malaysian population. Applied
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Papers. p. 138. s11482-011-9156-4.
E 2044 Eurostat Database: New Cronos

placed online so that they were accessible to all


Eurostat Database: New Cronos users without cost. The New Cronos database,
previously available on CD-ROM, was made
Edviges Coelho available via the Eurostat Dissemination Data-
Statistics Portugal, Lisbon, Portugal base. Since then, the volume of available data
has significantly expanded, metadata were
improved, and links for technical documents
Synonyms were added. Navigation and search capabilities
were also enhanced, and tools for data visualiza-
Eurostat dissemination database tion and extraction were developed. The Eurostat
Dissemination Database contains data from 1960
onward; however, the time coverage depends on
Definition the variable and the country, varying according to
the accession data and availability of the data.
The Eurostat Dissemination Database, formerly The Eurostat Dissemination Database repre-
New Cronos database, is the official European sents an international reference statistical
Union (EU) data portal. It contains a wide range database, not only because of the large range of
of social and economic statistical data, covering cross-national statistics available (it contains over
the EU member states, the candidate countries, 300 million statistical data), the quality and com-
the European Trade Association (EFTA) coun- parability of the data, and the availability of time
tries, and, in many cases, the United States of series that span a considerable time periods but
America, Japan, and Canada. The database is also because of the way it is structured, allowing
accessible free of charge from the Web site of either the general public or the more sophisticated
Eurostat: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/ user to locate and identify the data required, offer-
page/portal/eurostat/home. ing simultaneously self-explanatory documenta-
tion, such as a descriptive statistical texts,
a methodological manual, classifications, and
Description background community regulations.
The Eurostat Dissemination Database is struc-
Eurostat is the Statistical Office of the European tured into nine different statistical themes and an
Communities located in Luxembourg. It is additional set of data tables entitled EU Policy
a Directorate-General of the European Commis- Indicators. Data are hierarchically ordered in
sion, and its mission is to provide the EU with a navigation tree, which presents user-friendly
a high-quality statistical information service and personalization functions according to the
(European Commission, 2010). Eurostat is respon- individual user needs. There are two ways
sible for the development, production, and dissem- to access and extract data: tables and database
ination of European statistics in conformity with (European Commission, 2011). Tables contain
the statistical principles defined in the European predefined data and may be explored through
Statistics Code of Practice (Commission Recom- the Tables, Graph and Map function (TGM)
mendation, 2005) and implemented by the Regu- tool, while the database enables the user to select
lation (EC) no. 223/2009 on European statistics of and customize the data to display and extract
11 March (Regulation (EC), 2009). through the Data Explorer tool.
In 2004 Eurostat adopted a free-of-charge dis- The EU Policy Indicators include statistics
semination policy of statistical data, ensuring that usually cut across specific statistical themes
equality of access to European statistics. This and are in line with the EU policy developments.
decision substantially changed the way to access Among the EU policy priorities are several of the
the data. Internet became the main support for dimensions of quality of life, such as those related
European statistics dissemination, and data was to employment, education, social inclusion,
Eurostat Social Indicators for the European Community 2045 E
innovation, and environment. This section of the European Commission. (2010). Legal framework for
database contains a set of predefined tables that European statistics the Statistical Law. Publications
Office of the European Union.
offer an overview of the most important statisti- European Commission. (2011). Mini-guide, Eurostat pub-
cal indicators for monitoring the progress of EU lications and databases. European Commission,
policies. More detailed data, and in a more flex- Edition 2011.
ible format, are available under each of the nine European Commission. (2012). EU-SILC 2013 Module on
Well-Being description of SILC secondary target vari-
thematic database sections. The statistical themes ables. Version 5 March 2012.
are the following: general and regional statistics; Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 of The European Parlia-
economy and finance; population and social con- ment and of the Council of 11 March 2009 on
ditions; industry, trade, and services; agriculture, European statistics (2009).
E
forestry, and fisheries; external trade; transport;
environment and energy; and science and tech-
nology. Among these, several provide data on
variables that support quality of life research. Eurostat Dissemination Database
Examples are statistics on public health and
health and safety at work. Health statistics Eurostat Database: New Cronos
include health status, health problems and health
determinants, health-care provision and
resources, health-care expenditures, and causes
of death. Health and safety at work statistics Eurostat Social Indicators for the
include accidents at work and work-related health European Community
problems. Statistics on income, social inclusion,
and living conditions cover objective and subjec- Carlos Farinha Rodrigues
tive aspects for households (e.g., well-being indi- Economics Department, School of Economics
cators) and individuals (European Commission, and Management, Technical University of
2012).They are used to monitor the Europe 2020 Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
strategy, particularly poverty reduction. The
main source for the compilation of statistics on
income, social inclusion, and living conditions is Description
the EU Statistics on Income and Living Condi-
tions (EU-SILC) survey. Social Indicators for the European Union:
From the Lisbon Strategy to the Europe 2020
Strategy
Cross-References The Lisbon strategy, approved in the March 2000
Lisbon European Council, has been an important
European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) step in the development of EU social policy.
European Social Survey and Marriage The explicit goal of modernising the European
Eurostat Social Indicators for the European social model, investing in people and combating
Community social exclusion implies not only the coordi-
Living Conditions, EU-SILC Community nation of the Member States in the area of
Statistics on Income and Living Conditions social inclusion but also the need for a set of
indicators that make it possible to monitor the
performance of the Member States, and the EU
References as a whole, in promoting social inclusion. The
importance of the indicators has been extensively
Commission Recommendation of 25 May 2005 on the
independence, integrity and accountability of the
discussed in Atkinson, Cantillon, Marlier, and
national and Community statistical authorities, COM Nolan (2002); Atkinson, Marlier, and Nolan
(2005) 217 final. (2004); and Atkinson and Marlier (2010). In the
E 2046 Eurostat Social Indicators for the European Community

European Council of Laeken (December 2001), Eurostat Social Indicators for the European Commu-
a core set of 18 poverty and social exclusion nity, Table 1 Laeken primary indicators
indicators was approved. These indicators are 1. At-risk-of-poverty rate
regularly estimated for every EU country on Share of persons with an equivalized disposable
a comparable basis, and they are known as the income below 60 % of the national equivalized
median income
Laeken indicators.
Equivalized median income is defined as the
The Laeken indicators were initially households total disposable income divided by its
subdivided in two groups: ten primary indicators equivalent size, to take account of the size and
covering the main fields that have been composition of the household, and it is attributed to
considered the most important dimensions of each household member
2. At-risk-of-poverty threshold (illustrative values)
social exclusion and 8 secondary indicators
The value of the at-risk-of-poverty threshold (60 %
whose aim is to complement the primary indica- median national equivalized income) in PPS
tors or to extend the analysis to other dimensions (purchasing power standard), Euro, and national
relevant to social exclusion. The next tables currency for two illustrative household types:
(Tables 1 and 2), adapted from the Statistical Single person household
annex of the 2003 Joint Inclusion Report Household with two adults, two children
(adopted by the EU Council of Ministers in 3. Income quintile ratio (S80/S20)
March 2004), present these indicators in their Ratio of total income received by the 20 % of the
countrys population with the highest income (top
final form, after some revision and extension. quintile) to that received by the 20 % of the countrys
The set of indicators presented below covers population with the lowest income (lowest quintile)
important dimensions of social exclusion like Income must be understood as equivalized disposable
financial poverty, employment, health and edu- income
cation. The relation between poverty and 4. Persistent at-risk-of-poverty rate
inequality is also taken into account. Share of persons with an equivalized disposable
income below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold in the
The concept of relative poverty plays a crucial
current year and in at least two of the preceding 3
rule as many indicators are based on a central years
poverty threshold defined as 60 % of 5. Relative Medina poverty risk gap
median national equivalized income after Difference between the median equivalized income
social transfers. However, this indicator does of persons below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold and
not measure wealth or poverty, but low income the threshold itself, expressed as a percentage of the
at-risk-of-poverty threshold
in comparison to other residents in that
6. Regional cohesion
country, which does not necessarily imply a low Coefficient of variation of employment rates at
standard of living. Given the limitations of this NUTS (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for
indicator, it is referred to as a measure of poverty Statistics) level 2
risk. Employment rates are calculated as the share of the
One important point about these indicators is population (aged 15 years or more) who are in
employment (ILO definition)
that they were defined for a Europe Union with 15
7. Long-term unemployment rate
State Members, and hence their ability to reflect
Total long-term unemployed population (12 months
the situation of the new countries that have joined or more; ILO definition) as a proportion of total
the EU in this century may be questionable. The active population aged 15 years or over
different situations of the new member states as 8. Population living in jobless households
well as the differences between them and the Proportion of children (aged 017 years) living in
countries of the EU15 suggest that the Laeken jobless households, expressed as a share of all
children
portfolio of indicators should be extended in
Proportion of all people aged 1859 years who live in
order to take into account the diversity of living a jobless household as a proportion of all people in
conditions in the 27 Member States. the same age group. Students aged 1824 years who
The utilization, in recent years, of material live in households composed solely of students are
deprivation indicators by Eurostat to (continued)
Eurostat Social Indicators for the European Community 2047 E
Eurostat Social Indicators for the European Commu- Eurostat Social Indicators for the European Commu-
nity, Table 1 (continued) nity, Table 2 Laeken secondary indicators
not counted in either the numerator or the 12. Dispersion around the at-risk-of-poverty threshold
denominator Share of persons with an equivalized disposable
9. Early school leavers not in education or training income below 40 %, 50 %, and 70 % of the national
Share of persons aged 1824 who have only lower equivalized median income
secondary education (their highest level of education 13. At-risk-of-poverty rate anchored at a moment in time
or training attained is 0, 1, or 2 according to the 1997 In year t, share of persons with an equivalized disposable
International Standard Classification of Education income below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold in year
ISCED 97) and have not received education or t-3 uprated by inflation over the three years
training in the four weeks preceding the survey 14. At-risk-of-poverty rate before social cash transfers
10. Life expectancy E
Relative at-risk-of-poverty rate where equivalized
Number of years a person aged 0, 1, and 60 may be income is calculated as follows:
expected to live Excluding all social cash transfers
11. Self-defined health status by income level Including retirement and survivors pensions and
Proportion of the population aged 16 years and over excluding all other social cash transfers
in the bottom and top quintile of the equivalized Including all social cash transfers (equal to
income distribution who classify themselves as in indicator 1)
a bad or very bad state of health The same at-risk-of-poverty threshold is used for the
Source: Commission of the European Communities three statistics and is set at 60 % of the national
(2003) median equivalized disposable income (after social
cash transfers)
15. Gini coefficient
Summary measure of the cumulative share of
characterize living conditions and social exclu- equivalized income accounted for by the cumulative
sion in Europe is a first step in that direction. percentages of the number of individuals. Its value
According to Eurostat, material deprivation ranges from 0 % (complete equality) to 100 %
(complete inequality)
refers to a state of economic strain and durables
16. Persistent at-risk-of-poverty rate (50 % of Medina
strain, defined as the enforced inability (rather equivalized income)
than the choice not to do so) to pay unexpected Share of persons with an equivalized disposable
expenses, afford a one-week annual holiday away income below 50 % of the national median
from home, a meal involving meat, chicken or equivalized income in the current year and in at least
fish every second day, the adequate heating of two of the preceding three years
17. In-work poverty risk
a dwelling, durable goods like a washing
Individuals who are classified as employed
machine, colour television, telephone or car, (distinguishing between wage and salary employment
being confronted with payment arrears (mortgage and self-employment) according to the definition of
or rent, utility bills, hire purchase instalments or most frequent activity status and who are at risk of
other loan payments). poverty. This indicator needs to be analyzed according
to personal, job, and household characteristics
The approval of the Strategy 2020 in the June
18. Long-term unemployment share
2010 European Council represents a new and
Total long-term unemployed population (12
significant step in European social policy. months; ILO definition) as a proportion of the total
The ultimate goal of this strategy is to help unemployed population aged 15 years and over
the EU to become a smart, sustainable, and 19. Very long-term unemployment rate
inclusive economy. Five objectives, to be reached Total very long-term unemployed population (24
by 2020, were set in the areas of employment, months; ILO definition) as a proportion of the total
unemployed population aged 15 years and over
innovation, education, climate/energy, and
20. Persons with low educational attainment
social inclusion. Each Member State should
Share of the adult population (aged 25 years and
adopt its own national targets in each one of over) whose highest level of education or training
these areas. is ISCED 0, 1, or 2
The EU targets for inclusive growth include Source: Commission of the European Communities
the following objectives: (2003)
E 2048 Eurostat Social Indicators for the European Community

1. To attain 75 % employment rate for women Eurostat Social Indicators for the European Commu-
and men aged 2064 by 2020 nity, Table 3 Risk of poverty and social exclusion
2. To reduce school dropout rates to below 10 % 1. At-risk-of-poverty rate
and have at least 40 % of 3034-year-olds This is the same indicator used in the Laeken
complete third level education portfolio of indicators, i.e., the proportion of
persons with an equivalized disposable
3. To reduce the number of people in or at risk income below 60 % of the national equivalized
of poverty and social exclusion by median income
20 million Equivalized median income is defined as the
Source: Commission of the European households total disposable income divided by its
Communities (2003) equivalent size, to take account of the size and
composition of the household, and is attributed to each
The monitoring of these objectives, particu- household member
larly the target of reducing the number of people 2. Severe material deprivation rate
in or at risk of poverty and social exclusion, The material deprivation rate is an indicator that
clearly implies a need to strengthen the actual expresses the inability to afford some items
indicators and the construction of a new considered by most people to be desirable or even
necessary to lead an adequate life. The indicator
composed indicator: the number of people at distinguishes between individuals who cannot
risk of poverty and social exclusion. afford a certain good or service and those who do not
The overall risk of facing poverty and have this good or service for another reason, e.g.,
social exclusion is made of three types of because they do not want or do not need it. The
indicator measures the percentage of the population
risk: being at risk of poverty, facing severe that cannot afford at least three of the following
material deprivation, and living in nine items:
a household with very low work intensity. People (a) To pay their rent, mortgage, or utility bills
are considered to be at risk of poverty and (b) To keep their home adequately warm
social exclusion if they face at least one of (c) To face unexpected expenses
those risks. (d) To eat meat or proteins regularly
The 3 indicators/risks used are already among (e) To go on holiday
the EUs social inclusion indicators set, but it is (f) A television set
the first time they have been combined in this (g) A refrigerator
way. (h) A car
The next table (Table 3) presents the definition (i) A telephone
The severe material deprivation rate is defined as the
given by Eurostat for each of those three
enforced inability to pay for at least four of the above-
indicators: mentioned items
According to Eurostat, in 2010, approximately 3. Persons living in households with low work intensity
115.5 million people in the EU-27 (23.5 % of the This indicator is defined as the number of persons
total population) were at risk of poverty or living in a household that have a work intensity below
social exclusion. However, this average figure a threshold set at 0.20
masks considerable variation among Member The work intensity of a household is the ratio of the
total number of months that all working-age household
States. At one extreme, the Member States with members have worked during the income reference
the highest rates of risk of poverty and social year and the total number of months the same
exclusion were Bulgaria (42 %), Romania household members theoretically could have worked
(41 %), Latvia (38 %), Lithuania (33 %), and in the same period
A working-age person is a person aged 1859 years,
Hungary (30 %). At the other extreme, the
excluding students in the age group between 18 and 24
share of the population at risk of poverty or years. Households composed only of children, of
social exclusion was around 15 % in the students aged less than 25, and/or people aged 60 or
Czech Republic, Sweden, and the Netherlands more are completely excluded from the indicator
calculation
(Table 4).
Looking at the above figure (Fig. 1), we can Source: Commission of the European Communities
(2003)
ask what improvement we get from moving the
Eurostat Social Indicators for the European Community 2049 E
Eurostat Social Indicators for the European Community, Table 4 Risk of poverty and social exclusion (%)
Risk of poverty and Severe material
Country social exclusion At-risk-of-poverty rate deprivation Low work intensity
Austria 16.6 12.1 4.3 7.7
Belgium 20.8 14.6 5.9 12.6
Bulgaria 41.6 20.7 35.0 7.9
Cyprus 24.0 17.0 9.1 4.0
Czech Republic 14.4 9.0 6.2 6.4
Denmark 18.3 13.3 2.7 10.3
Estonia 21.7 15.8 9.0 8.9
Finland 16.9 13.1 2.8 9.1 E
France 19.3 13.5 5.8 9.8
Germany 19.7 15.6 4.5 11.1
Greece 27.7 20.1 11.6 7.5
Hungary 29.9 12.3 21.6 11.8
Ireland 29.9 16.1 7.5 22.9
Italy 24.5 18.2 6.9 10.2
Latvia 38.1 21.3 27.4 12.2
Lithuania 33.4 20.2 19.5 9.2
Luxembourg 17.1 14.5 0.5 5.5
Malta 20.6 15.5 5.7 8.4
Netherlands 15.1 10.3 2.2 8.2
Poland 27.8 17.6 14.2 7.3
Portugal 25.3 17.9 9.0 8.6
Romania 41.4 21.1 31.0 6.8
Slovakia 20.6 12.0 11.4 7.9
Slovenia 18.3 12.7 5.9 6.9
Spain 25.5 20.7 4.0 9.8
Sweden 15.0 12.9 1.3 5.9
United Kingdom 23.1 17.1 4.8 13.1
European Union 23.5 16.4 8.1 10.0
Source: Eurostat (online data code: t2020_50;t2020_51;t2020_52;t2020_53)

at-risk-of-poverty Severe material


16.4% deprivation
8.1%
3.8%
2.3%

9.7%
1.5%
0.5%
Eurostat Social 2.8%
Indicators for the
European Community, low work intensity
2.8% 7.7%
Fig. 1 Intersections of
Europe 2020 Poverty
Target Indicators (Source:
Eurostat [online data code: at risk of poverty and social exclution 23.5%
ilc_pees01])
E 2050 Eustress

main indicator and the target population of inclu- References


sion policy from the at-risk-of- poverty rate to
the at-risk-of- poverty and social exclusion Atkinson, A. B., Cantillon, B., Marlier, E., & Nolan, B.
(2002). Social indicators: The EU and social inclu-
indicator. Certainly we get an indicator closer to
sion. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
the multidimensional dimension of poverty Atkinson, A. B., & Marlier, E. (2010). Income and living
and exclusion. On the other hand, the intercep- conditions in Europe. Luxembourg: Publications
tion of the three dimensions could be problem- Office of the European Union.
Atkinson, A. B., Marlier, E., & Nolan, B. (2004). Indica-
atic. For example, it seems highly questionable
tors and targets for social inclusion in the European
to consider someone who is jobless but is neither Union. Journal of Common Market Studies, 42(1),
low income or deprived as being at risk of pov- 4775.
erty and social exclusion. The next figure Commission of the European Communities. (2003). Joint
report on social inclusion. Luxembourg: Author.
shows a more detailed analysis of the interception
Nolan, B., & Whelan, C. (2011a). Poverty and deprivation
of the three indicators in 2010. in Europe. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Nolan and Whelan (2011a, 2011b) make Nolan, B., & Whelan, C. (2011b). The EU 2020 poverty
a thorough analysis of the way the EU 2020 target (GINI Discussion Papers 19). Amsterdam:
Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies.
poverty target identifies its target population
via the risk of poverty and social exclusion
indicator. They point out that its use is problem-
atic in terms of inclusion of household jobless-
ness, the way material deprivation is measured, Eustress
and the inclusion of all those meeting any of the
three criteria. Maria Jose Chambel
One final point about the social indicators Department of Social and Organizational
for the European Union concerns the data Psychology, University of Lisbon, Lisbon,
used for building the indicators. It will not be Portugal
possible to obtain most of the indicators
presented above, and in particular the overall
risk of facing poverty and social exclusion, Definition
without a harmonized set of data for all the
Member States. The EU-SILC (Survey on Eustress can be defined as the positive experience
Income and Living Conditions) is the EU refer- of stress (Lazarus, 1974).
ence source for comparative statistics on income
distribution, poverty, and living conditions
and the main source of information to develop Description
indicators to monitor poverty and social
exclusion. The term is not new in stress literature. Hans
Selye (1976) was the first to use the term eustress
and defined it as a good kind of stress. However,
Cross-References this author considered that stress was
a nonspecific physiological response that might
Deprivation have positive effects, eustress, and negative
Equality effects, distress. It was Lazarus that developed
Gini Coefficient the Cognitive Transactional Model of Stress
Income Distribution (Lazarus, 1974; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984),
Poverty which included an explanation of the positive
Social Exclusion aspects of stress responses. In contrast to Selyes
Social Inclusion perspective, this model considered eustress as not
Social Policy being the positive effects of a nonspecific
Eustress 2051 E
physiological response but a specific response in this concept but has also served as the theoretical
itself that includes affective, behavioral, and foundation of recent empirical studies that exam-
physiological manifestations. The experience of ine the positive responses to stress at work. This
stress is a complex and phenomenological pro- model considers that stress response is complex
cess that involves appraisals by the individual. and most if not all of stressors the physical or
Whether and how an individual responds to psychological stimuli to which the individual
a situation depends upon what he or she thinks responds will elicit both a negative and
and believes about this situation. Concerning this a positive response for any individual. The posi-
model, the process of stress is not inevitable or tive response is eustress and reflects the extent to
identical for all because there is a cognitive medi- which the individual appraises the situation or
E
ator between what occurs in the environment and event as a benefit or an opportunity to enhance
the reactions of the individual. The stress process his/her well-being. Concerning this model,
is only initiated when an individual perceives the despite the demands of their work situations,
events, episodes, or conditions in the environ- workers might experience a high degree of the
ment that are both relevant and stressful for his/ positive responses. These responses include pos-
her personal well-being. Nevertheless, the indi- itive emotions (e.g., joy, contentment, love, hap-
vidual may appraise the situations as being harm- piness, and positive affects), positive attitudes
ful, threatening, or challenging. In the latter, the (e.g., hope, meaningfulness, manageability,
process of stress involves positive responses as vigor, trust, and engagement), and positive
the individual considers that his/her resources are behaviors (e.g., forgiveness, organizational citi-
highly relative to the demands and there is zenship behaviors, and positive deviance) and
a potential for mastery and personal growth. show a significant link to the individuals well-
However, challenge, harm, and threat appraisals being. This positive response is more than merely
can occur simultaneously, as the result of the the absence of negative responses that represent
same stressor, and should be considered as sepa- a distinct construct that would require specific
rate but related constructs. measures (Edwards & Cooper, 1988).
Although the existence of positive responses is Different empirical studies conducted with the
acknowledged, the majority of stress researchers Holistic Model of Stress as the theoretical refer-
have focused almost exclusively on negative ential model have supported that even in
responses. However, in the last decades, health, extremely distressful jobs, eustress can be expe-
psychology, and organizational behavior have rienced. For example, studies with nurses,
shifted toward a positive emphasis. For example, a demanding profession with a lot of stressors,
Ryff and Singer (2002) emphasized the necessity showed that these professionals exhibited high
of studying health not only as the absence of the eustress, namely, high meaningfulness and hope
negative but also the presence of the positive. (Simmons, Nelson, & Neal, 2001). Moreover,
Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) defined hospital nurses that had higher eustress, namely,
positive psychology as a science of positive higher hope, were those that had a higher percep-
subjective experience and considered the neces- tion of their health (Simmons & Nelson, 2001). In
sity of studying both human strengths and posi- the same vein, in research with pastors of
tive institutions. Luthans (2002), who created churches with large denominations, considered
positive organizational behavior (POB), consid- leaders of their congregations with a lot of
ered that researchers needed to focus on identify- stressors, Little, Simmons, and Nelson (2007)
ing and developing human strengths at work. showed that these workers had eustress, namely,
This positive framework entails a new interest positive affect, engagement, and forgiveness
in the eustress construct. behaviors. More interestingly, none of the work
The Holistic Model of Stress developed by demands were significantly related to the percep-
Nelson and Simmons (2003, 2007) can be tion of health, but positive affect was the positive
highlighted as a model that not only integrates variable related to it. This result supported that
E 2052 Eustress

