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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, fifth, and sixth 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 (Wave III), 2001/02 (Wave IV), 2011 (Wave V), and 2019/21 (Wave VI).

Please note that for Wave VI, the majority of data collection occurred in 2019, with only a small subset (n=39) of participants surveyed in 2021.

ACL was designed and sought 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.

The English Longitudinal Study of Ageing is a study of aging and quality of life for people over the age of 50. Established in 2002, the original sample was drawn from households that had previously responded to the Health Survey for England (HSE) between 1998 and 2001. The same group of respondents are surveyed every two years to see how their health, economic, and social circumstances may change over time. One of the study's aims is to determine the relationships between functioning and health, social networks, resources, and economic position as people plan for, move into, and progress beyond retirement. It is patterned after the Health and Retirement Study, a similar study based in the United States.

Although new topics can be introduced at different waves, every module has been reviewed to ensure that it will provide data that can measure change over time. This is achieved by repeating some measures exactly, by asking directly about change, and by adopting questions to allow people to update or amend past responses.

The information collected provides data about: Household and individual demographics; Health - physical and psychosocial; Social care (from Wave 6); Work and pensions; Income and assets; Housing; Cognitive function; Social participation; Effort and Reward (voluntary work and caring); Expectations; Walking speed; Weight.

This catalog record includes detailed variable-level descriptions, enabling data discovery and comparison. The TILDA Series data, including studies 34315, 38681, 37105, 37106, 38670, 38674, are currently unavailable at the request of the data producer due to concerns related to EU and Irish data privacy and data sharing rules. We are working to determine the best solution to continue to share these data with the research community. Individuals interested in obtaining TILDA data access at this time should reach out to the TILDA project directly (https://tilda.tcd.ie/data/accessing-data/).

The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) is a major inter-institutional initiative led by Trinity College Dublin which aims to produce a massive improvement in the quantity and quality of data, research and information relating to older people and ageing in Ireland. Eligible respondents for this study include individuals aged 50 and over and their spouses or partners of any age. The study involves interviews on a two yearly basis with a sample cohort of 8,504 people aged 50 and over (or their spouses/partners) and resident in Ireland, collecting detailed information on all aspects of their lives, including the economic (pensions, employment, living standards), health (physical, mental, service needs and usage) and social aspects (contact with friends and kin, formal and informal care, social participation). Both survey interviews and physical and biological measurements are utilized.

The second wave of TILDA interviews were undertaken between February 2012 and March 2013. Of the 8,504 interviewed in Wave 1, a second interview was obtained for 7,445 respondents. These consisted of the self, proxy and end-of-life interviews types. In addition to the returning respondents, 170 interviews were obtained from eligible household members who had chosen not to take part in Wave 1 or the new spouses/partners of existing respondents.

Demographic and background variables include age, sex, marital status, household composition, education, and employment.