Wisconsin Longitudinal Study
The WLS follows a cohort of male and female high school graduates, born primarily in 1939, from adolescence through their early 70s (to date). In addition, WLS also follows a randomly selected brother or sister of the original high school graduate panel member. The WLS includes measures of intergenerational transfers and relationships, family characteristics and events, physical and mental health and well-being, social background, youthful aspirations, schooling, employment, military service, labor market experiences, social participation, psychological characteristics, retirement, and morbidity and mortality. The content of the study changed as the life-course stage of the participants advanced. For example, early measures concentrated on education and occupational attainment, while more recent measures include a focus on health and cognition. These rich data allow users to link early-life characteristics to later life outcomes.
Genetic data, collected via saliva samples, are available for many of the graduate and sibling participants. Current measures include 95 SNPs for 4,600 members of the graduate panel and 2,500 members of the sibling panel. Future plans will allow qualified researchers to access GWAS data for 6,000 graduate panel members and 3,400 sibling panel members. Researchers also have the potential to link to complete Social Security Earnings and Benefits File as well as Medicare records.
As examples, the study allows researchers to:
- Extend models of occupation and earnings and to elaborate the roles of aspirations in adolescence and at mid-life, of previous achievements, and of familial responsibilities in current economic and social standing, subjective well-being, mental and physical health, disability, and wealth;
- Identify and measure local effects on opportunity, that is, specific characteristics of a person, firm, or economic sector that directly influence the chances of obtaining a job or a limited range of jobs;
- Extend and elaborate models of sibling resemblance that will elucidate influences of the family of origin on the life course;
- Investigate self-assessments of well-being in the context of aspirations, accomplishments, and social relationships with significant others; and
- Measure social and economic exchange relationships with parents, children, and siblings and assess the consequences of those relationships for well-being.
Overview
- Acronym
- WLS
- Website
- WLS
- Investigators
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- Contacts
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General Design
- Study design
- Cohort
- Start - End Year
- 1957 -
- General Information on Follow Up (profile, frequency)
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In the spring of 1957, a state-sponsored questionnaire was administered to all Wisconsin High School seniors. In 1964, a randomly selected one-third of the members of the class of 1957 were followed up with a brief questionnaire to parents asking about their child’s post high-school education and occupation. Direct contact with the graduate began with a telephone interview in 1975, and subsequent telephone and mail surveys in 1993 and 2004. In 1977 a subset of graduate’s siblings were interviewed by phone and in 1995 and 2005 interviews were conducted with one sibling from each family whenever possible. Spouses of Graduates and Siblings who were married at the time of the 2004/2005 interview were also interviewed by phone. Most recently in-person interviews with a leave-behind questionnaire were administered in 2011 to both the graduate and sibling panels. Saliva was collected from both graduate and sibling participants via a mail-effort in 2008 and during the in-person 2011 interview.
- Recruitment Target
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- Individuals
- Families
- Number of Participants
- 22,334
- Number of Participants with Biological Samples
- 9,407
- Supplementary information about number of participants
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Saliva samples from 5967 graduates and 3440 siblings.
- Supplementary Information
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Additionally the WLS has collected a variety of administrative data including tax records, information from high-school yearbooks, voting records, and information on school district resources.
Access
Availability of data and biosamples
| Possible Access to Data | |
| Possible Access to Biosamples | |
| Other |
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Marker Paper
Herd P, Carr D, Roan C. Cohort Profile: Wisconsin longitudinal study (WLS). Int J Epidemiol. 2014 Feb;43(1):34-41. doi: 10.1093/ije/dys194.
PUBMED 24585852Timeline
Populations
The population consists of a random sample of all Wisconsin high school graduates in 1957, born between 1938 and 1940.
Selection Criteria
- Countries
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- United States of America
- Territory
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Wisconsin
Sources of Recruitment
- Specific Population
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Other specific population :
Wisconsin high school graduates.
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Other specific population :
Sample Size
- Number of Participants
- 10,317
- Number of Participants with Biological Samples
- 5,967
- Supplementary information about number of participants
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1957 Survey: 10317 participants
1964 Mail survey: 8922 participants
1975 Mail survey: 9138 participants
1993 Phone and mail survey: 8493 participants
2004 Phone or mail survey: 7732 participants
2011 In-person or mail survey: 5968 participants
Data Collection Events
| # | Name | Data sources | Data sources - Biosamples | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1957 survey |
|
1957 | 1957 | |
| 1 | 1964 survey |
|
1964 | 1964 | |
| 2 | 1975 survey |
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1975 | 1975 | |
| 3 | 1993 survey |
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1993 | 1993 | |
| 4 | 2004 survey |
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2004 | 2004 |
| 5 | 2011 survey |
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2011 | 2011 |
In 1977, the population consisted of a randomly selected sibling of the WLS graduate participants. In 1993 a full sibling sample was implemented.
Selection Criteria
- Countries
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- United States of America
Sources of Recruitment
- Specific Population
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-
Other specific population :
Siblings of the graduate sample.
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Other specific population :
Sample Size
- Number of Participants
- 6,002
- Number of Participants with Biological Samples
- 3,440
- Supplementary information about number of participants
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The sample frame for siblings for 1975 was a 1/3 random sample of one random living sibling for each graduate with a sibling. The 1993 eligible sibling sample excluded siblings who were in the 1975 sample frame, but were not interviewed; siblings of graduates not interviewed in 1975; and interviews not completed owing to lacking funds. The 2004 eligible siblings sample excluded siblings who were in the 1975 and/or 1993 sample frame, but were not interviewed and siblings of graduates not interviewed in 1975 and 1993.
1975: Mail survey: 2133 participants
1993: Phone and mail survey: 5365 participants
2004: Phone and mail survey: 4703 participants
2011: In-person and mail survey: 3397 participants
Data Collection Events
| # | Name | Data sources | Data sources - Biosamples | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1975 survey |
|
1975 | 1975 | |
| 1 | 1993 survey |
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1993 | 1993 | |
| 2 | 2004 survey |
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2004 | 2004 |
| 3 | 2011 survey |
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2011 | 2011 |
The population consists of spouses of the WLS graduates sample and the siblings sample.
Selection Criteria
- Countries
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- United States of America
Sources of Recruitment
- Specific Population
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Other specific population :
Spouses of the graduate sample.
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Other specific population :
Sample Size
- Number of Participants
- 6,015
- Supplementary information about number of participants
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Spouses of the graduates: 3890 participants
Spouses of the siblings: 2125 participants
Data Collection Events
| # | Name | Data sources | Data sources - Biosamples | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 2004 survey |
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2004 | 2004 |
Participating Studies
| Acronym | Name | Study design | Countries |
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Harmonization Initiatives Included
| Acronym | Name |
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Datasets
| Name | Data Collection Events | Variables |
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Areas of Information Collected
- Socio-demographic and economic characteristics
- Death
- Lifestyle and behaviours
- Physical measures and assessments
- Birth, pregnancy and reproductive health history
- Laboratory measures
- Perception of health, quality of life, development and functional limitations
- Cognition, personality and psychological measures and assessments
- Diseases
- Life events, life plans, beliefs and values
- Symptoms and signs
- Preschool, school and work life
- Medication and supplements
- Social environment and relationships
- Non-pharmacological interventions
- Physical environment
- Health and community care services utilization
- Administrative information
Variables Content Summary
Areas of Information Collected
Areas of Information Collected per per Population and Data Collection Event
Networks
| Acronym | Name | Harmonization Initiatives | Individual Studies |
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