eustress was an intervening variable between Happiness


demands and health. Health
Lazarus transactional model of stress consid- Job Satisfaction
ered that the individual alters his/her circum- Positive Affect
stances, or how they are interpreted, to make Positive Psychology
them appear more favorable an effort called Stress
coping. Nelson and Simmons proposed savoring Stress Reactivity
eustress as a complement of coping. They con- Well-Being at Work
sidered that individuals might entail a process of Work Stress
positive affect regulation to maintain emotions
by approaching things they believe caused the
experience and avoiding things that threaten to
cut short their good feelings. Most individuals not
References
only prefer eustress, they savor, or enjoy with Edwards, J. R., & Cooper, C. L. (1988). The impacts of
appreciation, this positive response to aspects of positive psychological states on physical health:
demands they encounter at work. By savoring, A review and theoretical framework. Social Science
the individuals promote or prolong the experi- & Medicine, 27, 11471459.
Lazarus, R. S. (1974). Psychological stress and coping in
ence of eustress. adaptation and illness. International Journal of
Psychiatry in Medicine, 5, 321333.
Discussion Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal
We can conclude that eustress is an important and coping. New York: Springer.
Little, L. M., Simmons, B. L., & Nelson, D. L. (2007).
construct to include in a more holistic examina- Health among leaders: Positive and negative affects,
tion of stress at work. Even in demanding pro- engagement and burnout, forgiveness and revenge.
fessions, there are individuals who find their work Journal of Management Studies, 44(2), 243260.
meaningful and who believe they have the will Luthans, F. (2002). The need for and meaning of positive
organizational behavior. Journal of Organizational
and the way to accomplish their goals and can Behavior, 23, 695706.
glean positive experiences and related health Nelson, D. L., & Simmons, B. L. (2003). Health psychol-
benefits. However, much work remains to be ogy and work stress: A more positive approach. In J. C.
done in this area. First, it is necessary to refine Quick & L. E. Tetrick (Eds.), Handbook of occupa-
tional health psychology (pp. 97119). Washington,
the construct of eustress and understand different DC: American Psychological Association.
personal or contextual characteristics that favor Ryff, C. D., & Singer, B. (2002). From social structures to
that positive experience of stress. Secondly, it is biology: Integrative science in pursuit of human health
necessary to conduct research that analyzes the and well-being. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.),
Handbook of positive psychology (pp. 541555). New
mechanisms that explain why and how eustress is York: Oxford University Press.
associated with health and well-being. Thirdly, Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Pos-
we also need to refine the constructs of savoring itive psychology. American Psychologist, 55, 514.
and distinguish its utilization and consequences Selye, H. (1976). The stress of life. New York: McGraw-
Hill.
from coping. Finally, it is necessary to focus on Simmons, B. L., & Nelson, D. L. (2001). Eustress at
interventions and management actions that gen- work: The relationship between hope and health in
erate eustress to complement the well-developed hospital nurses. Health Care Management Review,
focus on distress prevention, control, and 26, 718.
Simmons, B. L., & Nelson, D. L. (2007). Eustress at work:
reduction. Extending the holistic stress model. In D. Nelson &
C. L. Cooper (Eds.), Positive organizational behavior.
Accentuating the positive at work (pp. 4053).
Cross-References London: Sage.
Simmons, B., Nelson, D., & Neal, L. (2001).
A comparison of the positive and negative work
Affluence, Stress, and Well-Being attitudes of home health care and hospital nurses.
Distress Health Care Management Review, Summer, 6374.
Event History Analysis 2053 E
children versus having a first child, etc. The
EUT examples leave little doubt about the importance
of event history analysis for quality of life
Expected Utility Theory research. An important aim of the analysis is to
find out the effect of covariates on the risk
of events. For example, the effect of
a governmental job training program on the risk
of becoming unemployed, the effect of first
Event Duration Modeling marriage on the risk of job change, or
whether getting ones first child enhances the
E
Event History Analysis risk of entering marriage.

Description

Event History Analysis Origin


Event history originated at the end of the 1950s in
Johan H. L. Oud the biomedical sciences and in engineering.
Behavioral Science Institute, Radboud The biomedical sciences needed methods for
University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, analyzing survival data gathered in clinical trials
The Netherlands and in engineering the breakdown of machines
and electronic components needed statistical
analysis. The two traditions came together in the
Synonyms 1970s and from then on spread over a wide range
of disciplines, including the social sciences.
Event duration modeling; Failure-time modeling; A choice of textbooks discussing and applying
Hazard modeling; Lifetime modeling; Response- the techniques has become available: Allison
time modeling; Survival analysis (1984), Blossfeld and Rohwer (1995),
Kalbfleisch and Prentice (1980), Lancaster
(1990), Tuma and Hannan (1984), Vermunt
Definition (1997), and Yamaguchi (1991).

The synonyms of event history analysis are Basic Elements


indicative of the variety of disciplines, in which Four elements are basic in an event history
the analysis procedure has been developed analysis. Two of them are standard in statistical
and applied. Event history analysis focuses on analysis. These are the cumulative distribution
the timing of events or, equivalently, on the function Ft PT  t, the probability of the
duration time of being in a state. An event is event occurring between time 0 and t, and
the instantaneous transition from one state, the the associated probability density function
origin state, to another state, the destination f t @Ft=@t. Survival function
state. Whereas the duration time T of being in St 1  Ft gives exactly the same informa-
a state is usually taken as a continuous variable, tion as F(t) but decreases over time while F(t)
the states themselves are the values of increases. S(t) and f(t) together define the central
a categorical variable. Examples of states quantity or dependent variable of an event history
are alive or dead, having or not having analysis, the hazard rate or hazard function
a certain illness, being employed or unemployed, ht f t=St. The hazard rate specifies the
categories of marital status (e.g., single, cohabi- instantaneous risk of the event occurring at t
tant, married, divorced, widowed), having no (T t), given that it did not yet occur before t.
E 2054 Event History Analysis

Log-Linear Models of the Hazard Rate censoring does not pose a special problem in
Approaches in event history analysis differ in the maximum likelihood parameter estimation.
way the effect of covariates, which can be Much more difficult to cope with is left
time invariant (e.g., gender) or time varying censoring.
(e.g., educational level), on the hazard rate is Another problem in event history analysis is
modeled. Because the hazard rate can take on unobserved heterogeneity. It can be defined as the
values only from 0 to 1, usually it is first bias caused by missing important covariates in
transformed to a logarithmic scale with value the regression model. Because it may have much
range 1 to 1 to accommodate for linear more impact in hazard models than in other
regression ln htjxi ln ht b0 xi : Here xi is regression models, the attention to the problem
the vector of covariates for individual i and b the is deserved. The usual way to deal with it is to
vector of regression weights. The various types of introduce random effects into the model in the
log-linear hazard models differ in the functional form of latent variable with different values for
form that is chosen for the baseline hazard different individuals. Recent developments in
function, that is, for the term ln h(t) in the this field are given by Blake, Box-Steffensmeier,
regression equation: and Woo (2010).
1. Exponential models are the simplest and
easiest to handle, because they cause h(t) to Discussion
become a constant over time. Event history analysis as briefly described
2. Piecewise constant exponential models above is the basic framework. However, in the
assume h(t) to be a step function, that is, course of its development, event history
constant within time periods. analysis has significantly broadened its scope.
3. The Cox semiparametric model (Cox, 1975) One extension is that single, non-repeatable
makes it possible to assume time dependence events can be replaced by multiple, repeatable
in h(t) but to leave it unspecified. This model events. Going from the state of no children to
has become the most popular one in social the state of a first child is a single, non-
science applications. repeatable event, because the state of no children
In addition to these three types of models, several can only be followed by one single other
other parametric models have been proposed: state and, once the event of giving birth to
Weibull, Gompertz, log-logistic, log-normal, the first child took place, it cannot be repeated.
and gamma models. However, if the states of marital status are
defined as single, cohabitant, and married, one
Censoring and Unobserved Heterogeneity can go from every state to every other state.
Two problems that obtained a lot of attention in This is an example of multiple, repeatable events
the event history literature are censoring and which can be analyzed by current procedures
unobserved heterogeneity. Censoring is (Vermunt, 1997).
a special kind of missing data. An observation A second important extension of the basic
is called censored if it is known that the event framework is simultaneous equations models
did not take place over a certain observation (Blake et al., 2010). One might be interested
period, but unknown if and when it took whether event history A influences event history
place outside the observation period. Right B and perhaps also the other way around. For
censoring means that the uncertainty is on the example, one might want to model the time
right side (after the observation period), and a woman needs to complete her education
left censoring means that it is on the left side and the time she becomes pregnant. The time of
(before the observation period). Censoring completing education may be affected by the
can also be on both sides. As long as it can time the woman becomes pregnant or the effect
be assumed that the censoring mechanism is may go in the opposite direction or both. The
not related to the events studied, right possibility to analyze several event histories
Everyday Life Experience 2055 E
simultaneously and to let them influence each
other puts event history analysis in the vicinity Everyday Life Experience
of structural equation modeling (SEM), another
immensely popular analysis procedure in the Carmen Leccardi
social sciences. Department of Sociology and Social Research,
University of Milan-Bicocca, Milan, Italy

Cross-References
Synonyms
Latent Variables E
Dailiness; Natural attitude; Reproduction of
Missing Data
social life; World taken for granted
Quality of Life
Survival Analysis
Definition
References
Everyday life may be defined as the ambit of the
Allison, P. D. (1984). Event history analysis: Regression
banal or the taken for granted, of what is familiar
for longitudinal data. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. to us because it is tied to actions that are repeated
Blake, D., Box-Steffensmeier, J., & Woo, B. (2010). on a daily basis, and of the habits through which
Structural interdependence and unobserved heteroge- we manage to feel at home in the world. It is the
neity in event history analysis. In K. van Montfort,
J. H. L. Oud, & A. Satorra (Eds.), Longitudinal
universe dominated by the natural attitude and
research with latent variables. Berlin: Springer. by pragmatic motives. At the same time, it is the
Blossfeld, H. P., & Rohwer, G. (1995). Techniques of milieu of inventiveness and creativity. To the
event history modeling. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence extent that it is the sphere of social production,
Erlbaum Associates.
Cox, D. R. (1975). Regression models and life tables.
and therefore of the reproduction of life, it con-
Journal of the Royal Statistical Society B, stitutes the precondition for the very existence of
34, 187203. productive activities.
Kalbfleisch, J. D., & Prentice, R. L. (1980). The statistical
analysis of failure time data. New York: Wiley.
Lancaster, T. (1990). The econometric analysis of transi-
tion data. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Description
Tuma, N. B., & Hannan, M. T. (1984). Social dynamics:
Models and methods. New York: Academic Press. Today the concept of everyday life not only con-
Vermunt, J. K. (1997). Log-linear models for event
histories. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
stitutes a key concept for cultural studies and
Yamaguchi, K. (1991). Event history analysis. Newbury feminist thought but also an important reference
Park, CA: Sage. point for the analytical practice of the social
sciences (Felski, 2000). This success is without
doubt related to the demise of the grand narra-
tions and the crisis of the experience of time
Event Stress centered on the importance of the future and the
linear dimension of time inherited from the
Stressful Life Events enlightenment. As a consequence, more and
more often it is the cyclical time that the everyday
incarnates and the present in whose framework it
is collocated that is identified as the locus of the
Event Stressors realization of desires. Here too is to be found the
origin of the close connection that exists in our
Stressful Life Events times between everyday life and quality of life.
E 2056 Everyday Life Experience

The increasing interest that the dimension of intersection between tendencies towards homog-
everyday life arouses is also fed by its capacity to enization, and the search for individuality
mount an active resistance to dualistic thought. In (Levine, 1971). But it was above all thanks to
fact, it offers itself both as a parameter with the conceptual contributions of a number of
which to measure the force and intensity of pro- schools of social thought, quite distant from one
cesses of change and as an instrument through another from a number of points of view, that the
which to capture permanence and continuity. For category of everyday life was able to consolidate
social actors in their turn, everyday life can at one its position in the second half of the twentieth
and the same time represent both the most ame- century. We refer here, on the one hand, to the
nable terrain on which to produce innovation and social phenomenology of Schutz and his succes-
the base on which to construct a reassuring and sors (Berger & Luckmann, 1991; Schutz, 1967;
protective order. By way of the apparent banality Schutz & Luckmann, 1983) as well as to ethno-
of what seems to repeat itself day after day, methodology and the dramaturgical approach
everyday life which is strictly linked to history proposed by Goffman (Garfinkel, 1967;
can indeed be readily transformed into a tool Goffman, 1990) and, on the other, to the critical
with which to defend oneself from history and the Marxism of Lefebvre and others (Elden, Lebas, &
uncertainty of contemporary society. Kofman, 2003; Heller, 1984; Lefebvre, 1984). It
This same ductility appears at a different level, was thanks to the analytical contribution of phe-
when one considers the activities with which nomenology that light was cast on the socially
everyday life is normally associated. The every- constructed character of everyday life and the
day, for example, inheres not only to the time of centrality within it of an intersubjective dimen-
work for the market but also to family relations sion. This approach also underlined the invisibil-
and to domestic activities, be they of consump- ity of everyday knowledge savoirs, a feature tied
tion or leisure; and the same goes for the use to their ordinary, taken-for-granted character
that is made today of ICT. More generally, it is a characteristic that ethnomethodology would go
possible to affirm that the relationship with every- on to explore in a highly creative manner. The
day life is constantly associated with and medi- perspective of Lefebvre, for its part, has empha-
ated by a plurality of objects, ever more sized the centrality of everyday life both as
characterized with the passing of time by differ- a category through which to study the modern
ent forms of technology. Everyday life, then, is world and the dynamics of the capitalist mode
not just a theoretical category through which to of production that characterize it and as an ambit
make reference to what is close, familiar, at in which to develop a political process of con-
hands reach by virtue above all of its routine sciousness raising and construct forms of critical
character; it is also a perspective, a point of thought.
view through which to observe a plurality of Among the scholars of the second half of the
areas and phenomena of social life (Jedlowski & twentieth century who devoted considerable
Leccardi, 2003). attention to everyday life, mention must also be
Interest in the issue of everyday life, a theme made of de Certeau. His analyses, which are
which is intimately connected with the social collocated in the field of cultural studies, have
transformations ushered in by modernity and by opened the way to viewing everyday life as
its tendency towards standardization, was a milieu of creativity and inventiveness, a space
expressed over the course of the twentieth cen- of ordinary resistance to the processes of dom-
tury by a large number of scholars (Highmore, ination (Certeau de, 1984). In this way de
2002). Georg Simmel, one of the founding fathers Certeaus eye falls upon everyday practices, on
of sociology, was one of these. Simmel was able those minute, interstitial practices, at times
to observe the everyday world and its details by beneath the threshold of common perception,
focusing in the context of modernity on their through which subjects reappropriate the times
ambivalent character, their presence at the and spaces of everyday life.
Everyday Life Experience 2057 E
The analyses that de Certeau carried out in about the dynamics of society. One of the most
relation to everyday life, not unlike at least recent examples of this is the use of the term
a part of Lefebvres, would never have seen the everyday life, thanks to the plurality of the sym-
light of day had it not been for the remarkable bolic, meaning-bearing dimensions with which it
effervescence of the political and cultural move- is invested, as a synonym for culture tout court
ments of the late 1960s. The practical criticism (Burke, 2008).
of the forms of alienation of which the everyday
is in the modern era the bearer, starting out from
the ever more central place of the time of con- Cross-References
sumption, began to take form in that climate.
E
A new emphasis on subjectivity, of which the Alienation
everyday has become the container, has been its Consumption
natural outcome. But it is above all thanks to the Quality of Life
contribution of the feminist movement that an Sociability
out-and-out redefinition of everyday life has Time Pressure
been delineated. From being an ambit for the Well-Being
reproduction of patriarchal relationships, the
everyday has transformed into strategic ground
on which to affirm the right to self-determination. References
More precisely, everyday life has taken on the
shape of the point of departure and the point of Berger, P., & Luckmann, T. (1991). The social construc-
tion of reality: A treatise in the sociology of knowl-
arrival of that transformation in the power rela-
edge. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
tions between the sexes that the womens move- Burke, P. (2008). Cultural history. In T. Bennett & J. Frow
ment so vigorously calls for. Before the advent of (Eds.), Cultural analysis (pp. 107125). London: Sage.
feminism, the obviousness of the everyday was de Certeau, M. (1984). The practice of everyday life.
Berkeley: University of California Press.
interwoven with the silence that enshrouded it
Elden, S., Lebas, E., & Kofman, E. (Eds.). (2003). Henri
and which sanctioned its separation from the Lefebvre. Key writings. London: Continuum.
public ambits of existence. Thanks to the feminist Felski, R. (2000). The Invention of Everyday Life.
movement, this silence has been broken forever. In R. Felski (Ed.), Doing time feminist theory and
postmodern culture (pp. 7798). New York/London:
This rupture has unleashed an extraordinarily
New York University Press.
broad-ranging process, a cultural revolution in Garfinkel, H. (1967). Studies in ethnomethodology. Engle-
the real sense of the word, that involves personal wood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
relationships, above all within the family, and the Goffman, E. (1990). The presentation of self in everyday
life. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
relationship with the public sphere and various
Heller, A. (1984). Everyday life. London: Routledge/
forms of individual and collective action. In this Kegan Paul.
way we can affirm that the close interaction Highmore, B. (Ed.). (2002). The everyday life reader.
between the affirmation of identity and everyday London/New York: Routledge.
Jedlowski, P., & Leccardi, C. (2003). Sociologia della vita
life, today very familiar to us, finds one of its
quotidiana (Sociology of everyday life). Bologna, IL:
deepest roots in the refusal of the womens move- Mulino.
ment to identify the everyday and the sphere of Lefebvre, H. (1984). Everyday life in the modern world.
reproduction. The insistence on the connection New York: Transaction.
Levine, D. N. (Ed.). (1971). Georg Simmel: On individu-
between everyday life and the expression of ality and social forms, selected writings. Chicago/Lon-
desires can be considered a manifestation of this don: University of Chicago Press.
refusal. Schutz, A. (1967). Collected papers, vol. 1: (edited and
Today, some decades after this cultural and introduced by M. Natanson). The Hague, Martinus
Nijhoff.
political upheaval in the ways of understanding
Schutz, A., & Luckmann, T. (1983). The structures of the
everyday life, this category continues to assume life-world (Vol. 1). Evanston, IL: Northwestern
more and more strategic importance in thought University Press.
E 2058 Evolutionary Psychology

came back to the fore in the 1990s, under


Evolutionary Psychology the impulse of researchers such as David
Buss, Leda Cosmides, and John Tooby (Barkow,
Francis Heylighen Cosmides, & Tooby, 1992; Wright, 1994; Buss,
Evolution, Complexity and Cognition Group, 2011). Initially, this approach was quite contro-
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium versial, as it contradicted the standard social
science model according to which our prefer-
ences and behaviors are essentially a product of
Definition education and socialization. However, some of
the empirical results of the new approach (e.g., on
Evolutionary psychology (EP) is an approach to the cross-cultural universality of the determinants
the study of the mind that is founded on Darwins of jealousy and of physical attractiveness) were
theory of evolution by natural selection. It so compelling that it was difficult to come up with
assumes that our mental abilities and preferences alternative explanations. Moreover, evolutionary
are specifically adapted for solving problems of psychology profited from a general revival and
survival and reproduction in the environment in spread of Darwinian ideas across virtually all
which humanity evolved and derives testable the disciplines, including economics, computer
predictions from this assumption. science, and medicine. Nowadays, the value
of EP is generally recognized, although some
skepticism and much misunderstanding remain
Description concerning its theoretical underpinnings (Buss,
2005; Confer et al., 2010).
History
When Charles Darwin formulated his theory of Assumptions and Methods
natural selection as an explanation for the origin The basic assumption of evolutionary theory
of species, he already anticipated that this is that all organisms are the product of blind
concept would also help us to understand the variation and natural selection. Each generation,
mind as a product of biological evolution. He selection picks out the variants that are fittest, i.e.,
made some first steps towards such evolutionary that are best adapted for surviving and
psychology in his later works on human descent reproducing in their given environment. There-
and on the expression of emotions. His approach fore, most features of biological organisms can
inspired several late nineteenth century philoso- be understood as adaptations, specifically
phers and psychologists, including William designed for life in this environment although
James and James Baldwin. However, in the twen- some are merely by-products of adaptations or
tieth century, psychology became dominated first random variations that have not (yet) undergone
by behaviorism and then by cognitive selection. Evolutionary psychology (EP) adds
approaches, which saw the mind basically as that the major features of the human mind too
a blank slate, to be programmed by experience. should be viewed as adaptations to our ancestral
Evolutionary perspectives on mental phenomena environment. While environments have of course
were relegated to other disciplines, including changed over the course of evolution (most rad-
ethology (the study of animal behavior) as inves- ically in the last centuries), evolutionary psychol-
tigated by Konrad Lorenz, the evolutionary epis- ogists contend that the most important
temology instigated by Donald T. Campbell, and environmental features remained largely the
sociobiology (evolutionary theory of social inter- same over the last 23 million years of human
actions) proposed by E. O. Wilson. prehistory until the end of the Paleolithic, about
Building on these developments while adding 10,000 years ago. Therefore, we may assume that
specifically psychological methodologies for our psychological mechanisms have been opti-
testing hypotheses, evolutionary psychology mized by natural selection for functioning in this
Evolutionary Psychology 2059 E
Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness (EEA) EP assumes that over the millions of years of
(Buss, 2005; Narvaez et al., 2012). its evolution, our brain has accumulated
The human EEA features are those of life as a massive number of specialized neural circuits
hunter-gatherers in small, nomadic bands of for tackling these kinds of adaptive problems.
30150 individuals, searching for a large variety These circuits are often conceived in EP as
of animal and vegetable foods, shelter, and other modules, i.e., separate, encapsulated pieces of
resources across a varied, savannah-like land- information-processing machinery, each respon-
scape while avoiding dangers such as predators, sible for performing one specific function. For
poisonous plants and animals, parasites, preci- example, it has been proposed that our brain
pices, and potentially hostile strangers. Important contains specific modules for fearing spiders,
E
criteria for success in the social environment for learning grammar, and for detecting cheaters.
were the abilities to attract and bond with fertile Within cognitive science, the existence of
and dependable mates, to raise children until modules in the brain is contentious. However, it
they are able to stand on their own, to establish is not necessary to assume that the specialized
cooperative relations with reliable friends, to circuits postulated by EP are separate
detect and exclude cheaters who abuse such (Confer et al., 2010). It seems more likely that
social contracts, to exchange useful information their functions would overlap, so that different
with others (via language, gossip, and pieces of circuitry may contribute to solving
storytelling), and to achieve a sufficiently high a given adaptive problem, while the same circuit
status within the group. may contribute to different problems.
Like cognitive psychology, evolutionary For example, we have specialized brain
psychology sees the mind as an information- mechanisms for estimating the physical attrac-
processing system that solves problems by tiveness of a potential sex partner (Buss, 2005).
interpreting sensory data, devising schemes to EP researchers have shown via extensive cross-
deal with the perceived situation, and selecting cultural surveys that there exist universal criteria
appropriate actions (see Cognitive Abilities). for sex appeal. For women, these are basically
What EP adds is that these problems are indicators of health and fertility: symmetric fea-
fundamentally problems of adaptation to tures, smooth skin, long legs, full breasts, a 0.7
a specific environment. Unlike cognitive psy- waist-to-hip ratio, and a minimum of deformities,
chology, EP does not see the mind as in the sense of deviations from the standard
a general-purpose problem solver that can human shape. Choosing a female sex partner
deal equally well with any kind of issue via with these characteristics makes perfect sense if
mechanisms of inference and learning. While the problem to be solved is maximizing the
we may have developed some capacity for chances for healthy offspring. On the other
domain-independent rational thought, it is too hand, we have different innate criteria for
weak to deal sufficiently quickly and reliably evaluating the cuteness of babies and toddlers,
with the complex problems encountered in the an adaptation that stimulates us to take care
EEA. For example, if you see something of children that are too young to fend for them-
slithering in the grass towards you, you do not selves. These include short legs, large eyes
have the time to carefully observe its features, and a small, upturned nose. But cuteness and
determine whether or not they indicate sex appeal also overlap in criteria such as
a poisonous snake, and if they do, decide that it smooth skin, symmetry, and absence of deformi-
is safer to step away from it: you better run ties and therefore are likely to make use to some
immediately! Another complex problem for degree of the same brain circuits. As a result,
which there is no dependable rational procedure there may be interference between both mecha-
is deciding whether you can trust the person you nisms, so that men also tend to be attracted to
just met: best is to simply rely on your instinct cute women with large eyes and a small nose,
to interpret all the subtle nonverbal cues. even though these indicate no fertility benefit.
E 2060 Evolutionary Psychology

