Impacts of Mortality: Project TALENT 50 Years Later

University Of Michigan At Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Project TALENT is a nationally representative longitudinal study created to assess the aspirations and abilities of America's young men and women in high school as of 1960. Project TALENT collected extensive information on characteristics and cognitive abilities of approximately 377,000 individuals in 1960 and administered subsequent follow-up studies through age 30. Project TALENT's large sample size, extensive background questionnaire, and cognitive measures has made it a premier study for social science research, engaging multiple disciplines within a largely seamless research framework. Now that the original Project TALENT respondents are entering their 60's, the study is uniquely suited for the study of life course outcomes as its large national sample provides a level of detail and statistical power required to study disparities in health, socioeconomic characteristics and other important aspects of life course transitions. This application requests funds to support work by NACDA in the development of enhanced archival research materials and extraction tools that facilitate the use of the Project TALENT in the analysis of mortality outcomes. Specifically we will introduce Enhancements for Mortality Linkages by taking the recently completed NDI links made for the Baseline sample and incorporating them into the Project TALENT data collection. We will organize this information in a way that brings them to the same archival standards as the Baseline files as well as performing appropriate confidential reviews and data sharing procedures to simplify safe access to the files. This application requests funds to support work by NACDA in the development of enhanced archival research materials including Enhancements for the Mortality Linkages will take the DMF results and the recently completed NDI links and incorporate them as part of the Baseline sample Project TALENT collection. Enhancements for Accessing the NDI Mortality Linage Files because the use of NDI linkage files require a special review and approval procedure consistent with NCHS protocols NACDA will work with AIR to development the forms and procedures to facilitate this approval process and to ensure the required procedures are adhered to by researchers interested in the NDI information. Enhancements for Testing Mortality Impacts as the approval process for obtaining access to NDI linkage files requires a detailed analysis plan as part of the application, NACDA will develop a public use sample of Project TALENT data using mortality information drawn from the DMF matches. This will allow researchers to perform exploratory analysis on mortality impacts and allow them to test and develop a more rigorous analysis plan that will use the more detailed and set of complete NDI matches for the larger Project TALENT baseline sample and Enhancements to Value-Added Support Services will significantly enhance and organize existing documentation for the Project TALENT mortality linkages and create standardized documentation to support the new files.