Personality Development Collaborative

The MIDJA study is a probability sample of Japanese adults (N = 1,027) aged 30 to 79 from the Tokyo metropolitan area. In 2008, with funding from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), baseline survey data were collected on sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender, marital status, educational status), psychosocial characteristics (e.g., independence/interdependence, personality traits, sense of control, goal orientations, social support, family obligation, social responsibility), mental health (depression, anxiety, well-being, life satisfaction), and physical health (chronic conditions, health symptoms, functional limitations, health behaviors). In 2009-2010 biomarker data was obtained from a subset of these cases. In 2012, with additional support from NIA, a longitudinal follow-up of the MIDJA sample was completed. The data collection for this second wave (N=657) largely repeated the baseline assessments.

A note on harmonization with the Midlife in the United States Study (MIDUS): The central objective was to compare the Japanese sample (MIDJA) with the United States sample (MIDUS) to test hypotheses about the role of psychosocial factors in predicting health changes (including biomarkers) in both cultural contexts. Cultural influences on age differences in health and well-being were also of interest. For more information about data harmonization across MIDJA and MIDUS, please see here:  https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/ICPSR/series/203

Principal Investigator(s): Institute on Aging, University of Wisconsin Madison