EP accounts are often accused of being merely following your instinct, and therefore,
just-so stories, i.e., explanations based on the instinctual behavior will tend be more
some reconstruction of our evolutionary past common than any of its learned variants.
that may seem plausible, but that cannot in any
way be verified (Confer et al., 2010). While this Applications to Well-Being
criticism may have been applicable to certain The view of psychological adaptations as innate,
other evolutionary approaches, such as sociobi- subconscious preferences for certain conditions
ology, EP explicitly aims to derive falsifiable and behaviors has direct implications for human
predictions from its hypotheses. To test well-being: people can be expected to feel well
these predictions, EP relies on all the traditional when these preferences are satisfied and
methodologies of psychology, such as laboratory feel stressed otherwise. According to EP, these
experiments and surveys, but also on preferences reflect the conditions that were
methods and data from other domains, such as optimal for survival and reproduction in the
archaeology, anthropology, biology, and neu- EEA. For example, we will tend to feel good in
roscience. An example of such a prediction is the an open, sunny landscape with grass, trees, and
notion common in fairy tales but before EP animals; in the vicinity of clear water, such as
absent in psychological theory that parents a lake, while performing activities that resemble
care less about their stepchildren than about hunting or gathering; in the company of friends or
their biological children. This makes perfect mates; or while nurturing children. On the other
sense from an evolutionary perspective, since hand, we will tend to feel stressed in the presence
stepchildren do not pass on their stepparents of spiders, snakes, thunderstorms, threatening
genes. The reality of this effect was proven animals or people, loud noises, fast-moving
by means of extensive, cross-cultural crime objects, and great heights, as these all indicate
statistics, which show that children are orders of dangers in the EEA.
magnitude more likely to be killed or abused by The problem is that our present environment is
stepparents than by their biological parents. very different from the EEA. Therefore, behav-
A last common misunderstanding about EP is iors that were adaptive in the EEA may no longer
that it implies some form of genetic determinism, fit in well with our modern lifestyle. This leads to
i.e., the view that our behavior is fixed by our a fundamental mismatch between the behaviors
genes (Confer et al., 2010). However, an essential and conditions that our genes expect and those
requirement for fitness is the ability to adapt that society proposes (Grinde, 2002; Hill & Buss,
to a variety of situations. Therefore, the innate 2008). Several authors have argued that this
mechanisms postulated by EP are plastic and will discrepancy is at the origin of our many
only come to the fore in the appropriate context or diseases of civilization, which include obesity,
environment (see Gene-Environment Interac- cardiovascular disease, diabetes, allergies,
tion). Moreover, in most cases, such psychologi- depression, dementia, and ADHD. These
cal adaptations will not predetermine the action disorders, which severely reduce our quality
to be performed but merely suggest a default of life, are virtually unknown among hunter-
action: running away is not necessarily the best gatherers.
action to take in the presence of a snake, but EP theorists have examined in particular the
if there is no time to reflect about a better evolutionary origins of stress and emotions
alternative, it provides a good default reflex. In together with their implications for happiness
that sense, most adaptations can perhaps be better (Nesse, 2004; Hill & Buss, 2008; Grinde, 2002).
conceptualized as biases or inbuilt preferences One conclusion is that some of the natural
for certain types of behavior, which, however, conditions for happiness, such as intimate
can be overruled by learning or rational reflec- connections within a small, egalitarian band, are
tion. But it must be emphasized that such intrinsically difficult to achieve in our modern
overruling demands much more effort than society. On a more optimistic note, several
Evolutionary Psychology 2061 E
aspects of our ancestral, hunter-gatherer lifestyle, environment of evolutionary adaptedness. While
such as frequent exercise, engaging activity, several nontrivial hypotheses have already been
sound sleep patterns, and regular exposure to confirmed, more tests are needed, and many more
sunlight and to nature, can be reintroduced or fruitful predictions are likely to be derived from
mimicked without too much effort. A program our increasing understanding of the human EEA.
based on such guidelines (Ilardi, 2009) has been Such theories and observations are likely in
shown to combat depression more effectively particular to extend and unify our understanding
than drugs or psychotherapy and is likely to of the conditions for human well-being.
increase well-being overall.
Another application is in improving childcare.
E
Here, EP researchers recommend maximum Cross-References
physical contact between caregiver and infant
(extended breast-feeding, carrying on the body, Anthropology
and co-sleeping) and immediate and sensitive Child Care
response to any sign of distress (e.g., crying or Cognitive Abilities
fussing). On the other hand, older children should Environment and Health
be allowed to play and explore freely as soon as Gene-Environment Interaction
they feel autonomous enough. Such nurturing but Happiness
permissive parenting style, at least in hunter- Nature and Well-Being
gatherers, appears to provide the foundation for Stress
the development of a healthy, self-confident per-
sonality and for what is called Secure Attach-
ment in interpersonal relationships (Schon & References
Silven, 2007; Narvaez, Panksepp, Schore, &
Gleason, 2012). Barkow, J. H., Cosmides, L., & Tooby, J. (1992).
The adapted mind: Evolutionary psychology and the
EP further provides an explanation for the
generation of culture. New York: Oxford University
often-observed asymmetry between positive Press.
and negative emotions and their corresponding Buss, D. (Ed.). (2005). The handbook of evolutionary
cognitive biases. We tend to feel good by psychology. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Buss, D. (2011). Evolutionary psychology: The new
default (the Positivity offset), because that
science of the mind (4th ed.). Old Tappan, NJ: Prentice
motivates us to explore, take on challenges, and Hall.
thus build the mental and physical resources that Confer, J. C., Easton, J. A., Fleischman, D. S., Goetz,
ensure long-term survival (Fredrickson, 2004). C. D., Lewis, D. M., Perilloux, C., et al. (2010).
Evolutionary psychology: Controversies, questions,
On the other hand, we tend to overreact to possi-
prospects, and limitations. American Psychologist,
ble threats (the negativity bias), because 65(2), 110126.
that protects us against potentially lethal Fredrickson, B. L. (2004). The broaden-and-build theory
harm. Therefore, people behave like paranoid of positive emotions. Philosophical Transactions of
the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 359(1449),
optimists (Haselton & Nettle, 2006): in general
1367.
overconfident about their own abilities (e.g., in Grinde, B. (2002). Happiness in the perspective of
getting a project done on time or answering ques- evolutionary psychology. Journal of Happiness Stud-
tions correctly), but quick to get frightened by ies, 3(4), 331354.
Haselton, M. G., & Nettle, D. (2006). The paranoid
low-probability dangers (e.g., a plane crash or optimist: An integrative model of cognitive biases.
a terrorist attack). Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10, 4766.
In conclusion, evolutionary psychology has Hill, S. E., & Buss, D. M. (2008). Evolution and subjective
proven its value in generating testable new well-being. In M. Eid & R. Larsen (Eds.), The science
of subjective well-being. New York: Guilford Press.
hypotheses about human cognition, emotion,
Ilardi, S. S. (2009). The depression cure: The 6-step
and innate preferences, by assuming that our program to beat depression without drugs. Cambridge,
mind is adapted to our ancestral way of life, the MA: Da Capo Lifelong Books.
E 2062 Evolutionary Threat Assessment System (ETAS) Theory

Narvaez, D., Panksepp, J., Schore, A. N., & Gleason, T. R. that feature exchanges between at least two
(Eds.). (2012). Evolution, Early Experience and Human persons. These activities of exchange, which
Development: From Research to Practice and Policy
(1st ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. may be tangible or intangible and more or less
Nesse, R. M. (2004). Natural selection and the elusiveness rewarding or costly, situate exchange partners
of happiness. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal into an emerging interpersonal relationship
Society B: Biological Sciences, 359(1449), 1333. structure.
Schon, R. A., & Silven, M. (2007). Natural parenting.
Back to basics in infant care. Evolutionary
Psychology, 5(1), 102183.
Wright, R. (1994). The moral animal: Why we are the way Description
we are: The new science of evolutionary psychology.
London: Abacus.
Exchange theory, initially proposed by Homans
(1958, 1974), Blau (1964), and Emerson (1976),
aims to provide a general theoretical framework
Evolutionary Threat Assessment for studying emergent human actions. The con-
System (ETAS) Theory cepts of stimulus and response, along with other
behaviorist principles, are mobilized to explain
Religious Beliefs and Psychiatric Symptoms how human interactions evolve. To understand
actions oriented toward an actor adapting to
its environment, Homans (1974) advances a
number of basic propositions. First, the success
Excess Labor Supply proposition: The more often a particular action is
rewarded, the more likely a person is to perform
Labor Markets and Underemployment that action. Second, the stimulus proposition: If a
particular stimulus has occasioned a reward for a
persons action in the past, the more likely
a person is to repeat the behavior in the presence
Excessive Sexual Behavior of similar stimuli in the present. Third, the value
proposition: The more valuable a person finds the
Compulsive Sexual Behavior Inventory reward for an action, the more likely he or she is
to perform the action; furthermore, the more
often in the recent past a person has received a
particular reward, the less valuable any further
Exchange Theory unit of that reward becomes. Finally, the ratio-
nality proposition: In choosing between alterna-
Ming-Chang Tsai tive actions, a person will choose that action by
Department of Sociology, National Taipei evaluating its value and the probability of getting
University, New Taipei City, Taiwan the result (i.e., action P x V).
Exchange theorists contend that rewards are
the key driving force of human action. People
Synonyms tend to keep rewards high and costs low.
Exchange behavior, when seen to be based on
Give-and-take theory; Reciprocity in exchange value realization, represents a typical rational
choice action. Rewards, in technical terms, are
stimulus that increase or maintain response fre-
Definition quency (Emerson, 1976). Here, exchange theory
overlaps with conventional economic thinking
Exchange theory is a general analytic framework that conceptualizes human action as result of the
for understanding processes of social association hard-boiled calculation of interests.
Exchange Theory 2063 E
The stress on notions of reward and value Collett, 2007), develops into a generalized norm
should not suggest that exchange theory endorses that contributes to the stability of a social system
a hedonist philosophy. Human actions are not of interpersonal relations (Gouldner, 1960; Cook
driven only by materialist values. Money is & Rice, 2005). Second, reciprocity takes various
a generalized value (GV) that most humans are patterns and generates different effects on well-
interested in acquiring. Yet, social approval is being. Some benefits exchanged may be identical
another GV. Besides, many other rewards are or equal, leading to a favorable feeling of dis-
specific. The act of catching fish can be rewarding tributive justice. Exchanges can be unequal, with
to people who fish for a living. On the other hand, one party receiving benefits while giving little or
some persons use fishing as an excuse for nothing in return. This imbalance implies
E
daydreaming, an experience with value that is a situation of exploitation. In daily life,
pursued with lower costs (Homans, 1974). overbenefiting (taking more than giving) is
In this sense, exchange theory can offer insights avoided, while underbenefiting allows persons
on why people are altruistic. It is less relevant, that give more than take to enjoy a superior status
however, to the question of why altruism is in the dyad relationship (Uehara, 1995). Credits
considered a better virtue than, for instance, accumulated from previous exchanges help
self-interest. enhance a feeling of security against hard times
Exchange theory concerns much interpersonal (Tsai & Dzorgbo, 2012). Finally, extensive webs
dependence. Exchange is a social relation in of interpersonal exchanges build up a larger
which reciprocity between people is observed. structure of networked positions and ties that
In such social settings, peoples reference provide useful social capital for people to utilize
signals (at the level of social comparison) drive to achieve their goals (Coleman, 1988; Cook &
them to obtain rewards or avoid punishments Whitmeyer, 1992). For exchange theory, a social
(Bredemeier, 1978). What people perceive as structure of exchange relations, rather than
rewards or what they intend to do to maximize a summation of single rational actors seeking
their adaptation is more understandable in ref- exchanges with others, is more suitable to under-
erence to their surrounding environments. People standing how people can adapt successfully to
rank what they give in social exchange and rank their social environment.
the rewards they get from others. Conceptually,
subjective satisfaction with a reward differs from
the value of a reward. Happiness from winning
Cross-References
a prize of $10 does not mean that this amount of
money is of significant value. Discrepancy
Adaptation
between a $10 reward and what others obtain
Distributive Justice
($50) in the same game may arouse discontent
Rational Choice Theory
and anger. Injustice in the distribution of rewards
Reciprocity in Exchange
between individuals or groups in exchange, likely
Social Network
due to power inequalities, is a potential source of
unhappiness (Blau, 1964; Homans, 1974). An
important division within exchange theory is
References
devoted to formal structures of dependence and
power that emerge from positions in a certain Blau, P. (1964). Exchange and power in social life.
network of exchange (Emerson, 1976). New York: Wiley.
Exchange theory inspires numerous lines of Bredemeier, H. (1978). Exchange theory. In T. Bottomore
research on quality of life. The study of reciproc- & R. Nisbet (Eds.), A history of sociological analysis
(pp. 418456). New York: Basic Books.
ity is one major extension. Reciprocity, con- Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of
ceived as the act of giving benefits to another in social capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94,
return for benefits received (Molm, Schaefer, & 95120.
E 2064 Exclusion from Ordinary Living Patterns in Europe

Cook, K., & Rice, E. (2005). Social exchange theory. In Definition


G. Ritzer (Ed.), Encyclopedia of social theory (Vol. 2,
pp. 735740). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Cook, K. S., & Whitmeyer, J. M. (1992). Two approaches Exercise is a physical activity that is planned,
to social structure: Exchange theory and network anal- structured, repetitive, and performed in order to
ysis. Annual Review of Sociology, 18, 109127. develop or maintain one or more components of
Emerson, R. M. (1976). Social exchange theory. Annual physical fitness and overall health (Caspersen,
Review of Sociology, 2, 33362.
Gouldner, A. W. (1960). The norm of reciprocity. Amer- Powell, & Christenson, 1985). Although both
ican Sociological Review, 25, 161178. terms are related, each has a distinct meaning
Homans, G. C. (1958). Social behavior as exchange. and should be used correctly. Thus, exercise
American Journal of Sociology, 63, 597606. should be distinguished from physical activity,
Homans, G. C. (1974). Social behavior: Its elementary
forms (rev ed.). New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. a multifaceted concept that includes a complex
Molm, L., Schaefer, D. A., & Collett, J. L. (2007). The set of behaviors, comprising exercise as
value of reciprocity. Social Psychology Quarterly, 70, a subcategory.
199217.
Tsai, M.-C., & Dzorgbo, D.-B. S. (2012). Familial reci-
procity and subjective well-being in Ghana. Journal of
Marriage and Family, 74, 215228. Description
Uehara, E. S. (1995). Reciprocity reconsidered:
Gouldners moral norm of reciprocity and social Exercise Dimensions
support. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships,
12, 483502. Prolonged sedentary behavior, usually combined
with unhealthy dietary habits, has been consis-
tently identified as a major risk factor for many
chronic diseases in people of all ages, both male
and female. Thus, it has become increasingly
Exclusion from Ordinary Living evident that physical inactivity is a global health
Patterns in Europe
concern. Conversely, evidence supporting the
health benefits of regular exercise is continu-
Determinants of Poverty in Europe
ously growing.
Exercise consists of the following broad
dimensions: frequency (how often the activity is
performed), intensity (how strenuous the activity
Exclusionism is), duration (how long the activity lasts), and
type (main characteristic of the activity itself,
Collectivism i.e., continuous or intermittent, predominantly
aerobic or anaerobic, with many concentric or
eccentric muscle contraction actions, etc.). Exer-
cise intensity can be expressed as either an abso-
Exercise lute measure, for example, heart rate or metabolic
equivalents (METs, considering that 1 MET is
Jorge Mota and Elisa Marques equal to 3.5 mLO2/kg/min for a person with
Research Centre in Physical Activity, Health and 70-kg body weight), or as a relative measure
Leisure, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal such as a percentage of maximal heart rate.
Sedentary activities, such as quiet sitting, result
in low energy expenditure (<1.6 MET), while
Synonyms light-intensity activities, including some domes-
tic or occupational tasks (e.g., washing dishes,
Exercising; Movement; Performance; Physical hanging washing, ironing, cooking, eating, and
activity; Physical exertion; Sports activities; working at a computer desk), are those where the
Training; Workout metabolic equivalent is between 1.6 < 3.0 METs.
Exercise 2065 E
Exercise participation usually results in energy with no difficulties in recalling. Objective
expenditure classified in three intensity catego- methods provide a numerical assessment of
ries: moderate, vigorous, and high. Moderate- a parameter such as body movement (for
intensity exercise activities are those requiring instance, number of steps) that is not recorded
36 METs or have an intensity of 5570 % of or interpreted by the individual. Devices such as
maximal heart rate (HRmax), vigorous-intensity heart rate monitors, accelerometers, and pedom-
activities require between 6 and 9 times the rest- eters have been used to measure exercise more
ing metabolic levels (69 METs) or an intensity objectively. Accelerometers (or motion sensors)
equivalent of 7090 % HRmax, and high- detect body movement via a lever that is
intensity activities require at least 9 METs or an displaced and generates electrical current propor-
E
intensity level of at least 90 % HRmax. tional to the energy of the acceleration. The out-
The different types of exercise are intimately put, activity counts per unit of time, calculated
related to the exercise purpose itself. They are from the magnitude and the intensity of the accel-
generally classified into aerobic/cardiovascular eration, distinguishes between different walking
endurance training, strength/resistance speeds and intensity levels. Some accelerometers
training, balance/stability training, and flex- can record step counts (the frequency domain of
ibility training. In addition, exercise protocols the vertical acceleration), allowing comparison
targeting bone health should be classified with pedometers. However, most accelerometers
according to skeletal loading characteristics as and pedometers are not valid methods for record-
high-impact loading (such as vertical jumps or ing the exercise movement and intensity associ-
rope jumping, or running at >9 km/h), odd- ated with resistance exercise training, cycling,
impact loading (such as aerobic or step classes, or underwater activities. Thus, for these sport
bounding exercises, and agility exercises), low- activities, other methods should be used to better
impact loading (such as jogging at < 9 km/h), and assess the activity pattern or the cardiorespiratory
combined loading protocols of impact activity stress involved. Double-labeled water is
mixed with high-magnitude joint reaction force a method that uses isotope (hydrogen or oxygen)
loading through resistance training (Nikander, tracers and the dilution principle to assess energy
Sievanen, Heinonen, & Kannus, 2005). expenditure. This expensive method is consid-
The difficulty in measuring physical activ- ered the closest there is to a gold standard for
ity and consequently exercise is well recognized. estimating free-living total energy expenditure
Although no gold standard for measuring phys- but cannot describe physical activity patterns
ical activity exists, there are a number of methods and is reliant on technical expertise for wide-
that can be used to assess the different compo- spread application. Because heart rate is highly
nents of exercise (Morrow, Jackson, Disch, & correlated with oxygen uptake, heart rate moni-
Mood, 2011). In brief, these activity measures tors have been used to measure exercise intensity
are typically classified as subjective or objective and also to estimate energy expenditure. Assess-
methods. Subjective methods are inexpensive ments of physical fitness, sport skills, and physi-
and convenient to apply (e.g., can be adminis- cal abilities are commonly performed for
tered to an entire classroom or group of people at different purposes, including placement, diagno-
one visit). Examples include self-report question- sis, prediction, motivation enhancement, and
naires, interviews, and activity diaries. Question- achievement and program evaluation. Physical
naires can suffer from recall bias and floor fitness testing across all ages (youth, adults, and
effects. Unlike self-reported questionnaires, older adults) comprises different components
interviewer-administered recalls are expensive namely, aerobic capacity, muscle strength and
and labor intensive. Diaries may be the most endurance, flexibility, balance/agility, and body
accurate, but they require complete cooperation composition. Methods of measurement can be
and are limited to use by adults, children with classified in two different categories: laboratory
good reading and writing skills, and older adults (involves expensive and sophisticated equipment
E 2066 Exercise

and accurate test protocols) and field (normally muscular fitness, and flexibility (Garber et al.,
require little equipment and are low cost). Mea- 2011). Moreover, additional health benefits
suring maximal oxygen consumption, computer- are likely when a greater amount of exercise is
ized dynamometers, goniometry, and hydrostatic performed regularly. The current American Col-
weighing are some examples of laboratory lege of Sports Medicine (ACSM) position stand
methods. Step tests, push-up test, sit-and-reach exercise and physical activity for older adults
test, and body mass index are examples of com- state that aging population should perform
mon field tests. The choice of the appropriate endurance and resistance exercises of moderate-
method and test should be based on the purpose to vigorous-intensity activities and flexibility
of the assessment and equipment availability. exercises of moderate intensity. Balance exercise
Health-related fitness batteries (e.g., should be also included for frequent fallers or
Fitnessgram, YMCA physical fitness test battery, individuals with mobility problems (Chodzko-
and functional fitness) group together different Zajko et al., 2009). For endurance moderate-
tests focusing on relevant components of physical intensity activities, accumulate at least 30 min/
fitness. They are available for all age groups. day in bouts of at least 10 min each or at least
Normally, test batteries are well described and 20 min/day of continuous activity for vigorous-
normative values, which help to interpret the intensity activities. Resistance and flexibility
results, are accessible for a wide range of age exercise should be performed at least 2 days/
groups and for both genders. week (Chodzko-Zajko et al.).
The main benefits of moderate to vigorous,
Exercise and Health Promotion: Evidence and long-term participation in aerobic exercise
General Guidelines training are associated with elevated cardio-
The benefits of regular participation in exercise, vascular reserve, VO2max, and other cardiovas-
mostly from aerobic and strength/resistance cular adaptations (lower HR at rest and at any
training, are well documented, and specific submaximal exercise workload, smaller rises in
recommendations for different age groups estab- systolic, diastolic, and mean blood pressures
lish the quantity and quality of exercise that chil- during submaximal exercise, improvements in
dren and adolescents, adults, and older adults the vasodilator, and O2 uptake capacities
should achieve are available. Emphasis should of the trained muscle groups, numerous
be placed in the context of participants needs, cardioprotective effects, including reductions in
goals, and initial abilities and on factors that atherogenic risk factors (reduced triglyceride and
result in permanent lifestyle change and encour- increased HDL concentrations), reductions in
age a lifetime of appropriate exercise practice. large elastic artery stiffness, improved endothe-
Accordingly, healthy adults are encouraged to lial and baroreflex function, and increased vagal
perform 30 min/day on 5 days/week for tone). Chronic prolonged aerobic exercise also
a total of 150 min/week, vigorous-intensity car- seems to improve body composition profile,
diorespiratory exercise training for 20 min/day including less total and abdominal body fat,
on 3 days/week (75 min/week), or a combina- greater relative muscle mass, and higher bone
tion of moderate- and vigorous-intensity exercise mineral density (BMD).
to achieve a total energy expenditure of Moderate- to high-intensity resistance train-
5001,000 MET/min/week. This general exer- ing has been shown to be the most effective
cise prescription should include a well-rounded method for developing musculoskeletal strength,
training program including also resistance power, and muscular endurance. Thus, it is
training 23 days/week (for each of the major currently prescribed by many major health orga-
muscle groups, and neuromotor exercise involv- nizations for improving health and fitness.
ing balance, agility, and coordination), and flex- Other benefits include favorable changes in
ibility exercises 2 days/week, in order body composition (decreases total body fat
to develop and maintain cardiorespiratory, mass, increases in fat free mass attributed to
Exercise 2067 E
Symptoms Physical
Pathogenesis specific to fitness or Quality of life
the diagnosis strength
Insulin resistance A A A A
Type 2 Diabetes A A A A
Dyslipidemia A A A B
Hypertension A A A A
Obesity A A A A
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease D A A A
Coronary heart disease A A A A
E
Chronic heart failure A A A A
Intermittent claudicaton A A A A
Osteoarthritis D A A A
Rheumatoid arthritis D C A B
Osteoporosis A B B B
Fibromyalgia C A A A
Chronic fatigue syndrome C B B A A Strong evidence

