PSY 870: Module 7 Problem Set

Optimism and Longevity

A cancer specialist from the Los Angeles County General Hospital (LACGH) rated patient optimism in 20- to 40-year-old male patients with incurable cancer in 1970. In 1990, the researcher examined hospital records to gather the following data:

• Socioeconomic status (17 rating of occupation; higher ratings indicate higher levels of SES)
• Age in 1970
• Optimism in 1970 (1100 rating, higher scores indicate higher levels of optimism)
• Longevity (years lived after the 1970 diagnosis)

Using the SPSS data file for Module 7 (located in Topic Materials), calculate a simultaneous multiple regression with SES, age, and optimism as the independent variables and longevity as the dependent variable.

• Do the independent variables correlate statistically significantly and practically with the dependent variable?
• Is collinearity between the independent variables a concern?
• What is the R and adjusted R-square for all independent variables entered simultaneously?
• What variable(s) provide a significant unique contribution(s)?
• Compose a results section for this statistical analysis.