07. Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• In Event: 265 - Research Funding Opportunities and Data Resources (part of the Research Support Forum)

Abstract

The WLS is a long-term study of a random sample of 10,317 men and women who graduated from Wisconsin high schools in 1957 and of their randomly selected brothers or sisters. The WLS sample is broadly representative of white, non-Hispanic American men and women who have completed at least a high school education. Almost 85 percent of surviving graduates continue to participate in the WLS. Public data, documentation, and publications are available online. Survey data were collected from the original respondents or their parents in 1957, 1964, 1975, 1992, 2003, and 2011, and from a selected sibling in 1977, 1993, 2004, and 2011. Survey data were collected from the spouses of the graduates in 2004 and the spouses of the siblings in 2005. The data cover nearly every aspect of the participants’ lives from early life socioeconomic background, schooling, family and work to health, social participation, civic engagement, well-being, and cognition. The study also has a wealth of unique data including examples such as administrative IQ scores from high school, information collected from high school yearbooks that include measures of attractiveness, proxy measures for obesity, and complete lists of student activities for all respondents. Examples of administrative data include Medicare records, Social Security records (forthcoming), and resource data on primary and secondary schools attended by participants. The WLS also collected saliva samples from which we have created a DNA file with 90 SNPs. Data from GEne The most recent data include anthropometric and functioning measures which add yet a new dimension to the many types of WLS data.

Visitors to the poster session can learn more about the project and ask specific questions to project leaders.

Authors

• Pamela Herd, Syracuse University

• Huey-Chi Vicky Chang, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Carol Lynn Roan, University of Wisconsin-Madison