Cancer D B B B B Moderate evidence


Depression A A A A C Limited evidence
Asthma D C A B
D No envidence
Type 1 diabetes D D B D

Exercise, Fig. 1 Grading the evidence for physical exercise effects on (1) disease pathogenesis, (2) symptoms specific
to the diagnosis, (3) physical fitness or strength, or (4) quality of life (Adapted from Pedersen and Saltin (2006))

increases in muscle cross-sectional areas physical fitness or strength, and quality of life
(increase in type IIa fiber areas) and volumes), is presented in Fig. 1.
enhance BMD, and include the promotion of Indeed, recent position statements from gov-
some important metabolic and endocrine effects, ernmental and professional organizations have
such as increases in HDL cholesterol, decreases put forth recommendations to guide individuals,
in LDL cholesterol, reductions in triglyceride, communities, and health-care professionals on
and increases in insulin-like growth factor 1 the required frequency, intensity, and duration
(IGF-1). Thus, both aerobic and resistance of exercise for health-enhancing effects (Ameri-
training should be incorporated into can College of Sports Medicine, 2010). Thus,
a comprehensive fitness program (in addition to exercise prescription varies considerably
flexibility exercise) in order to achieve the best according to individual characteristics, such as
and diverse health benefits from workout. age, medication, presence of a particular chronic
Furthermore, the effectiveness of exercise in condition, physical fitness level, and specific
the prevention of several chronic diseases, such goals (e.g., improvement of cardiovascular
as hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, endurance, muscle strength and/or power, bal-
obesity, and osteoporosis, is well known. It rep- ance, range of motion, weight loss, or sports
resents an important component of health performance). For instance, it is recommended
maintenance and disease prevention and treat- that patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus or
ment. A summary of the effects of exercise ther- prediabetes accumulate a minimum of 210 min/
apy on several disorders/diseases, explicitly on week of moderate-intensity exercise or 125 min
pathogenesis, symptoms specific to the diagnosis, per week of vigorous-intensity exercise with no
E 2068 Exercise

more than two consecutive days without train- population, less evidence exist regarding the
ing. Those 210 min/week of exercise activities association between health-related quality of
should incorporate both aerobic and resistance life (HRQOL) and exercise level in this
exercise, which should include at least 60 min population. Most conceptualizations of
of resistance exercise per week (e.g., two 30 min HRQOL include physical, mental (including
sessions). The benefits of exercise training in emotional dimensions), and social components,
preventing and treating type 2 diabetes or predi- seen as distinct areas that are influenced by
abetes are widely recognized, including a persons experiences, beliefs, expectations,
improved glycemic control, body composition, and perceptions.
cardiorespiratory fitness, cardiovascular risk, Research on HRQOL in the exercise
physical functioning, and well-being. For most domain has predominately been focused on
patients with chronic heart failure, elder populations with chronic conditions (e.g.,
a combination of low- to moderate-intensity aer- cardiovascular diseases, arthritis, pulmonary
obic (endurance) exercise on most days of the diseases, and cancer). In brief, chronically dis-
week and individually prescribed low- to moder- eased populations tend to improve their
ate-intensity resistance (strength) training at HRQOL from increased physical activity
least twice per week is consensually and exercise (Rejeski, Brawley, & Shumaker,
recommended, whereas hypertensive patients 1996). This positive association was found in
should perform 3060 min of aerobic exercise diabetic and cancer patients. Also higher physical
47 days per week. According to current recom- fitness level has been shown to be associated with
mendations, management of osteoporosis in post- higher levels of HRQOL in older and chroni-
menopausal women should focus first on cally diseased populations. In older adults, exer-
nonpharmacologic strategies such as a balanced cise training showed a consistently positive
diet, adequate calcium and vitamin D intake, and effect on cognitive and physical function and
adequate exercise. Weight-bearing and strength- autonomy in activities of daily living. Among
training exercises are recommended as previ- healthy adults, a systematic review has reported
ous research demonstrated that both activities are a consistent association of higher HRQOL
beneficial to bone development and maintenance. scores with higher exercise levels (Bize, Johnson,
In addition to the well-known benefits of exer- & Plotnikoff, 2007). In addition, cross-sectional
cise on several chronic conditions as previously studies consistently showed an association of
mention (type 2 diabetes mellitus, chronic heart higher HRQOL scores with higher physical
failure, hypertension, and osteoporosis), exercise activity levels among apparently healthy adults
also demonstrates beneficial effects in cancer (Klavestrand & Vingard, 2009). Notably, few
survivors. These exercise benefits include studies have assessed whether meeting these pub-
improved cardiovascular fitness, modest reduc- lic health recommendations for physical
tions in fatigue, improved mood and quality activity is associated with better HRQOL.
of life, body composition, sleep, self-esteem, Existing evidence suggests that subjects meeting
depression, anxiety, and tiredness (Irwin, public health recommendations for physical
2009). Therefore, the ACSM and Exercise and activity had better HRQOL than those who
Sports Science Australia both acknowledge the did not (Vuillemin et al., 2005). In line with
safety and efficacy of exercise training for can- other health outcomes, higher exercise inten-
cer survivors, with general recommendations of sity was associated with greater HRQOL.
low to moderate intensity, three to five times per Nevertheless, physical inactivity remains as
week, and involving aerobic, resistance, or mixed a major risk factor for many chronic diseases as
exercise types (Schmitz et al., 2010). children and adults are not engaging in sufficient
Although many observational and experimen- exercise to benefit health.
tal studies support the benefit of exercise in In summary, physical activity is a complex
reducing chronic diseases in the general adult behavioral construct that comprises exercise,
Exhaustion 2069 E
a more easily quantifiable body exertion category Garber, C. E., Blissmer, B., Deschenes, M. R., Franklin,
in terms of frequency, intensity, and type. In B. A., Lamonte, M. J., Lee, I.-M., et al. (2011).
Quantity and quality of exercise for developing
general, physical activity and exercise have and maintaining cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal,
been linked to several health outcome benefits and neuromotor fitness in apparently healthy
including HRQOL, an important aspect of adults: Guidance for prescribing exercise.
human life. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 43(7),
13341359.
Irwin, M. L. (2009). Physical activity interventions for
cancer survivors. British Journal of Sports Medicine,
43(1), 3238.
Cross-References Klavestrand, J., & Vingard, E. (2009). The relationship
between physical activity and health-related quality of E
life: A systematic review of current evidence. Scandi-
Activities of Daily Living navian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 19(3),
Aging Population 300312.
Anxiety Morrow, J. R., Jr., Jackson, A. W., Disch, J. G., & Mood,
D. P. (2011). Measurement and evaluation in human
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15101530. Fatigue
E 2070 Existential Analysis

for to their suffering in life, including suffering


Existential Analysis that is purely of the physical body. With his
emphasis on the spiritual support of the human
Daniel W. Parker person, Frankl viewed logotherapy as not only
Existential Analysis Society of Canada, being a necessary tool for psychotherapy and
Vancouver, BC, Canada psychiatry but also for medical physicians
and others involved in the helping professions.
It is for this reason that he titled his first book
Definition about logotherapy The Doctor of the Soul
(Frankl, 1986).
Existential analysis is a phenomenological and Existential analysis and logotherapy were cre-
person-oriented psychotherapeutic method with ated in response to the reductionism and deter-
the aim of guiding the person to a free experience minism of the current theories and practices of
of their mental and emotional life, to make depth psychology during the 1920s and 1930s.
authentic decisions and to discover a truly With their creation, Frankl intended to compen-
responsible way of dealing with life and the sate for what he saw as the spiritual deficit
world. It is the analysis of the conditions for within the treatment of the human person and to
a fulfilled existence by finding a way of living place greater emphasis on the uniquely human
that enables one to give inner consent to ones capacities of freedom, responsibility, and the
actions and being-in-the-world (Langle, 1993). search for meaning in life. The existential anal-
ysis was seen as a counterpart for the psycho-
analysis, and logotherapy was seen as the
Description practical application of this counterpart by being
a psychotherapy centered on the fundamental
Historical Background need to search for meaning and values (Frankl,
Existential analysis and logotherapy (concepts 1985).
that emerged in the 1920s and were published
for the first time in 1938) are two concepts intro- The Further Development of Existential
duced by Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist Analysis
Viktor E. Frankl to designate the method of Although Frankl viewed existential analysis as
psychotherapy that was developed by him the theoretical and anthropological background
(Frankl, 1985). for the practice of logotherapy, today, existential
Originally, Frankl used the term existential analysis has progressed into a comprehensive
analysis to refer to the theoretical background psychotherapeutic method that comprises the the-
and the term logotherapy as the practical appli- ory as well as the practical application. The con-
cation of this theory. With the use of logotherapy cepts of existential analysis that have been
(logos here used as the Greek word for mean- developed by the GLE International (the Society
ing), Frankl wanted to underline the importance of logotherapy and existential analysis in Vienna)
of the discovery of meaning in life and the role constitute an amplification of Frankls original
this plays in psychotherapy. In other words, an approach to include the emotions, motivations,
existential analysisorientated approach toward and biography of the person. From the viewpoint
practical life culminates with the discovery of of the GLE, logotherapy is understood as
existential meaning (personal meaning). a specific theme within existential analysis, and
Having personally experienced the influence its practical application is centered on themes
of a reductionist view of the human being while related to the quest for personal meaning and
a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps (Frankl, the loss of existential orientation in life. How-
1985), Frankl felt a profound need to help people ever, according to the GLE, logotherapys focus
find the spiritual support necessary to find a what on the quest for meaning in life does not allow for
Existential Analysis 2071 E
Existential Analysis, Existential Analysis
Fig. 1 A diagram
comparing the different
thematic points of reference
within existential analysis
and logotherapy
(Reproduced with
permission from Alfried
Langle) Logotherapy

E
PERSON: EXISTENCE: MEANING IN THE WORLD
-Emotion -Freedom (Possibility)
-Motivation -Responsibility
-Decision -Facticity
-Conscience -That Which is given

an exhaustive psychotherapeutic approach to The four fundamental motivations (dimen-


many clinical disturbances in the human psyche sions) of existence: The four fundamental moti-
and therefore is not considered a form of a deep vations that were first presented by Alfried
psychotherapy, but more of a form of counseling, Langle during a congress of the GLE in 1992
accompaniment, and treatment (Langle, 2012). and were later published in 1999 are seen today
The following figure helps to visualize this rela- as forming a core component of the theory and
tionship between existential analysis and are essential to existential-analytical work.
logotherapy as well as the important existential According to contemporary existential analysis,
themes that they encompass, as conceptualized a fulfilled existence means finding a fourfold
by the GLE (Fig. 1): affirmation (saying yes) to the world, to life, to
ones unique personhood, and to the contextual
Theoretical Components of Existential meaning of an event or situation. That is, it takes
Analysis an active dialogue with these four fundamental
At the center of the theoretical foundation lies the realities of the human experience of existence
word existence. In existential analysis, the con- (Langle, 1999, 2003, 2008). Referring to the ter-
cept of existence is referring to what is consid- minology, Langle writes, because these four
ered living a whole life, that is, a life that is structural dimensions are fundamental aspects
characterized by the freedom and responsibility of human existence, human activity tends to ori-
to make decisions within the context of what is ent itself (motivate itself) towards accessing,
given (Langle, 2012). By what is given is empowering, or strengthening a relationship to
meant both the context of the individuals unique them. Therefore, the four structural dimensions
world and the mutual influences between this of existence can be psychologically categorized
person and the world around them. as the four fundamental existential motiva-
Affirmation: The concept of affirmation is tions (2012, p. 165). The realization of ones
a central element of existential analysis. This existence requires this fourfold affirmation of
concept refers to an affirmative attitude (disposi- both ones inner (intrapsychic) world as well as
tion) toward life which manifests as a giving con- the corresponding aspects of the outer (interper-
sent to ones own actions. Through this concept, sonal) world. Through ones interaction (dia-
existential analysis can be defined as finding logue), we ask ourselves questions about these
ones Yes to life by living with determination four existential challenges in life. Figure 2 below
and inner consent (Langle, 2012, p. 163). demonstrates this relationship between the four
E 2072 Existential Analysis

Existential Analysis, 4. BIOGRAPHY (Life History and Life Plan)


Fig. 2 The relationship
between the four
fundamental dimensions of
existence and their 1. BODY 2.FEELINGS 3. AUTHENTICITY
corresponding roles within
the intrapsychic and
RELATION TO ONESELF
interpersonal worlds of the (Intrapsychic)
person (Reproduced with
permission from Alfried
Langle)

FINDING AFFIRMATION TO

RELATION TO THE WORLD


(Interpersonal)

1. CONDITIONS 2. QUALITIES (VALUES) OF 2. DIFFERENCES


OF THE WORLD THE WORLD FOUND IN
ENCOUNTERS

4. QUESTIONS/OFFERINGS OF THE SITUATION WITHIN THE ULTIMATE CONTEXT


(AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE WHOLE)

fundamental dimensions of existence and their that in order to experience fulfillment in life, one
corresponding roles within the intrapsychic and must be in active dialogue with their world. An
interpersonal worlds of the person. existence can be seen as fulfilled when the person
is in true dialogue with all aspects of their exis-
A Practice-Oriented Description of Existential tence. When the person is participating in
Analysis a dialogical interaction with their world, they
In accordance with existential-analytical theory, are better equipped to locate and maximize the
when we access the four fundamental conditions spaces of possibilities, the human freedom pre-
of a fulfilled existence, we are endowed with the sent in all interaction, and ultimately behave and
psychological abilities to access and co-construct act in a manner that they can give true inner
our experience of existence and therefore are consent to.
better equipped to enhance our quality of life. To answer the second question, existential
Within the existential-analytical approach to analysis recognizes four fundamental require-
the human experience of life, there are two main ments for a fulfilled experience of being-in-the-
questions being asked: world:
1. What is a good life? What is essential for 1. The ability to accept the conditions/facticity of
a good life? How can I recognize a good and life (being grounded in reality, being able to
fulfilled life? (theoretical questions of content) find basic trust)
2. What are the necessary means that a person 2. The ability to locate and live with ones own
needs in order to achieve a good and fulfilled feelings (relationships and felt values)
life? (practical questions of method) 3. The ability to appreciate the individual and
Regarding the first question, existential analy- unique (respecting the nature, freedom, and
sis proposes that a good life is a fulfilling life and dignity of any person including oneself)
Existential Analysis 2073 E
Existential Analysis,
Fig. 3 The conditions for
an existential life restated EXISTENCE = wanting, affirmation
using four simple (mostly
modal) words (Reproduced S
with permission from H
Alfried Langle) A O
L U
I L
L L
C K D
A E O
N W
E
D
E
2. Life
4. Meaning/Becoming
Relationship, time,
Field of activity,
feeling closeness to
context, value of the
the value of life
1. World 3. Being oneself future in order to make
Space, support, sensing positive ones contribution to the
and protection in regard, justice, world
the world so that I appreciation of
can be values in order
to be oneself, to
sense ones
authenticity

4. The ability to act and engage in what leads to personal growth by integrating ones feelings,
a felt sense of meaning in life actions, and experiences in order to be a whole
person. This phenomenological process involves
The Structural Model of Existential Analysis helping the client to activate his or her innate
The four personal-existential fundamental moti- openness to life by entering into a dialogue with
vations (dimensions) are seen structurally as their inner (intrapsychic) and outer (interper-
supporting a fulfilled existence. Figure 3 below sonal) experiences of being-in-the-world. There-
illustrates how these four dimensions act as sup- fore, existential analysis holds two elements as
portive pillars that provide the necessary condi- generally pathogenic: acting (living) with inner
tions for an existential life: disagreement and a lack of dialogue (both inner
dialogue with oneself and outer dialogue with the
Psychotherapeutic Application world) (Langle, 1993). This goal of installing the
The theoretical foundations of existential analy- free and responsible person as the acting and not
sis are deeply rooted in existential and phenome- merely reacting center in ones own life is accom-
nological philosophy. Therefore, the approach to plished primarily through a phenomenological
treating a client, and even what is considered method called personal existential analysis
healthy and pathological, stems from this philos- (PEA) (Langle).
ophy of the human person. Due in large part to the
work of Alfried Langle and his colleagues at the Empirical Measures
GLE, existential analysis as a theory of psycho- Existential analysis is not as empirically oriented
therapy has been thoroughly developed in order as some other therapies such as cognitive behav-
to treat all types of psychological disturbances, ioral therapy (CBT) because it is subjectively
including neuroses, psychoses, and personality oriented as opposed to objectively oriented.
disorders. Existential analysis within However, several psychometric measures have
a therapeutic context is focused on unlocking been developed and utilized in research to both
the persons experience in order to use it for support theoretical assumptions and provide
E 2074 Existential Fundamental Motivation

assistance in therapeutic practice. The following for finding oneself. English translation from Bulletin
is an incomplete list of empirical measures based der GLE, 10(2), 311.
Langle, A. (1999). Die existentielle motivation der person.
on or related to existential analytic theory: Existenzanalyse, 16(3), 1829.
The Existence Scale (ES; Langle, Orgler, & Langle, A. (2003). The search for meaning in life and the
Kundi, 2003): A self-report measure designed to fundamental existential motivations. Psychotherapy in
measure ones felt sense of existential fulfillment Australia, 10, 1.
Langle, A. (2008). Existenzanalyse. In A. Langle & A.
in life. The questionnaire consists of 46 items that Holzhey-Kunz (Eds.), Existenzanalyse und
load on 4 subscales (self-distance, self-transcen- daseinsanalyse (pp. 29180). Vienna: UTB (Facultas).
dence, freedom, and responsibility). Langle, A. (2012). The Viennese school of existential
Test on Fundamental Motivations (TEM; analysis: The search for meaning and the affirmation
of life. In L. Barnett & G. Madison (Eds.), Existential
Langle & Eckhard, 2000): A 56-item self-report therapy: Legacy, vibrancy, and dialogue
measure based on the EA concept of the four (pp. 159170). New York: Routledge.
fundamental motivations in life. Langle, A., & Eckhard, P. (2000). Test zur erfassung der
The Logo Test (Lukas, 1986): A self- existentiellen motivation. Vienna: GLE, Fragebogen.
Langle, A., Orgler, C., & Kundi, M. (2003). The existence
assessment measure designed to investigate both scale. A new approach to assess the ability to find
the level of meaning accomplishment and the felt personal meaning in life and to reach existential ful-
sense of existential frustration. fillment. European Psychotherapy, 4(1), 135151.
Purpose in Life Test (PIL; Crumbaugh & Lukas, E. (1986). Logo-test test. zur messung von innerer
sinnerfullung und existentieller frustration.
Maholick, 1969): The first self-report question- Vienna: Deuticke.
naire created to measure Frankls concept of
meaning in life through the investigation of pur-
pose and the experience of the existential
vacuum. Existential Fundamental Motivation

Denise Coles
Existential Analysis Society of Canada,
Cross-References
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Counseling
Existential Fundamental Motivation
Definition
Existential Psychotherapy
Feelings
Motivation, from an existential analytic per-
Personal Existential Analysis Method
spective, requires involvement of the person,
Psychotherapy
with his or her potential and ability to decide, in
Purpose in Life
his or her own world. Motivation within this
Quality of Life
framework takes into account that humans
Values
are dialogical in nature and are in continual
communication with the world around them
(people, ideas, events, their environment, and
References themselves). It is within this interrelational pro-
cess that motivation is kindled and occurs. When
Crumbaugh, J. C., & Maholick, L. T. (1969). Manual of
instructions for the purpose in life test. Munster, IN: there is recognition that something is of worth
Psychometric Affiliates. and of value, we are moved to integrate this new
Frankl, V. E. (1985). Mans search for meaning. New information into our lives and we are challenged
York: Washington Square Press. to respond in some way. Motivation unfolds and
Frankl, V. E. (1986). The doctor and the soul. New York:
Random House. is shaped by fundamental themes and realities of
Langle, A. (1993). A practical application of personal existence, according to existential analytic
existential analysis (PEA) a therapeutic conversation theory.
Existential Fundamental Motivation 2075 E
Description this attitude of receptivity and responsiveness
brings forth a greater chance of fulfillment.
The study of how human beings are motivated is These challenges are posed to us again
central to psychology. The aim of this chapter is and again throughout our lives and serve as the
to outline how the theory of motivation has turning points for personal direction.
evolved within a particular psychotherapy, exis- In the 1980s, Alfried Langle further developed
tential analysis, and how it is considered in prac- existential analysis to include a more comprehen-
tice today. sive view of how motivation occurs within this
Current existential analytic views of motiva- realm of interrelation between self and the world.
tion evolved out of Logotherapy which was He described motivation starting with
E
developed by Victor Frankl in Austria, in the a provocation (we are impressed upon or moved
1930s and 1940s, in response to what he by something seen, heard, or experienced).
perceived to be lacking in the predominant As dialogical beings we expect and look for
psychological theories of that era. He came to something or someone who speaks to us, calls
believe that human beings were not merely us, needs us, talks to us, looks for us, challenges
motivated by the pleasure principle (central to us (Langle, 2003a). He also identified three steps
Freudian psychology) or a striving for superiority which bring about motivation of the individual:
on which Adlerian psychology was based, but on recognizing something is of worth and value and
a search for meaning. Frankl considered the sensing we are moved, harmonizing bringing
search for meaning to be the deepest and the the perceived value into accordance with our
most primary motivational force to humankind inner reality, and determining its congruence
(Frankl, 2006). with our deepest emotions, beliefs, and other
Frankl defined his motivational concept as values. Here we also explore if it can be inte-
will to meaning, and it also represented spiri- grated into our lives in some way with respect to
tual concern. Frankl believed that the person was our ability and personal capacity. Langle
moved by a spiritual striving for a deeper under- (2003) also illuminated that opening to this
standing of his or her experiences or activities process allows the person to arrive at a place of
(Langle, 2003a). Within this dimension, pro- inner consent with self and the decided upon
cesses related to the conscience are present, and value to which the person feels moved toward
therein exists personal freedom, the capacity for engagement. He has also described inner consent
decision-making and responsibility. He saw as the inwardly felt or spoken yes (Langle,
motivation as guided within this framework. 2002). Ultimately, the outcome of this process is
According to this view, Frankl saw the person expansion of meaning and even the potential for
as free in determining what he or she is or what self-transcendence.
he or she will do or be in this life. Langle also elaborated upon Frankls
Frankl advocated an approach to engaging in approach to include three existential motivations
life, which encouraged a certain kind of humility which precede the motivation for meaning. The
and openness a phenomenological attitude. theoretical view is that fulfillment and meaning-
Each circumstance poses a question to the fulness in existence can only be achieved based
individual: What does this hour want from me, upon the firm foundation of particular existential
how shall I respond? (Frankl, 1973, p. 62). conditions (Kirchbach, 2003). These conditions,
Existence to him was not simply a stage to be which include Frankls search for meaning as the
acted upon, but an experience which demands an final motivation, are called the four fundamental
act or response from us. The choices one makes existential motivations, and they will be outlined
require an ability to discern what is best for one- below.
self, for others, the future, and for the environ- The reality of being in the world confronts the
ment or situation. These are the elements of the person with certain questions to which he or she
definition of existential meaning. Moving with needs to respond:
E 2076 Existential Fundamental Motivation

