5. Mills Longitudinal Study - Age 61 Assessment

The fifth assessment of the Mills Longitudinal Study was conducted when participants were approximately 61 years old. For the first time in the history of the study, all participants came to UC Berkeley’s Institute of Personality and Social Research (IPSR) for interviews and assessments. (In earlier assessments, only a subsample of participants came in for testing.) Initial Follow-up In 1996, initial follow-up forms (known as the "Tan Sheets" and "White Sheets") were mailed to all participants, along with a letter inviting participants to be part of a more comprehensive, in-person follow-up assessment. The “Tan Sheets” contained items about basic demographic information and life updates, while the "White Sheets" included measures of attachment style, political attitudes, relationships, and psychological well-being. Age 61 Assessment at IPSR Starting in 1997, participants came to IPSR for a day-long assessment that included personal interviews (including the Adult Attachment Interview), cognitive testing, and a battery of questionnaires covering topics such as goals, feelings, health, emotion regulation, and social networks. Participants also completed the ACL. Research staff and interviewers provided ratings and Q-sorts for participants. Some measures (Diaries, CPI, Social Network) were mailed to participants ahead of time to complete at home and bring with them to the in-house assessment. After the assessments, participants were given a few more questionnaires (Wisdom, Social Network Follow-up) to take home with them to complete and return by mail. These in-person assessments were conducted from 1997-2000.