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...
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.