ABSTRACT
The National Institute on Aging supported the data collection. Sampling, pretesting, and interviewing were conducted by the Survey Research Laboratory of the University of Illinois. Self-reported health correlates highly with more "objective" measures such as physician's assessments and with measures of morbidity, like having heart disease or diabetes, and it predicts mortality net of chronic and acute disease, of physician assessment made by clinical exam, of physical disability, and of health behaviors. Walking is measured as the number of days walked per week. The major difference is that the scale balances statements claiming control against those denying control, and statements about good outcomes against those about bad outcomes. Household income is assessed using a set of questions that maximize response while conserving precision. Neighborhood disadvantage is an index of the percentage of tract households with children headed by women and the percentage of tract households the federal poverty line.
