The Americans’ Changing Lives study (ACL) is the longest, ongoing national study to clarify how our neighborhoods, work, and social connections affect our health throughout adulthood. The study began in 1986 with a national face-to-face survey of 3617 adults. Since then, we have interviewed ACL participants in 1989, 1994, 2001, 2011, and 2019. In 2019, we introduced an epigenetic component to the study, collecting and analyzing DNA to understand how neighborhoods and lived experiences affect gene expression. In 2021, we will interview participants on their life histories to help understand how older adults recall major moments in their life. With this 35 years of information collected prospectively in waves 1 through 6 and retrospectively in the upcoming life history interview, researchers have and can continue to provide policy makers and the public with important information about the aspects of our social lives that impact our healthy aging.
Americans' Changing Lives - Institute for Social Research