Table 1.
Variable definitions and descriptive statistics, HRS analytic sample, 2008–2012
| Name | Definition | Mean | Std. Dev. | N |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| O*NET working conditions | ||||
| Psychosocial work environment (PWE) | Composite indicator of all six PWE O*NET variables | 0.639 | 0.065 | 2442 |
| Advancement | Workers have opportunities for advancement | 0.574 | 0.102 | 2442 |
| Work recognized | Workers receive recognition for the work that they do | 0.569 | 0.126 | 2442 |
| Autonomy | Workers plan their work with very little supervision | 0.657 | 0.148 | 2442 |
| Decision freedom | Job offers decision making freedom without supervision | 0.828 | 0.074 | 2442 |
| Training support | Workers have supervisors who train their workers well | 0.557 | 0.107 | 2442 |
| Supportive management | Supervisors back up their workers with management | 0.652 | 0.083 | 2442 |
| HRS self-reported working conditions | ||||
| Psychosocial work environment (PWE) | Composite indicator of all six PWE HRS variables | 0.747 | 0.136 | 2442 |
| Advancement | My job prospects are excellent | 0.578 | 0.234 | 2146 |
| Work recognized | I receive the recognition I deserve for my work | 0.742 | 0.198 | 2387 |
| Autonomy | At work, I feel I have control over what happens in most situations | 0.762 | 0.182 | 2406 |
| Decision freedom | I have a lot of freedom to decide how I do my work | 0.801 | 0.200 | 2375 |
| Training support | I have the training opportunities I need to perform my job safely and competently | 0.810 | 0.172 | 2252 |
| Supportive management | My supervisor is willing to extend himself/herself to help me perform my job | 0.745 | 0.206 | 2028 |
| Self-reports of work discrimination (HRS) | ||||
| Workplace discrimination | Composite indicator of all six work discrimination variables | 0.340 | 0.321 | 2442 |
| Unfair tasks | Unfairly given tasks at work that no one wants to do | 0.522 | 0.500 | 2439 |
| Watched closely | Watched more closely than others | 0.322 | 0.467 | 2431 |
| Bothered by supervisor/coworkers | Bothered by supervisor or coworkers making slurs or jokes about women or racial or ethnic groups | 0.194 | 0.395 | 2435 |
| Have to work harder | Have to work twice as hard as others at work | 0.418 | 0.493 | 2435 |
| Feel ignored | Feel ignored or not taken seriously by boss | 0.380 | 0.485 | 2427 |
| Unfairly humiliated | Unfairly humiliated in front of others at work | 0.203 | 0.403 | 2434 |
| Health outcomes or behaviors (HRS) | ||||
| Self-reported health status (SRHS) | 1 if reports “excellent” or “very good” health, 0 if reports “good”, “fair”, or “poor” health | 0.581 | 0.494 | 2442 |
| Episodic memory | Sum of immediate and delayed word recall tasks | 11.380 | 3.170 | 2389 |
| Mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) | Average arterial pressure during a single cardiac cycle | 97.264 | 13.762 | 2220 |
| Smoker | 1 if currently smoking cigarettes, 0 otherwise | 0.151 | 0.358 | 2442 |
| Exercise | 1 if exercises vigorously 3+ times per week, 0 otherwise | 0.322 | 0.467 | 2442 |
| Body mass index (BMI) | Body mass index in kg/m2 | 28.896 | 5.909 | 2442 |
| Diabetic | 1 if diagnosed with diabetes, 0 otherwise | 0.159 | 0.366 | 2442 |
| Health limits work | 1 if reports a work limiting health condition, 0 otherwise | 0.080 | 0.272 | 2442 |
| Demographics | ||||
| Age | Age in years | 57.210 | 3.861 | 2442 |
| Black | 1 if race is non-Hispanic Black, 0 if non-Hispanic White | 0.169 | 0.375 | 2442 |
| Married | 1 if married or partnered, 0 otherwise | 0.763 | 0.425 | 2442 |
| College degree | 1 if received an associate or bachelor’s degree, 0 otherwise | 0.454 | 0.498 | 2442 |
| Individual earnings | Annual individual earnings (2010 dollars) | 47,663 | 53,978 | 2442 |
| Household wealth | Household wealth (2010 dollars) | 469,501 | 844,072 | 2442 |
| Current census region lived in | ||||
| Northeast | 1 if ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, PA, 0 otherwise 1 if OH, IN, IL, MI, WI, MN, IA, MO, ND, SD, NE, KS, | 0.156 | 0.363 | 2442 |
| Midwest | 0 otherwise 1 if DE, MD, DC, VA, WV, NC, SC, GA, FL, KY, TN, | 0.296 | 0.457 | 2442 |
| South | AL, MS, AR, LA, OK, TX, AR, LA, OK, TX, 0 otherwise 1 if MT, ID, WY, CO, NM, AZ, UT, NV, WA, OR, CA, | 0.364 | 0.481 | 2442 |
| West | AK, HI, 0 otherwise | 0.183 | 0.387 | 2442 |
| Industry | ||||
| Agriculture or mining | 1 if industry is agriculture/mining, 0 otherwise | 0.014 | 0.119 | 2442 |
| Construction | 1 if industry is construction, 0 otherwise | 0.051 | 0.220 | 2442 |
| Public services | 1 if industry is public services, 0 otherwise | 0.074 | 0.261 | 2442 |
| Miscellaneous services | 1 if industry is miscellaneous services, 0 otherwise | 0.493 | 0.500 | 2442 |
| Manufacturing | 1 if industry is manufacturing, 0 otherwise | 0.129 | 0.335 | 2442 |
| Trade | 1 if industry is trade, 0 otherwise | 0.117 | 0.321 | 2442 |
| Finance, Insurance or Real Estate | 1 if industry is FIRE, 0 otherwise | 0.075 | 0.264 | 2442 |
| Public administration | 1 if industry is public administration, 0 otherwise | 0.053 | 0.224 | 2442 |
Note: O*NET and HRS working condition and work discrimination variables are normalized to take values between 0 and 1.