I am can I be? This question provokes experiences are present, one can find oneself,
looking at the reality of the existence that the ones true and authentic self. The outcome is
person has been thrown into. Can I accept my a strong sense of ones own self-worth: self-
place in the world and the conditions of my life esteem.
and the possibilities before me? This ability to The fourth fundamental question of existence is
accept demands three things: protection, space, I am here but for what purpose? What do I live
and support. If these conditions are absent, rest- for? Here we arrive back again at the meaning of
lessness, insecurity, and fear occur. However, if our existence. In order to find meaning in life, what
present, one is able to develop trust in the world is required is a field of activity, a structural con-
and trust in ones own ability. The consequence text, and a value to be realized in the future
of these experiences is a fundamental trust: a trust (Langle, 2003b). We need to enter into activity
that one has enough support to sustain ones life. and become engaged in our communities. We
However, it is not enough to have the three afore- must be able to consider possibilities, make
mentioned criteria to be in the world. It also goals, and contemplate results on a future
requires that the person seizes these conditions, horizon. We must be willing to delve in and appre-
make a decision to accept them, both the positive ciate the process. If these three aforementioned
and negative ones, and to trust the support ingredients are not present in our lives, a felt
and protection given and to take ones space void and a sense of emptiness will occur, as well
(Langle, 2003b). as frustration, despair, and, in some, addiction and
The second fundamental question of existence dependencies. However, if these conditions are
is I am alive do I like this reality? Is it a quality present in our lives, we will be capable of action
existence? In order to embrace life and to and commitment to our endeavors. A sense of
fully appreciate living, three things are required: integrity will develop and a personal form of reli-
relationship, time, and closeness. This means tak- gious belief. The result of these experiences will
ing time to establish and cherish relationships and lead to psychological health.
being involved in activities which are valuable In summary, the concept of motivation in
and worthy of our time. If these three aforemen- modern existential analysis focuses on the fact
tioned elements are not available to us or acces- that we are in constant communication with our-
sible to us, a feeling of longing will occur, as well selves and the complexities life presents to us
as a distancing (isolation) and depression. all the gifts and the challenges. Motivation is
However, if these three conditions are present understood within a framework of acknowledg-
and fulfilled, one feels the value of ones life. ing the dialogical nature of human beings the
One feels in harmony with the world and with interplay of self with the themes that dominate
self and will experience the depth of life (Langle, and intersect a human life the world with its
2003). This is where inner consent is required. limits and possibilities; life itself, with its spec-
It is not enough to have these aforementioned tacular range of feelings and relationships; the
elements; one must also inwardly announce opportunity to fully be oneself, to live as an
yes to life. This means fully engaging in life. authentic and unique individual; and the future
The third fundamental question of existence is we can shape through our chosen direction and
I am myself may I be like this? Do I feel free to valued activities.
be myself? This is the plane of identity, of know-
ing oneself, and of ethics (Langle, 2002). In order
to be oneself, and enact the unique self, one needs Cross-References
to experience attention, justice, and appreciation.
If these experiences are missing from life, one Existential Analysis
will tend toward isolation and histrionic symp- Existential Psychotherapy
toms develop as well as a tendency to hide in Motivation
shame. If, on the other hand, these positive Personal Existential Analysis Method
Existential Psychotherapy 2077 E
References existential philosophy can help relieve human
suffering. As a psychotherapeutic approach, the
Frankl, V. (2006). Mans search for meaning. Boston: primary focus is on empowering the client to
Beacon.
develop a greater tolerance for suffering, while
Frankl, V. (1973). The Doctor and the Soul. From Psycho-
therapy to Logotherapy. New York: Random House. also encouraging a deeper experiential engage-
Langle, A. (2002). Existential fundamental motivation. ment with existence. This is accomplished within
Paper presented at the 18th World Congress of the bounds of a personal and sustaining therapeu-
Psychotherapy, Trondheim, Norway.
tic relationship that is designed to bolster clients
Langle, A. (2003a). The art of involving the person fun-
damental motivations as the structure of the motivational in their efforts to change.
process. European Psychotherapy, 4(1), 4758.
Langle, A. (2003b). The search for meaning in life and the
E
fundamental existential motivations. Psychotherapy in
Australia, 10(1), 2227.
Description
von Kirchbach, G. (2003). General introduction to
logotherapy and existential analysis. European Wampold (2008) explains the relevance existen-
Psychotherapy, 4(1), 3346. tial methods have for the broader field of thera-
peutic practice as he states, it could be argued
that an understanding of the principles of existen-
tial therapy is needed by all therapists, as it adds
Existential Humanistic Therapy
a perspective that might. . .form the basis of all
effective treatments (p. 6). Freedom, choice,
Existential Psychotherapy
responsibility, motivation, agency, meaning,
death, suffering, relationships, and self-
acceptance are some of the issues that might
Existential Needs and Chronic emerge during a treatment in existential psycho-
Diseases therapy. However, the field is quite diverse over-
all and there are a number of different pathways
Spiritual Needs of Those with Chronic to change espoused by various existential psy-
Diseases chotherapists. For example, Yalom suggests that
change occurs through an interpersonal focus,
while Bugental recommends an intrapersonal
focus as the primary way by which clients change
Existential Psychotherapy (Krug, 2009). This chapter will discern a general
view on existential psychotherapy as an approach
Michael C. Mathers to treatment. It will also focus on issues
Existential Analysis Society of Canada, pertaining to the training of existential therapists
Vancouver, BC, Canada to demonstrate the unique demands required by
this kind of practice.
Existential psychotherapists do not believe
Synonyms people generally come to psychotherapy as
a result of deficiencies. Instead, therapy is
Existential humanistic therapy; Existential envisioned as an opportunity to help people
therapy; Existentialism more freely experience their emotions so that
they can come to more responsible and authentic
decisions (Langle, 2003). Relief from the
Definition presenting concern is of course a vital concern,
but existential psychotherapists purport that the
Existential psychotherapy has evolved out of an primary way of achieving this outcome is for
appreciation for how concepts fundamental to clients to expand their range of feeling and
E 2078 Existential Psychotherapy

increase their ability for choice regarding the theoretical abstraction (Cooper, 2007; Milton
conditions of life (Schneider, 2007). Dean et al., 2003; Yalom, 1980). Therefore, the thera-
(2003) explains that existential psychotherapy peutic relationship has a unique role within the
is not like many other approaches, where some- existential tradition. According to May (1983),
thing is wrong and the person is treated to become one of the essential characteristics of existential
better. The therapy offered by an existential psychotherapy is how it emphasizes the value of
approach is the opportunity to come into a new the therapeutic relationship as an existential
relationship with life (p. 87). This is not to say encounter. May notes, in effective therapy
that existential psychotherapy views all forms of a change occurs in both the therapist and the
suffering as valuable, but rather, it does not auto- patient; unless the therapist is open to change
matically aim to eliminate the clients suffering the patient will not be either (p. 22). He high-
since developing a greater understanding of why lights the importance of the therapists willing-
one suffers can be of great value. Rather than ness to be impacted by the client in noting
aiming for the outright avoidance or elimination the essence of relationship is that in the encoun-
of these feelings, existential psychotherapy tends ter both persons are changed (p. 128). Mays
to view feelings such as guilt and anxiety as view demonstrates the existential perspective on
a normal part of the human condition. Thus, it a therapeutic encounter; both therapist and client
aims to raise awareness of how these endemic need to be willing to be altered by the relationship
states of being can be used to creatively encour- for change to occur.
age a deeper, richer, and more profound relation- The role of the therapists self in the therapeu-
ship with life (Dean). According to Milton et al. tic process distinguishes existential psychother-
(2003), the therapeutic encounter can be apy as an approach. Havens (1974) highlights the
regarded as an invitation for the client to confront implications of this perspective by comparing it
and clarify the meaning of their anxiety, rather with the psychoanalytic tradition, which
than attempt to reduce or eliminate it (p. 117). directed attention to the misuses of the thera-
Schneider (2008) sheds light on how the existen- pists self, through the discovery and manage-
tial approach conceives of this process by ment of countertransference phenomena. It has
describing the freer that people feel to experi- not made comparable contributions to the uses of
ence themselves, the less panic they harbour; the the self (p. 1). Existential psychotherapy there-
less panic, the less urgency they feel to rearrange fore does not attempt to limit the role of the
and hence dysfunctionally distort themselves. To therapists self in impacting the clients therapy,
the degree that people can draw upon this but rather, it seeks to maximize the potential for
strength, the more fully they can perceive, change from this encounter. The existential
experientially reflect, and respond (p. 83). psychotherapist thus serves as a model of
Existential psychotherapy is composed of a perspective on how to approach existence
a divergent collection of methods that share authentically. Portnoy (1999) describes how this
a common appreciation for the role of the thera- requires the therapists readiness to let the client
pists personhood in initiating change. While know how they affect the therapist. The therapist
most therapeutic approaches recognize the also needs to bracket preconceptions, be open to
importance of the therapeutic relationship, the the genuine encounter between two people, and
unique perspective of existential psychotherapy be keenly aware of how his or her issues/reactions
comes from the emphasis on the therapists use of impact the therapy (p. 3132). This is similar to
self as an instrument of the change process. The Bubers (1970) concept of an I-thou form of
existential psychotherapist focuses on embody- relationship. Friedman (1960) describes this as
ing specific values in the therapeutic relationship the primary word of relation. It is characterized
such as being with a client over doing something by mutuality, directness, presentness, intensity,
to them, understanding a person over explaining and ineffability (p. 57). In this sense, the exis-
behavior, and experiential awareness over tential perspective on the therapeutic relationship
Existential Psychotherapy 2079 E
invokes the view of a dynamic interaction that a deeper and more authentic way of being for
requires a reciprocal influence. the client. The therapeutic relationship is defined
Existential psychotherapy is also an approach as an existential encounter with a particular
that encourages the development of insight or emphasis on the therapists use of self as an
awareness as an integral part of the psychothera- instrument of change. The ultimate goal is to
pist development process (Cooper, 2007; Farber, encourage interpersonal and intrapersonal aware-
2010; Schneider, 2007). May (1983) illustrated ness so that clients can more freely choose how
why this is necessary in defining the existential they will relate to the conditions, or limitations,
approach as one concerned with understanding of their existence.
man as the being who represses, the being who
E
surrenders self-awareness as a protection against
reality and then suffers the neurotic conse-
quences (p. 65). Furthermore, it may be that in Cross-References
order to work in this manner, it helps for the
psychotherapist to have been able to gain insight Existential Analysis
into the process of how one can overcome Existential Fundamental Motivation
personally challenging issues (Dean, 2003). Freedom
According to Farber (2010), existential psycho- Motivation
therapy posits that the process of change occurs Personal Existential Analysis Method
within the bounds of a therapeutic relationship
built on the acceptance of self and others, and he
believes that a significant amount of the change References
process can occur as a result of the therapist
being fully present for the client. He illustrates Buber, M. (1970). I and thou. New York: Charles
the values that existential methods bring to Scribners Sons.
Cain, D. J. (2007). What every therapist should know, be,
psychotherapy training as an approach that and do: Contributions from humanistic psychother-
generally aims to expand the trainees knowl- apies. Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 37,
edge of theory and technique, facilitate explora- 310.
tion of the person of the psychotherapist, and Cooper, M. (2007). Humanizing psychotherapy. Journal
of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 37, 1116.
cultivate skills in the use of self as a change Dean, P. (2003). Approaching existential psychotherapy.
agent (p. 32). This helps make clear the existen- Existential Analysis, 14(1), 8697.
tial psychotherapy theory of change, which Cain Farber, E. W. (2010). Humanistic-existential psychother-
(2007) defines as the belief that the person of the apy competencies and the supervisory process.
Psychotherapy Theory, Research, Practice, Training,
therapist, as opposed to ideology or technique, is 47(1), 2834.
what makes therapy effective for a given Friedman, M. (1960). Martin Buber. The life of dialogue.
client (p. 6). Existential psychotherapy places New York: Harpers.
a heightened focus on the development of self- Havens, L. L. (1974). The existential use of the self. The
American Journal of Psychiatry, 131, 110.
awareness as it aims to create conditions support- Krug, O. T. (2009). James Bugental and Irvin Yalom: Two
ive of growth and development in the person of masters of existential therapy cultivate presence in
the trainee. the therapeutic encounter. Journal of Humanistic
Existential psychotherapy has been presented Psychology, 49, 329354.
Langle, A. (2003). The search for meaning in life and the
as an approach that helps clients expand their existential fundamental motivations. Existential Anal-
sense of freedom and choice within an honest ysis, 16(1), 214.
acceptance of lifes limitations. The therapist May, R. (1983). The discovery of being. New York:
seeks to help the client reframe suffering as an W.W. Norton.
Milton, M., Charles, L., Judd, D., OBrien, M., Tipney, A.,
opportunity for personal growth that will lead to & Turner, A. (2003). The existential-
more contact with the world, other people, as well phenomenological paradigm: The importance for
as with ones self. The aim is to encourage integration. Existential Analysis, 14(1), 112136.
E 2080 Existential Therapy

Portnoy, P. (1999). Relatedness: Where humanistic and enter the dialogue. Many scholars who study and
psychoanalytic psychotherapy converge. Journal of write about exotic dancing explore dancers lives;
Humanistic Psychology, 39, 1934.
Schneider, K. J. (2007). The experiential liberation strat- discuss both their personal and professional lives,
egy of the existential-integrative model of therapy. both positive and negative experiences in the
Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy, 37(1), industry; and place emphasis on the many forms
3339. of labor (physical and emotional) that dancers
Schneider, K. J. (2008). Existential-integrative psycho-
therapy: Guideposts to the core of practice. employ while working. In this piece, the quality
New York: Routledge. of life for exotic dancers is discussed by examin-
Wampold, B. (2008). Existential-integrative psychother- ing literature on stripping that situates dancers in
apy: Coming of age. PsycCritiques Contemporary the context of their day-to-day lives and by rec-
psychology: APA review of books, 53(6).
Yalom, I. D. (1980). Existential psychotherapy. ognizing how the physical and emotional labor
New York: Basic Books. that dancers employ have a similar impact on
them as to folks who work in any other occupa-
tions of the service industry, under a capitalist
society. This entry aims to complicate the experi-
Existential Therapy ences of exotic dancers during work hours, as
mothers/sisters/partners, and to go beyond cate-
Existential Psychotherapy gorizations of empowered/disempowered to rep-
resent the range of life experiences that impact
dancers quality of life.
To begin, Wahab, Baker, Smith, Cooper, and
Lerum (2010) did a review of the literature on
Existentialism exotic dancing between 1970 and 2008. This
review established a number of themes
Existential Psychotherapy that were commonly focused on in exotic dance
literature. Themes they identified included
female dancers motivations for becoming
dancers, their self-perceptions, their experiences
Exotic Dance and the Quality of Life of stripping, the influence of exotic dance on
relationships outside the clubs, how they resist
Meg Panichelli the negative image of exotic dance, and how they
Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA manage stigma associated with this labor (p.63 ).
The literature from 1970 to 1989 showed
motivations for becoming an exotic dancer to
Description be rooted in financial needs that required
a quick and easy way to earn money; some
In the USA most of forms of sex work are women were drawn into dancing by friends,
criminalized and legalized. This atmosphere family members, or other recruiters like agents
often leaves sex workers in polarized locations or club managers, while men were recruited into
of victim on one end and empowered on the dancing through similar networks and saw it as
other end. Although exotic dancing and stripping a way to be involved in the entertainment
are not criminalized sectors of the industry, men business (Wahab et al., 2010, p. 65).
and women who work as such still face similar Exotic dancers employ both physical and
stigma about how and why they entered the indus- emotional labor while working, which has
try and battle stereotypes that are described as been described as both a skill and a
having experienced childhood sexual abuse, tax, both emotionally and physically
sex addicts, and victims. Less often, language (Barton, 2006; Dewey, 2011). Wahab et al.
about empowerment, choice, and making money recognize that from 1970s to present day,
Exotic Dance and the Quality of Life 2081 E
research rhetoric on counterfeit intimacy is that they could make more money and profit.
prevalent. While some may describe this For example, some dancers violated a no-touch
intimacy as performative and as an aspect of rule, where they encouraged more intimate
emotional labor as a counterfeit intimacy contact to make more money, and essentially
wherein both male and female dancers objectify resist being controlled by club rules (Deshotels &
and exploit the customers creating an atmosphere Forsyth, 2008; Egan, 2003 as cited in Wahab
of mutually exploitative interactions masked by et al., 2010, p. 69). Finally, within the literature
an aura of intimacy (2010, p. 67 ), Wahab et al. between 2000 and 2008, research on dancers was
are troubled by this concept. They recognize that situated along a continuum of sexualization,
counterfeit intimacy is based upon victimization, and abuse, recognizing the
E
heteronormative interactions and question complex life experiences of dancers. Researchers
whether or not a real intimacy (between men noted that dancers experiences of violence and
and women) exists, as opposed to one that is abuse early in life manifested response behavior
performed or faked. This is an important in a range of different ways while working
question as it raises the point that real intimacy and that some dancers carried mace or guns to
can only be between men and women and that protect themselves from further victimization
intimacy in sex work or exotic dancing must be of (Wesley, 2002, p. 325 as cited in Wahab et al.,
the faked variety. This helps everyone explore 2010). They do not draw direct links between
their notions of what intimacy looks like dancers and victimization, which is important to
inside and outside of work and among different see, as exotic dancers and other sex workers
types of relationships. are often positioned into being victims of
Next, in the literature between 1990 and 1999, abuse. This literature acknowledges that some
Wahab et al. identified three ways that exotic dancers have been sexually abused and describe
dancers/strippers managed stigma. These dancers in a strong way by showing
included things like freely discussing their jobs strategies for resisting further abuse in
with insiders (i.e., other dancers, people their workplace (Barton, 2006; Dewey, 2011;
they dealt with on a regular basis, boyfriends Wahab et al., 2010).
and spouses) who knew they were dancers; Susan Deweys (2011) book, Neon
rationalized and neutralized their deviant Wasteland: On Love, Motherhood, and Sex
behavior (Thompson & Harred, 1992 as cited in Work in a Rust Belt Town, focuses on a group
Wahab et al., 2010); offering reasons for their of women working as topless dancers and
participation in dancing as helping family their experiences being mothers, in intimate rela-
members, paying for school so that parents tionships, managing risks in the industry, the
would be spared the cost of their education, impact of the classed body, and dancers everyday
or not being on welfare (Thompson & Harred, survival strategies. In response to the need for
1992 as cited in Wahab et al., 2010). By research on the cultural and organization context
invoking these strategies, dancers advocate for of sex work, Dewey begins with the question of
themselves and seek to justify their occupation whether an industry so clearly characterized by
in a stigmatized profession. exploitative labor practices and discourses of
From 2000 to 2008, there is a trend in the dirty and shame could in fact be empowering
literature that moves from looking at dancers in for women and the children they supported?
an individual context to looking at dancers within (p. 9). Dewey examines how dancing impacts
a larger structural context, which has ultimately intimate relationships, for example, she quotes
led to moving away from pathologizing dancers who discuss the need to avoid working
dancers into more of an analysis of dancers with men they meet at their club yet find it hard to
within organizational and cultural frameworks meet men outside of work because most of their
(Wahab et al., 2010, p. 69 ). Dancers resisted awake time exists in the club. Other dancers
club-imposed sanctions by breaking rules so describe how they are cautious to disclose their
E 2082 Exotic Dance and the Quality of Life

place of employment too soon in a relationship Researchers have not been loathe to study
for fear of being stigmatized, while others the deviant identity of topless dancers and the
meet significant others in the bar, and at first ways sex workers manage to maintain their
these partners are okay with their work but at self-esteem when they face bigotry and abuse.
some point become jealous. She also discusses Indeed, it is difficult to write about sex work at all
the need for dancers to provide for their families without at least some mention of the stigma women
and find it a better alternative to going on welfare, endure and negotiate in the industry. (p. 113)
due to the stigmatized nature of being on welfare. Barton expands the implicit complexities of
Dewey (2011) says that dancers described their studying sex workers when she mentions:
work as something that could be carefully hidden [Sociologist Kari Lerum] argues that the study
from childrens teachers and other members of of sex work has achieved social and scientific legit-
the community who have the power to exercise imacy at the expense of dehumanizing sex workers,
authority over their families (p.57). Dewey and that this dehumanization is not an unfortunate
frames this in the context of everyday survival coincidence, but a requirement for the production
strategies and, from my perspective, situates of contemporary institutionalized knowledge.
these dancers as fierce women navigating (Lerum, 1998 as cited in Barton, 2006, p. 113)
social systems and the impact of intersectionality She also asks, how much stigma can
on their daily lives. a researcher unpack before her informants
Similarly Bernadette Barton writes about clam up or before she becomes tangled up in the
the complicated experiences of dancers in her layers of stereotypes she is trying to debunk?
book, Stripped (2006). She acknowledges how (p.113). This question is so important for
damaging it can be to represent dancers through researchers to consider when working with
a one-dimensional lens and states that Stripped already sexually marginalized communities. In
breaks down this polarized binary of exploitation attempts to humanize sex work, researchers
or empowerment, slut or victim, that must be extremely cautious not to further
frames most academic and feminist work on the stigmatize sex workers.
sex industry as well as popular myths about The research and literature referenced in this
the lives of strippers because the unnatural entry are all examples of writing that I see as
dichotomy defining stripping as either good or bad moving beyond positioning sex workers into
is simply inadequate to the task of understanding binary categories and that recognize sex workers
the lives of dancers (Barton, 2006, p. xi). In her within the individual context of their lives. There
book you can find the experiences of dancers is value in discussing sex workers within the
set along a continuum, and she disrupts these polar- context of their lives as mothers or in romantic
ized categories. She discusses the various reasons relationships and normalizing this work, because
women enter the sex industry; the diversity in race, stigma and discrimination against sex workers
class, and sexuality; drug use; education; and lead people to forget that sex workers are
how these identities and social locations impact mothers, sisters, aunts, daughters, girlfriends,
their experience as dancers. She talks about friends, etc. They have been constructed as
both physical and emotional demands on the other.
sex workers bodies, experiences with club Strip clubs and the experiences of dancers
management, intimate partnerships, positive and have been studied for a number of different
negative experiences with clients, and dancers purposes. In the context of this Encyclopedia of
descriptions of being sexualized based upon race, Quality of Life Research on dancers, it is exciting
class, gender, and sexuality. for exotic dancers to be recognized along
Bartons experience researching dancers a continuum of dance forms, yet I am curious
brings up important questions for researchers to about readers expectations of differences
consider when engaging with workers in the sex among dancers. How does the addition of
industry: taking ones clothes off for money in a dancing
Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC) 2083 E
environment differ from other forms of move-
ment? What kind of stigma is attached to this Expanded Prostate Cancer Index
legalized form of sex work that impacts our lens Composite
of exotic dancing?
Much of this literature aims to situate dancers Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite
at the intersection of individual, organizational, (EPIC)
and structural experiences. Laura Agustin
(2008 as cited in Wahab et al., 2010) encourages
researchers to move away from a focus on
individual dancers toward a focus on the cultural
E
contexts and issues associated with sex work. Expanded Prostate Cancer Index
The quality of life for exotic dancers is dependent Composite (EPIC)
on how intersecting micro, mezzo, and macro
factors shape the experiences of dancers in the Florian R. Schroeck and John T. Wei
industry, as they are inextricable. Finally, this Department of Urology, University of Michigan,
literature can be used to recognize the many Ann Arbor, MI, USA
experiences of exotic dancers and to especially
show them as complex human beings navigating
stigma, relationships, and emotional and Synonyms
physical labor and resisting objectification
and social control. You will find stories of EPIC; Expanded prostate cancer index compos-
strength, empowerment, disempowerment, ite; Related EPIC short form
love, intimacy, performativity, and creativity.

