The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Institute on Aging is set to broaden its research on Midlife in the United States (MIDUS), a nationwide study that investigates the varying degrees adult health and aging is impacted by societal, cognitive and behavioral factors.
MIDUS involves a large amount of population-level surveying, along with research efforts from a diverse group of disciplines, including psychology, demography and medicine, according to their website. Numerous research institutes around the country take part in MIDUS, providing the study with an expansive amount of data.
In a recent press release, Institute on Aging Director Carol Ryff highlighted the importance of MIDUS, noting its uncommon attention to perseverance of individuals under certain stresses.
“Our study went after the positive side as well as the negative,” Ryff said. Many scientists are now working with our data because we have the tools to show that some people are resilient.”
Despite prior studies showing aging and socioeconomic difficulties as health risks, MIDUS has exemplified that many individuals are resilient and exhibit strong mental and physical health despite their circumstances, explained Ryff. The data collected from MIDUS is also generally used as a tool to understand and apply the factors found to promote and nurture resilience.
For the expansion of the study, researchers are staying consistent in their fieldwork methodology, as well as their source of data. Much of the research and surveying carried out by UW-Madison’s MIDUS branch will concentrate on Milwaukee’s African-American population. Previous MIDUS research selected Milwaukee as a focal point because of its notorious racial segregation and its notably high unemployment and infant mortality rates. The traits of Milwaukee’s African-American population provide a striking comparison of health between races.
In an email interview, UW-Madison MIDUS researcher Dr. Barry Radler, whose role in the project includes supervising the surveys and raw data, described the expectations for the study’s expanded effort.
Researchers will examine their prediction that the country’s economic slide will be damaging in particular to subjects who have exhibited a “pre-existing vulnerability.” Another prediction MIDUS will expect is a presence of resilience in those who have a wealth of “psychosocial resources,” which might include positive social reinforcement or an optimistic perspective in life, despite their economic misfortunes.
Dr. Radler also noted the purpose of the survey’s expansion goes beyond analyzing the effect of the recent economic downturn, saying that the MIDUS study has a number of other pointed questions. These questions include how “psychological and social factors influence biological processes,” Radler said, including increased risk of cardiovascular problems. Radler further explained the psychological aspects that may impact physical health include a wide range of factors, like work and family relationships, personality traits and awareness of discriminatory problems.
Researchers are expected to finish fielding surveys locally and nationally at year’s end pending a funding extension, which would push the study into next year.
