Lending a hand to close friends boosts daily mood in older adults
October 15, 2025
ANN ARBOR—Providing practical help to a close friend—such as picking up medication, cooking a meal or helping with household chores—may be linked to a more positive mood among older adults in daily life. However, there are potential gender differences: Older men are less...
Sleep trap: Many young adults use cannabis to fall asleep
October 15, 2025
ANN ARBOR—More than 1 in 5 young adults reported using cannabis or alcohol to help them fall asleep.According to new findings from the University of Michigan’s annual Monitoring the Future Panel Study, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 22% of U.S. young adults aged 19 to...
Government shutdown hasn’t left US consumers glum about the economy – for now, at least
October 14, 2025
Joanne Hsu, writing for The Conversation, says the latest Surveys of Consumers data show almost no change between September and October: “Consumers are not feeling that optimistic at the moment, but generally no worse than they were last month.”
For older Americans, the cost of poverty is 9 years of life, study finds
October 9, 2025
CBS News reports on a new study from National Council on Aging: using the Health and Retirement Study, the authors find low-income people over 60 years old die an average of nine years earlier than high-income older Americans.
In Insights presentation, ISR’s Brady West outlines strategies for combating nonresponse bias
October 9, 2025
ANN ARBOR — By design, surveys hinge on responses. Every survey requiring any kind of a response from participants is only as good as the people who answer. But somewhat paradoxically, the quality of a survey can also be affected by those who don’t respond through a phenomenon called...
Shutdown Creates Jobs Data Blackout—But Wall Street Says Employment Numbers Are Grim
October 9, 2025
Because of the government shutdown, there is no federal jobs report, but there are still estimates of a declining labor market.Joanne Hsu said Americans have become increasingly worried about the outlook for their incomes and personal finances, adding consumers feel “pressure from both the...
Honoring James M. Lepkowski with the MPSDS Lepkowski Award
October 7, 2025
The Michigan Program in Survey and Data Science (MPSDS) recently established an Institute for Social Research (ISR) junior faculty research support award to honor the career and legacy of Dr. James M. Lepkowski. This program offers research support to selected ISR junior faculty members by...
High pollen count: The last straw effect on suicide risk
September 29, 2025
ANN ARBOR—Beyond the sneezing and itchy eyes, high pollen seasons are now linked to a significant increase in suicide risk.A new University of Michigan study found a 7.4% jump in deaths, suggesting the physical discomfort of allergies may trigger a deeper, more dangerous despair, an...
Consumer sentiment declines amid concerns about inflation, unemployment
September 26, 2025
ANN ARBOR—Consumer sentiment fell about 5% from last month but remains above the low readings seen in April and May of this year, confirming its early-month reading. Although September’s decline was relatively modest, it was seen across a broad swath of the population, groups by...
Where’s the prosperity? Middle class Americans aren’t feeling it.
September 25, 2025
USA Today reports that the American middle class is worried about the economy. According the University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers, consumer sentiment has dropped from 70.1 last year to 55.4 in September. Joanne Hsu says this anxiety is “particularly strong among lower- and...