Definition
References
The expanded prostate cancer index composite is
Agustin, L. (2005). The cultural study of commercial sex. a health-related quality of life-specific question-
Sexualities, 8(5), 618631. naire for patients with prostate cancer.
Barton, B. (2006). Stripped: Inside the lives of exotic
dancers. New York: New York University.
Deshotels, T., & Forsyth, C. J. (2008). Sex rules:
The edicts of income in exotic dancing. Deviant Description
Behavior, 29(5), 484500.
Dewey, S. (2011). Neon Wasteland: On love, motherhood,
and sex work in a rust belt town. Berkeley: University
The expanded prostate cancer index composite
of California Press. (EPIC) is a standardized self-administered
Egan, R. D. (2003). Ill be your fantasy girl, if youll be my disease-specific questionnaire developed to mea-
money man: Mapping desire, fantasy and power in two sure health-related quality of life in prostate can-
exotic dance clubs. JPCS: Journal for Psychoanalysis
cer patients treated with radical prostatectomy,
of Culture & Society, 8(1), 109120.
Frank, K. (2007). Thinking critically about strip club brachytherapy, external beam radiation, or hor-
research. Sexualities, 10(4), 501517. monal therapy.
Thompson, W. E., & Harred, J. L. (1992). Topless Since its publication in 2000 (Wei, Dunn,
dancers: Managing the stigma in a deviant occupation.
Litwin, Sandler, & Sanda, 2000), the EPIC has
Deviant Behavior, 13(3), 291312.
Wahab, S., Baker, L., Smith, J., Cooper, K., & Lerum, K. become one of the most widely used instruments
(2010). Exotic dance research: A review of the for assessing health-related quality of life in
literature from 1970 to 2008. Sexuality & Culture, patients with prostate cancer. It has been used in
15(1), 5679.
Wesley, J. K. (2002). Growing up sexualized: Issues of
studies described in more than 250 peer-reviewed
power and violence in the lives of female exotic publications and has been translated into many
dancers. Violence Against Women, 8(10), 11821207. languages, including Spanish (Ferrer et al., 2009),
E 2084 Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC)

Japanese (Takegami et al., 2005), and Korean Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC),
(Chung et al., 2010). Table 1 Characteristics of domain-specific HRQOL sub-
scales (Wei et al., 2000)
A multi-institutional study of patients who
underwent radical prostatectomy, brachytherapy, No. of Test- Cronbachs
HRQOL Domain items retest alpha
or external beam radiotherapy (Sanda et al.,
Urinary subscales
2008) showed differential trends in recovery
Function 5 0.83 0.69
according to treatment modality up to two years
Bother 7 0.87 0.85
of follow-up, measured with the EPIC, providing
Incontinence 4 0.87 0.89
data which is now widely used in counseling Irritation/obstruction 7 0.85 0.81
prostate cancer patients. The same study also Bowel subscales
found a significant association of the irritative Function 7 0.78 0.75
urinary subscale, the sexual function domain, Bother 7 0.85 0.90
and the hormonal function domain with patient Sexual subscales
satisfaction, as measured with the Service Satis- Function 9 0.90 0.92
faction Scale for Cancer Care (Greenfield & Bother 4 0.78 0.84
Attkisson, 1989). Longer-term (5 year) EPIC- Hormonal subscales
based quality of life data of a prospective Function 5 0.79 0.51
nonrandomized study comparing brachytherapy Bother 6 0.73 0.73
and radical prostatectomy has been recently
reported (Crook et al., 2011). It has been also
useful as the endpoint of a clinical trial which score were constructed. In addition, two urinary
randomized post-prostatectomy patients with scales that distinguish irritative/obstructive
incontinence to an intervention to show symptoms and incontinence were also defined.
improvement at 8 weeks compared to controls Response options for each EPIC item form
(Goode et al., 2011). a Likert scale, and multi-item scale scores were
transformed linearly to a 0100 scale, with higher
Measurement Model scores representing better Health Related Quality
The measures content of the University of of Life (HRQOL).
California-Los Angeles Prostate Cancer Index
(UCLA-PCI) (Litwin et al., 1998) was expanded Metric Properties
with guidance from a cohort of prostate cancer The EPIC was independently validated in
patients and an expert panel of urologic oncolo- a sample of 252 patients composed by an equal
gists, radiation oncologists, survey researchers, number of subjects who had received brachyther-
and cancer nurses. The rationale was to apy, external beam radiation, radical prostatec-
augment the UCLA-PCI with items to capture tomy, and hormonal therapy. Internal consistency
concerns relevant to patients treated with brachy- and test-retest reliability were high (Cronbachs
therapy, external beam radiation, radical prosta- alpha and Intraclass Correlation Coefficients  0.8)
tectomy, and androgen deprivation (Wei et al., for all four EPIC domains (urinary, bowel, sexual,
2000). Specific items addressing irritative and and hormonal). Moderate correlation with the
obstructive voiding symptoms, hematuria, addi- FACT-P (r 0.58, r 0.51, r 0.44, r 0.61,
tional bowel symptoms, and hormonal symptoms respectively) provided evidence for
were vetted. Additionally, symptom-specific criterion validity. For the characteristics of the
bother items were added to elicit multi-item domain-specific HRQOL subscales, please see the
bother scales. Table 1.
Exploratory factor analysis using varimax The EPIC has been compared to other vali-
rotation identified four domains (urinary, bowel, dated instruments. Comparison with the Inconti-
sexual, and hormonal). For each domain, two nence Symptom Index revealed a strong
subscales of function and bother and a summary correlation with the EPIC urinary incontinence
Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC) 2085 E
domain and a somewhat weaker correlation with Comparison of health-related quality of life 5 years
the EPIC irritative urinary subscale (Hedgepeth, after spirit: Surgical prostatectomy versus interstitial
radiation intervention trial. Journal of Clinical Oncol-
Labo, Zhang, & Wood, 2009). Similarly, the ogy, 29(4), 362368.
EPIC has been co-administered with the Ferrer, M., Garin, O., Pera, J., Prats, J. M., Mendivil, J.,
International Index of Erectile Function short Alonso, J., De Paula, B., et al. (2009). Evaluation of the
form (IIEF-5) (Rosen, Cappelleri, Smith, Lipsky, quality of life of patients with localized prostate
cancer: Validation of the Spanish version of the
& Pena, 1999). Overall, strong correlation EPIC. Medicina Clinica, 132(4), 128135.
between the IIEF-5 and the EPIC sexual domain Goode, P. S., Burgio, K. L., Johnson, T. M., II, Clay, O. J.,
was found. However, the EPIC provides informa- Roth, D. L., Markland, A. D., Burkhardt, J. H., et al.
tion not only on erectile function but also on (2011). Behavioral therapy with or without biofeed-
back and pelvic floor electrical stimulation for persis- E
overall sexual function and sexual bother. In tent postprostatectomy incontinence: A randomized
one study, a cutoff for an EPIC sexual domain controlled trial. JAMA: The Journal of the American
score  60 was found to correspond well with Medical Association, 305(2), 151159.
individual definitions of potency that were con- Greenfield, T. K., & Attkisson, C. C. (1989). Steps toward
a multifactorial satisfaction scale for primary care and
ceptually familiar to physicians and patients mental health services. Evaluation and Program Plan-
(Schroeck et al., 2008). When patients were ning, 12(3), 271278. doi:16/0149-7189(89)90038-4.
defined as being potent based on an IIEF-5 Hedgepeth, R. C., Labo, J., Zhang, L., & Wood, D. P., Jr.
score of  22 EPIC sexual function domain (2009). Expanded prostate cancer index composite
versus incontinence symptom index and sexual health
scores  65 were found to be comparable inventory for men to measure functional outcomes
(Levinson et al., 2010). after prostatectomy. The Journal of Urology, 182(1),
221228. doi:16/j.juro.2009.02.155.
The EPIC-26 Short Version Levinson, A. W., Ward, N. T., Sanda, M. G., Mettee, L. Z.,
Wei, J. T., Su, L.-M., Litwin, M. S., et al. (2010).
The original 50-item version was later condensed Comparison of validated instruments measuring sex-
into a shorter 26-item version (Szymanski, Wei, ual function in men. Urology, 76(2), 380386. doi:16/
Dunn, & Sanda, 2010) with the goal to maintain j.urology.2010.04.033.
the five prostate cancer-specific HRQOL Litwin, M. S., Hays, R. D., Fink, A., Ganz, P. A., Leake, B.,
& Brook, R. H. (1998). The UCLA prostate cancer
domains of the EPIC. A high correlation was index: Development, reliability, and validity of
observed between the EPIC-50 and EPIC-26 ver- a health-related quality of life measure. Medical Care,
sions for the urinary incontinence, urinary irrita- 36(7), 10021012.
tion/obstruction, bowel, sexual, and vitality/ Rosen, R. C., Cappelleri, J. C., Smith, M. D., Lipsky, J., &
Pena, B. M. (1999). Development and evaluation of an
hormonal domain scores (r > 0.95). Furthermore, abridged, 5-item version of the International Index of
the internal consistency and test-retest stability Erectile Function (IIEF-5) as a diagnostic tool for
(Cronbachs alpha and Intraclass Correlation erectile dysfunction. International Journal of
Coefficient around 0.7 or higher for all five Impotence Research, 11(6), 319326.
Sanda, M. G., Dunn, R. L., Michalski, J., Sandler, H. M.,
HRQOL domains) supported that it maintains Northouse, L., Hembroff, L., Lin, X., et al. (2008).
their breadth without significantly sacrificing Quality of life and satisfaction with outcome among
reliability. prostate-cancer survivors. The New England Journal
of Medicine, 358(12), 12501261.
Schroeck, F. R., Donatucci, C. F., Smathers, E. C., Sun, L.,
Albala, D. M., Polascik, T. J., Moul, J. W., et al.
References (2008). Defining potency: A comparison of the inter-
national index of erectile function short version and the
Chung, K. J., Kim, J. J., Lim, S. H., Kim, T. H., Han, D. H., expanded prostate cancer index composite. Cancer,
& Lee, S. W. (2010). Development and validation of 113(10), 26872694.
the Korean version of expanded prostate cancer index Szymanski, K. M., Wei, J. T., Dunn, R. L., & Sanda, M. G.
composite: Questionnaire assessing health-related (2010). Development and validation of an abbreviated
quality of life after prostate cancer treatment. Korean version of the expanded prostate cancer index com-
Journal of Urology, 51(9), 601612. posite instrument for measuring health-related quality
Crook, J. M., Gomez-Iturriaga, A., Wallace, K., Ma, C., of life among prostate cancer survivors. Urology,
Fung, S., Alibhai, S., Jewett, M., et al. (2011). 76(5), 12451250. doi:16/j.urology.2010.01.027.
E 2086 Expectation of Life

Takegami, M., Suzukamo, Y., Sanda, M. G., Kamoto, T., life evolved from the constructs of life satis-
Namiki, S., Arai, Y., Ogawa, O., et al. (2005). The faction and subjective well-being and
Japanese translation and cultural adaptation of
expanded prostate cancer index composite (EPIC). represented the individuals overall satisfaction
Japanese Journal of Urology, 96(7), 657669. or happiness. The World Health Organization
Wei, J. T., Dunn, R. L., Litwin, M. S., Sandler, H. M., & (WHO) defined QOL as individuals perception
Sanda, M. G. (2000). Development and validation of of their position in life in the context of culture
the expanded prostate cancer index composite (EPIC)
for comprehensive assessment of health-related qual- and value systems in which they live and in
ity of life in men with prostate cancer. Urology, 56(6), relation to their goals, expectations, standards
899905. doi:16/S0090-4295(00)00858-X. and concerns. It is a broad ranging concept
affected in a complex way by the persons phys-
ical health, psychological state, level of indepen-
dence, social relationships and their relationship
Expectation of Life to salient features of the environment
(WHOQOL Group, 1994, page 24). This concept
Life Expectancy emphasized the essentially subjective nature of
QOL (Saxena & Orley, 1997). Previous empirical
studies found that perceived QOL was
a significant predictor of subsequent physical
Expectation-Reality Discrepancy and illness and psychological disorders (Schnurr,
Quality of Life Assessments of Hayes, Lunney, McFall, & Uddo, 2006; Scogin,
Chinese Migrants Morthland, Kaufman, & Burgio, 2007). There-
fore, QOL assessment is an essential step to
Xiaoming Li1, Danhua Lin2 and Jintao Zhang3 understand and improve health status, well-
1
Pediatric Prevention Research Center, Wayne being, and mental health among various
State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, vulnerable populations, such as rural-to-urban
USA migrants who moved from rural areas to urban
2
Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing areas in seeking jobs or better life.
Normal University, Beijing, China Migration was often associated with a series
3
State Key Laboratory of Cognitive of stressful life events and poor mental health
Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal outcomes (Ekblad, Abazari, & Eriksson, 1999).
University, Beijing, China WHO has identified immigrants living in highly
stressful situations as one of the five priority
groups in an international QOL assessment
Synonyms (Ekblad et al., 1999). Rural-to-urban migrants
often perceived or experienced stressful life
Theory of Goal-Striving Stress (TGSS) events because of their socioeconomic status,
language, or ethnicity (Li, Stanton, Fang, & Lin,
2006; Li, Zhang, et al., 2007). Although
Description previous studies suggested that stressful life
events were negatively related to perceived
The concept of quality of life (QOL) is being QOL (Kinsler, Wong, Sayles, Davis, & Cunning-
used increasingly in behavior and clinical ham, 2007; Li, Stanton, Fang, & Lin, 2006; Mays
research to measure perceived well-being & Cochran, 2001; Marra, Marra, Cox, Palepu, &
among various vulnerable populations, such as Fitzgerald, 2004), it is still unclear whether
migrants, refugees, and individuals with various effects of stressful life events on QOL would be
chronic diseases (Bayram, Thorburn, Demirhan, mediated by some individuals cognitive vari-
& Bilgel, 2007; Browne et al., 1996; Ghazinour, ables, such as the pre-migratory expectation or
Richter, & Eisemann, 2004). The term quality of aspiration.
Expectation-Reality Discrepancy and Quality of Life Assessments of Chinese Migrants 2087 E
The Multiple Discrepancies Theory (MDT) a pre-migratory expectation is overoptimistic or
hypothesizes that overall life satisfaction is unrealistic is largely depending on how close it is
a function of multiple perceived discrepancies to the post-migratory reality. Therefore, com-
including the one between what one has and pared to pre-migratory expectation, the expecta-
wants (Michalos, 1985). In addition, MDT sug- tion-reality discrepancy may be more closely
gests that the discrepancy between what one has related to individuals perceived post-migratory
and wants is a mediating variable between all QOL. However, there is virtually no study
other perceived discrepancies and reported about the effect of expectation-reality discrep-
satisfaction (Michalos, 1985). The Theory of ancy on the perceived QOL among migratory
Goal-Striving Stress (TGSS) applies the notion populations, especially in a developing country,
E
of multiple discrepancies to migrants and pro- such as China, which is experiencing an increas-
poses that the discrepancy between a migrants ing economics-driven, internal migration from
pre-migratory aspiration and post-migration rural villages to urban centers.
achievement (e.g., goal-striving stress or According to the most recent China National
unfulfilled aspiration) is the source of mental Population Survey in 2010, there were about
distress (Williams & Berry, 1991). The TGSS 261.39 million migrants who worked and lived
also suggested that psychological stress due to in urban areas of China and more than two-thirds
other stressors in the migration process (e.g., of these migrants were from rural areas (National
cultural shock) may be mediated by goal-striving Bureau of Statistics of China, 2011). Migrants
stress (Parker, Kleiner, & Needelman, 1969). reported more symptoms of perceived mental
Similar to the effect of unfulfilled aspiration, the illness (e.g., depression, anxiety) than their
discrepancy between pre-migratory expectation counterparts living in rural or urban areas
and post-migration reality (i.e., expectation- (Li, Wang, et al., 2007; Li, Zhang, et al., 2007).
reality discrepancy) regarding work and life in Migrants also perceived lower QOL than their
urban destination may also be a source of stress rural counterparts (McGuire, Li & Wang, 2009).
for migrants. Therefore, as an enormous and growing popula-
Several previous studies suggested that tion, rural-to-urban migrants should receive more
migrants pre-migratory expectation of future researchers attention on their QOL assessment.
life at the destination may have an important To examine the expectation-reality discrep-
effect on their post-migratory QOL (McKelvey, ancy and its effect on QOL assessment among
Mao, & Webb, 1993; McKelvey & Webb, 1996; Chinese rural-to-urban migrants, we conducted
Williams & Berry, 1991). However, these studies a study using data from a representative sample
also indicated a complex relationship between of 1,006 migrants from Beijing, China (Zhang,
migrants expectation of the migratory life Li, Fang, & Xiong, 2009). The sample was
and post-migratory QOL. Some researchers recruited in 2003 from 34 sampling units (e.g.,
suggested that high expectations and optimism store, shop, club, office, factory, construction
were associated with lower levels of depressive site, or street) that were stratified by occupational
symptomatology and a better overall adjustment cluster and spread across 10 large geographic
to post-migratory life (McKelvey, Mao, & Webb, locations (e.g., metropolitan areas, business
1993; McKelvey & Webb, 1996), while others districts, major streets, and suburban townships)
suggested that an overoptimistic or unrealistic in two central urban districts, 2 near suburban
pre-migratory expectation may lead to increased districts, and 2 outer suburban districts/
psychiatric symptom during post-migration counties in Beijing (Li et al., 2009). One-third
(Williams & Berry, 1991). Although existing lit- of these participants were female and the major-
erature has mostly used the pre-migratory expec- ity was of Han ethnicity (97 %). The primary
tation of their migratory life as a predictor, the aims of our study were to evaluate status of dis-
expectation-reality discrepancy may be a more crepancy of pre-migratory expectation and post-
sensitive variable to study. The extent to which migratory reality among young migrants and to
E 2088 Expectation-Reality Discrepancy and Quality of Life Assessments of Chinese Migrants

assess the role of the expectation-reality and public attitudes; and life, which measures
discrepancy as a mediator in the relationship the expectation-reality discrepancy of daily life
between negative life events (e.g., discrimination in the urban areas. The three factors explain
experience) and perceived QOL. 53.58 % of total variance among 10 items. The
The QOL was assessed using the abbreviated internal consistency estimates ( Cronbach
version of the World Health Organization Quality alpha) of these three subscales were .49, .60,
of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) assessment and .66, respectively. A mean score was calcu-
(WHOQOL Group, 1998) which has been previ- lated for each subscale as the composite score
ously validated in Chinese populations in Taiwan with a higher score indicating that migrants
(Yao, Chung, Yu, & Wang, 2002) and Hong post-migratory reality in urban areas is worse
Kong (Leung, Wong, Tay, Chu, & Ng, 2005). than their pre-migratory expectation (i.e., greater
The WHOQOL-BREF is a self-report scale expectation-reality discrepancy).
consisting of 26 items. Two items measured over- We also measured the discrimination experi-
all QOL and general health. The remaining 24 ence using 20 items regarding unfair treatment
items were divided into four domains including experienced or perceived by participants during
physical health (7 items), psychological health (6 their work and life in urban areas (e.g., When
items), social relationships (3 items), and envi- I look for a job, I dont have the same opportunity
ronment (8 items). All items were presented on as others, If something got stolen [at work],
a five-point Likert scale (1 very unsatisfied people would first suspect me.). All items were
to 5 very satisfied). Each domains score presented on a four-point scale (1 never hap-
ranged from 4 to 20, which was calculated by pened to 4 frequently happened). Four sub-
multiplying the mean score of items in one scales were constructed through exploratory
domain by 4 (Yao, Chung, Yu and Wang 2002). factor analysis: employment, which measures
The internal consistency estimates of physical the discrimination experiences migrants per-
health, psychological health, social relationship, ceived when they were looking for a job or at
and environment subscales were .66, .74, .56, and workplace; distrust, which measures the extent
.80, respectively. of suspicion by others when some villainous
The expectation-reality discrepancy was mea- things (e.g., theft, robbery) happened around
sured using 10 items assessing migrants per- themselves; attitudes, which measures the
ceived discrepancy between pre-migratory perceived negative attitudes against participants
expectations and post-migratory work and life from other people (e.g., urban residents); and
in the urban areas (e.g., compared to the pre- law enforcement, which measures the extent
migratory expectation, how about your post- of unfair treatment from local law enforcement
migratory work in the urban areas?). All items (e.g., police). These four subscales explain
were presented on a five-point scale (1 much 53.62 % of total variance and have good internal
better to 5 much worse). For the purpose of consistency estimates (Cronbach alpha .80,
data analysis in our study, we defined expecta- .81, .75, and.74, respectively). A mean score
tion-reality discrepancy as the extent to which was obtained for each subscale as the composite
migrants post-migratory work and life in the score with a higher score indicating a higher level
urban areas is worse than their pre-migratory of perceived or experienced discrimination in
expectation. Three subscales were constructed various domains.
through exploratory factor analysis: employ- Our study employed a structure equation
ment, which measures the job-related expecta- model (SEM) analysis to test the role of the
tion-reality discrepancy; social environment, expectation-reality discrepancy in mediating the
which measures the expectation-reality relationships between the discrimination
discrepancy regarding the social environment experience and QOL. The SEM analysis was
they encountered or perceived in the urban conducted using LISREL V8.70 with the maxi-
areas, such as access to public health services mum likelihood method of estimation. Multiple
Expectation-Reality Discrepancy and Quality of Life Assessments of Chinese Migrants 2089 E
goodness-of-fit indices were used to determine associated with QOL, which was negatively asso-
the suitability of model: the goodness-of-fit ciated with expectation-reality discrepancy.
index (GFI), chi-square of the estimated model The overall fit of the model was adequate
(w2), standardized root-mean-square residual based on multiple goodness-of-fit indices. The
(SRMR), non-normed fit index (NNFI), and com- model suggested that the relationship between
parative fit index (CFI). For the GFI, NNFI, and discrimination experience and perceived quality
CFI, values greater than.90 indicated an accept- of life was significantly reduced when
able fit of the model to the data, whereas the value expectation-reality discrepancy, the mediator,
of SRMR should be less than.08 for an acceptable was entered into the model (Sobels t 9.31,
fit (Quintana & Maxwell, 1999). Furthermore, to p < 0.001), which suggested that expectation-
E
explore whether the effect of the independent reality discrepancy partially mediated the rela-
variable (discrimination experience) is signifi- tion between discrimination experience and per-
cantly reduced upon the inclusion of the mediator ceived QOL. According to the formula of testing
(expectation-reality discrepancy) into the model, mediation effect developed by MacKinnon and
we test the mediation effect using Sobel test, colleagues (1995), the mediation effect of the
a widely used method for testing the significance expectation-reality discrepancy accounted for
of the mediation effect (Sobel, 1982). 44.4 % of the total effect of discrimination expe-
Our data revealed a significant difference in rience on perceived QOL.
expectation-reality discrepancy by marital status Our data provide empirical support to the role
(p < .01), with single individuals reporting of expectation-reality discrepancy in the assess-
a higher expectation-reality discrepancy regard- ment of QOL among rural-to-urban migrants in
ing job and social environment. Likewise, there China. The results of our study also show that
were significant differences in QOL by gender compared to their pre-migratory expectation,
(p < .01) and marital status (p < .05). Male most migrants felt better about the social envi-
participants reported lower QOL, especially on ronment in Beijing. However, most migrants had
the social relationship, environment aspects, and a higher or overoptimistic pre-migratory expec-
overall QOL, than female participants. Single tation regarding their work and life in Beijing.
participants reported higher QOL on environ- The rural-to-urban migration has occurred within
ment aspects than those who were ever married. a context of rapid urban economic development
Moreover, age was significantly associated with and increased urbanrural income disparity. The
expectation-reality discrepancy, with older par- rapid economic growth in Chinese urban areas
ticipants scoring lower on the job and social- since the introduction of economic reform 30
environment-related discrepancy. Educational years ago has increased the income disparity
attainment was positively associated with expec- between urban and rural areas to a historically
tation-reality discrepancy on work and environ- high level. Rural incomes were 55 % of urban
ment aspects and the physical domain of QOL. incomes in 1983, but decreased to 31 % in 2005
The participants with a higher education level ($402 in rural areas and $1,296 in urban areas)
experienced high expectation-reality discrepancy (National Bureau of Statistics of China, 2006).
on social environment domain and better QOL on This increasing income gap has provided a strong
physical health domain. Income level was signif- incentive to rural residents to migrate to urban
icantly associated with both expectation-reality areas in search of better lives. Most of these
discrepancy and QOL. People with higher migrants came from the poor rural areas of the
income reported a better QOL regarding physical interior provinces with weak industrial bases with
life and psychological health. The length of the hope that the city would bring fortunes or
migration was negatively associated with the opportunities not possible in their villages.
environment aspect of QOL. Discrimination However, most of the migrants had experienced
experience was positively associated with expec- or perceived discrimination because of their
tation-reality discrepancy, and negatively low socioeconomic status (e.g., low-educated,
E 2090 Expectation-Reality Discrepancy and Quality of Life Assessments of Chinese Migrants

