Midlife in the United States (MIDUS 3): Retention Early Warning Project, 2018-2019

In 2019, the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study attempted to contact and convert 2,239 participants who had dropped out of either the MIDUS 2 or MIDUS 3 Survey Projects. Dubbed the "Retention Early Warning" or "REW" Project, this was an effort to address longitudinal respondent attrition in MIDUS as well as explore early life vulnerabilities that may influence subsequent health profiles. REW recruited drop-outs from earlier waves of the study by using in-person interviews and increased monetary incentives. Respondents were interviewed in their homes using a Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) survey protocol. In addition to the survey interview, respondents were asked to complete a Self-Administered Questionnaire (SAQ), a shortened version of the Brief Test of Adult Cognition via Telephone (BTACT), and to provide anthropometric measures as well as Dried Blood Spots for select biomarkers. Data collection largely repeated previous assessments, though modules were shortened or adjusted to account for the in-person interview format. CAPI survey data was collected for 651 individuals, realizing a 31% response rate, adjusted for mortality.