DOI: 10.3886/icpsr39670
title: Midlife in the United States (MIDUS Refresher 2), 2022-2024
title: Archival Version

description: 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.
description: 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.
description: Participants were recruited into MIDUS R2 via an initial 45-minute telephone interview and were then invited to complete 100-page mail questionnaire and a 35-minute cognitive interview via telephone
 From October 2022, through December 2024, 2,154 respondents completed the initial telephone interviews, 1,711 returned self-administered questionnaires (SAQs), and 1,700 participated in the cognitive interviews. In addition, family members of 24 respondents, who were deceased, participated in a brief mortality cognitive closeout interview.
description: Please see the "Documentation of Post- Stratification Weights Created for MIDUS Refresher 2 (MR2)" file for more information on the creation of post-stratification weights.
description: Response Rates: The response rate for the MIDUS R2 telephone interview was 68%. The response rate for the MIDUS R2 self-administered questionnaire was 80%.
description: Presence of Common Scales: Please see the "Documentation Of Psychosocial Constructs and Composite Variables MIDUS Refresher 2" file for complete information regarding the scales for the MIDUS Refresher 2 data collection.
description: The University of Wisconsin Survey center sought to re-interview living MIDUS longitudinal sample who had completed the MR1 telephone interview. MR1 participants were removed from the sampling pool who were known to be deceased, who had withdrawn from the study, or who were deemed cognitively unable to participate in future efforts. The total N of eligible participants was 3,247. See the MIDUS field report for additional information.
description: Datasets: 
DS1: Midlife in the United States (MIDUS Refresher 2), 2022-2024
description: Non-institutionalized English-speaking adults in the United States.
description: computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI); mail questionnaire; self-enumerated questionnaireThe variable <strong>MRID</strong> is the linking variable for the datasets in this collection.For more information on the MIDUS Refresher Project, please see the MIDUS website.