low-income, and rural residence status). While work and life in urban destination, the lower
migrants make a major contribution to Chinas QOL they perceived in urban areas. This result
industrial development and economic growth in is consistent with a study about the negative
the past decades, their contributions were effects that unrealistic pre-migratory expectation
not well recognized by the public (especially might have on individuals psychological out-
the urban residents). They are frequently comes (McKelvey & Webb 1996). Our data sug-
marginalized in urban areas and are targets of gest that expectation-reality discrepancy plays an
discrimination (Li, Wang, et al., 2007; Li, Fang, important role in the relationships between stress-
et al., 2007). These discriminations might prevent ful life events and QOL among rural-to-urban
the fulfillment of their pre-migratory aspirations migrants.
or the realization of their pre-migratory expecta- Although the data partially supported the
tions. In addition, many of the rural migrants social and psychological theories about the role
might recognize that it was a challenge to fulfill of expectation-reality discrepancy in QOL
their expectation of better lives because of their assessment, the cross-sectional data in our study
inadequate job skills, high competition in prevented causal interpretation of the findings.
employment, high cost of living, and inability to Longitudinal research is needed to explore the
access public services. causal relationship among discrimination experi-
The data in our study revealed that male ence, expectation-reality discrepancy, and QOL.
migrants had a higher expectation-reality dis- In addition, our data about pre-migratory expec-
crepancy regarding job than that of female tation were collected retrospectively in post-
migrants, which means male migrants were migration which were subject to the error of
more unsatisfied with job-related situations than recall and confounding effect of post-migratory
female migrants. One of the reasons for these experience. Some measurement scales, including
gender differences is that men usually took the three expectation-reality discrepancy scales
more responsibilities for their household in and some scales of QOL (i.e., physical health and
China, so they were more active in looking for social relationship), had low internal consistency
a job, or often need a better-paying job to support estimates (Cronbach alpha < .70). Future studies
their families. Therefore, the chance that they are needed to develop more psychometrically
were discriminated or got disappointed would reliable measures of these constructs to improve
be higher than women. Another possible reason the internal reliability of the findings. Although
is that female migrants might in general have efforts were taken to ensure the representative-
a lower pre-migratory expectation (due to their ness of our sample, our sample was recruited
lower SES in rural China) than male migrants from a single metropolis (the national political
about their post-migratory life and work before and culture center) and might not be representa-
they migrated to a city. Therefore, female tive of migration populations in other areas of
migrants might feel less affected than male China, and therefore, our ability to generalize
migrants when they encountered some difficulty the findings of our study to other migratory
or discrimination in the urban areas. populations may be limited.
The results of our study also indicate empiri- Another issue with the QOL assessment in our
cally that more discrimination experience study was that various QOL items were treated
migrants experienced will lead to a larger expec- equally relevant and important for all partici-
tation-reality discrepancy and lower QOL. The pants, which might have been an incorrect
mediation analysis indicates that discrimination assumption and also have biased the results of
experience migrants experienced will increase the current study. Although the QOL scale (i.e.,
the expectation-reality discrepancy, which in WHOQOL-BREF) was validated in Chinese cul-
turn will contribute to its relation to a lower per- ture (Yao et al., 2002), the scale does not allow
ceived QOL. The greater the extent of migrants respondents to provide information on the rele-
overoptimistic pre-migratory expectation about vance and importance of an item (e.g., an aspect
Expectation-Reality Discrepancy and Quality of Life Assessments of Chinese Migrants 2091 E
of life) to their QOL. For example, the item on future health promotion efforts need to help
sex life (How satisfied are you with your sex migrants in urban areas to actively cope with
life?) might not be relevant to some participants, vcarious stressful life experiences to alleviate
and consequently, this aspect of QOL might not the negative effect of these experiences on their
be equally important to all participants (as some QOL and other aspects of their migratory life. In
young migrants might not be sexually experi- addition, considering that the individuals char-
enced). Similarly, the scale contains items on acteristics were significantly associated with their
support from friends or personal relationships. stressful life events, expectation-reality discrep-
However, not all respondents would have such ancy, and QOL among rural-to-urban migrants,
a social or a personal network. Future studies future health promotion efforts need to be gender
E
with more sensitive assessment of QOL are and age appropriate.
needed to validate our findings.
Despite these limitations in our study, the
results had some significant implications for
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Expected utility theory (EUT) is an axiomatic
707713.
Scogin, F., Morthland, M., Kaufman, A., & Burgio, L. theory of choice under risk that has held
(2007). Improving quality of life in diverse rural older a central role in economic theory since the
Expected Utility Theory 2093 E
1940s. The hypothesis is that, under certain utilities hold sufficiently for the theory to have
assumptions, an individuals preferences towards practical use? And secondly, is a vNM utility the
lotteries can be represented as a linear function of right measure of value for health-care decision
the utility of each option multiplied by the makers?
probabilities of each option. The growing body The axioms upon which vNM utilities depend
of theoretical and empirical evidence that are:
challenges the validity of EUT is beginning to 1. Lotteries can be placed in a clear order of
undermine the influence of this theory. preference. The ordering must be complete;
the decision maker can compare any two lot-
teries and either say that they are indifferent to
E
Description each other or that one is preferred to the other.
The order must be transitive: if A is preferred
Expected utility theory (EUT) originates from the to B, and B is preferred to C, then A is also
eighteenth-century mathematician Daniel preferred to C.
Bernoulli who in 1738 resolved an interesting 2. Continuity. If an individual can rank three
paradox known as the St. Petersburg paradox lotteries (A, B, and C), then they will be
(why were people only willing to pay a small indifferent between the middle-ranked lottery
amount for a risky gamble with an infinite and some probability mixture of the best-
expected monetary value?). Bernoulli argued and worst-ranked lotteries. Hence, there is
that peoples preferences reflect their expected a lottery that comprises probability p of out-
benefit from the lottery rather than its expected come A and probability (1p) of outcome
monetary value. C such that the individual would be indifferent
John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern between that lottery and outcome B. It is this
began the process of providing an axiomatic axiom which is critical for the Standard
foundation for EUT in the 1940s. They showed Gamble methodology.
that under certain assumptions, an individuals 3. Independence (also known as the sure thing
preferences towards lotteries can be represented principle). If two lotteries have an identical
by a mathematical function or utility function. probability and payoff branch, the levels of
The expected utility or von Neumann- this payoff and probability should not affect
Morgenstern (vNM) utility of a lottery is given peoples choices between lotteries. Common
by the utility of each outcome multiplied by its factors cancel each other out.
probability. This theory marked the start of a new If an individuals preferences over lotteries
branch of economics, game theory, and a number comply to these axioms, then there is a utility
of applications for decisions under risk, one being function of the expected utility form that
the use of Standard Gamble (SG) as a means of represents those preferences that is cardinal.
health utility assessment. With some For health applications, cardinal utility, or
additional assumptions, health state utilities can scores which possess interval scale properties, is
be derived from SG responses to estimate essential. Without interval scale properties, it
Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs). would not be possible to calculate QALYs.
QALYs are used to support decisions about dis- Under the vNM axioms, the level of risk in
tributing scare resources among competing a SG question is linear in utility, thus generating
health programs (Torrance & Feeny, 1989). Due a scale with interval properties.
to its foundations in expected utility theory, SG A large body of work by psychologists and
has been portrayed as the gold standard for behavioral economists has, however, found that
health utility assessments (Torrance, 1986). individual choices systematically violate the
However, that judgment is not uncontroversial. assumptions of EUT.
These controversies focus on two areas. One of the first challenges to EUT came from
Firstly, do the assumptions or axioms of vNM Maurice Allais (1953) who showed that peoples
E 2094 Expected Utility Theory

Expected Utility Theory, Decision 1 Decision 2


Table 1 Gamble A versus
Gamble A Gamble B Gamble A Gamble B
Gamble B
Win $1 million 0.89 chance of 0.11 chance of 0.1 chance of winning
for sure winning $1 million winning $1 million $5 million
0.1 chance of winning 0.89 chance of 0.9 chance of winning
$5 million winning nothing nothing
0.01 chance of
winning nothing

Expected Utility Theory, Decision 2 with common consequence


Table 2 With common Decision 1 with common consequence (0.89 (0.89 chance of winning nothing)
consequences removed chance of winning $1 million) removed removed
Gamble A Gamble B Gamble A Gamble B
0.11 chance of winning 0.1 chance of 0.11 chance of 0.1 chance of
$1 million winning $5 million winning $1 million winning $5 million
0.01 chance of 0.01 chance of
winning nothing winning nothing

actual behavior did not conform to the indepen- Expected Utility Theory, Table 3 Decision and payoffs
dence axiom of EUT. Given the two decisions Decision 1 Decision 2
presented in Table 1, most people opt for gamble Gamble A Gamble B Gamble A Gamble B
A in the first decision (most people are not willing $100 if $100 if $100 if $100 if ball
to incur the small risk of winning nothing when ball is red ball is ball is red is black or
black or yellow yellow
they could have had $1 million with certainty)
and gamble B in the second (the different proba-
bility of winning nothing here seems so minimal
most opt for the higher possible payoff). with 30 red balls and 60 balls that are either
Yet according to the independence axiom of yellow or black. Table 3 shows the decision and
EUT, the benefit of each gamble should be deter- payoff for each color ball.
mined independently rather than with reference Most people choose gamble A in the first
to the alternative choice. The independence decision and gamble B in the second, yet this
axiom implies that common consequences of violates EUT. With common consequences
alternative gambles should be able to be removed removed, the two decisions are identical; hence,
without affecting peoples choices. When EUT implies choosing either A for both or B for
common consequences are removed (as shown both. This is shown in Table 4.
in Table 2 below), it is easy to see that if we Preferences displayed towards the certain
complied with EUT, we would choose A for options suggest that uncertain decisions are not
both decisions, or B for both decisions. fully explained by (subjective) EUT.
Ellsberg (1961) presented another famous A third well-known challenge to EUT is the
paradox to challenge EUT. In this case, some of preference reversal phenomena in which people
the probabilities of winning are not known, tend to value bets with a small chance of winning
a position economists describe as characterized a large prize ($ bets) as being worth more than
by uncertainty rather than risk. Imagine an urn bets with a high chance of winning a low price
Expected Utility Theory 2095 E
Expected Utility Theory, Table 4 With common con- decision making is more mystical than
sequences removed empirical (2002, p. 154), and consequently, the
Decision 2 with common meaning and the interval property of units derived
consequence (ball being from SG questions are seriously confounded by the
Decision 1 yellow) removed
risk context of the instrument (Richardson, 1994).
Gamble A Gamble B Gamble A Gamble B
A debate is ongoing about the most appropri-
$100 if ball $100 if ball is $100 if ball $100 if ball is
is red black is red black ate outcome measure for health-care decision
makers. Is it a valuation based on the publics
preferences towards particular health states or
a valuation based on the actual, real time, patient
E
(p bets), and yet when asked to choose which experiences? (See Dolan & Kahneman, 2008, for
they would prefer, they opt for the lower valued a discussion.) Do decision makers need
p bet. a measure of utility as health-related quality of
Systematic violations of EUT found in this life or a more holistic measure of individual
type of choice problems have cast doubt on the well-being? Unfortunately, the concept of utility
validity of EUT and led to the development of used by economists is damagingly ambiguous
alternative models of choice under risk and (Broome, 1991, p. 10). On the one hand, the term
uncertainty. Some of the most well known are is used to refer to a Benthamite notion of pleasure
regret theory (Loomes and Sugden, 1982), and pain a subjective judgment of individual
prospect theory (Kahneman and Tversky, 1972) well-being. On the other hand, it refers to
and cumulative prospect theory (Kahneman and a reflection of preferences. In the case of vNM
Tversky, 1992), rank-dependent expected utility utilities from EUT, these are preferences under
(Quiggin, 1982), and weighted utility (Chew, risky prospects. EUT does not give a measure of
1989). See Starmer (2000) for a review of well-being, or a model of how people actually
non-expected, or generalized, utility models. behave under risky or uncertain situations, but
The second area of controversy in relation to simply shows how people would behave if they
valuing health-related quality of life states is conformed to certain axioms of choice.
whether vNM utilities are what health-care
decision makers want to know. vNM is
a representation of individual preferences under
Cross-References
risk which differs from utility under certainty.
That they deal with risk has been taken by some
Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALY)
as an advantage since risk is arguably inherent in
virtually all health care and health policy decision
making context (Feeny, 2000, p. II-152). The
argument is that the contamination of utilities References
derived from Standard Gamble (SG) with
Allais, M. (1953). Le comportement de lhomme rationnel
attitudes towards risk is not of concern because
devant le risque: Critique des postulats et axiomes de
health-care decisions involve some element of lecole Americaine. Econometrica, 21, 503546.
risk. This stance is often given as a justification Broome, J. (1991). Utility. Economics and Philosophy,
for the superiority of SG over other means of 7, 112.
Chew, S. H. (1989). Axiomatic utility theories with the
deriving health state valuations, without betweenness property. Annals of Operations Research,
a complete argument being given for how risk 19, 273298.
over gambles equates to the type of uncertainty Dolan, P., & Kahneman, D. (2008). Interpretations of
faced by decision makers prioritizing over utility and their implications for the valuation of
health. The Economic Journal, 118, 215234.
health-care options. Richardson claims that the
Ellsberg, D. (1961). Risk, ambiguity and the savage
relationship between the risk of death in an SG axioms. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 75,
question and uncertainties faced in medical 643669.
E 2096 Expenditure

Feeny, D. (2000). A utility approach to the assessment of resources of society as a whole to control, espe-
health-related quality of life. Medical Care, 9(Suppl cially when the private markets lack efficient
II), II-151II-154.
Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1972). Subjective proba- solutions. These dangers may be human made
bility: A judgment of representativeness. Cognitive (such as armed robbery) or natural (such as
Psychology, 3, 430454. flooding and earthquakes) (Groisman et al.,
Loomes, G., & Sugden, R. (1982). Regret theory: An 2007; Rubin, Gordon, & Amatekpor, 1999;
alternative theory of rational choice under uncertainty.
Economic Journal, 92, 805824. Ribas, Tymchuk, & Ribas, 2006; Tymchuk,
Quiggin, J. (1982). A theory of anticipated utility. Lang, Dolyniuk, Berney-Ficklin, & Spitz,
Journal of Economic Behavior and Organisation, 3, 1999). Public safety involves the prevention of
323343. and protection of individuals and society from
Richardson, J. (1994). Cost-utility analysis: What should
be measured? Social Science and Medicine, events that could endanger their safety from sig-
39(1), 721. nificant damage to their health and welfare.
Richardson, J. (2002). Evaluating summary measures of From the above description, public safety could
population health. In C. Murray (Ed.), Summary be classified as a public good because its provi-
measures of population health. Concepts, ethics,
measurement and applications. Geneva: WHO. sion benefits everyone in society, and individ-
Starmer, C. (2000). Developments in non-expected utility uals consumption is less likely to reduce its
theory: The hunt for a descriptive theory choice supply. Funding for public safety provision is
under risk. Journal of Economic Literature, 38(2), often the responsibility of national and local gov-
332382.
Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1992). Advances in pros- ernments because private markets are likely to
pect theory: cumulative representation of uncertainty. fail to provide them. Therefore, the provision
Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 5, 297323. and administration of public safety, especially
Torrance, G. W. (1986). Measurement of health-state from criminal activities, and justice are strongly
utilities for economic appraisal: A review. Journal of
Health Economics, 5, 130. related to the countries gross national income
Torrance, G. W., & Feeny, D. (1989). Utilities and (GNP) (Nrgard, 2006).
quality-adjusted life years. International Journal of The maintenance of law and order is an impor-
Technology Assessment in Health Care, 5, 559575. tant aspect of public safety in the society. In
certain cases, to prevent the occurrence of
a crime, certain agencies need to be put in place
(Syrett & Quick, 2009). Also, the occurrence of
Expenditure a crime or disaster needs agencies to help people
to prevent crimes, overcome disasters, and
Consumption execute justice. The institutional approach of
state-sponsored police, judicial service, and
disaster management organizations is paid for
by taxpayers. Therefore, public safety and
Expenditures for Public Safety and administration of justice are the scope of the
Administration of Justice as governments public expenditure program.
a Percentage of the GNP The amount of government revenue spent on
such public goods as a percentage of GNP is
Ferdinand Ahiakpor a key determinant of the level of public safety in
Department of Economics, University of Cape the country (Nrgard, 2006). For example, when
Coast, Cape Cost, Ghana the government spends more on security and
judicial services, citizens are protected from the
criminal and they have fair justice. This social
Description expenditure by the government helps to
promote quality of life within the country as
There are certain mishaps, dangers, and disasters the citizens live without intimidation and enjoy
that may require the collective effort and the quality of life.
Experience Sampling 2097 E
References experience sampling designs, participants are
assessed several times a day on a predetermined
Groisman, P. Y., Sherstyukov, B., Razuvaev, V., Knight, schedule. In addition, researchers may wish to
R., Enloe, J., Stroumentova, N., et al. (2007). Potential
employ event-contingent sampling, in which par-
forest fire danger over Northern Eurasia: Changes
during the 20th century. Global and Planetary ticipants are assessed only when a given event is
Change, 56(3), 371386. experienced by the participant (i.e., a social inter-
Nrgard, J. (2006). Consumer efficiency in conflict with action, a negative emotional experience).
GDP growth. Ecological Economics, 57(1), 1529.
Ribas, R., Jr., Tymchuk, A., & Ribas, A. (2006). Brazilian
mothers knowledge about home dangers and safety
precautions: An initial evaluation. Social Science & Description E
Medicine, 63(7), 18791888.
Rubin, J., Gordon, C., & Amatekpor, J. (1999). Causes and
The use of experience sampling methodology has
consequences of mangrove deforestation in the Volta
Estuary, Ghana: Some recommendations for two primary benefits: real-world measurement and
ecosystem rehabilitation. Marine Pollution Bulletin, the acquisition of large amounts of data for each
7(8), 441449. person in your study (i.e., within-person data). In
Syrett, K., & Quick, O. (2009). Pedagogical promise and
terms of real-world measurement, there are many
problems: Teaching public health law: Teaching
public health law. Public Health, 123(3), 22131. events which cannot be precisely replicated in the
Tymchuk, A., Lang, C., Dolyniuk, C., Berney-Ficklin, K., laboratory (i.e., social interactions, emotional
& Spitz, R. (1999). The home inventory of dangers and experiences, health issues). Through the use of
safety precautions-2: Addressing critical needs for
experience sampling and event-contingent
prescriptive assessment devices in child maltreatment
and in healthcare. Child Abuse & Neglect, 23(1), 114. reporting, one can learn about the causes and con-
sequences of these events. In addition, many inter-
nal psychological states naturally fluctuate over
time. To truly understand these temporally variant
psychological constructs, one must incorporate
Experience Sampling time into their data. By measuring these states
many times, one can better understand the ways
Adam Augustine in which they change and the correlates of change.
Deptartment of Clinical and Social Sciences in The second primary benefit of experience sam-
Psychology, University of Rochester, pling methodology is that you can obtain a within-
Rochester, USA person data set that is as large and complex as most
between-person data sets from traditional experi-
mental designs (for a review, see Larsen, Augus-
Synonyms tine, & Prizmic, 2009). With many measurement
occasions over time for each paticipant, every
Daily diary; Ecological momentary assessment; participant in you study essentially becomes an
Intensive time sampling experiment in and of themselves. There are two
basic options as to how to approach this level of
detail at the within-person level. If your goal is to
Definition obtain good, reliable measures of a construct that
were obtained in a real-world setting, then you can
Experience sampling is a research methodology simply aggregate over all measurement occasions
in which variables of interest are measured many (i.e., mean, standard deviation) and treat the entire
times for each participant. Unlike longitudinal data set as a single, between-persons design. How-
research designs, experience sampling takes ever, the true power of experience sampling meth-
place over a much shorter time frame (days or odology comes into play when you harness the
weeks). In the case of daily diary studies, partic- temporal nature of the data. As the time of each
ipants are assessed once each day. In many assessment is known, you can form a quantitative
E 2098 Experimental Auctions and WTP

picture of how processes play out in the real world.


This allows one to answer questions as to duration, Experimental Design
co-occurrence, temporal causality (one event
precipitates another), and variability over time, Kim Koh
just to name a few possibilities. Faculty of Education, University of Calgary,
Many of the variables which comprise or are Calgary, AB, Canada
related to quality of life naturally fluctuate over
time, and experience sampling research has led to
a greater understanding of these variables Synonyms
(for a review, see Augustine & Larsen, 2011).
Considering one component of quality of life, Experiments; Randomized clinical trial;
emotion, experience sampling has shed light on Randomized trial
the duration of emotional episodes, the patterns
of emotional change over time, and the conse-
quences of extreme changes in emotion. The use Definition
of this methodology has also led to a greater
understanding of how minor health concerns In quality of life, and social, educational, and
(headaches, stomach issues, etc.) persist and psychological research more generally, a study
change over time. Finally, a key predictor of design that is used to test cause-and-effect rela-
quality of life, personality, has been studied at tionships between variables uses an experimental
length using experience sampling and has been design. Both experimental and quasi-
found to predict temporal patterns in many of the experimental designs are widely used to test
variables mentioned previously. cause-and-effect relationships.

Cross-References Description
Daily Diary Methodology
Experimental design is considered one of the
Ecological Momentary Assessment
most statistically robust designs in social, educa-
Experimental Design
tional, and psychological research because of its
Measurement Methods
ability to control many threats to internal validity
through the use of random assignment and con-
trol groups. A significant difference between
References experimental and nonexperimental design is the
manipulation of the treatment conditions or the
Augustine, A. A, & Larsen, R. J. (2011). Emotion
Research. In M.R. Mehl & T.S. Conner (Eds.). Hand- levels of the independent variables in an experi-
book of research methods for studying daily life. (pp. mental design. The development of experimental
497510). New York, NY: Guildford Press. design was originated by R.A. Fisher in the field
Larsen, R. J., Augustine, A. A., & Prizmic, Z. (2009).
A process approach to emotion and personality:
of agriculture (Fisher, 1935). The difference
Using time as a facet of data. Cognition and Emotion, between true experimental design and quasi-
23, 14071426. experimental design is that the latter involves
existing intact groups of subjects (e.g., students
in classrooms), which makes a random assign-
ment of subjects to the different experimental
Experimental Auctions and WTP conditions impossible. According to Campbell
and Stanley (1963), there are three basic types
Willingness to Pay for Private Environmental of experimental designs: (1) pretest-posttest con-
Goods trol group design, (2) the Solomon four-group
Experimental Design 2099 E
design, and (3) posttest-only control group The Solomon four-group design is presented
design. below:
The pretest-posttest control group design is R O1 X O2
the most widely used design in social, educa- R O3.....O4
tional, and psychological research. The pretest- R . . .X..O5
posttest control group design takes this form: R.......O6
R O1 X O2 Note. R random assignment; O1 pretest for
R O3....O4 experimental group 1; O2 posttest for experi-
Note. R random assignment; O1 pretest mental group 1; X experiment or intervention;
for the experimental group; O2 posttest for the O3 pretest for control group 1; O4 posttest for
E
experimental group; X experiment or interven- control group 1; O5 posttest for experimental
tion; O3 pretest for the control group; O4 group 2; O6 posttest for control group 2.
posttest for the control group. This design involves two experimental and
The equivalent groups between experimental two control groups. The addition of a posttest-
and control conditions before experiment or only experimental group and a posttest control
intervention are created by a random assignment group allows researchers to determine the main
of subjects to the different conditions. This min- effects of the pretest and to control for the inter-
imizes preexisting differences between the two action of pretest effects and experiment or inter-
groups prior to experiment or intervention. In vention. Such control will increase not only the
addition, the existence of a control group makes generalizability but also the replication of the
this design nearly control all threats to internal effect of treatment or experiment in four different
validity, such as history, maturation, testing, ways: O2 > O1, O2 > O4, O5 > O6, and O5 > O3
instrumentation, statistical regression to the (Campbell & Stanley, 1963).
mean, differential selection of subjects, mortal- The posttest-only control group design takes
ity, and interaction of selection of subjects and the following form:
maturation. As both groups of subjects go R X O1
through the same events, the effect on the depen- R....O2
dent variable is truly caused by the experiment, Note. R random assignment; O1 posttest
which represents a manipulation of the level of for the experimental group; O2 posttest for the
the independent variable. For the data analysis of control group; X experiment or intervention
pretest-posttest scores between experimental and When true randomization is possible, the post-
control groups, the use of analysis of covariance test-only control group design is more cost-
with pretest scores as the covariate is more effective than the pretest-posttest control group
appropriate than the use of gain-score compari- design and the Solomon four-group design. It also
sons with t-test. The caveat of the pretest-posttest avoids subjects reactivity to the pretest.
control group design is that it does not A subset of experimental design is the ran-
have control over some of the threats of external domized controlled trials, which has been
invalidity, such as interaction of testing/ increasingly used to examine the causal relation-
pretest and experiment (e.g., the exposure to ships between educational interventions and stu-
a mathematics problem-solving pretest dent outcomes (Schneider, Carnoy, Kilpatrick,
sensitizes subjects to a problem-solving teaching Schmidt, & Shavelson, 2007).
method), interaction of selection of subjects and
experiment (e.g., the interaction of school char-
acteristics with a particular teaching method), Cross-References
reactive effects of experimental arrangements,
and multiple-treatment interference (e.g., carry- Cluster Randomized Trial
over effects from a previous treatment or Factorial Design
experiment). Statistical Experimental Design
E 2100 Experiments

References Sample Considerations


EFA is considered a large-sample. Recommen-
Campbell, D. T., & Stanley, J. C. (1963). Experimental dations for the required sample size vary and
and quasi-experimental designs for research. Chicago:
rules of thumb are generally insufficient. Based
Rand McNally & Company.
Fisher, R. A. (1935). The design of experiments. on their review of EFA used in psychological
Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd. research, Fabrigar, Wegener, MacCallum, and
Schneider, B., Carnoy, M., Kilpatrick, J., Schmidt, W. H., Strahan (1999) recommended samples of 100 or
& Shavelson, R. J. (2007). Estimating causal effects:
more under good conditions (i.e., with four or
Using experimental designs and observational design.
Washington, DC: American Educational Research more variables per each anticipated factor to be
Association. extracted and variables having high commun-
alities, which is a high degree of association
with the common factors in the data).
They recommended samples of 200 or more
Experiments under moderate conditions and cautioned
that no sample size may be adequate if the data
Experimental Design are not amenable to EFA. To the extent that one
can posit certain characteristics of a to-be-
collected dataset, one can conduct a computer
simulation of his or her EFA to get a better
Exploratory Data Analysis sense of the required number of observations
that would be needed for a particular EFA.
Data Analysis Because an EFA attempts to create factors
based on correlations among variables (see
entry on Pearsons correlation), datasets without
large correlations between at least some variables
Exploratory Factor Analysis will be ill-suited to EFA.

