Flavored marijuana vapes becoming new face of teen drug use, sparking addiction fears
September 25, 2025
ANN ARBOR—Flavored marijuana vaping is now the most common form of use among American teenagers who vape cannabis, according to new findings from the University of Michigan’s annual Monitoring the Future surveys.The research, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, found...
Consumer sentiment falls amid growing inflation worries
August 29, 2025
ANN ARBOR—Consumer sentiment fell back about 6% in August, declining for the first time in four months. It is now about 20% below December 2024, when sentiment had exhibited a post-election bump, but remains above the trough in sentiment seen in April. This month’s decline was...
Nicotine pouch, cannabis, vaping, psychedelic use on the rise among US adults
August 26, 2025
ANN ARBOR—The percentage of young and midlife adults using nicotine pouches significantly increased last year, while cannabis use, vaping and the use of psychedelic drugs are at or near all-time highs, according to the latest data from the University of Michigan’s Monitoring the Future...
Africa aging, health and socioeconomics study garners $23 million NIH award
August 26, 2025
ANN ARBOR, Mich. / NAIROBI, Kenya — A groundbreaking effort to better understand changing demographics in Kenya — and the resulting pressures on the country’s health system — has received a multi-million-dollar grant from the National Institutes of Health. The Longitudinal Study of Health...
Data quality and survey response rates
August 15, 2025
EJ Antoni, Bureau of Labor Statistics nominee, has suggested that the BLS suspend its monthly job reports, citing flawed data. Joanne Hsu & Brady West argue that while data collection is more difficult, the answer is more resources, not less data. Read more at the Financial Times Unhedged...
![“The data collection environment is getting more difficult, and any answer will require more resources.” -Joanne Hsu, Surveys of Consumers, Survey Research Center “The whole point of the [BLS] revisions is to improve the survey estimates.” -Brady West, Program in Survey and Data Science, Survey Research Center Financial Times | August 14, 2025](https://api.isr.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Hsu-West-FT.png)
U.S. Drinking Drops to New Low, Poll Finds
August 15, 2025
An annual Gallup poll has been tracking a downturn in drinking since 2023. Megan Patrick tells the New York Times that this coincides with the Monitoring the Future survey, which has shown a significant decline in young people’s drinking over the last decade.
With Deep N.I.H. Cuts, Research Into Health Disparities Falters
August 13, 2025
Sunghee Lee is featured in this NYT article examining the consequences of deep NIH cuts on health disparities research. Her work on dementia in underrepresented populations was defunded despite its critical value.
In Memory of Jane Rafferty, Program for Research on Black Americans and Panel Study of Income Dynamics
August 1, 2025
Jane Rafferty, who devoted her career to social research and was vital to signature projects at the University of Michigan, including the Program for Research on Black Americans and the Panel Study for Income Dynamics, died Monday, July 21st after a brief illness.Rafferty completed her BA in...
Sentiment inches up, consumers remain downbeat
August 1, 2025
ANN ARBOR—Consumer sentiment improved for the second time in six months, inching up less than 2% from last month, according to the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. It remains about 17% below December 2024, when sentiment had exhibited a post-election bump. Current conditions...
Dementia’s broad reach: 1 in 4 families of older adults at risk for providing care
July 31, 2025
ANN ARBOR—About 26% of both households and immediate families of older adults include an individual with dementia—often requiring relatives to step into unexpected caregiving roles, according to a new University of Michigan study.This figure rises to 37% among extended families of...
