Americans' Changing Lives: Waves I, II, III, IV, and V, 1986, 1989, 1994, 2002, and 2011

The Americans' Changing Lives (ACL) survey series is an ongoing nationally representative longitudinal study focusing especially on differences between Black and White Americans in middle and late life. These data constitute the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth waves in a panel survey covering a wide range of sociological, psychological, mental, and physical health items. Wave I of the study began in 1986 with a nation face-to-face survey of 3,617 adults ages 25 and up, with Black Americans and people aged 60 and over over-sampled at twice the rate of the others. Wave II constitutes face-to-face re-interviews in 1989 of those still alive. Survivors have been re-interviewed by telephone, and when necessary face-to-face, in 1994, 2001/02, and 2011, making up Waves III, IV, and V of the data. ACL was designed and sought out to investigate the following: (1) the ways in which a wide range of activities and social relationships that people engage in are broadly "productive," (2) how individuals adapt to acute life events and chronic stresses that threaten the maintenance of health, effective functioning, and productive activity, and (3) sociocultural variations in the nature, meaning, determinants, and consequences of productive activity and relationships. Among the topics covered are interpersonal relationships (spouse/partner, children, parents, friends), sources and levels of satisfaction, social interactions and leisure activities, traumatic life events (physical assault, serious illness, divorce, death of a loved one, financial or legal problems), perceptions of retirement, health behaviors (smoking, alcohol consumption, overweight, rest), and utilization of health care services (doctor visits, hospitalization, nursing home institutionalization, bed days). Also included are measures of physical health, psychological well-being, and indices referring to cognitive functioning. Demographic information provided for individuals includes household composition, number of children and grandchildren, employment status, occupation and work history, income, family financial situation, religious beliefs and practices, ethnicity, race, education, sex, and region of residence.

《美国人生活变迁》（ACL）调查系列是一项持续进行的、具有全国代表性的纵向研究，特别关注中老年美国黑人及白人之间的差异。这些数据构成了涵盖广泛社会学、心理学、精神健康和身体健康项目的面板调查的第一、第二、第三、第四和第五波。研究的第一波始于1986年，对25岁及以上的3617名成年人进行了全国性的面对面调查，黑人美国人及60岁及以上的人群的抽样率是其他人群的两倍。第二波于1989年对仍健在的受访者进行了面对面重访。幸存者在1994年、2001/02年和2011年通过电话，必要时面对面地进行了重访，形成了数据的第三、第四和第五波。ACL旨在调查以下内容：（1）人们参与的各种活动和社交关系的广泛“生产性”方式，（2）个体如何适应威胁健康维持、有效功能和生产活动的急性生活事件和慢性压力，以及（3）生产活动及其关系在性质、意义、决定因素和后果方面的社会文化差异。涵盖的主题包括人际关系（配偶/伴侣、子女、父母、朋友）、满意度的来源和水平、社会互动和休闲活动、创伤性生活事件（身体攻击、严重疾病、离婚、亲人去世、财务或法律问题）、退休感知、健康行为（吸烟、饮酒、超重、休息）以及健康服务的利用（医生就诊、住院、养老院机构化、卧床天数）。还包括身体健康、心理健康和认知功能的指标。为个人提供的人口统计信息包括家庭构成、子女和孙子女的数量、就业状况、职业和工作历史、收入、家庭财务状况、宗教信仰和实践、种族、教育、性别和居住地区。