Adapting to heart conditions: a test of the hedonic treadmill.
This paper tests the hypothesis of hedonic adaptation by analyzing the role that a history of heart problems has on the ability to deal with future heart conditions. The results show that those who have had a heart condition in the past are less likely to report worse self-assessed health and emotional health due to the onset of a new condition than those who have not previously had exposure to heart trouble. The results are fairly supportive of the notion of a hedonic treadmill.
Wu
S
S
Department of Economics, Hamilton College, Clinton, NY 13323, USA. swu@hamilton.edu
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D012008:Recurrence; D012647:Self-Assessment; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology