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.
- Start Year
- 1957
Visit WLS
| Investigators | Contacts |
|---|---|
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Design
- Study design
- Cohort
- Follow Up
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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.
- Supplementary Information
-
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.
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 24585852
Recruitment
- Recruitment Target
-
- Individuals
- Families
Number of Participants
- Number of Participants
- 22,334
- Number of Participants with Biological Samples
- 9,407
- Supplementary Information
-
Saliva samples from 5967 graduates and 3440 siblings.
Access
Availability of data and biosamples
| Possible Access to Data | |
| Possible Access to Biosamples | |
| Other |
Timeline
Populations
The population consists of a random sample of all Wisconsin high school graduates in 1957, born between 1938 and 1940.
Selection Criteria
- Newborns
- Twins
- Countries
-
- United States of America
- Territory
-
Wisconsin
Recruitment
- Sources of recruitment
-
- Specific population
- Specific Population
-
-
Other specific population :
Wisconsin high school graduates.
-
Other specific population :
Number of Participants
- Number of Participants
- 10,317
- Number of Participants with Biological Samples
- 5,967
- Supplementary Information about selection criteria
-
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 | Description | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 |
1957 survey
|
The in person questionnaire includes information on marital aspirations and plans, occupational aspirations and plans, high school coursework, friends' occupational aspirations and plans, ... |
1957 | 1957 |
| 1 |
1964 survey
|
Mail survey of participants. Includes information on detailed current schooling and attainment since high school, current and past job history, marital status and spouse's current schooling and ... |
1964 | 1964 |
| 2 |
1975 survey
|
Telephone survey. Includes all the 1964 measures and informaton on civic engagement, time spent with family and friends, religious orientation and participation, marital history, detailed ... |
1975 | 1975 |
| 3 |
1993 survey
|
Telephone and/or mail surveys. Includes all 1975 measures and information on detailed assets, detailed income, pension, future plans and retirement, health insurance, caregiving, selected child ... |
1993 | 1993 |
| 4 |
2004 survey
|
Telephone and mail surveys. 1993 measures were repeated. It also included:
|
2004 | 2004 |
| 5 |
2011 survey
|
In-person survey and mail survey. 2004 measures were repeated. The survey also included information on:
|
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
- Newborns
- Twins
- Countries
-
- United States of America
Recruitment
- Sources of recruitment
-
- Specific population
- Specific Population
-
-
Other specific population :
Siblings of the graduate sample.
-
Other specific population :
Number of Participants
- Number of Participants
- 6,002
- Number of Participants with Biological Samples
- 3,440
- Supplementary Information about selection criteria
-
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 | Description | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 |
1975 survey
|
Telephone survey. Includes all the 1964 measures and informaton on civic engagement, time spent with family and friends, religious orientation and participation, marital history, detailed ... |
1975 | 1975 |
| 1 |
1993 survey
|
Telephone and/or mail surveys. Includes all 1975 measures and information on detailed assets, detailed income, pension, future plans and retirement, health insurance, caregiving, selected child ... |
1993 | 1993 |
| 2 |
2004 survey
|
Telephone and mail surveys. 1993 measures were repeated. It also included:
|
2004 | 2004 |
| 3 |
2011 survey
|
In-person survey and mail survey. 2004 measures were repeated. The survey also included information on:
|
2011 | 2011 |
The population consists of spouses of the WLS graduates sample and the siblings sample.
Selection Criteria
- Newborns
- Twins
- Countries
-
- United States of America
Recruitment
- Sources of recruitment
-
- Specific population
- Specific Population
-
-
Other specific population :
Spouses of the graduate sample.
-
Other specific population :
Number of Participants
- Number of Participants
- 6,015
- Number of Participants with Biological Samples
- Supplementary Information about selection criteria
-
Spouses of the graduates: 3890 participants
Spouses of the siblings: 2125 participants
Data Collection Event
Telephone and mail surveys. 1993 measures were repeated. It also included:
- Network data linking study participants
- Volunteering
- Internet use
- End of life preparations
- End of life experiences (death of spouse or parent)
- Menstruation, menopause and hysterectomy
- Hostility, anger, anxiety
- Masculinity scale
- Social support and relationships
- Marital quality
- Health Utility Index (functional measure)
- More detailed measures of chronic illnesses than collected in 1993
- Cognition-letter/category fluency
- Cognition-similarities
- Cogntion-word recall
- Health care access and utilization
- Retrospective childhood health
- Retrospective childhood abuse
- Start Date
-
2004
- End Date
-
2004
- Data sources
-
- Questionnaires
- Cognitive measures
- Biosamples
- Data sources - Biosamples
-
- Saliva
Classifications
- Socio-demographic and economic characteristics
- Lifestyle and behaviours
- Birth, pregnancy and reproductive health history
- Perception of health, quality of life, development and functional limitations
- Diseases
- Symptoms and signs
- Medication and supplements
- Non-pharmacological interventions
- Health and community care services utilization
- Death
- Physical measures and assessments
- Laboratory measures
- Cognition, personality and psychological measures and assessments
- Life events, life plans, beliefs and values
- Preschool, school and work life
- Social environment and relationships
- Physical environment
- Administrative information
- Cognitive functioning
- Personality
- Psychological distress and emotions
- Other psychological measures and assessments
- Life events
- Beliefs and values
- Perception of health
- Quality of life
- Life course development
- Functional limitations
- Other perception of health, quality of life and functional limitation-related information
- Tobacco
- Alcohol
- Drugs
- Nutrition
- Breastfeeding
- Physical activity
- Sleep
- Sexual behaviours and orientation
- Technological devices
- Misbehaviour and criminality
- Other and unspecified lifestyle information
Socio-demographic and economic characteristics
Lifestyle and behaviours
Birth, pregnancy and reproductive health history
Perception of health, quality of life, development and functional limitations
Diseases
Symptoms and signs
Medication and supplements
Non-pharmacological interventions
Health and community care services utilization
Death
Physical measures and assessments
Cognition, personality and psychological measures and assessments
Life events, life plans, beliefs and values
Preschool, school and work life
Social environment and relationships
Physical environment
Administrative information
Cognitive functioning
Personality
Psychological distress and emotions
Life events
Beliefs and values
Quality of life
Functional limitations
Other perception of health, quality of life and functional limitation-related information
Alcohol