Aging, Major Life Transitions, and Suicide Risk

Old and young female hands are holding, elderly care and respect, close-up.

Briana Mezuk, Sarah Burgard Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US, with over 42,000 cases annually. There is an urgent need to identify modifiable risk factors that can inform public health prevention strategies. This research seeks to leverage and integrate several existing datasets to support novel secondary analyses aimed at identifying… Continue reading Aging, Major Life Transitions, and Suicide Risk

Long-Term Mobility and Wellbeing of New Orleans Residents after Hurricane Katrina

New Orleans Street Cars in Canal Street

Narayan Sastry Two key tasks will be undertaken at the University of Michigan as part of this project. First, we will collaborate with the Elizabeth Fussell and other staff at Brown University as well as with staff at the U.S. Census Bureau to design and implement the analysis of linked data from the Decennial Census,… Continue reading Long-Term Mobility and Wellbeing of New Orleans Residents after Hurricane Katrina

Improving Learning: Developing Measures of Accountability and Evaluating their Association with Students’ Gains in Achievement in Nepal

High altitude himalayan town of Ngawal with Annapurna mountain range in the distance. Shot on a sunny fall day

Dirgha Ghimire This project aims to develop and validate measures of accountability to be shared with the Nepal Ministry of Education (MOE), local stakeholders and scientific communities, and to use those measures in an analysis of the determinants of accountability and its association with students’ gains in achievement. The proposed study will build on the… Continue reading Improving Learning: Developing Measures of Accountability and Evaluating their Association with Students’ Gains in Achievement in Nepal

Economic distress and growing educational disparities in life expectancy: Weathering, high effort coping, and despair

Newborn hand in adult palm. Black and white concept

Arline T. Geronimus Researchers have used a variety of data sources and methodologies to independently document two disturbing trends: a halt to universal gains in life expectancy (LE) across US subpopulations, and a subsequent rise in educational inequality in LE since 1990—both of which take us further from achieving the high-priority national public health objective… Continue reading Economic distress and growing educational disparities in life expectancy: Weathering, high effort coping, and despair

Understanding the Connections among Genes, Environment, Family Processes, and Mental Health

Depressed man standing alone on a jetty on a foggy autumn day.

William G. Axinn Psychiatric disorders are the leading source of disability worldwide and affect 53% of the U.S. population. In addition to the individual suffering they entail, disabilities associated with these disorders may have substantial consequences for family and health outcomes. This includes long-term consequences for family formation and dissolution behaviors. Dissecting the relationship among… Continue reading Understanding the Connections among Genes, Environment, Family Processes, and Mental Health

Scientific and Technical Core

Brady T. West A sub-project of Michigan Research Infrastructure for Population Sciences– The objective of the Scientific and Technical Core (STC) is to advance the overarching objective of this P2C proposal – to design, create, and use new data to advance population science – by enhancing methods used for all three activities, and by providing… Continue reading Scientific and Technical Core

Administrative Core

Sarah Burgard A sub-project of Michigan Research Infrastructure for Population Sciences: The Administrative Core (AC) supports work in all of the Population Studies Center’s (PSC) primary research areas (PRAs) and advances the overarching objective of this P2C application – to support research to design, create, and analyze new data to advance population science. The AC… Continue reading Administrative Core

Development Core

abstract green leaf texture, nature background, tropical leaf

Sarah Burgard The Population Studies Center (PSC) at the University of Michigan provides critical research infrastructure to promote the interdisciplinary study of human population dynamics, with a focus on the areas of demography, population health and reproductive health. PSC supports the design, creation, and use of new data that can be used to inform interventions… Continue reading Development Core

Michigan Research Infrastructure for Population Sciences

Sansevieria plant from the front side. also known as snake plant.

Sarah Burgard The Population Studies Center (PSC) at the University of Michigan provides critical research infrastructure to promote the interdisciplinary study of human population dynamics, with a focus on the areas of demography, population health and reproductive health. PSC supports the design, creation, and use of new data that can be used to inform interventions… Continue reading Michigan Research Infrastructure for Population Sciences

Effects of Financial Sanctions in the Criminal Justice System

Teen boy behind fence confinement, boarding school restrictions, broken future

Michael Mueller-Smith The use of legal financial obligations, colloquially referred to as financial sanctions, imposed on individuals who come into contact with the criminal justice system is widespread and growing in the U.S. criminal justice system. These fees and fines could generate serious social and economic consequences, particularly among low-income populations who are unable to pay… Continue reading Effects of Financial Sanctions in the Criminal Justice System