James W. Griffith Use and Interpretation


Department of Medical Social Sciences, EFA can help to group statistically homogenous
Northwestern University Feinberg School of sets of variables. EFA differs from confirmatory
Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA factor analysis (CFA) in that the former is
data driven and seeks to identify a previous
unknown structure in the data, whereas the
Description latter is theory driven; it tests how well
a hypothesized structure fits the data. Because
History EFA can be used before a theory is well
Charles Spearman was perhaps the first user of developed about the interrelationships among
factor analysis; he used the technique to make variables or questionnaire items, it often
inferences about the nature of intelligence (e.g., precedes CFA in a line of research. Ideally, an
Spearman, 1904). Since then, researchers have EFA should result in interpretable factors on
used exploratory factor analysis (EFA) in which observed variables load on one factor
a variety of disciplines to understand how latent while remaining statistically independent from
variables (aka factors) can help to understand other factors. Interpretation of a factor structure
statistical associations among constructs such as is used in test validation and construction,
personality traits, mental abilities, biological including the assessment of factorial validity
characteristics, and workplace performance. Fac- (i.e., the degree to which an observed factor
torial validity is also mentioned later, so it is structure fits with a particular theory or posited
redundant to have it twice. structure of a test).
Exploratory Factor Analysis 2101 E
Factor Extraction and Rotation New Directions and Further Reading
Researchers are faced with many choices when Current new directions for EFA include the
using EFA (e.g., Fabrigar et al., 1999), including integration of exploratory techniques with struc-
what methods and assumptions to employ for tural equation modeling and confirmatory factor
factor extraction (e.g., maximum likelihood, analysis. For example, exploratory structural
least squares), how many factors to extract and equation modeling (Asparouhov & Muthen,
interpret, how to rotate the factors to 2009) combines aspects of each by allowing the
enhance interpretability (e.g., orthogonal vs. researcher to specify parts of a hypothesized
oblique rotations), and what to name the factors model but includes more flexibility such as the
after they have been extracted. Many techniques inclusion of covariates and correlated residuals in
E
exist for determining the number of factors to the model.
extract. There are many texts available for further
An eigenvalue represents the variance of reading on EFA, and many books on psycho-
a factor, and eigenvalues are used to guide the metric analysis cover it. A classic text is Gorsuch
numbers of factors to be extracted. Early (1983). A user-friendly introduction and how-to
techniques include extracting factors with guide can be found in Tabachnick and
eigenvalues greater than 1, as well as the scree Fidell (2007). A mathematical presentation can
test, in which eigenvalues are plotted in be found in Johnson and Wichern (2007).
descending order of size and the analyst Theoretical background on EFA and other psy-
looks for a marked point of drop in their chometric techniques is available in Nunnally
values; eigenvalues above the drop are and Bernstein (1994).
retained. Contemporary and more complicated
techniques include parallel analysis (for
a tutorial and review, see Hayton, Allen &
Scarpello, 2004) and Velicers (1976) minimum Cross-References
average partial (MAP) test. In parallel analysis,
the eigenvalues from the observed data are Factor Analysis
compared to simulated data in which all variables Factorial Invariance
are uncorrelated. This is a way to control for Factorial Validity
the fact that some eigenvalues will be larger Latent Variables
than others based on sampling error. Velicers Psychometric Analysis
MAP seeks to find the number of components
that minimizes residual correlations after
the components are partialed from the
correlation matrix. References
The rotation of factors can enhance their
interpretability. Broadly speaking, factor rota- Asparouhov, T., & Muthen, B. (2009). Exploratory
structural equation modeling. Structural
tions can be orthogonal in which factors are Equation Modeling, 16, 397438. doi:10.1080/
uncorrelated (e.g., varimax rotation) or oblique 10705510903008204.
in which factors are allowed to intercorrelate Fabrigar, L. R., Wegener, D. T., MacCallum, R. C., &
(e.g., oblimin, promax). Which rotation to use Strahan, E. J. (1999). Evaluating the use of exploratory
factor analysis in psychology research. Psychological
depends upon a priori theory and, after Methods, 4, 272299.
trying several rotations, which rotation Gorsuch, R. L. (1983). Factor analysis (2nd ed.). London:
leads to the most sensible solution. The interpre- Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
tation of factors and their loadings is a blend of Hayton, J. C., Allen, D. G., & Scarpello, V. (2004). Factor
retention decision in exploratory factor analysis:
art and science and is aided greatly by back- A tutorial on parallel analysis. Organizational
ground knowledge of the variables being Research Methods, 7, 191205. doi:10.1177/
analyzed. 1094428104263675.
E 2102 Expression of Amusement, Joy

Johnson, R. A., & Wichern, D. W. (2007). Applied multi- note though that extradyadic sex is not considered
variate statistical analysis (6th ed.). New York: infidelity in the context of an open relationship.
Pearson Education.
Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric
theory (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Spearman, C. (1904). General intelligence objectively Description
determined and measured. The American Journal of
Psychology, 15, 201292.
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2007). Using multivar- Research on extradyadic relations is inconsistent
iate statistics (5th ed.). New York: Pearson Education. with limitations in methodologies (Blow &
Velicer, W. F. (1976). Determining the number of Hartnett, 2005a) and conflicting findings from
components from the matrix of partial correlations. study to study (Blow & Hartnett, 2005b).
Psychometrika, 41, 321327.
Although most research focuses on vaginal sex
occurring outside of a marital relationship,
behaviors can range from kissing, oral sex, or
other sexual behaviors to intense emotional rela-
Expression of Amusement, Joy tionships or close friendships. In addition to the
methodological issue of defining extradyadic
Laughter relations, there are a number of other methodo-
logical considerations with research on this
topic. Inconsistencies in how relationships are
defined (e.g., one-time interactions, affairs) and
differences across samples (e.g., married couples,
External and Internal Assets
cohabitating couples) make prevalence data
difficult to obtain and predictive data difficult to
Developmental Assets
generalize. Nevertheless, research on the preva-
lence of infidelity suggests that between 20 % and
40 % of men and between 20 % and 25 % of
women have ever engaged in extradyadic affairs.
Extradyadic Relations However, this gender gap is narrowing with more
recent studies citing men and women as engaging
Kristen P. Mark in similar rates of infidelity (23 % of men and
Department of Kinesiology & Health Promotion, 19 % of women; Mark, Janssen, & Milhausen,
University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA 2011). See Blow and Hartnett (2005a) for
a review of the methodological considerations
in extradyadic relations research.
Synonyms Many researchers have attempted to explain
and predict infidelity due to the potentially dam-
Extramarital relations; Extradyadic sex; Extra- aging impact its occurrence has on relationships.
marital sex; Infidelity The predictors of infidelity can be categorized
into three main categories: demographic, inter-
personal, and intrapersonal. Research related to
Definition each is outlined below.

Extradyadic relations refer to sexual or emotional Demographic Predictors


infidelity outside of the agreed-upon negotiations Gender: Although gender is the most commonly
of the relationship. While sometimes referred studied demographic predictor, recent research
to as extramarital relations, in this entry, suggests that men and women engage in similar
extradyadic relations will encompass infidelity levels of infidelity, especially when both sexual
regardless of marital status; it is important to and emotional extradyadic behaviors are
Extradyadic Relations 2103 E
examined (Allen et al., 2005; Mark et al., 2011; suggests that incompatibility with a committed
Treas & Giesen, 2000). partner in terms of sexual attitudes and values is
Relationship Status: Married women are less predictive of infidelity for women, but not men
likely to report extradyadic relations than (Mark et al., 2011).
cohabiting or dating women. This link has not
been found in men and is likely due to the level of Intrapersonal Predictors
commitment in the relationship rather than the Research suggests that individuals with more
status of marriage itself (Preveti & Amato, 2004). permissive sexual attitudes toward infidelity
Education: The research on education is are more likely than those with less permissive
mixed, with some studies reporting that highly sexual attitudes to engage in infidelity. Higher
E
educated individuals are more likely to engage in sexual interest in both men and women has also
infidelity than less educated individuals (Atkins, been associated with a higher likelihood of
Baucom, & Jacobson, 2001; Treas & Giesen, extradyadic sex (Treas & Giesen, 2000). Mood
2000) and other studies reporting the reverse or has been shown to be a predictor of mens sexual
no relationship at all (Allen et al., 2005). infidelity such that men with an increased
Income: Individuals with higher incomes have tendency to engage in regretful sexual behavior
been found to be more likely to engage in during a sad or anxious affective state were more
extradyadic relations (Allen et al., 2005; Atkins likely to engage in extradyadic sex than men
et al., 2001), though this finding may be without that tendency (Mark et al., 2011).
a function of more opportunity to meet potential Research on personality characteristics related
extradyadic partners rather than income itself. to infidelity has found that low agreeableness,
Religion: Extradyadic relations have been high extraversion, high neuroticism (e.g., high
reported more often in individuals who report in anxiety, worry), low conscientiousness (Barta
no religious affiliation than in individuals who & Kiene, 2005), and high psychoticism (e.g.,
do (Burdette, Ellison, Sherkat, & Gore, 2007; high in aggression, hostility; Buss & Shackleford,
Mattingly, Wilson, Clark, Bequette, & Weidler, 1997) are all related to an increased propensity to
2010), although religious affiliation has not engage in extradyadic relations. In terms of
always been a significant predictor of infidelity attachment style, DeWall and colleagues (2011)
(Mark et al., 2011). found that avoidant attachment (i.e., someone
who desires independence, is self-sufficient and
Interpersonal Predictors avoids being close to others) predicted a greater
Some studies have found low marital or relation- propensity to engage in infidelity when combined
ship satisfaction to be a significant predictor of with low levels of relationship commitment.
extradyadic relations (Atkins et al., 2001; Glass Research has also shown that being and feeling
& Wright, 1985; Spanier & Margolis, 1983), powerful significantly predicted both the inten-
whereas other studies have either not found this tion to engage in and the actual engagement in
link (Choi, Catania, & Dolcini, 1994) or have extradyadic relations; this finding was significant
found it only for women but not for men (Mark for both men and women (Lammers, Stoker,
et al., 2011; Prins, Buunk, & VanYperen, 1993). Jordan, Pollmann, & Stapel, 2011). Finally,
However, relationship satisfaction is often incon- research by Mark and colleagues (2011)
sistently defined thereby making it difficult to examined sexual excitation (e.g., factors that
compare findings across studies (Blow & may sexually arouse) and sexual inhibition (e.g.,
Hartnett, 2005b). Sexual dissatisfaction has factors that may inhibit sexual arousal) and
been found to be a significant predictor of found that men and women who exhibited
extradyadic relations, particularly related to the a higher propensity of sexual inhibition due
decline in sexual frequency as marriage length to performance concerns and a lower propensity
increases; this predictor was especially found for of sexual inhibition due to performance conse-
men (Liu, 2000). Additionally, some research quences were more likely to engage in infidelity.
E 2104 Extradyadic Relations

A greater propensity for sexual excitation was Relationship Satisfaction


found to be predictive of extradyadic sex in Sexual Behaviors Desired Frequency
men, but not women. Sexual Functioning
The link between extradyadic relations and Sexual Satisfaction
quality of life has primarily been centered around Trust
negative outcomes in relationships as mentioned
above (e.g., lower sexual and relationship satis-
faction). However, some research does suggest
References
that a subset of couples may experience positive
relationship outcomes after infidelity. These Allen, E. S., Atkins, D. C., Baucom, D. H., Snyder, D. K.,
positive outcomes include a newfound ability Gordon, K. C., & Glass, S. P. (2005). Intrapersonal,
to communicate about the relationship with interpersonal, and contextual factors in engaging in
their partner, an increase in closeness after and responding to extramarital involvement. Clinical
Psychology: Science and Practice, 12, 101130.
working through the infidelity (Olson, Russell, Atkins, D. C., Baucom, D. H., & Jacobson, N. S. (2001).
Kessler, & Miller, 2002), and an overall improve- Understanding infidelity: Correlates in a national ran-
ment of the relationship following infidelity dom sample. Journal of Family Psychology, 15,
(Atwater, 1982). 735749.
Atwater, L. (1982). The extramarital connection: Sex,
Research in the area of extradyadic relations is intimacy, and identity. New York: Irvington.
expanding in part due to technological advances Barta, W. D., & Kiene, S. M. (2005). Motivations for
that offer opportunity to connect with potential infidelity in heterosexual dating couples: The roles of
extradyadic partners in ways that have not tradi- gender, personality differences, and sociosexual orien-
tation. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships,
tionally been available. There is a lot of research 22, 339360.
to be conducted on technology-mediated infidel- Blow, A. J., & Hartnett, K. (2005a). Infidelity in commit-
ity and the impact of technology on the infidelity ted relationships I: A methodological review. Journal
landscape. However, future researchers must be of Marital and Family Therapy, 31(2), 183216.
Blow, A. J., & Hartnett, K. (2005b). Infidelity in commit-
mindful of the methodological concerns outlined ted relationships II: A substantive review. Journal of
by Blow and Hartnett (2005a), such as the need Marital and Family Therapy, 31(2), 217233.
for consistency in the definition of extradyadic Burdette, A. M., Ellison, C. G., Sherkat, D. E., & Gore,
sex, confidentiality, sample diversity, and K. A. (2007). Are there religious variations in marital
infidelity? Journal of Family Issues, 28, 15531581.
validated and consistent measurement of the Buss, D. M., & Shackleford, T. K. (1997). Susceptibility to
construct. infidelity in the first year of marriage. Journal of
Research in Personality, 31, 193221.
Choi, K. H., Catania, J. A., & Dolcini, M. M. (1994).
Extramarital sex and HIV risk behavior among US
Cross-References adults: Results from the National AIDS Behavioral
Survey. American Journal of Public Health, 84,
Casual Sex and the Quality of Life 20032007.
Compulsive Sexual Behavior Inventory DeWall, C. N., Lambert, N. M., Slotter, E. B., Pond, R. S.,
Deckman, T., Finkel, E. J., et al. (2011). So far away
Dating Relationships from ones partner, yet so close to romantic alterna-
Emotional Well-Being tives: Avoidant attachment, interest in alternatives,
Family Conflicts and infidelity. Journal of Personality and Social Psy-
Marital Adjustment chology, 101(6), 13021316.
Glass, S. P., & Wright, T. L. (1985). Sex differences in
Marital Conflict and Health type of extramarital involvement and marital dissatis-
Mood faction. Sex Roles, 12, 11011120.
Mood Disorders and Sexuality Lammers, J., Stoker, J. I., Jordan, J., Pollmann, M., &
Psychological Well-Being, Marital Risk, and Stapel, D. A. (2011). Power increases infidelity
among men and women. Psychological Science,
Advice Seeking 22(9), 11911197.
Relationship Contingency and Sexual Liu, C. (2000). A theory of marital sexual life. Journal of
Satisfaction Marriage and the Family, 62, 363374.
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Mark, K. P., Janssen, E., & Milhausen, R. R. (2011).
Infidelity in heterosexual couples: Demographic, inter- Extreme Political Violence
personal, and personality-related predictors of
extradyadic sex. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40,
971982. Terrorism
Mattingly, B. A., Wilson, K., Clark, E. M., Bequette,
A. W., & Weidler, D. J. (2010). Foggy faithfulness:
Relationship quality, religiosity, and the perceptions of
dating infidelity scale in an adult sample. Journal of
Family Issues, 31, 14651480. Extreme Response Bias
Olson, M. M., Russell, C. S., Kessler, M., & Miller, R. B.
(2002). Emotional processes following disclosure of Life Satisfaction Ratings and Response
an extramarital affair. Journal of Marital and Family E
Therapy, 28, 423434. Formats
Preveti, D., & Amato, P. R. (2004). Is infidelity a cause or
consequence of poor marital quality? Journal of Social
and Personal Relationships, 21, 217230.
Prins, K. S., Buunk, B. P., & VanYperen, N. W. (1993).
Equity, normative disapproval, and extramarital rela- Extreme-Groups Validity
tionships. Journal of Social and Personal Relation-
ships, 10, 3953. Known-Groups Validity
Spanier, G. B., & Margolis, R. L. (1983). Marital separa-
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Bruce Headey
Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and
Social Research, The University of Melbourne,
Extradyadic Sex Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Extradyadic Relations
Synonyms

Sociability

Extramarital Relations
Definition
Extradyadic Relations
Extroversion is a personality trait. The opposite
end of the continuum is introversion. Extroverts
are sociable, outgoing, assertive, and excitable.
Extramarital Sex Introverts are not necessarily shy, but are less
likely to seek company and seek excitement.
Extradyadic Relations

Description

Virtually all taxonomies of human personality


Extraversion, Stable include extroversion or a similar trait. The term
was coined by the psychoanalyst, Carl Jung
Oxford Happiness Questionnaire (1921), and made popular by the German born,
E 2106 Extroversion

British-based psychologist, Hans Eysenck (EPI), or the Big Five Personality Domains, Neu-
(Eysenck & Eysenck, 1969). Other taxonomies, roticism-Extroversion-Openness-Agreableness-
which include extroversion as a basic trait, are Conscientiousness (NEO-AC), have been
Cattells 16 Personality Factors (Cattell, widely used in quality of life research. Extrover-
Marshall, & Georgiades, 1957), and the Big sion is just moderately positively related to mea-
Five Personality Domains (Costa & McCrae, sures of subjective well-being (SWB). Typical
1991). Eysenck and Eysenck (1969) claimed to correlations are in the 0.100.20 range. Neurot-
trace designation of extroversion and neuroticism icism, by contrast, is strongly negatively related
as basic personality traits to the work of the to SWB, with correlations typically in the 0.30
Greek, Galen of Pergamon, who wrote about the to 0.40 range (Lucas, 2008). Extroverts tend to
four humors or temperaments. Extroverts tend to experience more favorable life events, and also
be choleric and sanguine, whereas introverts extract more pleasure from these events than
tend to be phlegmatic and melancholic. either introverts or neurotic individuals (Headey
Twin studies have shown that extroversion is & Wearing, 1989; Larsen & Ketelaar, 1991;
about 50 % hereditary (Bouchard & McGue, Lucas & Baird, 2004; Magnus, Diener, Fujita,
2003). Interpersonal differences in extroversion & Pavot, 1993).
remain about the same throughout adult life,
which can lead researchers to say that the trait is
stable in adulthood. However, this is not quite Cross-References
true. Maturation effects occur; people tend to
become less extroverted and also less neurotic Quality of Life Research
as they get older (Roberts & Mroczek, 2008).
Women, on average, rate lower on extroversion
and higher on neuroticism than men (Eysenck &
Eysenck, 1969).
References
There is a considerable body of work which Bouchard, T. J., & McGue, M. (2003). Genetic and
seeks to link differences in personality to differ- environmental influences on human psychological
ences in brain function. Eysenck himself believed differences. Journal of Neurobiology, 54, 445.
that differences between extroverts and introverts Cattell, R. B., Marshall, M. B., & Georgiades, S. (1957).
Personality and motivation: Structure and
are largely due to differences in cortical arousal. measurement. Journal of Personality Disorders, 19,
In his view, extroverts have lower levels 5367.
of arousal and seek social stimulation and Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1991). The NEO-AC the
excitement in order to feel satisfied. Introverts, NEO PI-R. Odessa, FL: PAR.
Depue, R. A., & Collins, P. F. (1999). Neurobiology and
by contrast, have high normal levels of arousal the structure of personality: Dopamine, facilitation of
and easily become overstimulated (Eysenck & incentive motivation and extroversion. The Behavioral
Eysenck, 1969). Later studies have linked extro- and Brain Sciences, 22, 491517.
version to higher than average sensitivity of Eysenck, H. J., & Eysenck, S. G. B. (1969). Personality
structure and measurement. London: Routledge/
the mesolimbic dopamine system to rewarding Kegan Paul.
stimuli (Depue & Collins, 1999), and also to Headey, B. W., & Wearing, A. J. (1989). Personality, life
increased blood flow in areas of the brain partic- events and subjective well-being: Toward a dynamic
ularly associated with sensory and emotional equilibrium model. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 57, 731739.
experience (Johnson, Wiebe, Gold, & Johnson, D. L., Wiebe, J. S., Gold, S. M., & Andreason,
Andreason, 1999). N. C. (1999). Cerebral blood flow and personality:
Measures of extroversion and neuroticism are A positron emission typography study. The American
usually self-reports. Typical items measuring Journal of Psychiatry, 156, 252257.
Jung, C. J. (1921). Psychological types. Zurich, Switzer-
extroversion are: I am the life of the party and land: Rascher Verlag.
I like to be where the action is. Scales taken Larsen, R. J., & Ketelaar, T. (1991). Personality and
from either the Eysenck Personality Inventory susceptibility to positive and negative emotional
Extroversion 2107 E
states. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Magnus, K., Diener, E., Fujita, F., & Pavot, W. (1993).
61, 132140. Extraversion and neuroticism as predictors of
Lucas, R. E. (2008). Personality and subjective well-being. objective life events: A longitudinal analysis.
In M. Eid & R. J. Larsen (Eds.), The science of subjective Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65,
well-being (pp. 171194). New York: Guilford Press. 10461053.
Lucas, R. E., & Baird, B. M. (2004). Extraversion and Roberts, B. W., & Mroczek, D. (2008). Personality change
emotional reactivity. Journal of Personality and in adulthood. Current Directions in Psychological
Social Psychology, 86, 473485. Science, 17, 3135.

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