Midlife in the United States (MIDUS 2): Daily Stress Project, 2004-2009

Résumé 0

The Daily Stress Project of MIDUS II contains data from 2,022 respondents. These respondents include three distinct groups, all of whom completed the Project 1 Survey: (1) longitudinal (n = 794), (2) expanded (n = 1,048), and (3) Milwaukee (n = 180). The longitudinal group included individuals who participated in the Daily Stress Project at Time 1, the expanded group consisted of Time 2 participants from all MIDUS subsamples (RDD, twins, siblings) who did not participate in the Daily Stress Project at Time 1, and the Milwaukee group contained individuals who participated in the baseline MIDUS Milwaukee study, initiated in 2005. The purpose of the Daily Stress Project was to examine how sociodemographic factors, health status, personality characteristics, and genetic endowment modify patterns of change in exposure to day-to-day life stressors as well as physical and emotional reactivity to these stressors. The primary aims were to: (1) describe how the links between multiple aspects of daily stressors (e.g., frequency, content, severity) and daily physical and emotional well-being change over ten years during adulthood; (2) examine how sociodemographic factors and personality characteristics influence change in both exposure to as well as changes in physical and emotional reactivity to daily stressors; (3) investigate how exposure and reactivity to daily stressors correlate with physiological indicators of physical health and predict changes in global health reports; and (4) explore the relative genetic and environmental influences mediating change in exposure and physical and emotional reactivity to daily stressors throughout adulthood. Respondents in the NSDE are a representative subsample of the MIDUS (Midlife in the United States) survey. The Daily Stress study is Project 2 of the MIDUS longitudinal study, a national survey of more than 7,000 Americans (aged 25 to 74) began in 1994. The purpose of the larger study was to investigate the role of behavioral, psychological, and social factors in understanding age-related differences in physical and mental health. With support from the National Institute on Aging, a longitudinal follow-up of the original MIDUS samples [core sample (N = 3,487), metropolitan over-samples (N = 757), twins (N = 957 pairs), and siblings (N = 950)] was conducted in 2004-2006. Guiding hypotheses, at the most general level, were that behavioral and psychosocial factors are consequential for health (physical and mental). A description of the study and findings from it are available on the MIDUS Web site.