Carol D. Ryff, Director MIDUS National Study of Health and Well-Being

Welcome Website Visitor:

Let me welcome you to the MIDUS website! It is designed to introduce you to the study and provide detailed information about the MIDUS samples, measures, investigators, and scientific findings.The main purpose of MIDUS is to collect in-depth, long-term information from a national sample of Americans about the many factors, such as work and family life, daily stressors, psychological outlooks, social relationships, and community, that influence their health (mental and physical) as they age. More recently, MIDUS is also assessing numerous biological and neurological factors that are part of explaining why some Americans remain healthy and vital as they grow older, while others do not. Such knowledge will help us promote better health and well-being for generations of Americans to come. Our website is intended for use by those who are interested in learning about using the MIDUS data as well as by individuals who want to find out about the scientific advances generated by our investigators. Thus, for the former group, we provide information about our samples, measures, and data files (from MIDUS I and MIDUS II). For the latter group, we provide an easy-to-use database that allows one to search, by topic or author, through our many publications. We also provide copies of newsletters sent to our sample respondents. These offer updates on what we have learned from their generous participation in the study. Our goal is to make the MIDUS website informative and user friendly. If you have questions or difficulty finding what you need, please contact us by email or phone (608-262-1818) so that we can assist you.

Sincerely,

Carol D. Ryff