Abstract
In 2011-2014, the MIDUS Refresher study recruited a national
probability sample of 3,577 adults, aged 25 to 74, designed to replenish the original MIDUS 1 baseline cohort and paralleling the age groups of the MIDUS 1 baseline survey in 1995. The MIDUS Refresher survey employed the same comprehensive assessments as existing MIDUS sample, with additional questions about the
effect of the Great Recession in 2008-09. Survey data were collected on
demographic, psychosocial, and health and well-being information.
In 2022-2024, the second wave of survey data (MIDUS Refresher 2) was collected on
longitudinal participants, including the questions (1) repeated from the
Refresher 1, (2) new impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic replacing the questions
related to the Great Recession in the Refresher 1, and (3) the additional
questions in selected areas (e.g., AD8, IADL, family history of dementia). This
new longitudinal MIDUS data allow examination of period effects on health and
well-being related to the COVID-19 pandemic by comparing the pre-pandemic MIDUS
Refresher 1 data with the post-pandemic MIDUS Refresher 2 data. Further, the
longitudinal MIDUS Refresher datasets (Wave 1 and Wave 2) allow investigation
of the two major macro-level historic events, the Great Recession and the
COVID-19 pandemic, on health and well-being across various population groups in
the U.S.
The purpose of this study was to seek to understand how factors in the lives of American adults such as working conditions, relationships, health, finances, personal outlooks and individual choices impact health and well-being as individuals age from early adulthood to later life. The second wave of the study with the refresher sample, known as MIDUS R2, also sought to shed light on how U.S. adults have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and how these experiences are linked with their health, broadly defined.